I’ve been blogging pretty faithfully lately. But you don’t know that. That’s because the posts I’ve written are unposts–that is, unposted. I think they might just end up staying that way. I write for lots of reasons, and “me” is one of them.

But I just got back from an evening with a room full of friends who all love Jesus and we actually sat for a couple hours and talked about Jesus, us, life, parents, parenting, kids, the cross, and how it all goes together.

One of the questions we were sharing was “What’s the #1 thing that blocks your view of the cross?”

The cross of Christ is central to who I am. It was the reason Jesus came, so I find that more than enough of a reason for me to live. And not merely breathe, but live a life captivated by the wonder of the cross. To some who might read this it seems far too simplistic, even childlike, even naive or infantile. No matter. I’m simply entranced by a love so all-consuming that it blasts past my faults, my sins, my shortcomings, and meets me right here. Right now.

It is simultaneously elementary and yet incomprehensible. It is the juxtaposition of a freedom so profound that the only right response is for me to enslave myself to the One who gave it to me. I’m not a radical. A radical has a plan. I don’t have any plans. I’m just living my life staring at a cross. Not much of a plan, is it?

And yet somehow, the God who created me is also the God who uses me. I dare you to understand that. God uses my life to impact another life. Why? I don’t know. I told you I don’t have a plan, and now you know I don’t have as many answers as I do questions. And ironically enough, the questions only usher me into a deeper sense of mystery of the love of the Father shown in the person of Jesus.

No one disputes that Jesus existed. We all know He was a historical figure. But I have become convinced that He is not merely historical, but futuristic as well. Every person will meet Him. You will meet Him. Some briefly, some for eternity, but all will meet Him.

Is it any wonder why I think as I do of the cross of Christ? It is at the cross where my death was given to Him. My sin was placed on His head. My punishment was taken away from me and placed on the God who made me. I dare you to understand it.

Even I, as practically minded as I am, read all that is written above in this post and say, “Yeah. So?” Where does the rubber meet the road on this one? I guess that is up to each person. As for me, I’m staring at a cross.

I share a pretty great relationship with my pre-teen daughter. We regularly have heart-to-heart conversations, usually initiated by her I’m glad to say. One such conversation took place last night after our youth program at church, while I was putting away the sound equipment.

I won’t share the specific details, but I can tell you that the conversation sprang from an observation she had made earlier that night, while hanging out with her friends. A comment was made about her (not by one of her friends) that was not true, and therefore hurtful. When she told me who had made the comment, I wasn’t surprised. I told her that I was sorry that comment was made and that she was hurt by it. We quickly moved on from there into a wonderful conversation on relationships, discernment, judgment, and healthiness.

All kids her age at her station in life are primarily seeking 2 things:

1. Identity that separates them from their parents. (Most parents hate this and can’t get past it.)

2. Who’s going to show them the most attention, welcome, and sense of being known and understood. (Whoever does that wins them.)

I’m not writing this to embarass my daughter, but just to point out that after nearly 15 years of ministry to students, I refuse to miss my God-given #1 priority: ministry to MY student. I love our relationship and I hope we’re always this close.

This morning in my time with the Lord in His Word, He seemed to lead me from one passage to another–all throughout the Bible–that taught me that my salvation is something that is in large part up to me, especially after I have accepted the free gift of forgiveness made possible only by Christ’s death on the cross in my place.

As I read each passage, I was wrestling with the thought that I am called to live a life of faith and action that “overcomes”, that “endures” and that lasts until the end. If I do not, then I cannot rightfully expect God’s mercy to usher me into eternity with Him. Further, not living a life that is daily engaged with Him is like grabbing the boarding pass He purchased, walking away, and yelling over my shoulder, “I’ll see you on the plane!” while going off through the terminal of a selfish life, all the while thinking that my ticket secures my seat.

Based on the graciousness of God, heaven will likely be more crowded than I might guess.
Based on the holiness and justice of God, heaven will likely be not nearly as crowded as I imagine.

