Marketing

As a marketing major, the goal of this industry is to do everything in order find, get, and keep a customer or constituency. As DJ talked about the slogan of Radio Shack and his mind while flipping through a Sky Mall magazine my thoughts were running around with the ways the marketers like myself have my mind each and every day. The world doesn't just tell me what I need, but it tells me the stuff that I didn't know I need.

This dilemma shows up every time that I walk into Target. I need deodorant so that I don't stench up the world, but I get distracted by the clothes, the candy, and other goods as I make my way in that direction. The fact that in order to get to the groceries in Target is not just a coincidence. It was a decision made with a purpose in order to draw the attention of shoppers and encourage them to buy more. When you think about it, deodorant is a product of the early 20th century and it took the work of marketers to convince people that we stink and should cover up that smell with a more positive smell.

All of the things that we can purchase on this earth will only leave us with the feeling of needing more. Jesus provides us with the greatest value proposition of all "Drink from the living water and have eternal life" What more do we need than that? This should be the easiest thing in the world to market! IT should be easy to run a campaign that promises eternity in heaven, but the problem is that as DJ mentions in regards to credit cards as a culture we continue to take the waiting out of wanting.

Choosing to pursue Jesus is the definition of delayed gratification. Every Mikey that is cleaned at 3 as a barney is a choice to stoop lower and build up a future kingdom. Every knot that is retied in the scorching heat is a choice to stoop lower and build up a future kingdom. I am looking for the ways now that I can break free from the worldly marketing, to stoop lower and build up a future kingdom both as I prepare today and as I serve this summer.

"It is more blessed to give than it is to receive"

Bummed to miss out on Barney training. Been praying for the team and excited to take the next step towards summer with Driver training this next weekend!

the anecdote for coveting

I absolutely felt filled this morning as I listened to this sermon. The idea that giving is the answer to my desire to covet things that aren't mine is something I needed a reminder of.

Some takeaways:

1. All of the hunger and panting is a symptom of my hunger and panting for the Lord. Therefore, my mission should be to redirect my anxieties about these longings and turn it into anxiety to find God and His kingdom!
2. Seek Him and you will be too full to seek what our world tells us we need!
3. We give because others are in need, and also because we are in need! Sacrificial generosity saves our souls

I went to a conference this past weekend and a famous speaker Louis Palau was there speaking on the topic of heaven. He said something so simple yet worth remembering. He said "Do not waste your time trying to recreate heaven on earth! Save your money and prepare yourself for the real thing!"

Excited to see how God will use this sermon series to remind us of who He is and why we follow these commandments. Praying for our hearts as staff this weekend, that we would open our hearts and ears to let God flow through us in abundance. To set up a picture of God's culture, church, and mission for others to find and follow Him. Love you guys!

8 & 9

#8

What will I do with what the Lord has entrusted to me? I loved this sermon because it provides a freedom from the earlier mentioned rat race of life, always trying to grab the next best possession in our sick minded consumption based society.  Nothing I have is my own, but entrusted to me by God. Share the blessing with His Kingdom

The fear of being left without is one that shows me and reveals to me areas of my life where I do not trust that The Lord will provide for me. Stealing from others in all fashions is a “disease of unfaith”

“If our goods are not available to the community then they are stolen goods.”

#9

“Falsehood always seeks some measure of darkness”

I love the idea that the level to which we speak truth is a reflection of our own heart. I see a need to ask myself, Why are you speaking falsehood ? Do I wish to destroy community?

Truth builds up relationships. I think many times the reasons is speak falsehood is because I don’t think about what I say. And I listen to the darkness. Bite your tongue! Plug your Ears!

Amen.

COMMANDMENT 9

A little side thought came to me as DJ was speaking about commandment 9. The way DJ directs his messages in a way that is convicting towards his church is awesome! It reminds me of Paul and the other disciples publicly correcting the churches multiple times in boldness and standing firm in what God's word says, old or new testament!

I am going to hop on the Grace and Truth bandwagon...

DJ's quote about grace and truth is the highlight of his talk. "Truth without grace becomes oppressive legalism, and grace without truth becomes sentimental relativism. Therefore stand with BOTH feet in truth and BOTH feet in grace".

