"The one who is not against you is for you"

"John answered, 'Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.' But Jesus said to him, 'Do not stop him, for the one who is not against you is for you.'"
-Luke 9:49-50

This is a rather interesting passage to me. There are so many questions that can be raised from this passage. I have a couple, but will really only address one. Why does John try to stop someone who is casting out demons? Isn't it obvious that casting out demons is a good thing and should be encouraged rather than discouraged? Why was John compelled to make sure that this person was casting out demons properly and for the right reasons and for the right person, namely Jesus. The interesting part is that this man was casting out demons in Jesus' name and yet John still questioned because this man did not follow with them. Initially when I read this, I thought that if I were in John's shoes I would not have tried to stop this man. I would have encoraged this person. Then I thought about it a little more and tried to find comparisons in my life to what John did. And believe it or not I found some.

Denominations. Do I really need to say more? Different churches within the same denominations that argue over practice or belief. People divided among doctrines. These are all similar to John. I even find myself being critical of someone who goes to a specific church or adheres to certain doctrines and I try to stop that person and "correct them." Now there is a place for reproof and addressing places of error, but there is also a place of comprimise for someone who follows Jesus and seeks after Him. I wish I could see the good in someone better than I do, the way Jesus does. This would cause so much less grief and struggle. My mind would be so much more clear if that "fog" were not in the way.

Then I thought a little bit more about Jesus' response, "For the one who is not against you is for you." How far does this go? If you have not had the joy of reading "The chronicles of Narnia" by C.S. Lewis, I suggest you go out and buy it right now and read all 7 books. They are fantastic. Anyway, in "The last battle" there is a Tarkaan who worshiped Tash faithfully his whole life and had been a good man by how he grew up. This Tarkaan ended up in Aslan's country and was forgiven by Aslan. Aslan told him that, "All service done unto Tash, has been done unto me."

This is a rather controversial topic and many questions are raised from this. I will not address all of these questions for there are far too many. Was he forgiven because he was unaware of Aslan and if given the chance he would have been faithful to Aslan? Was he forgiven because all good done is done unto God because that is the essence of God? I want to speculate on the second question.

What if someone who is not of the Christian faith does good? Is it counted as nothing? Does God look on this with disgust? Any good done is a good thing for it is in line with the Kingdom of God. I think God takes great joy when someone not of the Christian faith does good because of two reasons. The kingdom of God is being advanced and that person is beginning to align themselves with that Kingdom. I think all good done, is done unto God because doing good is in line with the kingdom of God. Is it possible for someone who has never heard the gospel to enter the kingdom of heaven? If this were not possible, then what of the people who have never heard the gospel? If they are condemned to hell automatically, then I would say God is unmerciful. Are they accountable for something that they do not understand?

This simply to raise questions in hopes to shake our faith in hopes that God would bring it to fullness. This argument is incomplete and I have much more to say on it, but do not think this blog is the place to do it. If you would like to talk about these issues, email me at blon0026@umn.edu or simply talk to me when you see me next :) Have a great day!

One Love,
Danger

He is moving

Lately I have been very unsettled in my current situation. I don't know what this is from or what it implies. All I know is that something is happening inside of me. It is the feeling you get when you know you have to do something different, but you don't neccessarily want to or don't know what you need to change yet. As the ocean currents stir the ocean, so God is moving in me to get me to move. I don't think it is a major thing, but I do know that whatever it is, it must be done. Times like this require my faith, that I may hear and then DO what the Spirit is asking me to do.

Possible reasons for my feeling this way: (BTW, I like lists (notice the colon))

1. I am working too hard and am not focusing my energy on Him
2. I seem to be disconnecting myself from people (see 1.)
3. I am not plugged into or involved in a church (see 2.)
4. I need to be a part of something bigger, to feel important or that I am contributing to something
5. I need a vacation :)

It could be all of these things, some of these, or none of these. All I know is that God has something up for me in the near future. The stirrings are from deep within, which is how I know it is of God. (Romans 8:26-27, 1 Corinthians 2:11-14) When I find out what is going on, I will inform you.

