Sanctified?

Most people remember Daniel as the guy who God rescued from the lion’s den. It’s a story of the amazing power of God, of God’s love and protection for His people. But we often forget about WHY Daniel was in the lion’s den. It was because of his holiness – his refusal to bow down to the King and his insistence and persistence in prayer and devotion to his God. And it was because of his holiness that God rescued him.

Earlier in the book of Daniel, we see the same behavior from Daniel – he is selected to serve in King Nebuchadnezzar’s court and given choice food and wine from the king’s table. But Daniel refuses to “defile himself” with the royal food and instead asks for just vegetables and water for himself and three of his friends. And at the end of ten days, they looked healthier than everyone who ate the royal food, and God had blessed them all with wisdom and understanding. So Nebuchadnezzar gave them a special exemption, allowing them to continue to eat only veggies and water and remain in his service. And:

“In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.”

So…Daniel was blessed by God for his holiness and devotion to God’s ways, for his refusal to bow down to the king of Babylon. And Nebuchadnezzar saw the power of God at work in Daniel, and later, after Daniel interpreted one of his dreams, he bowed down to pay homage to Daniel and his God:

Daniel 2:46-47
Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him. The king said to Daniel, "Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery."

I’ve been reading Shane Claiborne’s “Jesus for President” lately and he seems to be asking some of the same questions. Claiborne and his co-author Chris Haw start the book by taking us through the history of God’s people – starting with the Jews in before the Exodus and going all the way through early years of the Christian church. In their study of history, they continually point out the fact that God was calling His people to be holy, to be set apart, so that they could be a light to the nations and bring God’s Kingdom on Earth. But this was always a struggle – against the culture around them and against their human nature – and time after time, God’s people failed. They became tainted by the culture around them, failed to live up to God’s high moral and ethical standards, and traded God’s ways for the ways of man. And so, bad stuff happened.

Do I show the same devotion to holiness that Daniel did? Am I committed to being set apart, keeping myself purified from the “kingdom” around me? Am I an example of holiness and of God’s power because of my devotion to God? Am I living in God’s Kingdom or the kingdom of man? How would God bless me if I chose to sanctify myself? What would holiness look like in my life?

Testimony

Over the last week or so, I've been talking to some friends and co-workers about my faith. These friends are not Christians and they both seem to believe that Christians on the whole are loony, deluded, insane and/or very misguided. I've known their stance on faith for quite some time, but I frequently try to steer some of our conversations towards faith to better understand why they feel the way they do and to find opportunities to share what I believe. So...

Last week, these friends asked me "Why do you believe what you believe?" and instead of standing up and proudly "giving my testimony", I was speechless. I guess I was surprised by the question but the circumstances didn't help - the forum in which we were talking (the main cafeteria of a very large US company) wasn't really the most appropriate place to provide an in-depth explanation of my faith, and I was already late for a meeting when they asked this question. So, I took some time later that day to put "the short version" on paper and sent it to them via email. Here's what I wrote:

I went to church with my family up until about the age of 10. Then my family moved to Illinois and my Mom couldn't find a suitable new church, so we just stopped going. But my Mom continued to reinforce the concepts of faith throughout my formative years, so I guess I just always knew that there was a God out there somewhere. Then I went to college and did what most college kids do - feel free to fill in the blanks. :-)

Towards the end of my college days, I became good friends with some people who I later discovered were Christians and they started sharing some of their faith with me. We shared some common ground, but I had a hard time really believing in what I couldn't see and touch with my hands, and I really didn't want to "give up my good life". But as we talked and I came to know them better and I started really thinking about all of this stuff, God just started becoming clearer to me and I started to feel that maybe he was real after all. So I started digging (reading the Bible and asking more questions) and at some point I just decided that the doubts I had didn't outweigh the evidence that I did have. So I "took the plunge".

Since that time, I've continued to dig and ask questions and God has become more real to me every day. Some days, I have big doubts and hard questions. But the good things that have happened in my life, the difficulties that I have overcome and the strength that I have found in my faith and through my faith, are simply too real to ignore. So I keep moving forward, seeking and searching.