I had to go back to the super ultra and remind myself of the staple points of grace and truth as well as the potential sabotages of grace and truth.

A CHRONOLOGY OF GRACE AND TRUTH
1. Loving God is central to all life
2. Loving others flows naturally from there
3. Ministry is a bi-product of a relationship with God
4. Celebration is central to all life of faith
5. Doing follows being

SABOTAGING GRACE AND TRUTH
1. Tyranny of the urgent
2. Yhe "I am the victim" syndrome
3. Too many plates to spin
4. "the future is now"
5. "its my life/ministry"
*** 6. "my ministry is my life" Ministry isn't something you do, it is life experienced out of who you are!
7. "I'm so busy... but I'm still lonely"
8. "I don't listen because I already know what you are going to say or what you want me to do"

Commandment #10 - Nitros Infused Amplitude for Preparing my Heart and Mind for Barney Retreat. THANKS DARRELL!!!!

Commandment #10 - Nitros Infused Amplitude for Preparing my Heart and Mind for Barney Retreat. THANKS DARRELL!!!!

The following quotes and paraphrases form the sermon served to increase my eagerness and anticipation for worshiping God this weekend at the Barney Retreat.

“Eternal life is found in the law giver.”
“God is telling us – we were not only made by Yahweh but for Yahweh.”
“We are created by God for God. By trinity for trinity. We are created in such a way that only Yahweh can fill the longings of our heart.”
Lawgivers response is (giving) power to keep us from our turning from Yahweh as infinite center of our lives because unless he gives us Himself we will covet anything to fill the place that only the trinity can fill.

Darrell’s suggestions for living with hearts set free of covetousness, for me, seem like great suggestions on how to prepare my mind an heart for this weekend (and this summer, and today, and tomorrow and pretty much anytime and any place).

1 – Steve, this weekend, Seek His Kingdom. Go hard after God this weekend.
2 – Steve, this weekend, give away as much as you can in the name of Christ.
3 – Steve, this weekend, feast on God and let God fill you with Himself.

Grace and Truth

Thank the Lord for Jesus and the gift that is given of salvation and grace.

Listening to these sermons and unpacking the ten commandments in a new way has been so sweet and so challenging. It is just a continuous reminder that YWHY is infinite and endless and my human brain is not capable of fully understanding the character of God. To hear entire sermons unpacking the single phrase, "do not bear false witness." Wow this is something that before I would have read or heard as part of the commandments and moved past, but to unpack the verses challenges me and encourages me to grow. 

Two things, that I am walking away from this sermon with.

1) Last summer, I was just a little bit sick when we went out as a driver team for Grace & Truth. I wasn't exactly able to fully participate and can't remember much from the conversation other than the burger! I don't have a lot written down from that day and I think that being a part of leading something like this day is something that has been on my mind and that I have been in prayer about in regards to preparing for this summer. In the sermon, DJ uses the phrase Grace and Truth! 

Grace and Truth came through Jesus Christ. Truth without Grace can become oppressive legalism. Grace without truth can become sentimental relativism. We need to stand with both feet in truth and both feet in Grace! Truth builds up relationship. Truth spoken in love builds up. YWHY is God of truth. Jesus is the way, the Truth. YWHY does not and cannot lie.

Hearing this brought clarity and understanding to what is meant by Grace and Truth. It is to tell the truth as God tells the Truth. To love others and to do it with Grace!

2) This is difficult for me to do, but something that I am continually growing in. My Barney summer at Sonshine was the first time that while reading Mere Christianity I was able to identify the way my competitive nature impacted the way that I served and lived. It is in this way, that I tell lies to myself. I have been mindful of this at college. It is a bit of a tough environment as we are here at a Christian school in community and attempting to grow in faith, but when we hit the classroom there is a bit of a shift. We do build each other up and encourage each other, but I personally fall into the trap of comparing my work to others and needing to be the best. I want to produce good work for the kingdom, but I need to continue to grow in my ability to have Grace for others and to see there work as their good truth!

I am thankful for the sermon this morning. God is continually answering prayers and bringing peace as we prepare for summer!

