Obama-Nation?

Important Preamble:
It has occurred to me (actually it was gently pointed out to me)that some if not all of my blog postings may come across a little preachy. I apologize if they read that way. It is an unfortunate by-product of my passion for the subject matter. It is certainly not my intent to sound as if I know the condition of your heart and can, with but a few words address and direct you to solutions for all your problems.
The entries I make into this blog are MY STORY, my own journey of sanctification. This process involves me and my Savior and His plans for me. He is making His desires for my life known to me by gently molding me, as a potter shapes his clay. Chipping away the unwanted bits of my life, as a sculptor shapes his artwork. It is a messy process.
As He is whittling away the World in me, I am finding that I respond with renewed appreciation for who my Lord really is and what He has in store for me. In my life I have know a fair number of people who kept a journal or diary. I have never successfully done so, though I have tried a number of times in the past and have always valued the idea.
This blog is, I find, accomplishing that goal for me. Capturing my own growth process, in real time, is the intent, the goal, and the purpose of my entries into this blog. To a large extent, I am sharing the blog with the reader to admit my own shortcomings and my slow understanding of what God truly expects of me. I would be both saddened and discouraged if I, in any way, offended you the reader. I hope that you enjoy its contents and humbly ask that you pray for my spiritual growth.
That being said…

If you have read even one of my blog postings, you will likely come away thinking that I enjoy the use of creative titles. This posting is no exception. When this title first occurred to me is uncertain. What is certain, however, is that my original intention in writing it was to paint a rather horrible portrait of one of our presidential candidates, Barack Hussein Obama. Like a lot of conservative Christians, I receive much e-mail regarding the presidential race and the character of the Democratic hopefuls. So often, claims of wrong doing or supposed exposure of hidden agendas are the central focus, with little or no proof to support the allegations.

I too have read the following about Barack Hussein Obama:

· Not placing his hand over his heart when reciting the pledge of Allegiance.
· That he was sworn into Congress on the Quran because he is Muslim
· That his book “Audacity of Hope” stated he would stand with the Muslims if the political winds shift.

With just an hours worth of real research into these claims, I discovered that quite a bit of injustice is being done the man. He does indeed place his hand over his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance (but perhaps not during the singing of our National Anthem); he was sworn into Congress with a Bible (unlike the Minnesota congressman Keith Ellison) and his book “Audacity of Hope has been misquoted more than once.

We all are aware that virtually every political campaign is negative. It is far easier to tear a man (or woman) down that to build one up and it is very easy to believe the worst about someone you already have differences with. We can also get so caught-up in the issues that divide us that we can forget our humanity and start treating people with disrespect and indifference.
Christ’s message of love would have us treat our political adversaries with love and in doing so, win them over. As His ambassadors to the world we have quite a responsibility to carry out the ministry of reconciliation given us. I know that I am committed to do my own research and as best I can, be a voice for Christ. For if I claim to be His and have not love, that would be an abomination.

My journey continues and I chose to remain ALL IN!

At times our self examinations can go too far!

The Long Road Home

If you are like me, you have some form of commute to your place of work. You likely take the same roadway or combination of roadways to and from work each weekday. When traveling to work, have you ever been so completely on “automatic pilot” that you are unaware whether you stopped at traffic lights, you know commute must go through? Do you find your self double-checking whether you have accomplished simple tasks, like locking the front door? Have you ever turned your car, so you could return home because you are wondering whether you lowered your garage door? Have you ever tried to start you car, when it was already running? Sure you can blame it on age, we’re all getting older. But, perhaps it is just the mundane nature of these mindless tasks in life. Lets face it; nothing is very exciting about closing our garage doors.

How much does this “Automatic Pilot” mode affect our spiritual life and walk with the Lord? Has going to church become another task? Has our worship become as ordinary as shutting our garage? What must we do to make sure our spiritual journey does not fall victim to this “rut routine” and our complacency spread to infect this most intimate relationship of our soul? Searching out the presence of God is, of course, the most obvious answer. If we are always with Him and our work is accomplished on His behalf, even our most mundane tasks become worship and communion with the creator of the universe. We three dogs refer to this as being ALL IN.

The process is well described in the classic Christian text, The Practice of the Presence of God. In this work, maintaining a close relationship with God is modeled for us by, Brother Lawrence (1614-1691), a lay brother in a Carmelite monastery. Brother Lawrence was born Nicholas Herman in the region of Lorraine, located in modern day eastern France. He entered the priory in Paris as a lay brother, not having the educational background to become a cleric. He spent most of his life within the walls of the priory, working in the kitchen and later repairing sandals. His character attracted many to him, in spite of, or perhaps because of, his lowly position, He was know for his profound peace and many sought guidance from him.

The wisdom he shared was assembled for us after his death by one of those he inspired, Father Joseph de Beaufort, later vicar general to the Archbishop of Paris. For Brother Lawrence, “common business,” no matter how mundane or routine, was opportunity for praising our Lord. The important issue was not the task at hand, but the motivation behind its accomplishment.

We can do little things for God; I turn the cake that is frying on the pan for the love of Him, and that done, if there is nothing else to call me, I prostrate myself myself in worship before Him, who has given me grace to work; afterwards I rise happier than a king. It is enough for me to pick up but a straw from the ground for the love of God.

