oasisCHURCH

Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!

Have you ever felt as though your time has been completely wasted?

I just spent 30 minutes typing an article that began to stir in my spirit during a time of prayer this morning, and somehow my finger must have accidentally hit the "Back" button hot key on the keyboard. When I came back to my original page guess what??? Yep. It was gone!

Will I retype it? Perhaps. Not right now though. I have a meeting in 2 minutes, nor am I in the right frame of mind. In fact, I think I may be hitting the keys a little too hard with this post. People are turning to look at me in the coffee shop. Their looks suggest, "Boy, he's really letting someone have it!"

No, just letting off a little cyber-steam.

Thanks for listening. I'm done now.

Mini-Chad

So I had this completely ridiculous project due for one of my "Edumbcation" classes at school.  What this project had to due with preparing me to be a teacher in the public school system is anybody's guess but Jamitha helped me put this project together and I thought it actually came out kind of cool.  So I put together a collage to share with everybody.  Enjoy...

What is ministry?

This was a question posed by Jim Schoch on the Oasis Wauseon online forum. I answered it quickly on Monday, but have pondered it all the rest of this week.

I suppose it’s a relative question. I suppose it depends on who you are, where you live, where you work, what you like to do, and what kinds of talents you have. I suppose it is a question that can be defined in a number of ways, depending on your experience in life, and especially on your experience in church.

For years I defined ministry as something that was done by the paid professionals. And it’s true. Some people are paid for their ministry service. Maybe this is why some people have a difficult time understanding why the “lay” Christian has just as much of “ministry” role as the “paid” Christian. We put so much value on money, and salaries. They make us feel funny. Why does one person get paid to do something that most people are called upon to do without getting paid? Like educating children. Ultimately it is no one’s responsibility except my own. As the father of my children, I am the one responsible to see that my kids are instructed and trained in every way. Yet there are people in the world who receive a paycheck for something I am called to do without pay.

In some cases, one person’s “job” is another person’s hobby. Like baseball. I can’t imagine getting paid to play baseball! Some people enjoy drawing, or painting, or writing, or playing music. Other people get paid—and some get paid very well—for their art. Most just do it for fun.

I have often struggled in my life with getting paid to do ministry. The Oasis Fellowship of Meigs County is now in the process of re-evaluating the budget for 2005, which means they are discussing my salary. It has always been an awkward subject for me. I don’t know why, it just has. Some days I think I shouldn’t be paid for the ministry, and other days I recognize the importance of accepting pay (not just being important for myself, but important for the ones who choose to support me).

I suppose I have often struggled with questions like… “Do I do enough to be worthy of the pay I receive?” Or, “Is it right for me to make more than so and so, or less than so and so?” Or, “Do people ever wonder why they are paying me a salary?” It’s silly, I know. I guess I sort of understand Paul’s quandary in 1 Corinthians 9 when he’s discussing the difference in being paid, or not being paid, to preach the gospel. Either way, he says, he’s going to do it. It’s not about the pay, although he recognizes his right to earn pay from the gospel.

Perhaps all paid “ministers” struggle with these questions. I remember a conversation I had one time with a very good “paid pastor” friend. He said he, too, once struggled with the question of wondering whether or not he did enough to be worthy of his ministry pay. You see, he would spend lots of time in restaurants having breakfast with people, and sometimes breakfast would carry over to lunch. Then he would drive someone to the store and go shopping with them. Then he would pick up some kids from school and play some ball with them. Then he would go home and have dinner with his family, and love his wife and kids. Then he would go to a church meeting or a small group where he would teach a lesson. Then he would come home. Before he would go to bed, perhaps he would receive a phone call from a church friend needing advice with something. Then he’d go to sleep, wake up the next morning and do more of the same in the days to follow. He said to me, “I always wondered if people would want to know how much time I was spending ‘in the office,’ or if I had kept a record of how many people I had ‘gotten saved’ that week.” He said it haunted him for years. It was sometimes difficult for him to look back on his week and write down all the things he had accomplished. He couldn’t count the number of sales he had made, or post the amount of product he had manufactured. So he wondered if he was worthy of his pay.