Open Hands, Thermostats and Thermometers

8th Commandment 

I loved DJ's distinction between having possessions and absolute ownership. Like some of you have already touched on, having possessions isn't inherently bad - but forgetting who's they truly are is when it get dangerous. It reminds me of the first commandment "You shall have no other gods before me" The things that become false idols are often not inherently bad but can easily become so.  I have heard churches preach on tithes and giving, especially referencing the passage in Acts 4, but I think DJ did a really good job getting to the heart of the issue. He wasn't guilt tripping everyone to go sell their homes and give all the money to the church - he was emphasizing the posture of open hand we should have with our possessions.

9th Commandment 

Wow, I totally felt convicted by this sermon. I have been tempted AND failed to resist the temptation of exaggerating stories and giving false impressions. Why do I believe the truth isn't enough? The truth build community and relationships. As David said in Psalm 51: "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." I repent Lord, for when I didn't believe in the power of the truth, your truth.

I loved what DJ said: the tongue really is a thermostat and a thermometer for the heart. What we say dramatically changes the posture of our hearts and gives a glimpse into where our hearts are. I'm really going to try to implement DJ's strategy of biting my tongue for 15-20 seconds.

These sermons have served as such a reminder of how wide God's grace really is. Every day I'm realizing more and more how broken I am and how desperately I need Him.

"Can I get a false witness???"

You never hear anyone asking for a "false witness" intentionally do you?  At least I haven't.  However, many communities, organizations, and businesses make their living from false witnessing! 

One thing all these communities, organizations, and businesses have in common is zero community!!!  Fact is the community that does exist in those places is toxic death.  I just got done reading Deuteronomy this morning and at the end of Moses life he shares with Israel a brutal list of curses that will befall them for being "false witnesses" of the one true God.  Israel has chosen to reflect the glory of their creator in a false way by "playing the harlot" and pursuing "non-gods."


Deuteronomy 28:15-68
15 “But it shall come about, if you do not [a]obey (TELL THE TRUTH OF WHO I AM BY YOUR ACTIONS) the Lord your God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

16 “Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country.

17 “Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

18 “Cursed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock.

19 “Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.

20 “The Lord will send upon you curses, confusion, and rebuke, in all you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken Me. 21 The Lord will make the pestilence cling to you until He has consumed you from the land where you are entering to possess it. 22 The Lord will smite you with consumption and with fever and with inflammation and with fiery heat and with the sword and with blight and with mildew, and they will pursue you until you perish. 23 The heaven which is over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you, iron. 24 The Lord will make the rain of your land powder and dust; from heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed.

25 “The Lord shall cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you will go out one way against them, but you will flee seven ways before them, and you will be an example of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 26 Your carcasses will be food to all birds of the sky and to the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to frighten them away.

27 “The Lord will smite you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors and with the scab and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed. 28 The Lord will smite you with madness and with blindness and with bewilderment of heart; 29 and you will grope at noon, as the blind man gropes in darkness, and you will not prosper in your ways; but you shall only be oppressed and robbed continually, with none to save you. 30 You shall betroth a wife, but another man will violate her; you shall build a house, but you will not live in it; you shall plant a vineyard, but you will not use its fruit. 31 Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will not eat of it; your donkey shall be torn away from you, and will not be restored to you; your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you will have none to save you. 32 Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, while your eyes look on and yearn for them continually; but there will be nothing you can do. 33 A people whom you do not know shall eat up the produce of your ground and all your labors, and you will never be anything but oppressed and crushed continually. 34 You shall be driven mad by the sight of what you see. 35 The Lord will strike you on the knees and legs with sore boils, from which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head. 36 The Lord will bring you and your king, whom you set over you, to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone. 37 You shall become a horror, a proverb, and a taunt among all the people where the Lord drives you.

38 “You shall bring out much seed to the field but you will gather in little, for the locust will consume it. 39 You shall plant and cultivate vineyards, but you will neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm will devour them. 40 You shall have olive trees throughout your territory but you will not anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives will drop off. 41 You shall have sons and daughters but they will not be yours, for they will go into captivity. 42 The cricket shall possess all your trees and the produce of your ground. 43 The alien who is among you shall rise above you higher and higher, but you will go down lower and lower. 44 He shall lend to you, but you will not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you will be the tail.