One Love,
Danger

The Chase

I wrote this a while ago, but maybe you have never read it :)

The Chase

I used to walk free
Without a care in the world
Oblivious to all
Unaware of the circle I was walking

Around and around
In a 6 foot hole
There was safety in the walls
And I could not see that which wasn’t in close proximity to me

Until I saw my shadow
Most days he was my companion
But on this, he looked so different
Through him I could see me

Why are you so near me I cried
Away from me you wretched thing
And I ran and I hide
To avoid the ugliness of him

For fear of him
I climbed out of the hole and ran through the forest
The faster I ran
The faster he chased

Who is this wretch that haunts me so
I am a man despised and hated
Away from me shadow
I cannot look upon thee

The flee ensued
Until no more I could run
I fell with a thud
Only to see this wretch behind me

Turning from his darkness
I looked up to see
The Sun was shining on me
Oh so elegantly

It dawned on me
The Sun was always shining
Even in the comfort of my hole
He led me to where I fell

Because of the Sun I could see my shadow
The wretch who was really an outline of me
Oh how I hate him
Yet he is still with me

Yet he is only an outline
The shadow does not reveal what is inside
When I look beyond this shell
I see the Goodness of what was created

The border of the shadow is defined by the light
On the edge is where He says “No more shall you be”
“This is as far as you go Darkness”
Yet the Sun allows for the shadow as proof of His existence

Reflecting on this revelation
I looked around to see
A green pasture and quiet waters
It was really you leading me!

As far as I ran through the forest and the mire
And as keen on fleeing the shadow
The Sun led me in His direction
As I ran from my shadow I ran towards the Sun

Now I walk towards the light
Aware of the shadow, but more so the Sun
Through the valleys and over the mountains I walk
Higher and higher I rise towards the heavens where the Sun resides

Until one day I reach it
The center of the Sun
In this final resting place
The light engulfs me from all angles

In this place the darkness of the shadow is destroyed
It is only me and the Sun
In Him I shall rest
No longer followed by the darkness of my shadow

One Love,
Danger

How do you view the glass?

Today is 09/09/09! I suppose horoscopes are going crazy at this sort of thing. The fear and the magic of numbers. Oooohhhooo...scary. I was reading somewhere, I think it was on yahoo news, about this day. In the article, the writer mentioned that this is the last time an anomoly like this will happen until the year 2101. That is about 100 years from now. I think it is safe to say that most of us will never see this sort of date significance in our lives. For some reason, this made me sad. I felt like I was missing out on something and that I needed to see this next date anomoly or my life would not be complete. The moment was fleeting, but the feeling was still there. I realized how silly it was to feel bad that I would not be alive to see 01/01/01. As if that really means anything.

I ask the question why I felt this way? Why did I want to experience or participate in something that I could not experience or participate in? Why was I sad that I would never see 01/01/01? Maybe I was sad because this is the last time that I will see this bizare date. I think that is closer to the truth. It is the same mind set as someone who is aging and feels bad about it. They feel like they are losing something. That the way things are is the way things should be. This is not true. Things change. Our lives are not static. Our lives are maulable and they are being mauled. By those around us, by ourselves, and by God. Having the mind set that we are losing something when things change is a dangerous mindset. It is the same as viewing the glass half empty. Pessimism. It is a damaging thing. It can prevent forgiveness. It can cause depression. It can limit us and those around us. Those who view the glass as half empty, miss the opportunities that arise due to their changing circumstances. When things change around us, we have the opportunity to enter into something greater than where we are. Granted we need to be careful not to jump on every opportunity because they are not all good. Far from it. We should embrace change with hope and open arms.

Worst of all, those who dwell on the past, miss what is ahead of them. Living in a pessimistic state can obstruct our view of God. If we are focusing on what we are losing, we are not focusing on God and the opportunities which He is providing for our gain. This does not only affect us, it affects the growth of the Kingdom as well. We are supposed to be tools for the growth of the Kingdom and walking in the good works which God provides for us (Ephesians 2:10) I have heard the saying "we need to let go and let God." As cliche as that is, it does speak truth. If there are things that we are holding on to because we can not move on from the past, we need to let go of that and seek God's will. I hold on to things. I hold on to past decisions I have made. I need to seek God in the present state I am at. I can imagine that some day down the road I will fear getting older. When I get there, I need to let it go because I cannot change it and seek God's will in the present situation.