But then one day the Lord spoke to him in a very personal way. He said that one day while he was entertaining some of these thoughts he heard God speak these words to his heart, “(His name here), you are not being paid to DO something, you are being paid to BE somebody.”

How freeing that was to hear, yet also very frightening at the same time. While production, numbers, volume, or office time was not a factor in determining his pay… character was. You see, for some jobs it doesn’t matter who you are, it only matters what you do. In this job, however, what matters most is who you are. You will be most effective when you can say, like Paul, “Become like me as I become like Christ.” Having that confidence, knowing that others can truly follow you regardless of what you are doing… you are taking them closer to Jesus. That, well… that is priceless. My friend said that from that moment on he never worried about his ministry pay. He never again questioned his worth.

So, what is ministry? Honestly, ministry has nothing to do with being paid. It’s just that some people are set aside by the Father to make their living that way. Just like some people are able to make a living playing music. I can’t, but I respect and admire people who do because I, too, like to play music. Some people are able to make money by painting and drawing nice pictures. I can’t, but I am in awe of people who make their living with their art. Some people are able to make a living by playing a game of baseball or football (and a very good living at that). I can’t, but I certainly appreciate those who do because I, too, play the game.

So for me, ministry is life. It’s not what I do. It’s who I am. Today I arose from bed. I spent some time with my kids and wife before they went off to school and to work. I then went to a place to study, so that I might become something that I would want others to imitate. I then met with some friends to study a little deeper. Then I sent a few emails and made a few phone calls. Just a quick encouragement to some of the people I am in fellowship with. Later today I will go meet with some fellow baseball coaches, where I will take another step to further involve myself in the community in which I live. Then, after that, I will meet with some college students for a Bible study and a time of worship. Finally, I will come home to my wife. I will go to my kids’ rooms, kiss them on the forehead and whisper a prayer over them. Then sit down to tell my wife all about my day. Tomorrow I will do something similar. Everyday is different, yet much of the same.

And that, my friends, is ministry… at least in my context.

I will sing again...

Last night I was carrying my daughter out to the car after our house church meeting, and she looked up into the sky and said, "I can see God's face." I said, "Really? What does He look like?" She replied, "He's beautiful." And she started singing, "You are beautiful my sweet, sweet song..."

It was just a moment. A quick moment. But one of those quick moments that last forever.

Love Is A Verb

We all define aspects of our lives differently.  This covers a whole range of things from relationships, to emotions, to daily activities, to life concepts, and a long list of other topics.  It is in this way that we define what is "normal" in our lives.  When the norms of our lives are challenged it's easy to get defensive or just downright irate.  Yet we have to be unafraid to take our minds out of our comfortable sense of normalcy so that we might be free to find a deeper sense of truth in the elements of our lives.  Recently I had one of my protective walls of normalcy pushed over by a fresh perspective.  What I saw on the other side of that wall was nothing short of life altering for the nature of my waking consciousness. 

For as long as I can remember I've always had a working and constantly evolving definition of love.  That definition, however, tended to revolve around similar things like feelings and emotions.  In other words love as a collective emotion might spur us on to do certain things but love remains only as an emotion, albeit an important emotion.  I always believed that love carried powerful implications as a feeling.  Follow me to I Corinthians 13.  Paul begins by describing a life without love as essentially no kind of life at all.  But in verses 1-3 Paul doesn't define love yet as I read it I'm thinking about my notions of love as a feeling that makes our deeds in life both true and worthwhile.  On the surface that seems to be what Paul is really driving at.  Now read very carefully over verses 4-7...go ahead...I'll pause.................

