Life-Shaping One-Liners

I was thinking the other day about how much my life has been shaped over the six years I’ve been here at IHOP. The great part is that none of it has happened through large, complex, sweeping illustrations and arguments. It’s never a matter of “This teacher put together all those passages, read it through this lens, retold it with a certain kind of spin, and BAM! Suddenly I hang on his/her every word.” It’s a matter of simple, one-line statements that basically say, “Yep, the Bible actually means what it says when it says XYZ.”

When I’m in the middle of an emotional swirl, I don’t have the patience or brainpower to summon that fantastic six-point sermon. What I remember is that handful of words with the umph (and sometimes the “ouch”) behind it to pierce my own mental fog and keep me clinging to Biblical reality.

…I figure I’ve got a few more months of quoting them before I get to pull the preacher trick and just say, “It’s like I’ve always said…”

- I am loved by God, and I am a lover of God; therefore I am successful.

- God is not mostly mad or sad, but mostly glad.

- Love does not have to be mature before it’s real.

- There is a difference between weakness and rebellion.

- God’s correction is not God’s rejection.

- God will use the least severe means possible to bring the greatest number of people to the deepest level of love without violating anyone’s free will.

- Tithing: You can’t afford not to.

- We need a Judge.

What about you? What one-liners stick with you (IHOP or otherwise)? Please share in the comments.

Incognito Legalism

Few things are as universally decried in today’s western Church as legalism. To many of us, the worst possible name anyone could label us is “Pharisee”. We all (rightly) want to avoid that pit of buidling rules upon rules, religiously adhering to stringent requirements that God never commanded. Most young believers today would have no problem identifying and avoiding that kind of legalism. We are culturally geared to not really like the confinements of rules anyway, so we are more than happy to call legalism what it is.

However, there’s an entire other side to legalism that the vast majority of us embrace. Ironically enough, the people most prone to it are the loudest proclaimers of personal freedom. It’s much more covert, but it’s just as real and locks our hearts up just as quickly.

Jesus is not Braveheart

Here I go, stating the obvious again. I seem to have a knack for doing that in my titles. Certainly nothing will draw readers in like telling them something that everyone and their dog already knows. Assuming that their dogs read or watch movies, that is. And it would also be helpful if they had a basic grasp on theology.

Anyway. The point.

I don’t really take issue with drawing theological parallels to movies. I’ve sat under a number of sermons that referenced a movie, or even played a clip from it, to illustrate a pastor’s point. I’ve seen/heard references to Lord of the Rings (particularly The Return of the King), Gladiator, The Patriot… and even Jurassic Park. No, I’m not kidding about that last one. I wish I could remember what point it was supposed to convey. Probably had something to do with spiritual warfare.

Thoughts on IHOP-KC’s 10th Anniversary

Before I get started, let it be known that you can download notes, MP3s, and watch videos from the celebration for free on IHOP’s website. Go to it.

IHOP’s September anniversary is always an exciting season for me. Firstly, September marks the anniversary of my arrival here in Kansas City. I was an intern with Fire in the Night who had zero intention of staying longer than three months. That was six years ago. I’m still here, still on a nocturnal schedule, and very glad of it.  Secondly, my birthday lands smack on the IHOP official anniversary. Combine those factors with the overall corporate sense of remembrance, and I always find myself looking back at how the Lord has led me and what is yet to come. It’s quite the personal milestone each year.

In no particular order, here are the things that are on my heart on the back end of this time of celebration:

Rare Random Fluff

I’ve got a real post in the works as we speak. However, it’s late. It’s also been a very long time since I’ve posted something truly random and bizarre on this site. And this video made me extremely happy. So behold: my random find of the month.

(P.S. If someone can give me the rough idea of what’s being said at the end, you’re my hero.)

Studies show that people who believe stereotypes are all…

…are all over the place. Several of them will read this post. One of them wrote it.

Okay, so no study has shown that, per se. But I’m trying (rather lamely) to make a point here. Because if I didn’t write that title myself, I would probably click through it expecting to see a real study that had unearthed real motives that drive all people who believe stereotypes. This tells me that I am one of those people. And my opinion is that we buy into stereotypes because they–like so many other things in our society–are quick, convenient, and comfortable.

Allow me to explain what started me thinking about this.

Real Heroes Run and Hide

Running and hiding doesn’t immediately summon images of heroism. And to be truthful, a lot of times, running and hiding is simple cowardice. On many occasions, the Lord has called people to obey in the face of seemingly impossible odds. In these instances, backing out would have been succumbing to fear and rebellion.

But as saturated as our culture is with action flicks, we have an immense admiration for crazy guys who look danger in the face and laugh. We cheer when the cinematic protagonist, armed with nothing more than a pie tin and plastic spoon, rallies himself to charge the bad guys head-on as his friends are all begging him not to go and get himself killed. Then, of course, since this is Hollywood, he trounces all opposition, suffering nothing more than the obligatory flesh wound on the bulging bicep. We gawk at and envy this kind of self-assured boldness. We applaud the foolhardiness and invincibility complex, calling it “courage”. We begin to admire real life people who are prepared to forge ahead, come what may, giving no thought to potential consequences.

However, the book of Proverbs shows us that there is a time where the heroic thing is actually to run and hide.

Noah, Daniel, and Job

Pop quiz: What do these three biblical figures have in common?

Answer: According to the Word, they are the most likely candidates to save an unrepentant city from the wrath of God. According to the Word, they are also solidly incapable of doing it.

Before we wave this off as an intriguing (if morbid) bit of biblical trivia, we need to see what the prophet Ezekiel had to say about this trio.

When “Why Not?” Isn’t Good Enough

I’ve been spending a lot of time in the book of Daniel lately. This is my current favorite book in the Bible. If you’ve read the blog for very long, you’ll also know that I’ve written a fair amount on it (and I actually should pick up on that again soon).

In the past few days, I’ve been particularly struck by Daniel 1:8, “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank…” Daniel’s choice was radical. It rubs greatly against the grain of our Western culture. Daniel wasn’t looking for what was permissible; he was setting his heart on what was holy. In other words, he was setting his heart on what was transcendent to the society he found himself in.

Technically, Daniel did not have to take a raw+vegan+water diet in order to maintain a basic level of righteousness. This is actually quite an important point: Daniel didn’t choose his diet because it was required of him by God or by the Law. Let’s think about what he could have been eating and drinking.

Don’t Get Mad… Get Hungry

Okay, so it doesn’t rhyme. But I think it’s fitting advice for believers at this particular juncture in history.

I have seen a number of blog posts, email chains, websites, and the like, that are expressing anger against President Obama. The ones that have specifically come to my attention have been written by Christians. On one hand, I understand where this is coming from. After all, the reasons I chose not to vote for our current president are the same reasons most people are mad at him right now. It’s good to be passionate about important issues and to take a firm stand for what is right. But on the other hand, I can’t help but feeling that our anger is not actually furthering righteousness. At all.