Most of us in the blog world receive spam messages within our comments.  Most of the time the “real readers” don’t see these because there are mechanisms built into the content management system (the thing that manages the blog) that block these from ever coming into the viewable world.  While I normally just skip over these and throw them in the virtual trash can.  Today, I will answer them back right here on the blog.  I highly encourage you to NOT go to any of the urls listed here.  So, without further ado, here are the comments along with my response:

*Comment on post “But Now I See” from “Jay Wasp” on May 4, 2011, email address:  dubstepdistrubution.com/blog/2011/104/kornskrillex…@scircle497@AOL.com says the following:  “Tickets for Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas begin selling this Saturday at noon.”

My Response:  Jay, thanks for the the heads up on the Electric Daisy Carnival Tickets.  I wasn’t aware of what an Electric Daisy was, nor that there was a Carnival celebrating it.  I checked out the website at http://www.electricdaisycarnival.com/LasVegas/ for information and found that it’s basically a 3 day dance festival.  I just don’t have the means to fly out to Vegas and pay $180 for the tickets, sorry.  Hopefully we can connect again some other time.  I always wanted to be friends with a guy with such a cool name…Jay Wasp, should do nicely.

*Comment on post “Not a Kinder Egg” from “TungKwooHoh” on May 3 2011, email address:  blog.xuite.net/ajdiedlknbkfjfheudnBonnavia@gmail.com says the following: “Recently I did a search on the issue and found a alot number of persons will agree with your blog?2″

My Response:  Dear TungKwooHoh, I think you’ve just taken the award for coolest name from Jay Wasp.  Also, What is with that email address, and how many hours a year do you waste trying to correctly give it out to people?  Anyway, I appreciate your seemingly kind comment, but I was wondering if I could get a bit of clarity on it.  Are you trying to ask me whether people agree with me that freaking out over a chocolate egg that contains toys is ridiculous?  It seems that you’re not really asking a question, but then you ended with a question mark that really threw me off.  Also, that number “2″ at the end was just confusing.  I’d really like to converse with you on this topic, but it would help if you could clarify those things for me.  Thanks!

*Comment on post “The King” from “Web Designers, Hosting Companies, Nigeria Resellers” on May 4, 2011, email address:  Curl88108@yahoo.com says the following:  “Yeah I agree & I couldn’t have said it better.  keep it up“

*My Response:  Hey Web Designers, Hosting Companies, Nigera Resellers!  Long time no talk/see.  I sent you $5,000 about a year ago and didn’t hear back from you.  I was wondering if that guaranteed investment you got me into went south seeing as I didn’t hear back from you.  I see that you’re also doing Web Design and Hosting?  I could use a new company to host my websites through and I’m wondering what packages you may offer?  Also, thanks for the comment and the encouragement to keep persevering with my writing.  Sometimes it can be draining, and it’s so nice to be encouraged from a friend and business partner.  You keep it up as well my friend.

“I was blind but now I see.” I just got my first official pair of glasses in the mail yesterday.  I quickly opened the package to reveal my new set of eyes.  The first pair of glasses that I opened were brown, and I was confused at first because I specifically didn’t want brown glasses.  However, those were my wife’s pair and underneath that pair was another.  As I opened my case I had a sense of excitement and mystery as my 28 years of seeing the world in one way was about to come to an end.  I picked up my black “church planting glasses,” as my wife calls them, and put them over my eyes and was immediately floored by the results.  The world looked so much different, so clear, so precise. I was ecstatic to take a walk with Toby that night and look at the fine details on the neighboring houses, read the street signs, and admire God’s creation in a way that I haven’t since I got my Five Fingers.

As I walked I couldn’t help but wonder how long I had thought the world looked one way when it really looked another.  I didn’t think I needed new lenses in which to properly see the world, but apparently I did.  See, things started getting a little fuzzy in my right eye a couple years back.  I admit, I’m not a person that frequents doctor or hospital visits of any kind, unless of course my arm is falling off or if I accidentally stab myself with a knife (true story for another time).  However, I finally gave in to my wife’s request and went to see an eye doctor.  He confirmed that my right eye was in need of a new lens.  Even though I agreed with him, I wasn’t convinced that a new lens would make much difference.  I was wrong.

