Life is a journey. A life can be mapped out in steps, perhaps a step is a day, an hour, an event... But there are two ways we can live this journey: we can take each step, or we can leap to the end point.
Now the "end result" seems to be a debatable topic in the world of modern thinking... what happens when we die? That is a question for another day, but everyone would agree, I think, that we die. The form in which we currently exist is altered or erased.
And like just about any other journey, the journey has some sort of end or destination. Life's end point seems to be death. But even if you shrink down the time line and only look at age 15-25, you have journeys and end points. Perhaps you graduate high school, college, maybe you get a job. Whatever you do, there is a journey to get you there. You take multitudes of classes to end up with a degree, you interview for numerous jobs before you get one. In life you take multitudes of steps.
You can look at the journey as a starting point and end point, or you can look at every step in between.
I choose the steps.
In this way of viewing life you get to have multitudes of end points: every step is another end point. And you begin to see this bigger picture, you begin to see that life is not about "getting there" or finding the end point. You begin to see that life is about every step. You wake up in the morning and think, I get to take this next step. You suddenly have optimism of the step you are on rather then only having a longing for the end point.
So as I take this step I will look around. As I take this step I will observe Beauty. As I take this step I will Love. I will not worry about the step tomorrow.
"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day (each step) has enough trouble of its own." -Matthew 6: 34
Grace and Peace,
Ben
Friday, June 25, 2010
For Every Burden
For every burden we carry, one more person will not have to carry that burden. So should the strong not carry the burden? I am given a burden, and somebody else is relieved. perhaps somebody who was being crushed.
Has not God removed a burden from you? Through what vessel?
You can be that vessel.
I can be that vessel.
God calls for that purpose.
We are given opportunities to carry the weight that was presumably crushing someone else.
So do not mourn for the burdens you carry, but rejoice for the opportunity to remove those burdens from others.
Has not God removed a burden from you? Through what vessel?
You can be that vessel.
I can be that vessel.
God calls for that purpose.
We are given opportunities to carry the weight that was presumably crushing someone else.
So do not mourn for the burdens you carry, but rejoice for the opportunity to remove those burdens from others.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Lament
Maybe it is Ok for "it" to not be Ok.
Maybe it's fine for life to suck.
Maybe it's Ok to be honest about it.
Just read the first chapter of Lamentations. Here are a few exerpts
"The Lord has rejected all the warriors in my midst; he has summoned an army against me to crush my young men. In his winepress the Lord has trampled Virgin Daughter Judah."
"See, Lord, how distressed I am! I am in torment within, and in my heart I am disturbed."
"People have heard my groaning, but there is no one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my distress they rejoice at what you have done."
Lamentations is a book of lament. Mourning. Pain. Groaning. Distress. But most of all that first chapter breathes honesty into my heart.
How often do we have our cities crushed? How often do our dreams crumble? How often do our loved ones die?
How often do we tell people how we really feel?
How we are suffering?
It IS ok to be suffering. It IS ok to be in distress. What your heart feels should not be hidden or suppressed. We trap our emotions and feelings, and we are tormented by them from within. We long so desperately for somebody to care, somebody to come to our aide. Then somebody asks us, as they so often do, "how are you?" We smile and lie. Even in a situation when we know that that person truly cares, would really listen to all of your pain and sit with you like Job's friends sat with him. We smile and lie, because we believe that it is not Ok for it to not be Ok.
I am suffering. I am processing pain. I am being tormented. There are numerous things in my life that are not ok.
But that's ok.
Now I offer this thought, and do not be so naive to disagree with me. Nobody reading this is truly 100% OK. I believe that we are all suffering. I believe that we all are crying on the inside. I believe that if that mask were to be removed we would find pain. We would find unresolved conflict. We would find anger towards God.
So please, retreat to that safe environment and take off that mask. Remove that person that the world thinks you should be and cry show them who you really are. Take off your mask for God. Do not sugar coat your prayers. If you have doubt then tell God and those dear to you about your doubt.