What is missing from this definition of love?  My own personal definitions have always included feelings somewhere but these verses are curiously void of any such terminology.  Let's walk through each definition one at a time. 

Love is patient and kind:  Patience and kindness are both actions that you choose to take.  You are patient with someone (an action).  You are kind to someone (an action).  Both of these are things that you do, not necessarily feel.

Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude:  Jealousy is something that you choose not to become.  Boasting is an action that we choose not to take.  Being rude is an action that we choose not to take.  Being proud or cocky is an action we choose not to take. 

Love does not demand its own way:  Not making demands for selfish purposes is something that you do.

Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged:  We choose to not  get irritable.  We choose to not hold grudges.  Again, conscious actions.

It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out:  You choose not to gloat when something bad happens to someone and you rejoice when good things happen.  These are, yet again, conscious actions.

Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance:  Perseverance is a choice.  Perseverance is an action.

When I look at the sum total of all these definitions I don't see feelings being described.  Instead I see actions being described as the perfect prescription for how we conduct every relationship in our lives, romantic or otherwise.  Love is not as much a feeling as it is an action.  That's the fundamental definition I see as I read over Paul's description of what love is and how it exists in our lives.  My new sense of love is that love is, quite simply, something that I should be.  I should exist as love.  My actions should speak this sentiment because love should permeate everything that I do.  Actions are perhaps one of the most apt ways that we illustrate who we are to the world.  Jesus speaks of the very same thing in John 10 when he says, "The proof is what I do in the name of my Father."  Later Jesus makes a similar statement, "But if I do his work, believe in what I have done, even if you don't believe me." 

By the definition of love given in Corinthians, we are held to a high standard of just what it means to really love.  Only when we are able to look back over Paul's definition of love and say that we have every one of those elements in our own lives can we say that we have actually loved.  It is ironic that I used the word "loved" because according to verse 8 "love is eternal".  Therefore there is no such thing as past tense love.  Love is ever current and constantly in place.  Love never dies.  There is no valid statement that goes, "I used to love..."  Paul concludes chapter 13 with an oration on how love outlasts all things including speaking in tongues and prophecy.  In this life we only see things in part but when, as the king james version puts it, "But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part will be put away."  One day God will reveal to us all special knowledge and wisdom that we see only in part at this juncture in our existence.  Yet love is both clear and eternal.  We can see love working through the pipeline of our own actions.  It is the one thing that we need no mystical wisdom to grasp.  What is love?  It's laid out very clearly in Chapter 13.  Love is an action that helps us show the world the grace that God has given us in our relationship with Him.  This action helps us to see truth and love is the vessel of action that gives us this sight.  "All that I know is partial and incomplete, but then (when God comes) I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now.  There are three things that will endure-faith, hope, and love-and the greatest of these is love."  (I Corinthians 13:12-13). 

From "Believe" in Cincy

Just wanted to give a quick update to say everyone arrived in Cincinnati safely last night and had a wonderful time at the first session of the Believe conference. There's a little over 1000 students here, and plenty to experience. Our group is getting along great. We look forward to coming home and sharing our experience with the rest of the Oasis family.

Getting Fit

Recently I have developed a great passion to “treat my body well.” Whenever you take time to pause and consider your life, your habits, your age, your activity… or lack thereof… then, in the same moment, look at your kids, and consider their life, their age, etc… well, it sort of motivates you. I want to be healthy when my son is 16 years old. I want to be able to run with him, bicycle with him, and work out with him. I want to watch my daughter graduate high school and college, and enjoy their families as they bring grandchildren into the world.

I know it’s a long way off still. But I can do much to ensure I will get to those days if I invest time in personal fitness now. I eat a clean diet, and work out 3 times a week… 2 days with weights and light cardiovascular exercise, and one day with H.I.I.T. cardiovascular exercise (that’s High Intensity Interval Training). My goal is to get fit, then stay fit… for the rest of my life. It’s a lifestyle change.

