Our new accommodations are awesome and our worship on the roof was a very powerful experience.

We are off to church in a few minutes. Thanks for all the prayers and support!

It’s amazing how much I had forgotten about that movie.  It’s amazing how difficult a movie it is to watch.  It’s amazing to realize that Hollywood has standards and the real flogging and crucifixion very well may have been worse than what was depicted on the screen.

Following the movie, one of the guys tweeted, “Passion of the Christ #gamechanger”.  There is a lot of truth in that statement.  Seeing an account of what our Lord went through really should be a game changer.  It is so much worse than we can ever imagine.  And to realize that the love of God made Him go through all of this for ME, well there really are NO words to respond to that.

There are no words to respond, but a response is required.  We need to live differently.  What God did for us is a game changer.  So, how are you changing your life?

This was the first year that I ever picked up on the fact that Barabbas was also a Jesus.  Even in my three years of seminary, not once was this fact taught or talked about.  So now I was left to face the implications of this.  In 24 Hours That Changed the World, Adam Hamilton highlighted this fact.  Barabbas was a “messiah” of sorts.  He was leading a rebellion agains the people of Rome.  He probably had people believing that he was the chosen one of God.  In a lot of ways, Barabbas was the very thing that people were falsely accusing Jesus of being.

And then we have Jesus the Christ.  The Chosen One of God whose method was love, peace, and forgiveness.  His method was not a rebellion, rather his method was a revolution of love.  It was not about overthrowing a government.  His revolution was about overthrowing the bonds of sin that keep each and every one of us apart from God.

And still the crowd chanted for the crucifixion of Jesus and for the release of Barabbas.

Who are we chanting for?  Which messiah are we truly following?  Do we follow the false messiahs of action and selfishness similar to Barabbas?  Or do we follow the one and true Messiah who preached that we should live as revolutionaries of love, hope, peace, and forgiveness?

What exactly was the look that Jesus gave to Peter?  Was it one of anger?  One of love?  One of disappointment?

Whatever the look was, it was a look that drove Peter to weep.  He was heart broken.  He realized in that moment that not only did he not live up to his word; he realized that Jesus heard every word that he was saying.

We too are like Peter.  So often we think that we can get away with things, but guess what my friends?  We cannot.

We may be standing there denying Christ.  We are doing it with our actions.  We are doing it with our words.  We are doing it with our thoughts.  And the entire time Jesus is standing there watching, listening, thinking.

And He’s looking at us.  Perhaps it is with a look of disappointment.  Perhaps it is with a giant smile on His face.  But no matter what, the look Christ is giving us, is a look of love.  It is a look of hope.  It is a look of forgiveness.

Today take some time and look upon Jesus as He is looking at you in love, in hope, in peace, and in forgiveness.

I’ve read this passage a million times.  Okay, maybe I exaggerate, but I can easily tell you that Emmanuel means God With Us; however, as I read it this morning, I started to really let these words seep in.  I started to ask about what it means that God is with us.

And as I thought about this, I was blown away by what this is saying.  God is WITH me.  He is really in the midst of my life with me.  I’ve known this fact for awhile, or at least I’ve said it’s something I believe, but I really felt this truth this morning.

God is here.  When I am lying in bed at night going over a list of worries and concerns, God is with me.  When I am playing with my child and having the time of my life, God is right there playing with us.  When my heart is breaking because I’ve had to discipline my child, God is breaking over the sadness but proud that I can stand firm and correct to the right behavior.  When I am sad, God is handing me a box of Kleenex.  When I’m laughing at a lame pun, God is right there probably rolling His eyes or chuckling along with me.  When I am figuring out how to bring God’s love to others, God is throwing out ideas during the brainstorm.

Yes, friends, God is with us.  It’s taken me twenty-nine years to really begin to feel like I’m understanding this concept.  As chaos surrounds us in the world, I need to stop and realize that God is standing there with me.  He is guiding me.  He is pointing out a direction.  He’s trying to show me a path in the midst of the insanity.  I may not be paying attention.  I may have my sights set so far away from Him that I cannot realize He is here; but the good news this Advent is, God is with me.  And God is with you.   And God is with us all!

I’ve been planning on doing some Advent reflections for awhile, but I guess that just hasn’t happened.  This text was used this past Sunday during the lighting of the Advent wreath, and I really wanted to share some thoughts about it.

This is one of the most beautiful prayers that I think any of us could be praying!  The prayer that God would tear open the heavens and come down into our world.  All around us we see examples of the places where we prevent God from going.  We complain about the godlessness of the world.  We complain about the way things our going in our political realm.  We complain about how things are going with our families.  We complain about how things are going with our churches.

Well, instead of complaining about life in these difficult times, maybe all of us need to band together and begin praying this Psalm.  We need to pray and believe that God is going to tear things open and come down.  He already did that with the birth of Christ, and ever since, Christ has been trying to get involved in every aspect of our world.  We are the ones keeping Him out!

So let’s stop complaining and focusing on all of the doom and gloom.  Let’s begin praying for God to tear open our lives, our schools, our families, our world and our churches.  Let’s begin praying that He enters our lives in such intense and amazing ways that the only thing we can do is stand amazed and praise Him.

Amen.

Today is one of those days where I get lost in thinking about how awesome God is in light of His Creation. It’s the kind of day where I hate the fact that my office has four walls and no windows. It’s the kind of day when I wish the church wi-fi went outside.

It’s the kind of day where I give thanks to God for this awesome world He has made.

It’s the kind of day where I forget all the petty little stupid stuff that happened this week that was making me sad/angry/frustrated/confused.

It’s the kind of day when the only thing I can do is sing praises to God.

It’s the kind of day where I’m more than grateful for all that He has done for me.

It’s the day that we all need to join together and sing a psalm of praise to our God!

“The believer has to tell those in pain that this is not forever; there is a light and you will see it. This isn’t all there is. Trust it. Don’t try to rush through it. We can’t leap over our grief work. Nor can we skip over our despair work. We have to feel it. That means that in our life we have some blue days or dark days. Historic cultures saw it as the time of incubation, transformation, and necessary hibernation.”

And this is where I began to ponder, which I guess is what a good devotional is supposed to do, right? Do I truly believe this? Do I have enough conviction to believe this that I can share it with others when they are in their dark days?

I mean, when I come across somebody that is in pain and feeling down, are these really the words I am going to comfort them with? That they need to go through this because they will eventually come out on top and that this is just a time of transformation in their life?

I really am not sure that I have an answer to that one. I do believe that all things will work together for the good of those that love God. I believe that God uses any situation that we find ourselves in, even the dark ones that we hate more than any other. I believe that in those dark moments that God is working and moving and that we will emerge changed and transformed into more of the person that God desires us to be.

But as Christians are we called to say that? Are we called to tell people this in the midst of their struggles? Or are we called to be with them in their struggles and share in their journey at that point? I don’t have any answers to this one, so I guess I will have to give it some more thought and time. Please feel free to share with me your thoughts as well.

It was announced today, in honor of Valentine’s Day, that Ken and Barbie are a couple once again.  Apparently Barbie announced this change in their relationship status on her Facebook.  Yes, take a second and let it sink in that Barbie has a facebook.

Apparently after Ken and Barbie reunited on the set of Toy Story 3, they have been so enamored with one another they couldn’t stand their seven year break-up any longer.

Yep, I am writing a post about toys being in relationships!

Happy Valentine’s Day everybody!