Dissonance

I want to talk about Jonah for just a bit. Jonah was a prophet of God. We know very little about Jonah. He was a prophet of God during the reign of Jeroboam II (2 Kings 14:25). He also was called by God to go to the city of Ninevah and "cry out against it, for their wickedness has come up before 'God' (Jonah 1). During this time, Ninevah was a "great city". It was the capital of the Assyrian Empire. God called Jonah to travel up to a pagan, Gentile, capital city and rebuke them and tell them to turn their lives around. And Jonah decides he does not want to do it, so he runs away from God. Here is the dissonance! Dissonance is anything that is in conflict. We often use this term with musical notes. Example, your band or choir teacher tells you to play or sing a C, but instead you play a C# (C sharp). There is dissonance and you can hear it! It sounds awful. The sound is not in harmony and you can tell.



At this point Jonah had a dissonant ministry. It was not in harmony with God's calling. Instead he decides to head for Tarshish. Some people believe that Tarshish is a far off location on the coast of Spain and some believe to be closer to Israel. But wherever it is, Jonah decides to flee "from the presence of the Lord".



Why did Jonah decide to do this? Did he really think that he could "flee" from God's presence? Was this just an act of pure rebellion? Was he afraid of the city of Ninevah? We learn later that he wanted God to judge the people of Ninevah for their wickedness. Jonah did not want God to forgive them. Wow!! I heard a speaker one time say that Jonah didn't want the people of Ninevah to repent because they were so wicked, he wanted them to be judged, kind of like a Jewish person living in New York City (during WWII era) gets a calling from God to go to Berlin and ask the German army to repent. But instead they flee to San Francisco because they want the Nazis to receive the consequences they deserve.



This is a huge calling for Jonah. Not only was Jonah called to travel to a foreign city, he was was asked to forgive the people of Ninevah himself. Sometimes we are negative towards Jonah and think 'why did he flee, why didn't he just trust and follow God?' It's easy for us to think this, because most of us have never been asked by God to go to Bagdhad or Kabul and tell the Iraqi/Afghan militants to turn towards God.



But how many times have we decided to rebel against God's calling? How many times have we decided not to give to a person holding a sign saying "I'm hungry God Bless". How many times have we decided not to talk to a particular friend about their inappropriate relations with their boy/girlfriend? How many times have we given in to gossip about someone? How many times have we decided not to go into a mission field because of discomfort? How many times have we decided to talk back to our parents because they made us mad 2 hours before? Whatever the case may be, it's dissonance. It is rebelling against God's calling. It is out of harmony with God. And whatever discomfort may come, remember God is the "God of all comfort" (2 Cor 1:3).



Jonah 4:9-11

Then God said to Jonah, "Do you have good reason to be angry about the plant?" And he said, "I have good reason to be angry, even to death." Then the LORD said, "You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight. "Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?"

I was a T-ball All Star!!

I have sitting in my office, two trophies. Trophies that I have had for almost 25 years. One of those trophies is back when I played T-ball in Rosebud on the Rosebud Lumber team. The other is when I played in Rosebud for Mr. BBQ. Those were great times! Since I grew up right accross the road from the baseball fields, baseball was a part of my life. Anytime we had any free time, we went to Burns and Hoelshcer Fields. I was very fortunate to be able to play numerous games of ball on those fields. But those trophies in my room are a reminder of that part of my life. A time when I had no worries, few responsibilities (not compared to today), and just a carefree attitude and passion for playing the game. It did not matter if I actually got to play the exact postition I wanted or if I hit any home runs during a game of derby, because I just wanted to be on the field with my friends.

Another part of my life, I grew up in a church building. This building had been around for 50 years when I was a child. This church had a legacy of faith. The people who made up this church looked out for me. They taught me God's Word. They cried with us when our grandparents had passed away. They threw my parents a 25th Wedding Anniversary. They helped my parents raise my two siblings and myself. And as I write, I look around my office and notice that I don't really have any memorabilia to represent that part of my life. But I don't need any trophies. I have Jesus!! He has shaped who I am. It wasn't the game of baseball that taught me determination, passion for life, or commitment. It wasn't my church that taught me the Word of God or hosted a party for my parents. It was God! It has always been God! It was Him working through those people. It was Him! It was Him who got me involved with FCA in high school. It was Him who guided me to become a youth minister. It was Him working through the game of baseball that taught me those characteristics.

