Jesus Ball

They have Christian toys now. You can buy a scrunchie ball for the tyke in your life and have no guilt about it ... if you buy the Christian version of the ball - the "Jesus Ball". Yeah, my eyebrows are way up there too!

I don't know that there's much else to say about it. It's a new level of ... something. Not quite sleeze, but not quite hype either. It's hard enough to walk through a typical Christian book store without laughing these days. You've got all the fanchise book series' like the endless Left Behind saga. You've got the big hits like Jabez or PDL (and that's not a southern gospel 'praise da lowad!' but Purpose-Driven Life). You've got the murky pond of new books that bubbles up when the latest acceptable Hollywood blockbuster comes out (they're all the same book with a different cover!), like Narnia or The Passion. Yesterday I saw a book called 'Extreme Prayer Makeover' (I guess Jesus isn't the only one being hijacked). Let's not forget the other merchandise like jewellery (remember that WWJD band? I'm so proud I never got one!!), Jesus fishes, and bumper stickers proclaiming something to the effect of "see you in hell... from heaven!". And then there's the music, but let's just stop. It's getting to me...

The Jesus Ball!

What
the

heck

is

a

Jesus

ball

???

Catholics

I figured my last 2 posts were sort of negative, so I'd spice it up a bit with something nice...

From time to time I attend mass or Sunday vespers, and quite often I go to the Mission Abbey when I have a need to escape, or even retreat (they offer rooms if you want to spend a few days).

There is something awe-inspiring, I find, about the lineage of the priesthood, down which the torch has been passed on since Peter. And of course, Peter received the proverbial torch from Christ Himself. I find that incredible!

I also find it incredible that all these men (the monks) have vowed their lives away, have given up so much in the pursuit of salvation and wholeness. It's a very tangible expression of their devotion. Who in Evangelica can say that? We have nothing equivalent to monks.

I have actually pondered doing something similar to being a monk from time to time in my life. This should come as no surprise to those who know me. My blog is titled 'My Hermitage' after all. But that's another subject.

I love Catholics!

Reason To Believe

Marilyn Manson. Don't freak, that's not a swear! Though I'm sure for some the mention of that name evokes about the same shock to the system as hearing your mother use the f-word.

I was thinking about him recently after watching an interview. Nice guy, but hey, who isn't? And smart too. I thought, how did he arrive at this conclusion? He's a militant atheist who's vehemently opposed to Christianity in particular. From what I have heard/seen of him, his act is pretty much rooted in those two things, which, if you think about it, are the same.

Apparently, he went to a private Christian school growing up... who'd have thought?! I tend to understand his view. According to him, there is no God, so why not just do whatever you feel like doing (as long as it hurts no one else), because there is no reward for being good, no punishment for being bad, and no purpose to existence anyway. I don't oppose him at all. If atheism is true, his response is understandable.

[Sidenote: How free it would be to have no type of accountability! Yet I can't imagine the hell-existence of one who, without a creator, has absolutely no purpose or hope. I shudder every time I imagine godlessness. On the other hand, it's unwise to create faith, or a god for that matter, to fill that hole. I think a lot of faith out there is just that... forgetting. Faith must be based on truth. (And somehow, that statement seems impossible)]

Looking past all the lewd, the crude, and the rude, what is really there is an absense of belief (duh!). How sad. But, unfortunately, how expected. All things that were once believed spiritual are now explainable by science, there is no valid testimony of spiritual experience, people are only sympathetic of each other because it's good for them. It makes sense; I don't disagree.

Where is there a reason to believe? And if there's a reason, why believe in this God and not some other?

Read any chapter of any gospel and you will see a reason given to believe (for those present) with every path He crossed. Jesus never held back proof of divinity, of extra-terrestrial power; stuff that could be explained in no other way. If you saw one of His miracles you had to believe in a God, whether this was His son or not.

Well He's still alive, why isn't He proving it? Has He changed His mind on proving Himself? Or are we the ones who aren't creating the proof in His stead?

It makes sense, then, that the church in Marilyn's home country can accurately be described by 2 Timothy 3:5 "having a form of godliness, but denying its power."

Incidentally, it goes on to say, "have nothing to do with them".

At the end of the day, Marilyn may just be a product of those who protest his concerts. How ironic.

Are there any good?

I was thinking about people, and how strange it is that we develop sympathies and tolerance for traits in others that we can admit to ourselves. It seems that until we cross paths with a certain set of circumstances, our ignorance can make us insensitive.

Rare is it that a person is sympathetic to and accepting of every type of person. But one by one, as they encounter a different type, [the wiser of us] become more accepting.

I liken it to creating laws. It's not until there are too many incidents by a single cause that we outlaw the cause. Enron collapses, we create whistleblower-protection laws; 9/11, we install the Patriot Act; a child is run over, we set up a crosswalk.