After I shared this with these friends, they asked for clarification about the "evidence" that caused me to ultimately make my decision to follow Christ. Here's what I provided:

- Changed lives - my own, my family, friends and acquaintances. Faith in God and/or the application of that faith just seems to work. Yeah, there are a LOT of unhappy Christians and not everything works out as we'd like it to, but I've seen some pretty amazing stuff that points pretty clearly towards the supernatural. Another way to put it - following God produces results. Examples available upon request.

- Historical reliability of the Bible - belief in Jesus has been passed down for 2,000 years because of the testimony of a very small group of people who claim to have known Jesus personally and who thought it was important enough to travel the known world to tell the story and write down whatever they could "for posterity". A great deal of what these early witnesses claim about Jesus is captured in the book that we call "The Bible". The truthfulness of their testimony is verified by early historians, confirmed by modern archaeologists, and, despite criticism and attacks from every angle for 2,000 years (including many many attempts to wipe Christianity off the face of the earth), the central beliefs of the faith remain unchanged. If Jesus did live (which is almost universally accepted as true) and if the people who knew him and saw him were willing to die in the name of telling his story to others, it's not unreasonable to believe that a great deal of what they have to say just might be true.

So...I've been reviewing and re-thinking a lot of this over the past few days, and doing a lot of research in response to some of their follow-up questions and critiques, but I wanted to throw this on my blog "for posterity" ...and to see if either of my two readers has any feedback. :-) Let me know whatcha think. And if you want to share your "testimony", the floor is yours...

Culture Wars

Had a great conversation with some friends at lunch today about faith and delusion and science and truth. Well, maybe "great" isn'the right word...

These friends are NOT believers - one of them is a "hard core atheist" who thinks most Christians are deluded or stupid or both - so it was more like a small-scale assault...on me and Christianity in general. But, it was another opportunity to share some of what I believe and let these guys know that I am a real person who thinks about what I believe and, most importanly, respects what they believe and wants to understand where they stand. Please pray with me (and for me) as these conversations continue.

And then (not coincidentally), I read today's post on BST's blog. The whole intersection of faith and culture that is happening in the world today (in movies, music, the news) is mind-boggling. I hope and pray that God will help me to learn where I need to speak and where I need to be silent, when I need to shout and when I need to whisper, and when I need to act and when I need to stand by, waiting for God to open the door.

The Truth Shall Set You Free

What is truth? How do you define a "fact"? Is a "little white lie" really a lie at all? Several of my friends - Democrats by most definitions of the word - think that Hillary Clinton can't be trusted because she doesn't give the same answer twice and/or she doesn't take a solid stance on many key issues. It's not that she "lies" - she just doesn't seem honest.

I'm attending a class at church right now about science and faith and we're currently analyzing Creationism and evolution and all of that good stuff. This past week, we explored that history behind some of the issues in this debate - the age of the earth, the length of the days in Genesis 1 & 2, etc. - and we discussed the idea that some of the things that many of us hold dear, things that we believe are "Biblical", may in fact just be theories and/or interpretations that have been passed down throughout the generations. So that begs the question - do we take everything in the Bible literally, as "fact", or is some of it allegory, myth or other?

Is there really a single "Satan", or is he just one of many malevolent beings, fallen angels at odds with God? Will there only be 144,000 people raised from the dead during the End Times, or was that just a symbolic number? Do we really go to heaven when we die? Or are we waiting somewhere for Christ to return and then we'll be raised from the dead? Did God create the earth in 6 literal days (He rested on the 7th day), or did He create it slowly, over millions and millions of years? And most importantly, does the "right answer" to any of these questions really matter to our life and our faith in God?

I believe that the Bible and the Truth offered there is very mysterious. It's accessible to everyone, but it's also fully understood by nobody. My job is just to keep seeking and searching, reading the words that God has provided in the Bible and working with my Brothers and Sisters to decode and decrypt and unlock its secrets. And to pray continually that God will reveal His Truth to me more and more each day and that I will have the strength and the courage and the faith to accept the Truth, no matter how difficult it is. I also pray that God will help me to understand how His Truth relates to the truths of "the world" and give me the wisdom to know when to argue for His Truth and when to say "I just don't know."

