This is New…

So, what do you think? I decided to simplify my page. I have been trying to simplify a lot lately. It’s almost like I operate better when things are simpler. Seeing as how things are hardly ever simple though, I thought maybe a little change of pace was in order. I will end this little post with a quote from Von Bathasar; “It is easier for us to embrace what is complex, what is simple is too demanding.” Not that this has anything to do with my new page but what the hey, its a good quote. Let me know what you think about the new site. Feel free to make yourself at home. Go ahead, relax in the world of Nate.

The Crushing Weight of Mercy…

John 12:46-50 “I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. He who rejects Me and does not receive My words, has that which judges him-the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life.”

I’ve often wondered what Jesus was trying to say in this passage; tried to figure out His point. It seems absolutely contradictory in every way. Does He or does He not judge the world by His own existence and word, brought forth like a sword to divide truth and error? Well, He says He doesn’t judge anyone but the word He speaks does the judging. I thought He was the word; wouldn’t they then be interchangable and inextricably linked as one? Yes and no!

The point of this passage is heavy, to say it simply, and it’s weight is increased by its implications. The point of Jesus speaking was to give expression to the heart of God. We have all heard so many times that Jesus is the image of God; His self expression as it were. Jesus is the picture of God in the fullness of time, location, and personality. Jesus said He could do nothing but that which he saw and heard the Father doing. He also said that He should drink the cup that the Father asked Him to drink, i.e. obediance unto death.

The point of the story of the woman caught in adultery was that Jesus word would judge her but that he himself would not. What was His judgment then? “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more!” This is so merciful a pronouncment that it probably crushed the woman with the weight it carried. SHE WAS GUILTY. Everone knew it, she should have been stoned. The weight of the pronouncment of not guilty probably did more to move that womans heart, shift her paradigm, and bring internal healing than any punishment. And that’s the point. Jesus wasn’t just about making things right or just, He was also about producing love. That’s what mercy does. It crushes the heart, produces true repentance and brings reconciliation. Wherever there is a genuine heart struggling with the choice of sin, there Jesus will be pronouncing mercy to the heart and causing love to come forth.

Well, that’s one way to look at it. But we have to look at the whole sentance. “Neither do I condemn you………GO AND SIN NO MORE!” What the heck. That’s impossible. He set me free from judgment only to give me a commandment I could not keep. What is He really saying? I think this is more about what He isn’t saying. He could have told the woman right then why He came into the world and that in a few months He would take the responsibility of her sinful action by dying on the cross for her and everyone else’s sins but He didn’t. He uttered a merciful word to produce hope in an otherwise hopeless situation. He wanted this woman to love Him. He wanted to tear her heart with the crushing weight of His mercy so that she would find an aspect of love she had never known before. He didn’t judge her but the word He spoke did. He gave her mercy when she didn’t deserve it and then gave her a commandment to choose Him. He opened up a door she couldn’t open and then He invited her to walk through it. He made a way and then made her choose to walk in it or not. Go back to the top and read the verse again. Dwell on it. Let it frustrate you and then tell me if you think this post makes any sense.

The Necessity of Staying Steady in Transitions…

As we go through life we encounter and move into many different seasons, phases, and stages. There are, in my opinion, two main things needed to remain faithful, steady, and tender in these seasons of which I believe the Lord uses to not only mold us and challenge us but to test us and reveal the secret things of our hearts, both positive and negative.

The first and most obvious thing is remaining focused on Him. His eyes are always upon us and it is into these eyes that we can and must look in order to stay focused in even the most intense times. The need to stay locked upon Him in true intimacy and desire is the most important thing we can and will ever do in this life, always. Often, in times of change we tend to focus on externals (which isn’t always a bad thing) to help us keep grip of what’s going on as life changes around us. During these times I often find my heart struggling to keep up with my mind and remain locked in on Him. It is in these times where desire can be our best escort into deeper levels of maturity in the place of love if we keep those desires pure by feeding on the word of God. In times of busyness, instead of groping for more change externally, I try to flow with the busyness around me by staying busy in the Word. “The word of the Lord endures forever” (1 Peter 1:25). Some of the best times of my life have also been the most turbulant times. The key is to meet fire with fire. My life is insanely busy………….I will be insanely busy in the Word. My life is relaxed and slow……….I will engage contemplative prayer and meditate on the wonders of His faithfulness.

The second thing that really helps is the knowledge of His calling for me to be a lover. It’s not enough to know how to transition with excellence. I need to have a deep understanding of what He thinks and feels about me in all seasons. This reality is the bedrock and foundation of how I will truly respond when life happens. I, we, must know the truth of what we’ve been made for, we must know His heart towards us if we are ever to keep our hearts alive. “In Him we live and move and have our being…” (Acts 17:28).