Why? Why only develop sympathies and acceptance through either a struggle or an encounter with a struggle? Why not, by default, love everyone without knowing who they are or where they've come from? I think that is something only God is capable of.

"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good - except God alone."

A lot of the time I think we run a 'guilty-until-proven-innocent' agenda with others (and by that I imply more people groups than to individuals). Quite frankly, sometimes we accept just because we can't get away with non-acceptance anymore. In other words, we don't sympathize out of our own goodness, but because it is to our own benefit. One may take a look at himself, and if he can muster up any admittance of flaw, may finally understand that they with sin can't [safely] throw stones. His sympathy is self-preservation. So I'm a cynic; so this is a 'glass-half-empty' analysis; I'm not saying it's universal. Heck, I am fully guilty!

In my view, our primary level of operation is the animal level. Paul calls it "the flesh", with its array of chemical reactions and its environment/experience-molded modus operandi, and it is a truth even Darwin would agree on. It's the inescapable self-prioritizing (while yet a beast), the survival syndrome, that is at the heart of every move. Must work for money for shelter for food for offspring. Must make wise-cracks to feel superior. Must create a flurry of busyness at church so I can please God. Must climb the corporate ladder. Must stay in a depressed state so people don't stop paying attention to me. Must tell at least 5 people how that girl wronged me so she pays for hurting me and I end up the "fittest"!

Even that which seems contrary to survival, things like suicide, can even be seen to be of a self-preservation method. People usually kill themselves to relieve themselves of pain. It's a twisted survival sister.

I think the Bible is true again when it says, "All a man's ways seem innocent to him". It goes on to say, "but motives are weighed by the Lord". Are there any good?

A solution seems impractical and far out of reach. One of my favourites, Jacob Boeme, puts it simply (yet so difficultly) : "our trance of selfishness must end".

Thank God for a new nature, one that goes against the grain of the old nature. One that brings to prominence our spirits as the heart of every action. And oh, what a fight the old nature puts up!
But no longer subject to the rule of flesh, we are like the One who brought us out of its slavery. We have the same heart of love, acceptance, and sympathy that produced such immense sacrifice. And over that creation, He can once again say "it is good!"

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning
I'm up and at the window;
a most precious gift I see!
The sun is sitting
behind clouds aflame
on Mount Baker's shoulder.

I think how infrequent it is
that I can see the sun --
the spherical body of fire --
'less it is slightly veiled.
And even then I can't look long
'less I sacrifice sight of everything else!

Ah! Christmas veil;
glory e'er forsaken.
He became something we can see,
something to behold...
and believe.

Christ, my love,
my eyes are robbed
of sight for any other.

As you reflect on his birth

may your soul feel its worth

this Christmas

It's Christmas!!!

I've had a roller-coaster relationship with Christmas the past couple of years - sometimes hating it, sometimes indifferent, sometimes liking it, never really loving it. Sometimes I hated the way it made me feel, sometimes I hated the extreme commercial nature of it, sometimes I disliked the non-focus of the season, sometimes I just didn't care.

But now! Now I love it! And I think I'll stay loving it. I had my tree up on December 1, and have it lit up whenever I'm at home. And it's not even a cliche anymore... I don't say Christmas is about family, like many nice people say. Family is a byproduct of Christmas -- we just so happen to get together to celebrate the real reason.

Christmas (to me) is a celebration of Christ's birth; therefore a celebration of everything my life has become because of Christ's birth. And really, there is no area of my life He has not impacted, so it is a celebration and reflection on my entire existence... Christmas. Who'd've thought?!

Let's party!!!

The Wind

The movement of the wind -
normally unseen -
we know by its effects,
hitting hard that which doesn't yield,
bending that which does:
its power and ferocity
its howling sovereignty;
it is gentle and embracing
it is nature's necessity;
yet unseen, a ghost,
'less it picks up the dust,
then we see its swirling power.

Would that I were the dust
that made visible the wind
Yes, carry this dust
as a body for the ghost.

Happy Feet

In review

Bait-and-switch is the marketing campaign used by the promoters of this film. You think you’re going to see something cute with a good story for kids, but you end up emotionally attached to a political issue and, if you’re a Christian, insulted. Maybe actually assaulted.

There is a very specific agenda behind the film: stop marine harvesting. Fine. Good. Whatever. BUT it goes much further than that and actually seems to blame Christians for hurting the environment. The logic is as follows: Republicans typically aren’t in favour of environmentally-conscious agendas; Republicans equal Christians; Christians are to blame for the diminishing quality of the environment.

Now, politics aside, I don’t care what they think about the environmental problems and who’s to blame. I don’t have an opinion either way. My problem is with the spiteful message they are sending to kids, to my 3-year-old nephew who accompanied me.