The glass is completely full! Half water and half air. Things are not always as they seem. We should not become so closed minded in our thinking that we do not see these surprises or rather allow for them. I am now speaking about our theology. God is way more than we can ever know. Why should we think that our theology is the true theology? Yes there are some things that are concrete and absolute, but the things that are not concrete or absolute should not be absolute in our minds. Perhaps what we think is absolute is not absolute. That is the danger and the advantage of a magnificent God. He is who we think He is, but He is also not who we think He is. Being open minded helps us with the later of this aspect of God. It prevents our faith from crumbling when we find out that we have missed part of the truth for so long. Being open minded allows for us to adapt to our changing state. Remember, we are not static. We are being mauled. It is not God who changes, rather our understanding of Him changes. If we seek Him, we will find more of Him. We may even find Him in places that we once thought He would never be. The glass if completely full! Live life to the fullest and seek God at every cost!

One Love,
Danger

The Calling of the 12

I am currently reading through the gospel of Luke, and studying Hebrews. As I was reading the sixth chapter of Luke, I noticed something that caught my attention. In my ESV bible Luke 6:12-16 has a heading that reads "The Twelve Apostles." The intersting part comes in verse 13. "And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles."

Two thoughts stem from this:
What was this like for the disciples?
How long had the disciples known Jesus before he called them?

1. I wonder if it was like at recess when everyone would line up, and the captains of the team would pick their players. No one wanted to be the last one picked. I wonder if the disciples were standing in line with their heads down afraid to make eye contact with their master out of fear that he would not pick them. I highly doubt it, but this funny picture came to my head when I first read this. I am sure he did it more personally than that. This passage does not allude to how he did it, this passage just says that he did do it. One would have to interpret the words "called" and "chose" to get a better understanding of how Jesus did this.

2. It seems that the disciples were with Jesus for some time before he "promoted" them to apostles. Another interesting thing is that Jesus had more than 12 disciples. I wonder how many he had. I know that later in Luke he sends out 72 to preach the kingdom of God. This causes me to think that Jesus had more disciples than these 72 even because he sends out the 72 later in his ministry. Then in John 6 many of Jesus' "disciples" leave after his teaching on the Bread of Life. It is hard to say how many disciples Jesus had because some of the gospels are chronological while others are building up to a certain conclusion. It would take a deeper study than I am giving here.

Anyway, I have always heard that Jesus came up to fisherman and asked them to follow him and they immediately follow without any questions asked. As if they just knew that Jesus was the Christ, maybe they did (John 1:41). I have always heard this and assumed that the fisherman had never met Jesus before. They just followed when a teacher would say follow because they were previously rejected and would be desperate to follow anyone who asked. While this may be along the lines of the truth, I believe it is blown a little out of proportion. Reading the gospels and comparing them leads me to believe that Jesus was teaching and preaching before he called his disciples (Matthew 4:12-17, Mark 4:14-15, Luke 4:14-44) They had a chance to evaluate His ministry and see that He was doing and saying great things. I would even speculate and say that they had met and maybe even talked with Jesus before he came to them when they were in their boat. I am not sure though.

I am not sure of my point on this, but it was an interesting speculation to me. I do believe that it took a while for the disciples to know who the Messiah really was, perhaps even after Jesus died did they finally understand. It is one thing to know that Jesus is the Messiah and another to know what that implies (they believed that the Messiah would stop the oppression of the Romans and become a prominent leader on earth, WRONG!) Maybe God doesn't expect us to follow blindly, but rather He wants us to trust and obey who He is and the more we know about who God is, the more responsibility we have to respond to this knowledge. I am pretty sure that is in the Bible somewhere :)

One Love

Way behind new technology!

So I found myself reading a lot of blogs lately. I am not sure what sparked this, but I am ready to take the plung and start my own blog. I know that I am far behind new technology, but it is never too late. Most people are now tweeting, I am not ready for that serious of a committment :)

I am just trying this out to see what it looks like when I am done. More to come in the future.

One Love