As we encounter change we must know Him who is faithful and true. If I want to be faithful, I must look upon the faithful one. If I want to stay fiery I need to look at the One who has eyes like a flame of fire. “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven” (John 3:27).

Randomology…

Alright, reader beware………this is a gonna be a random post and yet I think many who read will find themselves saying, “Oh yeah, I totally see that!”

Anyways, I digress.

So, you know that awkward left turn you make whilst driving sometimes? The one where, as you turn on your signal to proceed left at your turn, you see the other car stopping at the stopsign of the street you’re turning on where they don’t actually stop but they kinda keep rolling through hoping that no one is coming. Where you begin to make your turn and they are half way in the middle of the street and you don’t know if they are really gonna stop even though thats what they should be doing. And as you slow down dramatically to proceed into your turn you have to make sure they aren’t gonna t bone you and you see in their eyes as you slowly pass them by that they are thinking to themselves, “I’m kinda in the way here, sorry………I’m just glad you’re not a cop.” You know what I’m talking about? Well, I thought to myself today…..”Hmmm, do people actually know how to drive anymore?” I’m serious, I see so much bad driving that I am always looking for it now. Moral of the story, DRIVE WELL. There are so many people out there who just don’t care about anything, least of all, their lack of appropriate road etiquette. So today I am just saying, drive unto others as you would have them drive unto you. Amen. Have a wonderful day of good driving.

For more pointless drivel, stay connected as I may or may not talk about the utter uselessness of road rage and inappropriate hand gestures.

Of Christ…

John 7:46   “No man ever spoke like this man!”

Those around Him, who kept His company and beheld Him in the flesh reported none other than statements of truth when they truly saw Him, for He is the truth (John 14:6) and by His nature He evokes truth from those who are hungry and seeking for it. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). The statements that the officers made, “No man ever spoke like this man!”, were statements of truth though they sought to kill Him. Perhaps they sought to kill Him because He made things black and white, that’s what truth does. It divides. Truth in and of itself is a sword, a cutting device, it peirces.

The Word made flesh had never been seen before this time in history, therefore; “No man ever spoke like this man!” No one had ever said the things Christ said because no one before or since was the fullness of God in a human body. The officers saw the truth, that no one was like this man, His words and ways were different. No other prophet was Jesus the Messiah and yet Jesus was much more than any prophet. He was for the first time, God in the midst of the natural world by natural means and totally unequalled in speech, deed, and character. What the officers said that day was truth. It was a provocation from within them to speak a word of truth because they were encountered by the ultimate Truth, with eyes and a mouth, radiating the unending, incomprehensible totality of the nature of YHWH that up to this point they had only heard stories about. This is Jesus of Nazareth, the truth and there is none besides Him.

“Anyone contemplating the life of Jesus needs to be newly and more deeply aware every day that something impossible, something scandalous has occured: that God, in His absolute Being, has resolved to manifest Himself in a human life (and is in a position to make this resolve effective!) He must be scandalized by this, he must feel his mind reeling, the very ground giving way beneath his feet; he must at least experience that “ecstasy” of non-comprehension which transported Jesus’ contemporaries, Mk. 2:12, 5:42, 6:51. They were amazed, beside themselves, stupified, overwhelmed; their reason abandons them.”      Hans Urs von Balthasar

And So It Goes…

Alright, details details. This is the story of how I proposed to my favorite person, best friend, and darling sweetheart.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

We began the morning by rocking on the swing outside by the poolhouse of her parents home. I decided that we travel to Long Beach and so we did. When we got there I took her to the Long Beach Aquarium which is home to over 12,500 species of exotic fish. There’s nothing like looking at the beauty of God’s creation to prepare your heart for the biggest day of your life second only to conversion!! After our stroll through the aquarium we went out to the waterfront where we did some shopping, took some pictures, ate a little somethin and explored a lighthouse on the rocks. As the sun was beginning to set we went down the coast a ways to a rock pier where we walked out and took more pictures. When we got out on the pier/jetty we turned around to see the beautiful sunset with its pink and orange hues setting behind the skyline of Long Beach. With the sunset, skyline, Catalina Island to our left, and the waves crashing on the coast just in front of us it made for a truly perfect moment to pop the big question. I grabbed my girl, gave her a big hug and began to tell her why I loved her and that I wanted to spend the rest of my life loving her and as I reached into my back pocket to grab the ring, I went down on one knee and said, “Katty, I love you. Will you marry me?” DA dada dda aa da da!!! Of course she said yes, with her mouth gaping open in complete and utter surprise. And so there you have it. The perfect day and a moment that I will remember forever. It is just like Jesus to give us all He does for love’s sake and as I dive deeper and deeper into a life of voluntary, sacrificial love I see His heart more and more. Oh, how I want Him to return. Until then I will continue to plumb the depths of His infinate, reckless love towards us by giving of myself to my beautiful bride to be. Amen.