Diversions

Two of my favorite diversions right now - disc golf and World of Warcraft - are also two of my biggest "stressors". Yeah, pretty sad, but true nonetheless. The root cause (a favorite phrase from work) is a common theme for me - I want to be excellent at everything I do. As a result, I push myself too hard and/or over-emphasize any criticism I receive. I'm constantly comparing myself to others and/or to "the ideal" and have a very hard time appreciating the small growth progressions that are a part of lifetime learning. Instead of enjoying the freedom of an early morning round on the disc golf course, feeling the breeze on my face and exulting at every good throw, I'm gauging the wind velocity and berating myself for every errant throw. Instead of reveling in the complexity and intracies of WoW, burning hours and blowing up monsters in a virtual world with real-life friends, I'm worried about how fast I'm leveling up, frustrated by every little tactical error I make and playing much more than I really want to, just so I can "keep up with the Joneses".

So...I guess I just need to relax. :-) I need to be realistic about my expectations and be clear about my goals with myself and with others. I've got a lot on my plate right now (see my previous post), so it's just not practical or possible to become an expert disc golf player, or uber elite WoW gamer, or become a master in any sport or leisure activity. So it's time to lower the bar and just ENJOY the good things and savor the many, many fun activities that I have available to me, and let go of "excellence". Ah....I can feel the stress melting away even as I type. Now I just need to remember this on Thursday night, and Sunday afternoon, and next Tuesday...

May your leisure-time be just that - LEISURE! Relaxation! And a sweet diversion from the realities and stresses of this world we live in. God created leisure for our benefit, so let's enjoy that blessing every chance we get!

Catching Up

So, why haven't I been blogging much lately? A variety of reasons come to mind (many related to creamed corn), but time has been the biggest factor. And I don't really have more time now, but I do have the need to organize my thoughts and/or solicit input and/or generate discussions on some of the topics I've been wrestling with, so I'm gonna try to make the time.

And speaking of time, here's a brain dump of what I've been doing lately (and what I WANT to be doing)...

* Things I'm Doing

• Doing my best to be positive and productive at work, even when many around me are not
  

• Developing friendships with co-workers and other people who are not from my church
  

• Continually striving to innovate and invigorate the worship atmosphere at my church
  

• Playing disc golf as often as I can (once a week at present)
  

• Playing World of Warcraft once a week with a "regular group"
  

• Playing with my kids as much as I can, savoring these days when I'm still cool in their eyes
  

• Meeting with a friend and mentor once a week to share our lives, encourage one another and dream big dreams
  

• Paying off debts at an alarming rate
  

* Things I Want to Be Doing

• Spending more Quality Time with my wife and kids
  

• Going out on dates with my wife more often
  

• Writing a cappella arrangements of some of my favorite worship songs
  

• Learning more new songs with the Worship Team
  

• Learning to play guitar
  

• Brushing up on my piano
  

• Getting to know my neighbors better
  

• "Shining" at work (instead of blending in)
  

• Reading my Bible daily
  

• Reading other books (for spiritual growth and leisure)
  

• Completing home improvement projects (kitchen, bathroom, basement, exterior paint, landscaping, lawn care)
  

• Playing more WoW and disc golf
  

• Buying a Wii
  

How about you?

I'm Not Dead Yet!

It's been a while since my last post (4 months, to be exact), but I'm still alive and kicking and brimming with thoughts. So maybe it's time to resurrect this blog so I can start putting this stuff "on paper" - both for posterity and for conversation's sake. I often think of blogs as a communication medium, a place where ideas can be shared and discussed. But if nobody reads your blog (or if you don't make it public), a blog is really just an electronic diary, isn't it? And if you don't blog on a regular basis, a conversational blog can quickly turn into a static diary, can't it? And then I wonder...

Last week, Jeanna decided to "clean out" her old blog, mostly because she wanted to move on and purge some old memories. So I wondered if her blog was on paper, in a real-life diary, would she have burned t or thrown it away? Don't most people hold on to old memories, both good and bad, "for posterity"? Or do we only want to hold on to the good stuff? Isn't there something to be learned from bad memories, reminding us of the mistakes we made and the pain we felt? Maybe keeping a record of the bad times will prevent us from repeating them, or help us to teach others not to make the same mistakes?

OK, so...that's what I've got today. I'm gonna try to make blogging a "regular thing" again, so if you're reading this, check back soon to see if I can keep the momentum going. There are a LOT of things bouncing around in my head right now and I'm hoping that putting them on paper will be both cleansing and educational. Or maybe it'll just be an electronic record of things that should have just died in my brain...like that recipe for chocolate-covered pickles that I was developing...