The colony of penguins in this movie is ruled by one who doubles as the religious leader. The entire dialogue from the establishment is stolen from Christian language; a lot of “thees” and “thous”, some “backsliders”, and even a “the [name of Penguin god] giveth, and the [name of Penguin god] taketh away!”

When Happy Feet finds the source of their diminishing food supply, it’s in the form of a fishing village, and the very first thing he sees is a church on the hilltop, cross front and centre, with dark and alarming music playing (like this was the villain).

In the end, the religious leadership is debunked and abandons their faith.

Fine, make a children’s movie with content like this, but don’t draw in the masses without letting them know what they might be in for. There is absolutely NO HINT of this side of the content in ANY of the marketing. This is a very effective campaign tool, not to mention very dubious and underhanded.

But the right has their movies too! Absolutely, but you know it’s a right-piece before you walk in! Who ever saw The Prince of Egypt, or The Nativity, or The Chronicles of Narnia, or The Passion of the Christ without knowing what they were about to see?

Bait-and-Switch (which is actually illegal with bigger-ticket items) Happy Feet: a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Coping with Errancy

What to do when you’re in a Christian meeting and someone says something like this: “Perfect peace casts out all fear”. It is a trait of my personality to notice imperfections and inconsistencies (I’m an analyst!), and this is obviously a misquotation of scripture. In this case, what he was quoting was 1 John 4:18 where it says “perfect love casts out all fear”.

After hearing this, I got to thinking about how necessary it is for leaders and teachers to be correct 100% of the time. Is it so necessary? Is it even possible? I do not want to be a stickler or a disrupter of peace, nor do I want to be one who lets anything slide, and ignores even gentle manipulation.

So I got to thinking about motives, because I think that is really the key here. When there is something said to a group that is absolutely incorrect (I’m not talking about perception of truth here), one of these must be true:

> They are wilfully and knowledgeably lying (to whatever end)
> They are sincere and ignorant, for lack of a better word, and have good intentions.
> They are sincere and ignorant, but with a wrong motivation.

In which cases do we, who can see error, try to correct? How do we go about correcting? Do we even have this authority, as laypeople? On the flipside, do we have the obligation?

Maybe there’s a time to correct, and a time to leave it alone. That may depend on its severity; a simple misquotation versus an assault of fundamental doctrine.

Knowing some of the folk who frequent my blog, I’m sure there are some opinions out there on the subject. So comment away! I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Pedestalling - Related Article in today's Post

Thought this was a sassy little article that fits well with what I wrote a few days ago about the church full of the imperfect, and what that church is really all about.

Take a look: Amazing Grace Enjoy!

Hitting Home

A few hours after writing and posting the poem 'The Sting of Death', I recieved an email saying that a member of my former church had unexpectedly passed away this morning. It became quite relevant very quickly. I'm blown away at the reality of the "joy of death" in our faith! What other group of people is happy and rejoicing upon news like this? We are sad for our own loss, and for the family he leaves behind, but we gather around them knowing that the sick reality of death has been redeemed, and in such a great way! Our funerals are celebrations!

The Sting of Death

the sting of death
poison injects
with purposelessness
and invalidity.
the thief of life,
limiter of love,
end of what is good.
cohort deceit to keep its hold -
disbelief its strength.
the sting of death
in truth and faith
is converted to
the joy of death,
if death at all.

Pedestalling

Pedestalling seems a common building material used in constructing walls between people outside the church and people inside the church. By pedestalling I mean putting people up on a platform of unreasonable expectations. This seems a good and just excuse for staying out of or building up a case against the church in general.

I think this testifies to the fact that the very grace this church operates by is itself an assault on the rational mind. It is this God who chooses the weak to shame the strong, who can convert a life in a single moment and have it changed forever, and who seems keen on using the very opposite of a human's rational expectation to carry his valuable message. His message is grace and that is why he sends those who have experienced grace the most - they are a sign, a testimony. They are imperfect.

People stay away from churches which are full of hypocrites; and that's their reason. Absolutely, the church is teeming with people who say one thing and do another; whose spiritual fathers can be quoted as writing "that which I hate I do". We are those who agonize over our imperfections, and whose perfection is full knowledge of our loved imperfection. (see 1 John 4:18)

The church without hypocrites is an empty one. The church that only accepts perfect people would be the one that is equally as criticized as those which are criticized for being full of hypocrites. It seems the actual fact is, people are looking for a way to disbelieve, looking for loopholes in the church or the faith. But the rational mind will eventually be assaulted by the lack of excuses.