He admitted that his path to this level of communion with God was not easy. He spent years disciplining his heart and mind to constantly search for Gods presence.

As often as I could, I placed myself as a worshiper before Him, fixing my mind upon His holy presence, recalling it when I found it wandering from Him. This proved to be a exercise frequently painful, yet I persisted through the difficulties.

Only after he reconciled himself to the thought that this long struggle was his destiny did he find peace, his soul finally had come home and found a place of rest. He spent the rest of his 80 years in relative obscurity, pain and perfect joy. Brother Lawrence paints a picture of the sancification process not unlike that of Paul of Tarsus. Paul too understood that this process was a long difficult one. In his farwell address to the Ephesian Elders (Acts 20:24) Paul had this to say:

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.

And (likely Paul) in Hebrews (12:1):

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Also consider: God has given us clear testimony in His Word concerning the reasons why He humbled Himself and "made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness." (Philipians 2:7)

Are we being asked too much? Perhaps you feel we are. Too many of us have lost the ability to focus our attention for very long on anything, let a lone anything worthwhile. Consider the words of the song “Always on My mind”, made famous by Willie Nelson:

Maybe I didn’t treat you quite as good as I should have
Maybe I didn’t love you quite as often as I could have
Little things I should have said and done, I just never took the time
You are always on my mind, you are always on my mind

Sadly this attitude is all too common in this day and age. It is unfortunate that such self-absorption has kept most of us from investing ourselves in things we claim to be important. Priorities have been shuffled and far too often we are merely in response mode to the “tyranny of the urgent”. We keep all the plates spinning as best we can without ever even asking whether the plates are worthy of our attention at all. How do we turn this around? How can we begin or regain our focus on what is important?

It starts, I believe, with an understanding of what should qualify as important. A understanding of this can always be found in Gods word (his specific revelation). Daily reading Gods word, reveals Gods character and nature to us each and everyday. Daily communing in prayer, helps in maintaining that all important relationship. Our days can fill-up rather fast with the world coming at us full bore. Beginning the day with the proper focus, provides the all important reminder, that we are here for His purpose. We can't expect to finish strong, if we have not started strong.

Next time you find yourself muddled in the mundane or spinning the wrong plates, ask yourself how you got there and next time chose a different path. Best part is, you can start all over right there and then. God promises his grace to a repentant believer and a contrite heart. You do not have to become a cleric or the next Paul of Tarsus to make a difference for the kingdom. Find ways to be in His presence in your daily chores, when your day is lived for Him, you are worshiping Him. It is a Long Road Home, take it one step at a time, focused on Him.

Raising Cain

My folks raised at least one “Cain” in our family. Growing up, I was a boy with a handful of wild ideas dressed in a dirty T-shirt and jeans wearing PF Flyers, Blue Canvas Vans , Wallabee's or Work boots depending on what decade you might be talking about. I had always felt that there must be a God, but I had no understanding of his plans for me, how accessible He was or how He wished to have relationship with me. In many ways, which I will not explore here, and in this sense, I was a “Cain”.

Note: The subject of my own predetermination is a bit to lofty for discussion in this brief blog, but suffice to say, I made it into the family of God. Thanks to my dear Sister and a number of dear friends, that prayed regularly for my very soul.

I now enjoy the task of raising “Cain” as a father. You might say I am raising several “Cains” in differing states of “Cain”-dom. (I know that sounds strange, but hang in there). The raising Cain process is a bit like separating the wheat from the chaff. When raising “Cain”, the trick is really to raise the “Cain” OUT of that person. To this end, as a father and head of my household, I have committed myself to rear my children and make them more ABLE.

More able to: Know God, Love God, Listen to God, Follow God and Share God. To all you parents out there, I wish you the best of success in raising your own “Cain”

Ever feel Sucker-Punched?

Ever feel sucker-punched? Ever had your legs pulled out from under you? Ever been totally blindsided? Ever had that feeling that everything was going along pretty good and then WHAMO! (and I don’t mean Frisbee), Life happens and you’re down for the count? I am sure you have, we all have had those experiences and yet we still are surprised by them time and time again. Looking back, these are the times when, once we are on the other side of the crisis, we take stock of what really matters most, we focus in on what our priorities should be instead of what they default to be. We get back to the heart of things, we are thankful to our Lord and Creator for pulling us through and tell ourselves that we are going to live differently from then on, with a fresh new set of priorities and a renewed focus and determination to walk in a manner that honors our Father.

How are you doing with that? Is it working for you?

Or are you more like me, regularly brought back to your knees again and again, thankful for God’s daily attention, provision and protection. Oh, the helpful regular reminders are nice, but do they have to come in the form of: 3:00AM Emergency rooms visits, painful Parent-teacher conferences, disappointing doctors appointments, unfair traffic tickets, unexplainable x-rays, dead pets, broken appliances and uncontrolled vomiting? It can be rather painful to “fall on your knees in prayer”, perhaps that is because we made the mistake of ever getting up from that position of prayer, from laying our life at His feet, from yielding our will to His.

We can’t have our legs pulled out from under us if we are kneeling, we can’t be blindsided if we don’t have a side that’s blind and we can’t be sucker-punched with our eyes on Him. We need to remain ALL IN.