It is Ok to not be Ok. It is fine for life to suck. And it's Ok to be honest.
In Christ,
Ben
Maybe it's fine for life to suck.
Maybe it's Ok to be honest about it.
Just read the first chapter of Lamentations. Here are a few exerpts
"The Lord has rejected all the warriors in my midst; he has summoned an army against me to crush my young men. In his winepress the Lord has trampled Virgin Daughter Judah."
"See, Lord, how distressed I am! I am in torment within, and in my heart I am disturbed."
"People have heard my groaning, but there is no one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my distress they rejoice at what you have done."
Lamentations is a book of lament. Mourning. Pain. Groaning. Distress. But most of all that first chapter breathes honesty into my heart.
How often do we have our cities crushed? How often do our dreams crumble? How often do our loved ones die?
How often do we tell people how we really feel?
How we are suffering?
It IS ok to be suffering. It IS ok to be in distress. What your heart feels should not be hidden or suppressed. We trap our emotions and feelings, and we are tormented by them from within. We long so desperately for somebody to care, somebody to come to our aide. Then somebody asks us, as they so often do, "how are you?" We smile and lie. Even in a situation when we know that that person truly cares, would really listen to all of your pain and sit with you like Job's friends sat with him. We smile and lie, because we believe that it is not Ok for it to not be Ok.
I am suffering. I am processing pain. I am being tormented. There are numerous things in my life that are not ok.
But that's ok.
Now I offer this thought, and do not be so naive to disagree with me. Nobody reading this is truly 100% OK. I believe that we are all suffering. I believe that we all are crying on the inside. I believe that if that mask were to be removed we would find pain. We would find unresolved conflict. We would find anger towards God.
So please, retreat to that safe environment and take off that mask. Remove that person that the world thinks you should be and cry show them who you really are. Take off your mask for God. Do not sugar coat your prayers. If you have doubt then tell God and those dear to you about your doubt.
It is Ok to not be Ok. It is fine for life to suck. And it's Ok to be honest.
In Christ,
Ben
Sunday, June 6, 2010
When Was the Last Time You Worshiped?
When was the last time you worshiped?
And don't think that just because you sang the song or went through the motions meant you worshiped.
When was the last time your heart was in a place of real worship?
What keeps us from worshiping? Why is it that for months worship will be great, but then one day, it just...
falls
apart?
Because worship is not about a song! Worship is not about a day. Worship is not about a service, or a praise band. It is not about your voice or your dance skills (yes, we can worship through dance).
Worship is a way one lives their life.
We often express this when we come together and sing songs. Many people see that specifically as worship time, but even that time is about so much more. Worship comes from the heart. I've heard it put that worship is the reflection of ones week.
I have no conclusive "how to" on worship. If you read this, just take some time to think about it.
Answer this question, then look deeper into the why...
When was the last time you worshiped?
In Christ,
Ben
And don't think that just because you sang the song or went through the motions meant you worshiped.
When was the last time your heart was in a place of real worship?
What keeps us from worshiping? Why is it that for months worship will be great, but then one day, it just...
falls
apart?
Because worship is not about a song! Worship is not about a day. Worship is not about a service, or a praise band. It is not about your voice or your dance skills (yes, we can worship through dance).
Worship is a way one lives their life.
We often express this when we come together and sing songs. Many people see that specifically as worship time, but even that time is about so much more. Worship comes from the heart. I've heard it put that worship is the reflection of ones week.
I have no conclusive "how to" on worship. If you read this, just take some time to think about it.
Answer this question, then look deeper into the why...
When was the last time you worshiped?
In Christ,
Ben
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Today is Now
Lately I have been all about living today. Well, I have written about it... it is hard sometimes to actually live today. And now that it is 3:30 AM and I cannot sleep for the life of me, I will write something about it.
I do not think I would be naive to say that all that happens is now.
All that happens is now.