While reading the Bible this morning, I read that the new earth will not have oceans. My first thought was “Where am I supposed to surf?” I’m so selfish sometimes. I then began to surmise that God will probably give me my own surf pool with one of those perfect wave makers. How in the world did I get to the point where I think that God’s eternity is centered on me?

I can so easily fall into a self-centered attitude about life and even about God. But being reminded that God actually expects things from me as a child of His is sobering and re-aligning. And my life surrendered to Him is not one of perpetual cowering, trembling in fear that I’m doing it wrong, but it is a response to a love so magnanimous that it would dare to reunite the sinner with the sinless, the created with the Creator, the wrong with the right.

That is, as Francis Chan puts it, “Crazy Love”.

And so my salvation, just as it has been hard-fought by Christ to the cross, is now hard-fought by my life seeking to surrender so fully to God that you can’t tell where He begins and I end. Or perhaps it is better said that you can clearly tell where I end so that He begins. This, in my estimation is the hard-fought salvation. Not hard-fought in such a way that I must work to acheive His love and favor, but hard-fought in a way that daily seeks to surrender myself to Him, His will, His ways, and His wonder. As Dennis Kinlaw wrote, “The ways of the world are never the ways of God, and the people of the world are never the people of God.”

I’d like to know your thoughts on this.

Last weekend, my daughter had some friends sleepover. They had a great time as usual, playing, laughing, watching movies, eating, baking, staying up late, the whole nine.

And then came the morning and it was time to drop them off back at their homes.

So, we piled into the minivan and one of her friends ended up riding shotgun up front with me. It didn’t take long for me to notice how often she was either checking or replying to text messages. I soon decided that I’d count seconds between one flip-open of the phone to the next.

She averaged 11-14 seconds. Every 11-14 seconds, she was sending a text message.

Now, you might be reading this thinking, “Oh that’s nothing, I text like every 4-5 seconds.”

But it wasn’t the texting that bugged me. Not at all. I text quite a bit myself. In fact, I’m the top texter on staff, I’m proud to say. So, texting is fine with me. But when this girl was in her texting world, I noticed something.

Right before she started with her texting, we were having a conversation. It was very pleasant. But the instant that phone opened she could no longer carry a cohesive thought. Her replies to my questions seemed as if she wasn’t even listening to me at all. Oh, she answered but her answers made no sense. She was saying things totally unrelated to the conversation. It was comical but also it was a reminder that I want to be present with the people I’m with. Not doing so shows disrespect to them and it cheapens me, too. What I mean is, I look like a jerk when I make others feel devalued.

Now, you might totally disagree with me. And that’s okay. Its just that I was interested (and kind of saddened) to see the effects of texting on our sense of etiquette and courtesy.

If you text or have friends who do, have you seen the same thing I saw that morning?

Use the comments section below!

I was reminded this morning about one of my favorite songs, sung by Keith Green. This song really sums up life for me. If you can look past the datedness of the video and hear the message, I know you’ll be blessed too. And I don’t really think I’ll stop blogging, but I definitely want to reflect the truth in this video in all I do.
No compromise.

Tonight, my son Hudson wanted to play checkers with me. Great, right? Except he’s never played checkers and to my knowledge didn’t have the first clue as to how to play.

But what Dad can turn down his 5 year old son asking to play checkers? Not this one.

So, we sat down on the floor and I began to explain to him how the game was played. I was clear, concise, and I thought for sure he’d pick up on the rules quickly. Well, if you know Hudson you know that I should have known better.

On his first turn, he moved one of his checkers from the back row to the front row.
On his second turn, he moved another checker sideways.
On his third turn, he rolled a four.

Click on the photo and you’ll notice his unique checker placement. And the dice.

Clearly we weren’t playing the same game.

Have you ever had a weird dream? In Genesis 39-41, Joseph was called upon to interpret a couple weird dreams that Pharoah had. Joseph was in prison at the time and had built for himself a nice little reputation as being someone who interprets dreams accurately. He had even accurately interpreted a baker’s dream that 3 days later the baker would be decapitated, his body impaled on a pole, and birds would come and peck away at his corpse. Can you imagine being that baker for the next 3 days?

