Happy Spirit Day

Don't adjust your screen. Yes, this post is in purple. It's in purple because today is National Spirit Day, a day when we are asked to focus on the effects of bullying within the Youth culture. 

Bullying is an all too real thing which happens everyday in every state, in every district, in every school. Unfortunately, bullying happens to those who are deemed "different" by society. I personally know youth who are homeless, have gone through abortions, are in same sex relationships, have been kicked out of their homes, live with drug-addicted parents, are living in abusive foster homes, and so much more who are just trying to deal with their everyday realities. 

These youth sometimes choose to be quiet or alone. They sometimes wear clothing that doesn't fall in line with what the norm is considered. These youth listen to their own music, have their own language, and choose their friends very carefully. Sometimes these friends are just like them and are their only path to not  taking their own lives one day. 

Bullying is real. Bullying is unacceptable. Bullying is un-accepting. If you know of anyone who is a bully, tell them to stop. If you know someone who is being bullied, tell them you accept them unconditionally. Be the friend who will end the cycle.

For all of you who have been or are being bullied it is you who I find to be the strongest, most caring people on the planet. I mean that and believe that with every ounce of my being. Thank you for being you and not pretending to be anything else. 

What Was That Golden Rule Again?

Mark 10:35-45

After yesterdays revelation that one feels called into a life's work by the ignition of deep passions to make people's lives better, today's passage comes as almost a shock. The words of Jesus' own followers asking him to "do for us whatever we ask of you" keeps echoing in my head. I mean, really, who is calling whom? To me, these words tell of where our society currently resides. We truly have become a what's-in-it-for-me culture.

Yesterday I met with my tutor and dear friend and we had the most wonderful conversation on the meaning of spirituality and the definition (as far as one is possible) of spirit. We touched on topics ranging from self worth to communal reliance. The understanding that as individuals we are nothing until we become a part of a community, and yet we cannot become part of a community until we find our self was discussed for close to an hour. As we talked more about humanity and individuality and community we were greatly reminded that the one thing which ties it all together is our God.

Somehow, and for whatever reasons, we have become a society that has forgotten community is more important than individualism. Those words spoken by followers of our Christ show it was happening back then just as it is happening now. However, Jesus being Jesus he gives them a reply that says to them, and to us, what the importance is of being called. He says that he is in the world not to "be served, but to serve."

As followers of Jesus, children of God, or just part of a community we need to begin to put others first. It's what we, humanity and caretakers of creation, are being asked to do.

The Phone Is Ringing

Hebrews 5:1-10

Someone asked me the other day why I'm interested in becoming a minister. I answered "I just feel called to become one." The look on this person's face was priceless as the eyebrows furrowed and nose crinkled just as the word, "huh?" came through pursed lips.

Being called is not easily defined in today's culture. Many of us fall into our career choices. We have gifts we understand to be unique or we have desires we hope to achieve or we follow the paths laid before us in education and end up somewhere we feel happy, or not, as a career.

We become firefighters, office managers, mechanics, engineers, computer programmers, fry cooks, and/or retail managers because of where we end up or because of where we're taken. This is what I would define as being led by events and people along your journey into a life's choice that economically befits your chosen lifestyle. The dictionary can better define a career than I could ever hope to: an occupation or profession, especially one requiring special training followed as one's lifework.

A calling is more like a vocation, which is similarly defined as a career with one twist; a strong impulse to follow one's lifework. If you become a firefighter it's because deep inside you feel the need to save lives. If you become a mechanic it's because you have a passion to keep cars in their best condition in order that those driving them are ensured safety. If you become a retail manager it's because within you lays the desire to accomplish goals with and through the help of others. 

Becoming a minister, to me, is a deep desire to share in the journey of those around me in order that a relationship with God, one another, and themselves can become a reality. Becoming a minister is a calling and the call comes from my God. All that my life is, everything which has provided me with the abilities I posses, has prepared me for what will become my lifework and it all comes from God.

It's taken me a while to answer this call. For some reason every time the "phone" rang I saw the caller ID and decided to ignore it. Now that I've answered the call there's a new life which has been born within me. It's been a long journey, one filled with many life lessons. I thank God everyday that I've come through all of that and into a place where the lessons I've learned can best be used to help others.

Wait, what's that noise. Sorry, gotta go...the phone is ringing.

Who Is "He"?

Isaiah 53:4-12

I found a way to confuse myself this morning, not just once, but twice. I began reading the passage for today and immediately started thinking, "Why is the second passage of the week from the New Testament, it's usually from the Old...hmm" So I re-check the passage, re-open my bible, and re-read the same words.

Unable to understand what I'm reading as being from the words of Old Testament, I double check the book, chapter, and verse of today's passage to be sure I'm on the right page. I finally give in to the fact that I'm in the right place and continue reading, all the time thinking, "Isaiah must be a great prophet to be talking about the life of Jesus hundreds of years before that life was to take place.