So I guess you can say that my physical fitness (body) is finally beginning to catch up with my emotional, educational, spiritual, and social fitness (mind, soul, spirit). I have always been pretty consistent with these others. In fact, today is one of my “H.I.T.” (High Intensity Training) days for mind and spirit. I come to a place each Wednesday where I can have very intense study time, personal devotional time, interpersonal conversation with God, and self-evaluation of ministry. It’s High Intensity Training for the mind and spirit. Tomorrow will be another High Intensity Training day, but for social fitness. On Thursdays I spend nearly the entire day with people, talking about God, the church, the Scriptures, or life in general. It can get very intense as we study together, or debate issues, or seek counsel from God for wisdom in our lives. It’s good training for the soul. I have a couple other days during the week where the mind, soul, and spirit get a High Intensity workout… like Sundays, or Monday evenings, Wednesday evenings, and Thursday evenings… when I am present with the church for purpose of bringing encouragement, strength, or comfort to them.

Yep… my mind, soul, and spirit always seem to get a good workout during the week. But for the longest time something has been missing… and my body knew it.

BODY was being neglected. Therefore it was trying to pull strength from other parts of me… parts of me that were never intended to function like the physical body. The mind cannot walk or lift on it’s own. The spirit—as much as it would like to—cannot run, and jump, and dance. These are activities that are reserved for the body. But here’s the amazing thing. When the body does its part, the rest benefits from it. It works that way with everything. That’s because we are holistic people, created to exercise and care for our entire being.

When our entire being is being exercised properly it does not have to try and draw strength from the other areas. Whenever I was neglecting my physical body it tried to draw strength from my mind, or my soul, or my spirit… and guess what happened? It drained them. I didn’t “feel” like reading, I didn’t “feel” like being with people. I didn’t “feel” like praying. Why? Because my lack of taking care of the physical body was causing stress on all other parts of my being. Neglecting one part will ultimately cause it to drain the other parts. Why? Because we are holistic people, and we need to train and keep fit the “whole” being that was created in the image of God.

This can go either way. If all I do is care for the body, and yet neglect the mind and the spirit, guess what happens? The mind and spirit try to compensate physically, thereby draining the physical body and not allowing it to grow like it ultimately could. All of my study, all of my social interaction, all of my worship will be poured into the physical body. Vanity.

We must find balance. I must not neglect one at the expense of the other. Your being—who you are—is not limited to just one part. You are not just a mind that grows by thinking critically and seeking wisdom. You are not just a spirit who exists in a completely different realm without any concern for the physical, and you are not just a body who breathes, eats, talks, and walks. You are all three, created with a soul and longing for relationship… community.

So, to me, “getting fit” means more than just going to the gym and tossing around iron or running on a treadmill. It means more than seeking out relationships with people. It means more than immersing myself in study and seeking wisdom. It even means more than worshiping in Spirit. Getting fit is all of those things.

Are you fit?

I am writer... that's how I communicate.

I met a writer once. I was very unimpressed at the ineloquence of his speech. I remember thinking to myself, “I’d rather he write it on a piece of paper and hand it to me to read. Then it may be more interesting.” I remember waiting and waiting for him to offer even a small phrase that would be filled with wisdom, just like his books and his articles. I was surprised to see how shy and introverted he appeared to be, and how short he was with his spoken words.

It’s interesting to me to take note of the diverse ways we humans communicate. People who write tend to write a lot, and say very little… at least on an interpersonal level. Most writers have the ability to communicate to a mass audience because it’s not really personal. They can get personal in front of a piece of paper, but sitting down one-on-one with another person can be very intimidating. Conversely, the person who doesn’t like to write (or even, in many cases, doesn’t like to read) tends to enjoy long, personal conversations. They have no problems expressing themselves in conversation, and would rather talk than read an email. This person says to the writer, “Don’t give me an article to read, you tell me about it. Let’s talk about it.”

