Hidden God

Mark 7:24-30 "And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden.

Jesus was a dangerous guy. He came wielding a sword of sorts. He talked about love and peace and how those things would split households and nations. Consider your respect demanded. Stories came from him about being born again. Remember, poor Nicodemus didn't have a context for that one. Jesus, the self-proclaimed Christ, hung out with the outcasts and beggars and hookers and tax collectors - all those folks we don't like to be seen with. Jesus made a name for himself. Next, he shows up at this house in the Hellenistic Gentile region wanting to hide. That's like Obama trying to hide in Canada, or Oprah in Texas. They would be found.
Obama and Oprah are famous. Of course that depends on who you talk to. Some might consider them infamous. Jesus was the same way. To those whom he healed, Jesus was famous. To the Pharisees and others who saw him ruining their lives, he was infamous. Either way, he couldn't hide. Some wanted him dead while others wanted to make him king. Still others just wanted an ear to listen to them, a hand to touch them, a heart to love them. He gave them all what they wanted and more, but for now, he wants to hide out and rest. If you read on, you find out why he couldn't make it happen.
He is dangerous and lovely and passionate and a downright mystery to us. Is that why we are trying to help him hide today? Look around at the churches in A -me-rica. Do they promote dying and carrying crosses and sacrifice? Not hardly. Every bookshelf in the Christian bookstore is crammed with self help, esteem boosting guru books. FYI, I know that God is the God of hope, but according to Romans 5, that hope comes through suffering. If we don't suffer, we don't need hope. Back to the hiding thing. We as a culture have covered Jesus in the cosmetic smorgasbord of romantic interest, buddy, daddy, and counselor. Yes, he's the wonderful counselor, and the Abba Father. He is also a king, a powerful lord, and the creator of the known and unknown universe. Where is our sense of wonder and fear and awe? We complain about unfair circumstances while he gives up his life for our screw ups! If life were fair, we'd all be dead right now. The fact is, no matter how much we try to hide and sidestep the truth about God, he cannot be hidden. Paul tells the Romans to look around because there is no excuse to deny Him. He's all around us, unhidden. He may be unseen, but he is not unknown.
When you feel like God's not around, remember this. Also remember that later in the passage, Jesus cast an unclean spirit from a Gentile girl right after he compared her to a dog. No matter how low we get, no matter how much we try to hide who God is under our excuses and justifications, he is faithful and just to forgive us. Even better, when we stop trying to hide him, people begin to see him in us as we change from glory to glory into his likeness. In that we fulfill our purpose.

Just a Test

I am testing a new feature on my blog. If you get this in your email and don't want to receive anymore, just drop me an email or a comment and let me know.
Justin

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It's a beautiful day,don't let it get away.

Living For: A Ramble

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 - 14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
I read somewhere once that it is easier to die for something than to live for it. Consider the life of the soldier. Carrying his gear, he marches across fields and awaits the moment when the rounds are whizzing around him and he must fight back. Despite training, I imagine there is still a sense of fear, of tension, that creeps in. Staying alive becomes difficult. Dying is easy. Fighting is the hard thing. Make a correlation to everyday life. The decisions that we make day to day affect our living and dying. Some are simple decisions such as whether or not to drive in the wrong lane on the freeway. Other decisions are more difficult, such as the decision to eat healthier and reject that appetite for sugar and fat. I want to apply this spiritually, though. Because of our rebellion against God, we deserve death (death is separation from God). We are born into that life, yet God made a way for us to avoid that separation. His son took that death for us. In a sick sort of irony, though, we are able to still accept that death. Accepting that death is easy. All it requires is following our earthly lusts. In America, we seem to reach for that death while still claiming to live for something. Usually, we claim to live for something in order to make ourselves feel better. In essence, we are only living for ourselves by dying.
Personally, I want to live for something greater than myself, and I want to do so by living. This is what Jesus meant when he told his disciples that all who discover their life will lose it, but all who lose it for his sake will surely find their life. This morning I read a reminder that life is not about us, but about God. So it is for Him that we should live. For Americans, this is difficult because we must give up so much. We just came out of the Christmas season, a season which is saturated in the selfish "gimme" attitude. I found myself wanting things, but not knowing what they were. This desiring has just become a part of who we are. In order to live for God, a lot of our own desires should be pushed aside.
Living for something requires choices, hard choices. Living for Christ requires very tough choices. Mostly, it requires putting everyone else before ourselves. As some have said: Jesus, Others, You = joy.
As I find myself in a time where I want to throw a hughe pity party, this concept of living for Christ becomes difficult. What makes it even more difficult is the fact that the change I seek is to be in a more full time ministry. I hear conflicting arguments. On the one hand, God wants us to be happy and joyful, so what he asks of us will not make us miserable. On the other hand, Jesus said that he did not come to bring peace, but a sword. Our following him won't be easy at all. We'll meet all kinds of fierce opposition (much worse than removing prayer from school). We will be arrested, stoned, tortured, ridiculed, etc. What Christ wants of us is to find joy in him, not in circumstances. The discussion I want to see happening is on this question: how do we find joy in Christ? How do we break free from circumstancial joy and rejoice even in our suffering? In other words, how do we live for Christ?

A Blog Post

Recently, opportunities and encouragements to write have been thrown my way. I am pondering these things in my heart as it were. I am grabbing the opportunities as they come. I am writing now. Unlike my last posts, this one will be less a devotional thought, more a journal entry. Thoughts in pixels for stranger and friend alike to read. Time is spent peering back at my life. I began an artist. I still sketch and draw from time to time. Later, I discovered that music is deeply rooted within me. Preaching is a part of my repertoire as well as teaching. Singing came later, but still is something I am good at. I have been a graphic artist in my life. In each of these varied activities I could get more detailed. My brother and I were in a band together for a while, then we played and led worship in a church together. We each continued to play but separately. I've been a part of a team that won a silver Addy award in advertising, but have designed things such as Yellow Page ads, too. There are two churches in Amarillo, TX that bear my logo designs on their signs. I have preached for a homeless mission, a large Baptist church and a very small Baptist church. Writing devotionals for my friends was done for quite some time in there somewhere. Currently I teach junior high English and Literature and high school Journalism. Now the encouragement is there to write on a higher level. You might call it a professional (though unpaid) level.
This is merely a list. It isn't meant to be an arrogant rant of my accomplishments. I've really done nothing the world might call spectacular or successful with these things. I am good at all of them, though. So what does someone with so many options do, especially when they are horrible at making decisions? I believe that all of these things, these gifts and talents, will be redeemed. When and where are not for me to know; God is sovereign. Finally, though, I know where my heart is and were I am heading. I am God's. He is the one I want to serve. My heart is his for his children, be they teenagers or adults or little ones. I know I'll be in more of a ministry (read as pastor of some sort) role somewhere down my road. For now I must remain obedient. Pray that I do not lose heart.