Worldview.  C.S.Lewis famously stated, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” I have an entirely new respect for this quote and the many others pertaining to the concept of our worldview being seen through new and different lenses.  We’re all jaded a bit.  Whether at times it’s from our nature or nurturing process can be debated, but there’s no question that you and I see the world in a specific way for specific reasons.  If everyone is at some level trying to answer the question of, “why are we here / for what purpose?” we shouldn’t be shocked that we come up with varying answers having grown up differently and having had different experiences. This is why C.S.Lewis’ quote is even more forthright and powerful.  Lewis knows that differing options on life’s most important questions is frustrating, and he is proclaiming that it is through Christianity, the lens of Scripture, that he will choose to view the world and the totality of creation.

When I place the new lenses of my black church planter glasses over my eyes I’m able to see the world differently.  Much the same, the more I study and interact with Scripture I’m able to see the world in a new way.  Many will fight the fact that they require a new lens, mostly because we believe that our way of viewing the world is better than Gods.  It will take humility to ask for a new pair, but we have a Savior ready to bestow them upon us if we are willing. I’m thankful for this daily physical reminder that should help me to recall that, “In the total expanse of human life there is not a single square inch of which the Christ, who alone is sovereign,does not declare,’That is mine!’” (A.Kuyper)

A Genuine Disciple…Has a Scripture Lens

It’s interesting that Matthew accounts the story of Jesus within the wilderness directly after his baptism (Matthew 4).  I find it also important to note that it is the Spirit that leads Jesus into the wilderness to be tested (v1).  One may also see the connection with 40 days and 40 nights to other stories within the Text (Noah, the Exodus, Elijah).   The wilderness is a difficult place. It’s full of hardships and it requires a certain level of trust in God to provide for us.  There are many stories that take place within the wilderness throughout the Text.  One of the things they all have in common is that testing and difficulties come while being there.  However, God is faithful even within the wilderness and we see Him using it as a means to growing, shaping, and molding a people for Himself.

Jesus is brought into the wilderness before He goes out to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom.  While in the wilderness he is tempted just as we are throughout our lives.  While there, He is forced to answer 3 questions, of which he uses the Text to answer with.  First, “What sustains Him?” He answers with proclaiming that it is God’s Word that sustains Him.  Second, “What controls Him?” Jesus answers with proclaiming that is God who controls life, His safety.  Finally, we see Jesus answer the question of, “What governs His life?” Jesus boldly announces that everything is for God’s glory.  Satan is trying to get Jesus to trip up (sin) by playing into the desires that each person is born with.  Humanity says that it is our efforts and things of this world that ultimately sustain us.  It is actually our own selves that control circumstances and final outcomes.  It is about us, and promoting our glory in the world, not Gods.  Interesting to note though, Jesus answers exactly the opposite way that mankind has answered since sin entered the world.  Throughout Matthew’s Gospel we see that where God’s people have failed in testing and temptation, Jesus will not.

40 days and 40 nights.  Matthew gives us a time frame.  I can’t help but think that this must have been the weakest time of Jesus’ life prior to hanging on the cross:  Physically drained, mentally tired, emotionally hurting.  Jesus was fully human just as you and me.  Matthew even states in verse 2 that “Jesus was hungry.”  Of course he was, he hadn’t eaten in 40 days!  However, no matter how tired and hurt Jesus was, he was able to overcome it all.  As one writer puts it, “Jesus recognized that Satan’s suggestion entailed depriving God of his exclusive claim to worship: neither God’s “son” Israel nor God’s “Son” Jesus may swerve from undivided allegiance to God himself (See Exod 23:20-33; Deut 6:13). So Jesus responded with a third “it is written” and banished Satan from his presence. The time would come when Jesus’ expanding kingdom would progressively destroy the kingdom Satan had to offer (12:25-28;  Luke 10:18). The day still lies ahead when King Messiah’s last enemy is destroyed (1Cor 15:25-26). But Jesus achieves it all without compromising his filial submission to the Father.”

We serve a King who has been tempted just as we are/have been (Hebrews 4:15).  He identifies with our hardships even within the wilderness.  However, we are reminded even in difficult times that it is God’s Word that sustains us, that it is God who controls all of creation, and that everything is to be governed by God.  The lens in which I view the world, or my worldview, must be oriented around these truths. My hope is that even in the wilderness, my lens will be clear so that I might remember and walk in these truths.