This happens in my house. I tend to be more of a writer. I can express my thoughts and explain my feelings much better if I write them down. I even do this with my study of scripture. Did you know that I write nearly everything, word for word, that I want to communicate before I teach? It’s true. Now, I rarely need to use those notes as a manuscript, because once I’ve written it down I am usually more clear on what I want to say. But if I don’t write, my thoughts tend to get scattered, or I don’t communicate well enough what needs to be said. My wife, on the other hand, would rather I talk about everything, even things I have written about. Something that could be handled in one simple email to her throughout the day, she wants to discuss it face to face later when we’re together. Sometimes she comes to me and wants to talk about a solution to a problem. What do I do? I get out a notebook and pen, or the laptop and begin working on the solution by weighing every aspect of it. She’s like, “Are you going to share any of that with me?” I’m like, “Of course, let me finish this first.” She’s like, “No, lets work on this together.” I’m like, “We are working on it together.” And here we go… the introverted writer trying to communicate with the extroverted conversationalist.

Conflict comes into play when these two extremes of people don’t understand each other. If you are an introverted person who likes to write, pass notes, send email, and easily understand written communication without feeling unclear, but you happen to be married to a person who doesn’t like email, doesn’t read the notes you pass, and would rather you paraphrase everything in spoken form in order to feel clear in communication… well, the challenge for you is to find ways to give and take in your communication.

I am learning this every day. I am usually perfectly fine with communicating via email, even dealing with problems and conflicts. But I must recognize that it’s not that easy for some people. For others, they have no problem communicating their thoughts in conversation, without the need to write. For some people, however (like me), it’s not that simple. I forget stuff. My mind wanders off. I go off on tangents. That’s just me.

People are beautiful. I love the fact that we are all so different, and even very similar people have a number of extremely different qualities that makes them unique. Yet we still find a way to communicate, and to work things out. Sometimes it’s not easy. But when we are conscious of the things I am conscious of today as I write this post, it makes that part of life a little easier. Know your “language” of communication. Know your wife’s language. Know your friends’ languages. It will make a great difference in our relationships.

Communication. It is the number one key component of our lives and relationships with one another. Therefore it must be important that I try to understand these great and beautiful complexities and diversities among us.

Now I must end this post. I need to get ready to share it with my wife… in her language of communication.

John 10

It seems like forever ago that I decided to sit down and study John 10.  Today, however, I was given this perfect opportunity to finally sit down and really dive in like I hadn't yet been able to do.  I got out of class early today and headed up to Donkey.  In the two hours that followed I don't think I even came up for air.  I just poured over this passage of scripture and I really felt like I was reading a breath of fresh air.  So here's the format for what you're about to read.  I read through John 10 and isolated certain parts of it that seemed to fit into general concepts.  Then I simply elaborated on what I had read.  My opinions are based on other scipture that I cross referenced along with the many footnotes out of my own study Bible.  What I encourage you to do before you read through this is to get out your own Bible and read John 10 first.  After you've done that go through and read what I wrote about these verses so you can decide for yourself if I'm onto something or if I'm just full or crap.  Remember these are just my early opinions.  10 years from now I might feel completely different about these verses but that's alright.  Remember that as you study scripture you're constantly in a learning process.  So I encourage you not only to learn with me but to help me learn.  We're all in this search for truth together.