45 “So all these curses shall come on you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you would not obey the Lord your God by keeping His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you. 46 They shall become a sign and a wonder on you and your descendants forever.

47 “Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things; 48 therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in the lack of all things; and He will put an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.

49 “The Lord will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as the eagle swoops down, a nation whose language you shall not understand, 50 a nation of fierce countenance who will have no respect for the old, nor show favor to the young. 51 Moreover, it shall eat the offspring of your herd and the produce of your ground until you are destroyed, who also leaves you no grain, new wine, or oil, nor the increase of your herd or the young of your flock until they have caused you to perish. 52 It shall besiege you in all your towns until your high and fortified walls in which you trusted come down throughout your land, and it shall besiege you in all your towns throughout your land which the Lord your God has given you. 53 Then you shall eat the offspring of your own body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters whom the Lord your God has given you, during the siege and the distress by which your enemy will oppress you. 54 The man who is refined and very delicate among you shall be hostile toward his brother and toward the wife he cherishes and toward the rest of his children who remain, 55 so that he will not give even one of them any of the flesh of his children which he will eat, since he has nothing else left, during the siege and the distress by which your enemy will oppress you in all your towns. 56 The refined and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground for delicateness and refinement, shall be hostile toward the husband she cherishes and toward her son and daughter, 57 and toward her afterbirth which issues from between her legs and toward her children whom she bears; for she will eat them secretly for lack of anything else, during the siege and the distress by which your enemy will oppress you in your towns.

58 “If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name, the Lord your God, 59 then the Lord will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants, even severe and lasting plagues, and miserable and chronic sicknesses. 60 He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt of which you were afraid, and they will cling to you. 61 Also every sickness and every plague which, not written in the book of this law, the Lord will bring on you until you are destroyed. 62 Then you shall be left few in number, whereas you were as numerous as the stars of heaven, because you did not obey the Lord your God. 63 It shall come about that as the Lord delighted over you to prosper you, and multiply you, so the Lord will delight over you to make you perish and destroy you; and you will be torn from the land where you are entering to possess it. 64 Moreover, the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone, which you or your fathers have not known. 65 Among those nations you shall find no rest, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot; but there the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul. 66 So your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you will be in dread night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life. 67 In the morning you shall say, ‘Would that it were evening!’ And at evening you shall say, ‘Would that it were morning!’ because of the dread of your heart which you dread, and for the sight of your eyes which you will see. 68 The Lord will bring you back to Egypt in ships, by the way about which I spoke to you, ‘You will never see it again!’ And there you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer.”


What is scary is I see a lot of these curses already upon our land and people.  Break one commandment and you have broken them all. 

Jesus says, "I am the TRUTH"  - To tell the truth is to speak of Jesus.  To live and speak in a way that accurately reflects JESUS! 

Lord, may we as a people group reflect your Glory in spirit and in TRUTH!

Kleptomania- subtle yet so destructive!

Thoughts from commandment 8 sermon:



Not only is God saying He does not want us to steal in a violent manner and take belongings that are not our own, He is also saying He does not want us to take or keep something that is not our own in a crafty or sly way.

Kleptomania is so subtle yet so destructive!

Have the character of keeping your hands wide open, not holding on tightly to anything (money, car, future plans, job, clothes). It is okay to have these things, but the moment you clench your fists is the moment you have taken from God and claimed them as your own.

The same power that entices one to steal or take what is not their own is the same power that entices one to hold tightly in greed to something that they own.

***God is committed to taking care of His people, therefore give and do not take away! Trust in His faithfulness!

Kleptomania is the disease of unfaith!

So maybe I don't steal, and maybe nobody would characterize me as a thief, but can I be greedy sometimes? Uh ya! Money and finances are a huge deal to me; I hate spending money! And if I am ever in a sticky situation whether with bills or saving up for an event, I get so stressed that I will not be taken care of. What a jab to my faith. Lord, help me to have a firm faith and confidence in your provision for my finances and all other aspects of my life. Give me a clear mind focused on you to be able to always appreciate the gifts you give and keep my hands open, not clenched!