So, Joseph was in a jail after being wrongfully accused of attempted rape on Potipher’s wife. He had in been imprisoned for over 2 years and while we don’t know the sanitation facilities of an ancient Egyptian jail, they likely had it a little rougher than today’s inmates. While I was reading this morning, a few words caught my eye that hadn’t before.

Genesis 41:14: “So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. “When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh.”

Now, hopefully I’m not making something out of something that shouldn’t be made something of. But since it’s recorded in the Bible, it must be something to make something out of, right?

So, why did Joseph shave and change clothes before meeting with Pharoah? And why would that detail be included in this story? There are a few truths to glean here.

1. Joseph was showing respect for Pharoah.

I’ve been in fulltime student ministry for almost 15 years, with part-time internships before that. So, I’ve been around long enough to watch a none-too-subtle shift in the teen culture. Some people would label it as a blatant decline in respect that young people have for just about anything. In many places, teens speak to adults as equals and there is even a doing away for “Mr.” and “Mrs.” where children/teens address adults by their first name. In our fractured-family culture, we have tried desperately to use materialism as a stand-in for time spent with our kids. This has left young people with a sense of entitlement and a disappearing of the ability to wait for anything. We have placed cell phones in their hands under the guise of “safety/security” and in doing so have weakened our position as boundary holders in their lives. They are instantly in touch with anyone they choose, making anyone else marginalized and therefore irrelevant. In these and in other ways, it appears that young people are becoming more and more disrespectful. But I’d like to disagree with that evalutation; at least in part. The children and teens of today’s generation are nothing more than products of the world you and I (as adults) have created, just and we are products of the world that our predecessors created. But before I shift too far into digression, let me bring it back to the issue of Joseph’s respect for Pharoah’s position and what in the world that has to do with us right now.

It’s really only when we recognize the position of God that we are truly set free as His creation. When you truly understand the holiness of God, and you couple that together with your own sinfulness, and you recognize the purpose and the power of the cross to bridge that expanse, then you are in a place where you are not only set free to worship, but where all you can do is worship.

2. Joseph was showing respect for the situation.

Weighty situations call for weighty decisions. Today is Monday. I work today. There’s nothing extraordinary about today. I might get a slurpee since it’s hot. I might not. But last Wednesday was my 14 year wedding anniversary. THAT was a day to celebrate the significance of the date. Joseph saw the significance of the event that day; the fact that he was being called before Pharoah, the most powerful man on earth, and would be playing a supporting role in Pharoah’s life and reign. And just like that, there are days (some planned, some not) for us that demand a showing of respect for the weight of that day. Will we rise to it or will we slouch? Does my day of worship (typically Sunday) when I meet together with others in the body of Christ hold a place of prominence in my week?

3. Joseph was showing respect for God.

There’s no way to look at Joseph’s life and not see a reverent awe of God. Because of this awe, God enabled Joseph to do amazing things. While certainly imperfect, Joseph was clearly used by God throughout his lifetime. And likewise, when we respect God as Creator and Completer, we are in a position to be used by Him in this world. And you’d be hard pressed to find anything more humbling and awe-inspiring that a mere human being used by the Divine to carry out His purposes on earth.

But our respect for God has dwindled, I’m afraid. I fear that God, in many places has been reduced to a Grandpa figure, or a best buddy, or a bailout plan. We’ve lost a sense of the divine reality that I breathe in and out, moving my fingers across this keyboard–and your eyes move from left to right across these words and compute them correctly so that your mind can understand what you’re reading–all because God thinks we should. I breathe, you read, the world spins…all because of the thought process of God. The instant God stops thinking the world should spin on its axis, it stops spinning on its axis. The moment God stops thinking I should be breathing, I stop breathing. What a magnificently powerful God He is. A God who commands respect; not because He’s worked hard and earned it, but simply because He is. And in showing respect for Pharoah and the weighty situation he was in, Joseph was ultimately respecting God.

So, on presentability, Joseph found it necessary to shave and get dressed for Pharoah. It’s one of the instances in the Bible when the outward appearance reflects the inner condition. May I also be a person who’s insides are able to be seen by looking on the outside.