• John 10:1  God is straight forward.  Throughout the scriptures God is always up front with His people and honest about the consequences of their actions.  In essence God really has nothing to hide.  All that we need to know in order to live a truly God centered life has already been provided for us.  Those who present messages through smoke and mirrors are often unable to display the often "naked truth" nature of God and His commands. 
• John 10:2-5  This whole analogy is about Jesus and His one to one relationship with God.  I think you could cycle through much in the way of complicated metaphors to grasp the meaning of this small passage of scripture but the explanation that Jesus gives is actually quite simple.  In Jesus' explanation He brilliantly draws real world example together to spell out S-A-L-V-A-T-I-O-N. 
• John 10:6-10  There is a lot of history in this statement.  There is also a great deal of practicality in these words.  First let's talk practicality.  In a sheepfold the shepherd served several functions to his flock.  Often times the shepherd would sleep inside the sheepfold with his flock so that he could directly protect his flock.  It couls also be said that the shepherd was like a gtae for his sheep, letting them into the sheepfold and protecting them.  Likewise Jesus is the gate to the grace and salvation of God.  This echoes the sentiment expressed by Jesus in John 114:6 when He tells His disciple Thomas, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one can come to the father except through me."  As far as the history is concerned, you can find countless examples all throughout the Old Testament of leaders who completely convoluted the Israelite nation from living by God's ways.  I think that this is a stark reminder that each of us must palce our trust in God so that He may guide us along the correct path as He sees it.  His way is always more clear but sometimes we can't see past our own cloudy doubts.  This leads to a sense of distrust which leads to dissention.  In such times people will seek out those who seem to make the most immediate sense but it is often found that the beliefs of such people prove devoid of any real longevity.  There is but one true leader, one true teacher, and one true answer.  We must strive to see things on the spectrum of God's experience rather than the limited ray of our own existence. 
• John 10:11-16  Agin we have a touch of history, practicality, and the broad spectrum of God's experience.  The history here is simple:  People leading people are bound to betray, stray, and become lost.  Sure such a system might work really well for awhile but eventually someone will screw it up.  This is a common theme of virtually every powerful nation that has every existed.  Yet when people are being led by God we tend to see a fullfillment of life and it's richest gifts (and here I don't mean financial wealth).  God want to bless His people but how many examples can we find in scripture where people somehow botch this outreach from God.  The goal in our understanding is that we unite oursevles under a common banner and that we acknowledge that banner as God and His will for us as a nation of servants.  Biblical, as well as mainstream, history has adequately provn that people left to their own devices tend to run themselves into walls that they, in turn, have no idea how to get around.  Jesus is the perfect example of creator, kind, servant, and savior.  Jesus is the embodiment of so many characteristics that we want to illustrate in the actions of our own daily lives.  Jesus was a very different kind of king than what the Jewish nation was familiar with.  Most of their kings were corrupt people who were constantly at war.  But at least when a nations at war I guess it makes it seem like the powers that be are actually doing something.  Jesus didn't take the kind of action that many expected Him to and many people during that day may have openly wondered why this man who claimed to be king bore no resemblence to their ideas of what royalty should be.  Yet Jesus was a leader full of truth and meaningful promises.  Jesus was the fullfillment of a plan that began thousands of years before His physcial birth here on earth.  Jesus was the embodiment of truth and justice.  Through His actions Jesus proved that he was, in fact, the Son of God and He was a perfect model for us in submitting to will of our God. 
