jeff’s blog

i know that my posting links to jeff keese’s articles is probably getting old. they’re just too darn good though.

his latest offering is here

so what is faith? honestly, i don’t know if i can pin it down just yet. i know it’s not just something that resides in my intellect and i know it’s not an emotional response. maybe faith sits somewhere in between my mind and my heart. when my knowledge of God and His ways fails me, i have to rely on my feelings for Him and His for me. when my emotions betray be, i have the knowledge of His promises to break my fall. i may not be able to define my faith yet, but at least i’m on a journey of faith. and most often, journeys teach us things that destinations never could.

ask yourself, “what is my faith all about?” if you don’t come up with a clear answer, don’t get frustrated, just keep thinking.

We sit in worship,
hollow men,
stuffed men.
Shape without form,
Gesture without motion,
our substance stolen silently
long ago.

Without meaning
knowing not
why we come or where we go or what we do
our rote repetition rambles on -
quiet and meaningless -
soothing fingers on temples
therapy to addicts of form and structure.

Why is our force paralyzed?
Where has our strength gone?

Burn empty straw!
Raise voices no longer dry!
Whisper together no longer!

Return to the old paths -
not empty paths of institutionalism,
but the rocky paths of Galilee,
in the footsteps of the Savior.

fun times on the home weekend trip.

pictures here.

“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

There was a man who wanted to take up his cross. So he began his search for a cross that would be worthy to carry for his Savior.

He found one that was large and lifelike. It was made of wood - rough wood - unpolished and un-sanded. It was an exact replica of the one Jesus carried - right down to the last splinter. And he looked at it and stood before it in wonder.

But then he considered what it would require to carry that cross. He considered the pain, the splinters, the weight, the ridicule of his friends, and he decided he would find another, not so real cross to carry.

He found one that was smaller and more easily carry-able. It also was made of wood, but of a more polished sort. The cross was large enough to be noticed, but small enough that it could be taken more places unobtrusively. And it was beautiful, like a piece of art. Long he gazed at it and admired its beauty and form.

But then he considered what it would require to carry that cross. It was still large enough to be inconvenient at times, and while it was a thing of beauty, things of beauty often invited questions, and questions were definitely not what he was going for. So he decided he would find another, not so beautiful cross to carry.

He found one that was smaller still, and made out of silver. It also was beautiful, but of a more subtle sort. It was small enough that he could take it and wear it on a chain around his necklace – small enough to be taken anywhere at any time.

He considered what it would require to carry that cross. It was small and light and convenient – qualities that he definitely appreciated. It didn’t require too much of himself, and wasn’t too much of a burden. When he needed to have a token to show everyone that he was a follower of Christ, the small silver cross would suffice, but if there happened to be the occasion – as there all too often was – where his friends were making fun of the people who carried the big, wooden crosses, he could simply drop it inside his shirt and pretend that he didn’t carry a cross.

Realizing that this was the kind of cross that he needed – one that was functional, unobtrusive and altogether practical, he immediately set about to wear it each and every day.

His cross became his new companion, and he would wear it – almost every day – with him wherever he went. Some days he would just forget to put it on, but it wasn’t a terribly serious issue. After all, the cross didn’t interfere with his life, so a day or two missed wasn’t a big deal.

It was a great conversation starter. Some days the man would see another Christian carrying one of the big, real, heavy, splintery crosses. He would go and talk to them and admire their crosses. He would ask how they could possibly bear to carry such a thing around with them their whole lives. It would always puzzle him when they would smile at his silver cross and ask him the same question.

Finally the day came when the man died.

He came before
Jesus – the man of the Cross, the God of the Cross,
who said,

“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

“Here I am, Lord. Here is my cross. This one, right here, around the chain.”

And
Jesus – the man of the Cross, the God of the Cross,
looked at him and said,

“What Cross?”

An old AFC skit. Similar in the lines of sacrifice as the one before.

“I will not offer to my God that which costs me nothing.”

Definitions. Brief history of philosophy and religion. Paradigms/worldviews.

May you listen with open ears
to the call of Christ,
his authority and power
faithfully guiding your journey.

May you see with expectant eyes
the works of a mighty God
mountains moved,
wounds healed.

And may you know clearly
the power of God
His fingers molding your humble life
ordinary clay in skillful hands
transformed into a magnificent vessel
fit for the service of a king.

warren green was on fire tonight. listen here. quote of the evening: “just because you’re right doesn’t mean that you have a free pass to always get your way.” so true.

post at the afc blog here.

things i am thankful for right now:

1) rain.
2) wireless internet.
3) back porches.
4) chairs from ikea.
5) wool blankets from africa.

yay for fun afternoons.

Can he still feel the nails?

Something that always surprises me about Christians is our fascination with nails.

We imagine the nail-scarred hands.
We craft necklaces out of three nails, fashioned in a cross to remind us.
We sing songs that dramatize and magnify the physical pain of the Cross.

And we ask
almost proudly
“Can he still feel the nails,
every time I fail?
Can he hear the crowd cry ‘Crucify’ again?”

Could it be -
Could it really be -
That we have missed the point of the resurrection so much we don’t understand
that we’ve missed the point?

“Christ died for sins

once
for all,

the righteous for the unrighteous,
to bring you to God.”

He died.

Once.
For all.

Can he still feel the nails?

I think Jesus tells us the answer to that:

NO!!!

When we sing those words and our eyes wander to his hands, I see the Jesus - the Jesus who knows the nails, who knows the meaning - the Jesus says, “I left the nails behind. I conquered everything they stood for. Why do you still bring them up?”

This Jesus died 2,000 years ago for your sins and mine. The ones we have committed in the past. The ones we will commit in the future. He bore them to the cross.

The pain he bore,
the shame he took.

And because of that we have life.

Jesus left our sin at the cross so that we could live together with him

forever.

Can he still feel the nails?
or is it only you?

Of the many songs that have serious theological issues, this one perhaps bothers me the most. Christ died once, we are told - once for all, erasing the punishment of sin. With what anguish and loss Jesus went to the Cross, and he carried my sin with Him there - My sin, O the Bliss of this glorious thought: My sin not in part, but the whole, is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more…

The fact is that Christ has already paid the price for our sin. He paid the price 2000 years ago on a cross and pays it no longer. He paid once both for the sins you have committed and the sins you will commit. What particularly bothers me about this song, I think, is its blatant use of guilt as a motivator. Instead of promoting our love of Christ and our desire to be like Him as the motivation for a Christlike lifestyle, it instead seeks to make us feel guilty about the pain we have caused Christ and hopes to mitigate that by suggesting that we continue to cause pain with each failure.

It is precisely because of the death of Christ that we no longer have to sing songs like this. It is because of the totality of Christ’s victory over sin that we are able to conquer the guilt and shame of our failures and become new creations in Him. Praise be to God that the nails no longer have power over Him, or over us!