I’ve been known to enjoy a good cup of joe.  While I prefer my french press over everything else, I sometimes settle for stopping in at Starbucks.  However, earlier this week I was appalled by the hypocrisy of this west-coast coffee empire.  Starbucks claims to be all about the “green movement,” which I applaud for any company.  They even have gone as far as dedicating a portion of their website to the cause, and they’ve placed their claims all over their merchandise.  So as I went to recycle my giant/thick plastic Starbucks cup, I was shocked when the lady told me they don’t have recycling.  What?!  I want to be the one coordinating Starbuck’s “green movement.”  Lets all start by making it mandatory to recycle at each of our locations.  Until I get offered the job, here is what I’ll do with the leftover cup:

Each Saturday my friend Wile E. Coyote and I would gather at my house and go through our routine.  Wile would run after a certain bird called the Road Runner.  We hated that dumb thing. Wile tried everything imaginable to capture him.  Physically exhausting and mentally draining activities went into our one goal, to kill the Road Runner.  Wile spent his entire life chasing that Road Runner, while I got over it after a couple years.  It was a futile cause, it’s as if God himself wanted the Road Runner to stay alive.  I’m still not sure how Wile stayed alive after falling off large cliffs, being crushed by numerous anvils, getting run over by a train, and even getting hit by a plane.  I’m sure it’s all real, since TV never lies, so consider me confused.

“Insanity:  doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”  This quote is attributed to Albert Einstein, however I question that his name wasn’t just later attached to this saying.  However, I wholeheartedly agree with this definition.  How many times do we find ourselves doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results? I do it all the time, and it drives me crazy when I finally come to realize that I’m doing it.  You know how many times I’ve tilled a strip in our backyard without putting new grass down and watering it properly?  Three, that’s how many.  You know how many times weeds have grown back in that dirt?  Three, that’s how many.  Stupid…Insane.  I’ve been wanting to lose 20lbs now for over a year, but have done absolutely nothing about it.  I just keep carrying on and hoping that one day I’ll wake up and it will have happened.  Stupid…Insane.

In Matthew 3, John the Baptist comes with a message of repentance.  A similar message that we see Jesus continue in Matthew 4.  Repentance, I’m sure most of us associate it with phrases like, “turning over,” “changing directions,” dying to self,” but today I want to view it as “anti-insanity.”  John the Baptist and Jesus are well aware that the kingdom has come near, and in light of God’s purposes being fulfilled in Jesus, people are being called to come to him and change the way in which they live (see Sermon on the Mount Matt 5-7).  People are living mostly for themselves, and obviously this hasn’t changed much over the past 2,000 years.  However, throughout history it’s clear that living in rhythm with God’s design for creation has heeded great results, while living out of that rhythm has only caused brokenness.  I find it darkly humorous when I read articles proclaiming that we need to trust in humanity more and that mankind holds the answers.  Humanity holds no answers without God’s wisdom/action.

“For things to change someone somewhere has to start acting differently.”  The world keeps doing the same things and expecting different results.  The church and scholarly institutions keep doing the same things and expecting different results.  I keep doing the same things and expecting different results.  We’re all insane and in great need of learning the art of repentance.  I believe this is why John and Jesus come with this message at the forefront.  In order to actually accept the grace that we have been given, in order to actually be capable of living differently, we must acknowledge that the things we have thought and the ways that we have lived are insane.  Humanity does not hold the answers, but in fact Jesus and His kingdom do.  Repentance than is anti-insanity, it is a continual process of redirecting the heart and mind to the purposes of our King. Like Wile we’ll probably find ourselves running back off the same cliffs, dropping anvils on our enemies, and possibly getting hit by a plane now and again.  However, we’ve been given a new avenue to go down.  We’ve been given insights into the foundations of creation.  We don’t have to continue pursuing the Road Runners in our lives, whatever they may be.  Now the question remains whether we’ll choose insanity or will we learn the art of repentance?