• John 10:17-21  Jesus possessed great power and authority.  Jesus was also quick to remind those around him that such power was bestowed upon Him only through the gracious mercy of His Father.  Consider this passage from Matthew 11:27, "My Father has given me authority over everything.  No one really knows the Son except the Father, and no one really knows the father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him."  The peoples response to Jesus regarding His explanation of Hiw own nature, not surprisingly, divided the minds of many people.  Think of how divided people are today over the words that Jesus left behind for us to ponder.  It is critical to study scripture not only for our own edification but for others as well.  Studying scripture can certainly light up your own relatioship with God but by knowing the biblical story you are able to transfer some of its knowledge and wisdom onto other people who have yet to discover it for themselves.  We must be able to speak intelligently about what God has done and is doing for us even today.  Whether or not we create thousands of converts isn't nearly as important as delivering the message in the fashion that God desires us to deliver it.  It is better to reach some rather than none at all but we must strive to make sure that "our message" simply reflects the truth of the gospel in such a fashion as Jesus might have delivered it. 
• John 10:22-24Hanukkah commemorated the cleansing of the Temple under Judas Maccabeus in 164 B.C. after Antiochus Epiphanes had defiled ti by sacrificing a pig on the altar of burnt offering.  The festival was celebrated towards the end of December.  During this time the Jewish authorities tried to trap Jesus in a war of words and theology.  There were those who hoped that Jesus would openly declare Himself Messiah for perverted reasons.  Many in the Jewish nation would have loved nothing more than to see Jesus drive out the Roman presence in the land.  Yet there were others who hoped they would have a chance to prove Jesus a fraud by turning the statements He made against Him.   In this fashion such people hoped to make Jesus look like an uneducated fool. 
• John 10:25-30  Jesus was certainly a man who did great things.  He often reminded people that even if they didn't believe His words then at least believe what He did.  The actions of Jesus are a pillar of testimony that speak for the truth of who He is.  Look up these verses:  John 5:36, John 10:38, and John 11:11.  Each of these passages describe how the works of Jesus, rather than just powerful words, stand firm as a foundation that Jesus and the Father are one.  The Jewish authorities claimed to be certifiable experts on everything God but they illustrate the extent of their own ignorance by failing to recognize that Jesus and the Father are one.  If these "God experts" truly knew the first thing about God then they would have immediately recognized who Jesus actually was. 
• John 10:31-38  Let's quickly review a section of Old Testament law.  Leviticus 24:16 states, "Anyone who blasphemes the Lord's name must be stoned to death by the whol community of Israel.  Any Israelite or foreigner among you who blasphemes the Lord's name will surely die."  The Jewish authorities, by somewhat contradicting themselves, tell Jesus that they are not stoning him because of His good works but rather for calling Himself God.  Here again we see Jesus turning around their lack of scriptural understanding to illustrate that they neither know God or the Son of God.  In verses 34-36 Jesus makes reference to Psalm 82:6 where the Israelite rulers and judges are called "gods".  If God called the Israelite leaders gods because they were agents of God's revelation and will, how could it be blasphemy for Jesus to call Himself the Son of God?  Jesus was rebuking the religious leaders, because He is the Son of God in a unique, unparalleled relationship of oneness with the Father.  Here again we find Jesus stressing that these leaders needed to be looking at his deeds and not just his words.  If the Jewish authorities would have simply turned their watchful eyes to the powerful workings of Jesus they would have seen the God they claimed to know so well.  By seeing and acknowledging the actions of Jesus, the statement, "...the Father is in me, and I am in the Father," becomes less diluted because it reveals that the acts of Jesus are of the kind that could have only come from God.
• John 10:39-42  We see that, even after a very compelling message from Jesus, many still have trouble bringing themselves to accept him for who he is.  However, there were those who followed Jesus out of the city.  These people would soon come to adhere to a very simple truth.  These people following Jesus said, "John (the baptist) didn't do miracles but all his predictions about this man have come true."  The minds of those currently gathered around Jesus came to believe in what they saw and it validated what they heard.  Consider what Jesus said to Philip in John 14:8-11, "Philip said, 'Lord, show us the Father and we will be satisfied.'  Jesus replied, 'Philip, don't you even yet know who I am, even after all the time I've been with you?  Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.  So why are you asking to see Him?  Don't you believe that I am in the Father and that the Father is in me?  The words I say are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does His work through me.  Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.  Or at least believe because of what you have seen me do." 