Let us focus on now. Yesterday never happens. I guarantee that you will never experience yesterday. That is just an absurd idea. The Beatles claimed that yesterday was so simple, and now they long for yesterday. Well that is a silly aspiration if you think about it. For one, yesterday will never happen, and for another, today is just as simple as yesterday. No matter your situation, the human state is always such that something greater or more important always seems to be going on.
C.S. Lewis speaks of this when talking about war. Just because we label something a "war" does not mean that it is any more drastic or any greater then before it was labeled war. And once the war is won or once the war is lost, the situation will be just as drastic and just as important.
But most of all, do not long for a simpler time because now, here, is the simplest time you will ever experience. No matter what is happening around you, now is happening, here is happening, and there is nothing complex about that.
Then there are the dreamers who look to tomorrow. But tomorrow, I would say, is an un instantiated idea. Show me tomorrow. Tomorrow is an idea, but it never happens and never will happen. Do not dream for tomorrow, or say tomorrow I will do this, because tomorrow will always be one day, one hour, one second out of your grasp.
Today is all we have, today is all that there is. Chasing your past will tie you up in the thoughts that today is somehow more difficult or somehow more complicated then the past. Relying on tomorrow will leave you with a massive to do list that will never get done because tomorrow will never instantiate itself.
What will you be today? Choose to be love today and you will be love always. Choose to be love tomorrow and you will never be love. Choose to be peace once the "current situation" is over and peace will never come. Choose to forgive once he comes and asks for it and you will never forgive (even if he asks for it... trust me).
Be ______ Today, it is your only chance.
Friday, May 28, 2010
YOU
It seems to me that everyone gets caught up in changing. Everyone wants to grow and become something else, or someone else. This, it seems to me, is destructive thinking.
I was at the zoo today when I realized something. Animals have a perfectly humble pride in what they are, and where they are. They rule over the ground that they are on. They all hold their heads high. None of the birds wish they were reptiles, or reptiles wish they were zebras. The Eagles could no longer fly, so they sat on their perch, chest puffed and head high. Always proud to be what they are.
Everyone is weak. Everyone is hurting. But Everyone is strong.
We all envy each other, until it become a massive circle of jealousy and nobody ever takes pride in their own existence. Imagine if you were to discover the function of your body, or the incredible flow of thoughts from your mind? You are powerful. You are strong.
So stop looking at your neighbor and wishing you were him. Accept who you are, and be YOU to the best of your ability. Then, once you are in fact being YOU, lift your head. Puff out your chest. Show everyone in the world that you are YOU and nobody else. Show everyone in the world that you are powerful and strong.
Be YOU.
Grace and Peace,
Ben
I was at the zoo today when I realized something. Animals have a perfectly humble pride in what they are, and where they are. They rule over the ground that they are on. They all hold their heads high. None of the birds wish they were reptiles, or reptiles wish they were zebras. The Eagles could no longer fly, so they sat on their perch, chest puffed and head high. Always proud to be what they are.
Everyone is weak. Everyone is hurting. But Everyone is strong.
We all envy each other, until it become a massive circle of jealousy and nobody ever takes pride in their own existence. Imagine if you were to discover the function of your body, or the incredible flow of thoughts from your mind? You are powerful. You are strong.
So stop looking at your neighbor and wishing you were him. Accept who you are, and be YOU to the best of your ability. Then, once you are in fact being YOU, lift your head. Puff out your chest. Show everyone in the world that you are YOU and nobody else. Show everyone in the world that you are powerful and strong.
Be YOU.
Grace and Peace,
Ben
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Drinking and Wrestling
So there are ideas in the bible that are constantly wrestled with. I do not always enjoy wrestling, sometimes I am tired and just want to sit in the sun and have the truth come down from heaven upon me like ice cold lemonade... I'm not going to say that is impossible, but let's just say that we have to wrestle.
That said, I don't think I will ever be done wrestling with anything. It is constantly changing and applying itself in new ways in my life, and the wrestling match will only be done when I die or Christ returns.