A Genuine Disciple…Learns Repentance

Misconceptions, we all have them.  The first car that I purchased was a red sports car, a Dodge Stealth.  It was a great looking car that may or may not have topped out at 120mph down highway 131.  It took me all of 3 seconds to purchase that car once I had laid eyes on it.  I knew that my life would never be the same.  Friends would want to be seen driving around town with me.  My calendar would obviously be immediately booked up for the next 6 months with beautiful girls desiring a chance to spend time with me.  Cops wouldn’t bother pulling me over knowing full well that I could outrun them.  Yup, life would be so much better now that the Stealth had entered my life.

Of course, none of those things became true.  The car didn’t gather any more friends for me than I had.  Girls still didn’t want to go out with me because I wasn’t the nicest or most flattering guy.  Cops had no trouble pulling me over, in fact, they managed to not only pull me over 4 times in a span of 3 months, but to levy fines for each one as well.  The transmission blew on the car as well, costing me $1500 to fix.  Although, that didn’t matter since I couldn’t afford the insurance on it anymore.  Yup, not long after I got the Stealth I needed to kiss her goodbye…worst investment ever!

In Matthew 3 we see a righteous man of God going about the business of God.  In Matthew 11 Jesus says this about John the Baptist, “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist…”  Matthew desires us to see the connections between John the Baptist and Elijah.  He gives two identifiers of Camel’s Hair & a Belt (See 2 Kings 1:8).  It’s also confirmed by Jesus that John is coming in the spirit of Elijah preparing the way for the Messiah (See 11:10-14, 17:10-13).  John’s message is one of repentance for the kingdom of heaven is at hand/drawn near.  The moment that God’s people have been waiting for is upon them, and John is calling them to turn from their current ways of living and to roll their paths on to God’s.  Much of Matthew’s gospel focuses on how Jesus lives.  In John the Baptist we see a character who is not just calling people to cognitively turn, but to do so holistically.  John the Baptist is calling people to live differently in light of the Messiah and the kingdom being upon them.

There were many beliefs in what the agenda of the Messiah was going to be, and how exactly the agenda would be carried out.  In fact, many times these beliefs aided in separating some of the prominent groups of Jewish people (among many other reasons).  I don’t have time to get into the various separations, but there are various books/sources that discuss these groups (Essenes, Pharisees, Zealots, Sadducees).  John saw the coming of Jesus as a time not only of healing and freedom, but of judgement.  Which actually makes a lot of sense when reading the Old Testament prophets.  In fact, if I were there in that time I most likely would have anticipated the same of the Messiah. However, these were John’s misconceptions.

John’s thoughts on this new exodus, where God would deliver his people and lead them back to Jerusalem has some misconceptions.  It will happen, but not in the timeframe John is thinking, not how John is thinking, and not with the people John is thinking.  Every tree that doesn’t bear fruit will indeed be cut down and thrown into the fire (v10), just not when John is thinking or how John is thinking.  Jesus will gather his wheat into the barn and burn up the chaff, but again, not in John’s timeframe.  Jesus’ mission and vision for the kingdom is much larger than Johns.  More grace is available in Jesus’ vision, more time is given, more people are included, more creation is restored.  Jesus affirms this in Luke 4 when reading the scroll of Isaiah.  The Spirit is with Him, the good news is preached, freedom is proclaimed, sight is restored, the oppressed are released, the year of the Lord’s favor is proclaimed (v18-19).  However, judgement is not mentioned.  Again, in Matthew 11 John’s disciples come and ask Jesus if he is the Messiah since John has his doubts seeing as he is stuck in prison and Jesus isn’t conquering/judging the land as John had supposed. Jesus’ answer includes many of the items from Luke 4, but Jesus adds, “Blessed is the man who does no fall away on account of me.”

We all have misconceptions from time to time.  Many times I have these conceptions of God.  Thoughts on how God should/will respond in a particular situation.  Who God is/should be.  However, there are many times where God proves in the Text and through experience in walking with Him that He is anything but some of my held conceptions.  I can get upset sometimes and frustrated by this, but when I’m thoughtful about it, I’m led to joy.  Only then can I realize that Jesus’ grace is still much deeper than I can imagine.  There are more people invited/involved than I realize or can accept at times.  The process of recreation touches more areas than I could imagine. I feel as if the words to John are still echoing true today: “Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.”  Our hearts have to be open to the fullness of the kingdom, one that Jesus has ushered in by fulfilling all righteousness.  Unlike the Dodge Stealth, investment in this kingdom will not disappoint.  It is more than we can ask or imagine.