Let's welcome even more hypocrites into the church, and let's bring them in every Sunday morning and teach them, so that we can all grow together, and become perfect in Love. Let's ask the imperfect to fill our pews, and tell them that they're not the only ones. Let's stop pretending and admit our failures, and give voice to the testimony of grace. And most of all, on both sides of the fence, let's stop judging each other. There is no one on this earth who has enough insight into the big picture and each individuals' own journey to make a judgment of any kind.

Meditation

I will exalt you, O LORD,
for you lifted me out of the depths
and did not let my enemies gloat over me.

O LORD my God, I called to you for help
and you healed me.

O LORD, you brought me up from the grave;
you spared me from going down into the pit.

Sing to the LORD, you saints of his;
praise his holy name.
For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may remain for a night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.

Psalm 30 : 1 - 5

This is like the theme verse of my life (thus far!); very meaningful to me.

Everything's Great!

I'm quite excited about life at the moment. I finally decided to start putting some of my ideas into action, not letting fear control my life anymore. Ideas about serving the poor, visiting the lonely, exercising spiritual gifts and natural gifts, taking steps in the direction of dreams, etc. Life has quickly become exciting!

And most of it has to do with the fact that I think I have found a church - at last! I absolutely love it - Global Harvest Centre. In case you're in the Abby area, it's the one on McCallum Road across from CIBC. They don't hold services there anymore though; they've outgrown it. So they're meeting across from the Dragon Fort restuarant in the banquet centre there.

It's funny, I was just reminded of something yesterday morning as I was getting ready to go to the service. The last time I had been there was maybe 1.5 - 2 years ago, and at that time I felt that their chapter of the church would grow and expand and would have to move across the street. I kept it to myself then, but it has become true! I am so encouraged in the gifts!

I met 'Mother Hastings' at the service yesterday. Well, that's what the homeless people and other workers down on Hastings in Vancouver call her. She's a servant to the poor who is spending her retirement feeding the homeless. It was an honour to meet her, and others there at GHC. Worship was amazing (Michael Larson is the leader!), and the preaching was so engaging!

One of the ideas I have had is actually a dream I've had for quite a long time. Don't laugh. It's to sing on 100 Huntley Street, the Christian talk show here in Canada, hosted by the Mainse family. So I called them up to ask what it would take to get on the show, and I landed in a studio last night putting down a few songs as a demo. A studio! It was so exciting for me - that's what I love!! It was great. The end-product isn't my best; my voice is so tired. You all know how little I use my voice to speak, well I've been speaking for 8 hours a day recently at work (on the phone), so my voice is SOOO tired, and you can hear it in the recording. Oh well, I guess we'll see if this bears any fruit!

Also, congrats to my sister and her husband, who are expecting their third child. I'm very excited!!!

Life is exciting...!

Something to Ponder...

A holy man was having a conversation with God, one day and said, "God, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like."

God led the holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water. The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. God said, "You have seen Hell."

They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.

The holy man said, "I don't understand."

"It is simple" said God, "it requires but one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves."

Meditation

When Jesus came into Peter's house, he saw Peter's mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.

When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

"He took up our infirmities
and carried our diseases."

Matthew 8 : 14-17 niv

11/12/06 - International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church

This day comes up once a year and every time I hear the statistics, I am humbled and awed. To think that in our lovely, wonderful world this could be going on! It seems so archaic and outdated, but here are some of the figures being circulated around the Western Church today.

Since the death of Jesus Christ 2000 years ago 43,000,000 Christians have become martyrs.

Over 50% of these were in the last centure alone.

More than 200 million Christians face persecution each day - 60% are children.

Every day over 300 are killed for their faith in Jesus Christ.

ChristiansInCrisis.net
International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church

Every 3.5 minutes, a Christian dies for their faith. Every 3.5 minutes in 2006! Not AD70, not 733, 1550, not 1788, not 1890! 2006!

As you go about your life today, please take a moment to remember those whose faith is much more expensive than ours, and ask God to give them the strength to endure their persecution.

Ambitious India

"India's state-run space agency approved its first indigenous manned mission into space yesterday, aiming to put an astronaut outside the Earth's atmosphere by 2014... The mission is expected to cost US$2.2-billion. ISRO is already working on the launch of its first unmanned mission to orbit the moon in 2008." National Post, 11/8/2006

"...the number of Indians living in extreme poverty approaches 300 million." http://uk.oneworld.net/

I don't know that I need to say much else to express my disagreement with India's decision to flex its spatial muscles, or to at least get in the game. I admit I don’t have all the facts, nor the sentiment of those 300 million living in "extreme poverty" in that country regarding the endeavor. Nor do I know the benefit on the economy of becoming a member of the 100-mile-high club; could be great or small, could be none at all. But at first glance, this seeming-vain expenditure seems like a snub to their poor, actually more like a slap in the face.