Here are a few of my wrestling matches:
1. Whether or not homosexuality is sinful, what then?
2. Jesus loves the porn star... Just as much as me?
3. I cannot trust my heart?
1. Personally, I think that homosexuality is sinful. But what does that mean? Does it even matter? Even if that is true, that does not effect how I treat the person. All that means is that for me, personally, I would consider myself sinning if I were to have a homosexual relationship. But can I possibly look upon a man and say "you are sinning?" Truth be told, I have a plank in my eye. Perhaps I let God judge, and I attempt to love all.
2. Jesus loves the porn star. Jesus loves everyone. Jesus came to die for everyone. But Jesus must love me more right?... haha. no. not at all. How many sins do I have that I do not repent, that I do not attempt to fix? I slap Jesus in the face on a daily basis. I put the nails through his hands time and time again. I see his pain, I know what causes is, and I pick up the hammer and pound the nail.
3. I absolutely cannot trust my heart. Another thing to add to this one, begin "nice" is not enough. I have good intentions with most everything I do, I think most people do. I try to be nice to everyone around me, and that stems from these good intentions. But these intentions and this attempt at "niceness" do nothing. I have no way of overcoming this on my own. The only possible thing that could happen is that God could have mercy upon me and guide me towards his heart. Let my heart be Yours Lord, so that there is no difference. I will not trust my own heart, but rather I will trust God's heart.
But how can I tell the difference?
As you can see, with each of these there is wrestling happening, and wrestling that has happened. I have been frustrated and angry, I have been exhausted and defeated. Every answer I think I stumble upon brings forth more questions.
But as I wrestle, I must remember this. I must come back to the water. I must drink deep of it, or I will be overtaken. If I do not drink the water, the simplest and only fulfilling water, I will be overtaken.
Drink deep of the well that is Jesus.
Grace and Peace to all,
Ben
That said, I don't think I will ever be done wrestling with anything. It is constantly changing and applying itself in new ways in my life, and the wrestling match will only be done when I die or Christ returns.
Here are a few of my wrestling matches:
1. Whether or not homosexuality is sinful, what then?
2. Jesus loves the porn star... Just as much as me?
3. I cannot trust my heart?
1. Personally, I think that homosexuality is sinful. But what does that mean? Does it even matter? Even if that is true, that does not effect how I treat the person. All that means is that for me, personally, I would consider myself sinning if I were to have a homosexual relationship. But can I possibly look upon a man and say "you are sinning?" Truth be told, I have a plank in my eye. Perhaps I let God judge, and I attempt to love all.
2. Jesus loves the porn star. Jesus loves everyone. Jesus came to die for everyone. But Jesus must love me more right?... haha. no. not at all. How many sins do I have that I do not repent, that I do not attempt to fix? I slap Jesus in the face on a daily basis. I put the nails through his hands time and time again. I see his pain, I know what causes is, and I pick up the hammer and pound the nail.
3. I absolutely cannot trust my heart. Another thing to add to this one, begin "nice" is not enough. I have good intentions with most everything I do, I think most people do. I try to be nice to everyone around me, and that stems from these good intentions. But these intentions and this attempt at "niceness" do nothing. I have no way of overcoming this on my own. The only possible thing that could happen is that God could have mercy upon me and guide me towards his heart. Let my heart be Yours Lord, so that there is no difference. I will not trust my own heart, but rather I will trust God's heart.
But how can I tell the difference?
As you can see, with each of these there is wrestling happening, and wrestling that has happened. I have been frustrated and angry, I have been exhausted and defeated. Every answer I think I stumble upon brings forth more questions.
But as I wrestle, I must remember this. I must come back to the water. I must drink deep of it, or I will be overtaken. If I do not drink the water, the simplest and only fulfilling water, I will be overtaken.
Drink deep of the well that is Jesus.
Grace and Peace to all,
Ben
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