Trophies, who needs trophies?

I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds. Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? Psalm 77:11-13

A Call to Radical Discipleship

The following is an excerpt taken from the book Unchristian.

If we belong to Jesus Christ, we have a double calling in relation to the world. On the one hand, we are to live, serve, and witness in the world and not try to escape from it. On the other hand, we are to avoid being contaminated by the world. So we have no liberty either to preserve our holiness by escaping from the world or to sacrifice our holiness by conforming to the world.

Escapism and comformism are both forbidden to us. This is one of the major themes of the whole Bible, namely that God is calling out a people for himself and is summoning us to be different from everybody else. "Be holy as I am holy".

The foundational theme recurs in all sections of scripture. Let me give you an example from each. God said the people through Moses: "You must not do as they do in the land of Egypt where you used to live, nor as they do in the land of Canaan to which I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the Lord your God" (Lev. 18:3-4) Similarly God says through Ezekiel, "You have not followed my decrees, but have conformed to the standards of the nations around you" (Ezekiel 11:12).

It is similar in the New Testament. Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke of the hypocrites, "Do not be like them......(Matt. 6:8). Finally the apostle Paul wrote to the Roman Christians: "Do not conform any longer any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed" (Romans 12:2).

Here then is God's call to a radical discipleship, to a radical nonconformism to the surrounding culture. It is a call to develop a Christian counterculture. The followers of Jesus, for example, are not to give in to pluralism, which denies the uniqueness and lordship of Jesus, nor be sucked into materialism or become led astray into ethical relativism, which says there are no moral absolutes.

This is God's call to his people to be different. We are not to be like reeds shaken by the wind, as Jesus said, but to be like rocks in a mountain stream; to be like fish floating with the stream, but to swim against the stream - even cultural mainstream.

We are faced, in fact, with two cultures, two value systems, two standards, and two lifestyles. Which shall we choose? If we are not to be like chameleons, changing color to suit our surroundings, what are we to be like? The answer is that we are to be like CHRIST!! The eternal and ulitmate purpose of God by his Spirit is to make us like Christ.

- John Stott

Are you bored?

If you are ever bored for a little while and need something to watch, check these out:

Evil Baby Laugh

Dog Attacks Shark

Devil Cat

I Work at Subway

Who Am I

The Crazy Song

Get Down by Audio Adrenaline

Brush your Teeth

School Begins!!

One of my favorite movies is Ferris Buellers Day Off. I love that movie for several reasons, but I like it because it speaks of a group of students ditching class for a day. Nah just kidding!! I like it because throughout the movie it tells a message that I think we can learn. Ferris makes all kinds of plans not to get caught for skipping. He sets up his bed, actually his whole house so that when the principal comes by to see where he is, it would make it seem like he really is home (which he is not).

And I use that analogy to express a true and simple fact about us. You are going back to school. And a number of you have seen God work in wonderful ways this summer! But are you going to make it seem that God has no place within you? Are you going to make it seem like He is residing in your heart, but He really is not there?

My suggestion to you would be to walk the walk and talk the talk.

BB

Washable Markers

All night last night, I couldn't really sleep. I could not sleep because I kept thinking about the activity we did during Bible Class, and where I was during the whole process of cleaning up my mess. During class I had you write with washable markers on the floor a number of sins. Sins from several passages and are sins where people struggle. Seriously struggle. Then I had you go around with a toothbrush and scrub them off the floor or a paper towel and wipe them off. During this activity we got all kinds of involvement and below is a list of what the adults and myself saw:

1. Some enjoyed the part when writing on the floor and did it with a great attitude, but did not like it when asked to clean it off, especially with a toothbrush.
2. Some wrote on the floor, then let the others clean up their mess with no effort from you.
3. Some wrote on the floor and cleaned up without any complaining.
4. Some wanted to stand and watch others do everything.
5. Some only wrote half the words on the paper, then cleaned up half as well.
6. Some were excited the whole time.
7. Some when asked to clean, said they needed to do something else.
8. Some cleaned their mess, then looked for other places to clean.
9. Some asked others to help and you cleaned together.