Stealing hurts my feelings

LOL! Writing that title might have been the hardest thing I have ever done.  The world of Kleptomania starts at a young age.  I hear my kids yell, "Mom - Dad, Campbell took my marker without asking, Elle took my piece of paper and there is no more, Owen took the last Svenhard's cheese horn!"

Okay, I have actually never heard that last one.  Like Mirm said, the impulse to not trust God and take into our own hands what we think we need is in all of us.  Ultimately stealing screams, "God I don't trust that you are who you say you are. You no longer know what is best for me, so I must take action, I must seize what I think is best for me!"

When I am tempted to steal attention away from someone.....
When I am tempted to steal a conversation so people can know what I think about something....
When I am tempted to steal a reputation of someone by talking bad about them....
When I am tempted to steal an experience from someone by OVER SHARING my experience....
When I am tempted to steal "my life" away from God..........

.........stealing hurts my feelings! The end result is always damage done to my ability to feel God moving in my life and in a certain situation.   When I give into or live out of "stealing" I cease being an authentic person.  I deprive myself of grace and self-sabotage the abundant life freely offered in Christ Jesus for a self manufactured counterfeit.  I fail to recognize an opportunity to grow in character and maturity.  Rather I continue the facade of control by stealing relationship that comes in those opportune times to trust God and bank on His mercy and grace.

In an attempt to be an authentic person, I will postulate questions to justify my behavior.  So deep are my "potholes"/"deficits" that even the questions I ask do not come from an authentic me, rather the questions generate from the occupied role.... "A THIEF".  No longer is it I asking the questions, but the performance of the occupied role of THIEF.

"Roles" cannot have relationship with "Persons". Only "Persons" can have relationship with "Persons".  When I enter relationship as a role (A THIEF), I do 4 things:

1. Expose my own dividedness of my identity. 

2. Expose my desire to control people.

3. Expose an inner hierarchical view of myself.

4. I violate the person by dehumanizing them to a role (A VICTIM OF A THEFT).

Stealing hurts my ability to feel!

-Reid

Commandment # 9 - The Intensity, Kindness, and Humility of Christ's Grace When Facing False Accusers Like Me

I felt particularly struck by the message this week when Darell mentioned that Jesus heard false things and rumors said about him his whole career and that even at His trial were those speaking false witness.

 Those words from Darrell brought to mind 1 Peter 2:23 – “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate, when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.”

 Peter, in this verse, illustrates how “grace and truth” – (popular Darrell words in the sermon) – deal with false witnesses. Peter shows that Jesus responded to insults and suffering by entrusting Himself to the Judge – to him who “judges justly.”  I find it fascinating that Jesus faces the persecution of false accusations by digging deeper into intimacy with His father ......the JUDGE. 

 I continue to pray that God would fill my person with His presence to the extent that my impulse, when facing insults, persecutions, and false witnesses, would be acute awareness of His presence and in that awareness of His presence that I would find turning and trusting myself to Him and His heart irresistible.

 Along with 1 Peter 2:23 I found myself keeping Philippians 2:5-11 on extended play throughout the sermon (especially the beginning) – “You’re attitude should be the same as that of Jesus Christ.” Finally, during the message Darrel gave 3 rules for serving as a witness. The third rule he described as “witnesses would have to be the executioner.” When I thought about the false accusations Jesus faced throughout His career (per Darrell) and how false witnesses played a prominent role in His bogus trial, I locked in that a key driver of Jesus’ crucifixion was false witness.

 Knowing that Jesus from the cross forgave His fake/false accusers left me amazed and mystified at the intensity, kindness, and humility of His grace.

Experiencing the World of Kleptomania a Bit Too Closely!

I walked out of my bedroom this morning around 6 and, to my shock, found a man quickly walking out the front door by my room! As I spoke with 911, I watched as he walked around the house back to his car, looking over his shoulder the whole way, and drove off.

The irony of this happening just after our study on the 8th commandment is not lost on me. In fact, I was reflecting this morning on how very unsurprised I was! I mean, this is the world we live in - a world of KLEPTOMANIA.