Indeed, Isaiah is a great prophet. Indeed, Isaiah is believed to be foretelling the coming life of the Messiah. Indeed, when you read the same passage you may very well say that Isaiah's words are uncanny and is most definitely talking about Jesus.

Or maybe not.

After I accepted this passage to be the words from the prophet Isaiah and put it into context I felt a different message in my heart. This portion of Isaiah, known as Deutero-Isaiah, or Second Isaiah (chapters 40-55), is written in a time when the people of Judea were experiencing the second exile of their people from their land. The introduction of a "servant" actually occurs very early in this section of Isaiah and continues throughout.

This servant is said to be sent from God to be with God's people in this time of turmoil. Not only is this servant sent directly from God, but is also just like them, feeling the same anxieties and fears. This servant also has the strength and courage to not just endure the unknown, but to also find a way to lead them into a better place.

Sometimes when we take a step back and try to separate our personal beliefs from that the message the bible is trying to give us we see a new enlightening. In today's case I see the words of a God who promises that we are never alone in the trials we face. If we allow ourselves to be open enough in our hearts and minds  we will see that our lives are filled with "servants" sent by God to share in our suffering as well as be the strength we need to get through it.

Whatever you are going through, whatever you may be experiencing, please know that you have a God that never leaves your side.

Safety

Psalm 91:9-6

I write this post with the thought that a new friend is preparing for an exploratory surgery for what is believed to be the return of cancerous cells. Before the weekend it was obvious she was keeping a lot of her anxieties bottled up and, knowing her for as little time as I have, I understood this to mean only that she doesn't want to burden anyone with what she is going through.

One of the things she has been wanting to do for the few months I've known her is get back to church. Every time I talked about whatever the newest thing I learned in my classes were or what we talked about in church she always stated that she really missed the fellowship and relationships her church offered. She finally went back last week Sunday, not sure about yesterday.

I see in her an awareness of how strength can be found in God and in others. This strength is so much more needed when we feel like the strength we have within ourselves is somewhat diminished because of our fears or lack of understanding of the unknown. I also see in her the acceptance that we find the courage we need by being with God through others.

If you read this I ask that you pray for my friend, not so much for safety or healing, but for helping us remember that God is our refuge and that God is always with us.

Lost and Found

I went through a major change this week. I left one of my part time jobs. I say this is major not because my finances will be tight, or because I've never quit a job before without hating that job. I say this is major because I'm trusting more of my life to God.

In that job I was making an extra $250 a month which helped with making ends meet and being able to take my wife out for a nice date. Recently we paid off a rather large bill and even with the purchase, lease actually, of a new car we found ourselves saving about $250 a month. So what was financially necessary from that part time job was no longer needed. Of course, just as most of you do, I worry if the extra money would still be useful.

The decision to leave that job wasn't mainly financial, though. It had more to do with me needing the time to finish my studies on time in order to graduate this school year. That, above all else, is becoming a driving factor in the decisions I make for my life these days. It would seem that all other things are becoming an afterthought, which is good in one sense and not so good in others.

Parts of my life are falling behind, I'm forgetting other deadlines, I'm not as organized as I would like to be. But I am also surrounded by caring, loving, understanding people who share the path I'm on and that is where I find the strength to keep going.

Although I'm in a place that might be considered "darkness" (not too dark, though), I have many points of light leading me through it. My life is about following Jesus, and the sacrifices I'm making are well worth it.

Giving Up

Mark 10:17-31

Today's passage is another one of my favorites. The story of the rich man and his inability to part with his possessions in order to follow Christ and Jesus' comment about a camel passing through the eye of a needle sort of gives me a chuckle. Maybe that's because I'm not rich.

Before you start saying, "Even Randy is beginning to use class division in his rhetoric" let me say I know lots of rich people who are most definitely going to see the kingdom of God. These people will get there because they have decided to make a commitment to following Christ, regardless of the costs.

This passage has always carried with it the connotation that in order to follow Christ we need to give up everything. I don't think that's the message at all. I believe this passage is asking us to be willing to give up everything. I will agree the rich man is being told to sell everything and give the money to the poor, but the message is not in the asking, it's in the reaction. The man was unwilling to do what was necessary.

In his point of view the man was already following the law, and shouldn't that have been enough? Apparently not. At times we are asked to give up everything in order to do what Christ is asking us to do. We cancel meetings to be with a friend who's lover just left them, we get only one hour of sleep because we stayed up all night talking with a family member who is losing their home, we give up our pocket money and skip lunch because someone who is more hungry than you asks for a few dollars to get a meal.

Christ's message is not that we have to become destitute in order to get to the kingdom of God. All we have to be is willing; truly willing because that day may come.