And the reflections that I made to you were about our journey with God. Because the truth of it is we all have made a mess in our journey. Sometimes we get off path. But God asks us to clean up our mess by asking forgiveness and turning on the right road that leads to Him. And when God asks us to clean it up, what is your response? Is it any of the above 9 observations from last night? Do you get excited about making a mess, then sigh because God asks you to clean it up? Do you stand back and watch others work hard at trying to clean up your mess? Do you do what you are asked without complaining? Do you clean your own mess then look for others? Do you give God half of your full effort?

I could not sleep last night, (not because Elijah woke up and woke us up) but I kept thinking where I was on the journey. So at 5:30 am today, I was guided to a conclusion. And now I am glad that I was awake. Tired, but glad! Maybe God wanted me up most of the night to bring me to this point where I can make true reflections on my life. And I have to ask, where are you?

Matthew 7:13, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

BB

Large Crowds Followed

In what avenues do large crowds gather today? Sporting events, Olympics, concerts, musical festivals, church worship or events, opening day for Harry Potter or Twilight, and the list goes on. But what is it that large crowds are attracted to? Good music, entertainment, new intriguing storylines, people, and the list goes on.

On a whimsical thought today, I looked in the Bible and searched for the phrase "large crowds". And guess what..... they all were about Jesus. The large crowds were following Jesus. Why were they following Jesus? Some followed Jesus because they wanted to get healed. We see this in Matthew 8:1-4. Some followed Jesus because they wanted to be entertained. They wanted to see him perform miracles. Some followed because they truly believed He was the Son of God and they were interested in His teachings. Some followed to catch Him in His words, so they could bring accusations against Him. And the list goes on..... But for the most part large crowds followed because there was something about Jesus that people desired. "He taught as one who had authority....." (Mt 7:29), He had compassion on people (Mt 9:36), He fed people (Mt 14), He fed people spiritually, and the list goes on.

Why do you follow Jesus? Do you follow because you want to be entertained? Do you follow because your friends do? Do you follow because you want good food at church potlucks? And the list goes on.

BB

The Bear Necessities

Today, Elijah convinced me to watch The Jungle Book with him. You know how you watch something your whole life and never get the real message of the movie til you are about ohhhh....let's say 29. Well that was me today.

Moguely (sp) has grown up his whole life living with the wolves. When word gets to the wolves that Shir Khan (the tiger) is coming back in the area, they decide to send the "man cub" back to the "man village". So the black panther (don't know his name right now) volunteers to take him to the village, so he can grow up with a normal human upbringing. Along the way he encounters several animals that detour his journey. Some want to capture him and take him back to live with them or eat him. One friend that finds Moguely is Balou. Balou is a big bear who becomes his friend...............oh what do I keep writing this, you probably have seen it. Now let me get to my point.

At the end, Shir Khan locates the man cub and wants to eat or kill him. As he is about to do so, Balou comes and rescues Moguely. Moguely gets away unharmed, but Balou fights a tiger and loses......well Balou doesn't die, he is just badly injured. Anyway while Balou is lying on the ground........the black panther begins to talk with Moguely about how Balou fought for his safety and that's what friends do. He then quotes John 15:13, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

Of all my years of watching this movie, I never recognized that quote in this story. I don't know what was happening in my ADHD mind that I could have missed that......oh wait the Sonic commercial is on right now, man I love these things, those guys are so funny........oh yeah sorry about that. Back to my blog. "Greater love has no one that this, that he lay down his life for his friends." Just a couple verses later Jesus, as he is talking with his apostles, no longer calls them his servants he calls them his FRIENDS, because they know his master's business.

How many times have you told another person to "stay out of my business"? How many times have you said that to someone you love? I can remember several times, telling my parents that. You know their response......"You are my business!" What is our "master's business"? Luke 19:10: The Son of Man came to seek and save that which was lost. You are His business. I am His business. The person sitting next to you at your lunch table is Jesus' business. The teacher who you dislike sooooo much is His business. And maybe the only way they or you will know that is that you are a true FRIEND to them.

Live it,
BB