The same shifty secretive scheming of this man is in me as well. There is a hungering to take what does not belong to me, and my #1 victim is the Lord. How quickly I mistakenly believe that all my money, my things and my TIME belong to me. I believe they are mine to organize, to hoard, and to abuse. When this is my mentality, I feel anxious in my un-faith that the Lord will provide. I believe if they are my things, I am their sole keeper. That mistaken responsibility weighs heavy on me.

But there is good news in the face of my kleptomania! This is not my money, these are not my things and it is not my time! Instead of clinging to control in a world where CLEARLY (as experienced this morning) there's not much to be had, I can rest in peace that the Lord is the keeper and provider of all things.

I pray that the Lord would challenge me to loosen my grip on His possessions and teach me to steward what He has gifted me wisely and generously. Come to the light, he calls. Stop your scheming in the darkness, there is no peace to be found there.

Some 7th Commandment Takeaways...

Sorry for the late post y'all! I LOVED this sermon. DJ clarified some solid truth this week. Here are the points that really stuck with me:

• Again, actions don't come out of nowhere - just like we heard about the other commandments

• Cooperate with the Holy Spirit! Your body is a dwelling place for the 3rd person of the Trinity!! Don't take that lightly

• Realizing that the Creator made us as sexual beings. God doesn't hate sex, he designed it for a specific purpose

• Lust is a sign that we are hungering for God

This issue is SO real and I really appreciate that we are talking about it because I feel like it can often go unacknowledged. This sermon series is really coming alive in my life and I'm diggin' it!

Commandment #7

Thou Shall not commit adultery

I have little to say about this sermon except to praise Jesus for giving us a clear image of what an unconditional intimate relationship looks like. Praise God for exposing our twisted sexually deviant culture and giving us the freedom of knowing His commandments come out of love, in order to protect and enhance our lives.

Jesus you are my liberty, Amen.

Commandment #8 – SPIRITUAL SUFFOCATION – ENDURING THEFT LOSS FROM THE DIVINE BANDIT TO EXHALE THIS WORLD AND INHALE THE NEXT (AND/OR) HOW TO SING HALLELUJAH, THE ANTHEM OF YOUR SOUL, WITH JESUS, FOR JESUS AND TO JESUS

Commandment #8 – SPIRITUAL SUFFOCATION – ENDURING THEFT LOSS FROM THE DIVINE BANDIT TO EXHALE THIS WORLD AND INHALE THE NEXT (AND/OR) HOW TO SING HALLELUJAH, THE ANTHEM OF YOUR SOUL, WITH JESUS, FOR JESUS AND TO JESUS

 Darrell’s words on the 8th commandment couldn’t be more poignantly relevant.

 Last Thursday – Driver side window repaired from smash and grab (but they didn’t grab anything???? – weird!!!)

Last Friday – Letter from a towing company – ’94 Suburban which we sold had been stolen. Its not ours but we were still, kind of sort of but not really, in the title chain so we were sent a letter about the towing company seizing possession of the vehicle.

 Sunday Night (just three nights ago) at 10:37 p.m. – Redding Police call us to let us know they’ve located the STOLEN Shasta Haulmark White trailer in front of a home in Redding.

Yesterday, I dropped by Reid’s to finish loading what’s left of the sorted ruins (thanks for sorting through the trash heap Reid and Owen!) back into the trailer.

Our once packed with inventory to launch recreational magic summer camp machine has been reduced to a not road worthy, partially obliterated trash container.

 This theft loss, like most, packs at the least a jolting combination punch....

 PUNCH 1 - the financial damage – which evokes a particularly challenging pain but also

 PUNCH 2 - the loss of certain artifacts that captured near decades old traditions and memories.

 The experience brings to mind (mild in comparison though) a few weeks in October many years ago when I had to face on an ongoing basis the strong possibility that Sarah might pass from multiple organ meltdown due to a drug reaction.

Interestingly, the theft loss of the trailer can be directly tied to humanity’s rebellion from God’s commandment and rebellion from His savior who forgives, accepts, and empowers; however, the second theft loss – Sarah’s near loss of life – is less directly tied to humanity’s rebellion and perhaps more directly attached to Paul’s belief that “He (God) has subjected the creation to futility.”