So there you have it.  My musings on John 10.  I've loved this study and I really feel like it's done something to me.  Jesus is so amazing and I know that as time weathers the scriptures on my mind that new things will be revealed to me.  Through study I hope to continue this process of discovery that seems without limit.  So feel free to give me your 2 cents.  I would love to hear your response on this beautiful piece of scripture.  I want to hear your response whether it's "yeah chad, i hear what you're saying" or "man what are you smoking...you're not even close to what this means".  I want to learn from one another and that means taking all views in stride.  I never want to stop growing in this relationship with God. 

Shadowlands

Last night I watched a devastatingly beautiful film called "The Shadowlands".  The film chronicles an event in the life of world renowned author C.S. Lewis.  If you've never seen this film I thoroughly recommend it as a must see.  I was so deeply moved by this film.  There was one particular bit of dialogue in the film that just made my mind stop in its tracks.  Let me give you a very brief breakdown of the film so that you can have some context for this dialogue.  C.S. Lewis, casually referred to as Jack in the film (C.S. Lewis never cared for his first name Clive), is currently a professor at Oxford University.  He has already achieved international acclaim with The Chronicles of Narnia as well as a slew of other important literary works.  An American woman named Joy writes to Jack to announce that she'll soon be coming to Oxford.  Joy asks Jack for a meeting and he agrees.  Then a love story begins to develop very slowly.  Eventually Joy and Jack are wed but shortly thereafter she is struck down with cancer.  At first Joys cancer takes a heavy toll on her but then the cancer suddenly goes into remission.  At this juncture in the film Jack is in a room with several of his colleagues and they are asking him about the status of Joys condition.  All gathered are delighted to hear the news.  This is how the dialogue in that scene runs:

Harry:  Christopher can scoff but I know how hard you've been praying and now God is answering your prayer.
C.S. Lewis:  That's not why I pray Harry.  I pray because I can't help myself.  I pray because I'm helpless.  I pray because the need flows out of me all the time...waking and sleeping.  It doesn't change God.  It changes me.

Those of you who know something of C.S. Lewis' background know that he was a devout atheist in the earlier part of his life.  Yet somewhere along the way he found his faith and became a very powerful speaker for God.  I know several Christians today that are using the words of C.S. Lewis not only for inspiration of self but for the encouragement of others as well.  Lewis' powerful statement about prayer just hit me square in the gut when I heard it.  It reminded me that prayer should never be looked upon as a selfish thing.  I don't think that means that we never have license to ask God for anything but I do think it reflects a self evident truth that prayer is never about the proverbial "us".  What I mean by that is that we don't pray because we're the master and God is the servant.  How audacious would it be to suggest that we have some kind of authoritative sway over the will of God.  Prayer changes us because we open our hearts and minds to the will of another (i.e. God).  This film also begs the question of The Will of God VS. Fairness.  Chris and I have had this very interesting dialogue lately about God being fair versus God being just.  Is God always fair?  No.  But who said, or where is it written for that mater, that God must be fair.  Though God may not be fair, as we see it that is, God is in fact just.  Because if God were to give us what we deserve then we would most likely beg for a second option.  We don't pray to get our way.  That's selfishness and self worship.  God may not always deliver fair nor may God always deliver clear logic and reason.  Yet our eyes do not see the world and all it's happenings the way that God's eyes see them.  The scope of ourselves is far too limited to try and make sense of all that God does.  Prayer isn't about rewards or even understanding.  Prayer is about thankfulness, love, relationship, kin, connection, safety, meaning, and longing (the list of adjectives could run on forever).  Prayer is the house of many things.  Behind each door in that house are miracles and wonders that defy the imagination.  Yet behind many of those doors are things that make no sense.  Behind such doors we see glimpses of God that our minds cannot assimilate into tangible meaning.  Yet when we encounter such things, which tend to be tragedies that don't seem fair, we must remember that our understanding is not a pre-requisite to the nature of life or God.  What is, however, a pre-requisite to our understanding of the nature of life is that we place our faith in God who is the keeper of all knowledge and wisdom.  We pray not because it changes God, but because it changes us.  Prayer is a like a window on the precipice of the creator and what a view it is to look upon.  God is beautiful and just.  Our faith in His control is one of the central things that prayer reminds us about.  We have never been nor will we ever be without a guide in this world.  Thank God for that.