 Redding Trailer – Human Theft --

 Sarah’s Life – God Theft --

Paul’s writes that God subjects us to the theft of purpose – futility and the theft of life – decay for a very specific reason….. He subjects us to futility and decay IN HOPE THAT WE SHOULD SEEK AFTER HIM!

I think in the gospels Jesus parablelizes (sidenote - parablelizes isn't a word -- just sounded right to me so I wrote it) by saying that He’ll come like a thief in the night.

Whether by evil cranked up meth zombies or by divine heist – both these losses in my life left me seeking Christ and hoping in His promise that He does not leave, does not forsake, and by the power of His word and absolute authority MAKES ALL THINGS NEW. 

So, this morning, I’m spinning multiple thoughts --

Spinning Thought 1 - I anticipate another day of multiple updates from Redding PD.
Spinning Thought 2 – I need to continue our first steps of the journey of sorting through the details and logistics of how to properly move forward with the pretty much decimation of all key Shasta inventory.
Spinning Thought 3 - The loss of decades old memories and traditions stirs up impressions I felt when Sarah and I walked through her valley of the shadow of death.
Spinning Thought 4 – All of these reflections draw me to these Switchfoot Lyrics – (especially when Sarah was fighting for life in hospital.)

“Everything fell to pieces
When my eyes met yours
In that hospital gown
And the dreams we once were dreaming
That we held so close
Felt impossible now
And all the plans we held for the future
And all the memories up from the past
The world I once knew
Was in a cardboard box
In the lobby lost and found”


The following chorus (from this Switchfoot Song) captures for me the meaning behind how to endure a theft loss – (whomever the culprit – evildoers….God…..) At the same time the chorus, I believe, suggests how communion with Christ mitigates the impulse to steal when we don’t bank on the person of Christ – our living Hope.

CHORUS:
HALLELUJAH NEVERTHELESS, WAS THE SONG PAIN COULDN’T DESTROY HALLELUJAH NEVERTHELESS,
YOU’RE MY JOY INVINCIBLE
JOY INVINCIBLE, JOY

God the divine bandit has subjected the creation to futility and decay in HOPE that we would seek after HIM and commune with Christ’s joy invincible anthem from the cross – Hallelujah!

In summary – this entire post I think became a paraphrase of these verses:

Romans 8:20-21 -- For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption (decay) and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

1 Peter 1:3-7 - Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

 To STEAL from Switchfoot once more (so ironic)  – when I suffer a theft loss and when I hurt others from my own impulse to take credit instead of surrendering to others’ interest before my own, the defining words of praise for both these scenarios and really all circumstances (which echo from Calvary to this moment and to eternity) are as follows:

My Heartbeat, my oxygen,
My banner, my home
My future, my song

YOUR HOPE IS THE ANTHEM OF MY SOUL!!!

expose the myths

I especially loved this sermon, mainly because it is so raw and DJ unpacks it so well. Things that stood out to me:

1) Our society is extremely confused, our job as Christ followers is to expose the myth. My life has been radically reconciled with Christ on behalf of other people standing up for God's truth and being real about exposing all of the myths that our world offers about sex, love and relationships. I want to be the person that maybe sets someone else on the right path simply by destroying the myths that humanity has created in their underlining desire to know God and be intimate with Him.

2) Have the discipline to turn away from things that cause you to stumble in any way. 

3) Your sexuality thrives on unconditional commitment. 

4) When we exchange the living God for a lesser god, the first thing that happens is sexual confusion. Romans 1:24-25 "Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among men. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever". 

Untwisting Our Understanding of Human Sexuality

I love that DJ helps us to see the truth of the incredibly confused sexuality of our world. I know that has certainly confused me and I wrestle through the lies and the myths that DJ exposed.

Revealing these lies and myths help me, help us, to return to covenant love and restore our understanding of the gravity of that love… the “absolutely, undeniably the most consequential, pivotal, foundational, Genesis to Revelation, substantive, can’t-over-emphasize-enough significant enlightening analogy/life experience that defines, explains, captures (to some extent) who Christ is, who we are, and the love relationship we share.” (Loved that, Steve!)

I pray that the Holy Spirit would help us to untwist our sexuality, as DJ put it. That through the help of the Lord our minds would be renewed to an understanding human sexuality that is pure and points us to the covenant love of our Lord!