I haven't done very well at keeping up with this blog page. Check out my xanga page to keep posted on my ramblings.

http://www.xanga.com/lduesenb

Settling For Second Best

I've been reading a book called the "The Slumber of Christianity". It's one of those books that you just can't real through all at once. I've been reading the book for 2 weeks now and I'm not even half way through and it's not that long of a book! I read so much and then I've really have to comtemplate what I've just read.

The book speaks of how Christians settle for far less that what God really desires for us. We settle for the material things, relationships, and the marginal worship that we allow ourselves to have here in this earthly life. We settle for these things instead of longing for Heaven. The blessings we receive on this earth are only a mere taste of what Heaven will be like. The Bible only gives us a glimpse of what Heaven will be like. If these things are only a glimpse and a taste of Heaven, why do we insist on settling for second best?

I Want a Blender

I recently gave the young people in the corps (church) an activity to do. They were given $200.00 (imaginary money of course) and were told to search the advertisements of that week's newspapers and spend the money on anything they wanted. Of course the usual things were selected; ipods, CD players, name brand sneakers. The most unusual item selected was a blender! Of all the things this child could spend her imaginary $200.00 on, she chose a blender. As I inquired the reasoning behind the "purchase", she simply stated, "because I don't have one and I want one." It was just that simple.

Now I could go how about how our children are growing up in a materialistic world and they don't know the value of a dollar or how to work for the things they want. But, in recent days so much talk has gone on about women and ministry, are we ready for the upcoming emergent church, and forgiveness of past and present sins. I think that many times we over evaluate and think too deeply about things. Yes, we need to go beyond the surface and not be superficial, but does it really need to be so hard?! Do we make it more difficult than what it is or needs to be? Or, can it really be just that simple.

I think it goes as simply in the form of loving people. If we love people and it is genuine, we wouldn't need to be having these discussions about equality for women, forgiveness, and what we're doing for the lost generation. It would be demonstrated in the love we SHOW. Heart to God, Hand to Man.

It's Been A While

It's been a while since I've posted on this blog because of lack of time. There are some things I'm working on that have been swirling around in my mind. Some to do with women and ministry and some of the church. It takes me a while to get my thoughts together in the first place. Hopefully, I'll get more posts soon.

Quotes With a Meaning

"You can do more minstry from the foot of the cross than the top of your ego."
Dr. Archibald Hart.

How Low Will You Stoop?

It had been an extremely busy week. A week filled with business meetings, children's programs, adult programs... you name it, it probably happened this week. He was looking forward to getting home to relax and spend some time with his family. As he's spending the last hour on Friday getting ready for Sunday morning worhsip services, the phone rings. It was the local hospital calling to see if The Salvation Army could put up a homeless man for the night. Unfortunately, there was not a shelter in this town; the Major would have to make some phone calls to see if the shelter in the nearest city could be able to take the man for the night. The woman on the phone said, "Alright, we'll send him down." Before the Major could confirm there was a place for the man to stay. The ambulance came, dropped the man off, and left. The man wore a hospital gown along with his own soiled pants and socks. This homeless man was disoriented and did not know what was going on. The Major escorted the man into the office of the case worker, went down to the clothing room, and picked up a clean set of clothes. He brought the items up to give to the man. However, the man was so disoriented he wasn't able to give the caseworker andy information, let alone put on the new clothes. Instead of leaving the man in the soiled mess, Major began to help him. He stooped down to his knees and began by the helping the man remove his urine soaked socks and replacing them with clean ones.

Could it be that this is what Jesus meant when He told His disciples to wash feet? While this is not a practice in our society today, can we still demonstrate modern day foot washings? I have found this to be true in the examples I have seen in officers (pastors) and lay leaders within the several corps (churches) I have attended in my life. Like Jesus being inconvenienced and doing a job that was needed to be done when it should have been done by a slave, these officers and lay leaders inconvenience themselves through the modern day foot washing. I have seen it!

A member of my church took a young lady to a salon to get her hair done because it was a tangled mess, then took her to lunch and a department store to buy a new outfit in order for this young lady to feel special for a day. I have witnessed an officer spend hours on a little girl's hair because it was infected with head lice in order for her to spend a week at camp. In the business of the day, I have seen my previous pastor take the time to take one of the elderly ladies to a doctor's appointment. I have seen two seperate families take in trouble teens as foster children so they could have hope in the future.

The act of Jesus washing the disciples feet was a deliberate act. It was convicting and piercing to the disciples' hearts of their pride and their refusal to lower themselves to be servants. Jesus sets an example for us. "So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. Now it is required tht those who have been given a trust must prove faithful." 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 We prove ourselves faithful by our acts of service... by our modern day foot washings.Oswald Chambers says it this way, "The things Jesus did were the most menial of everyday tasks, and this is the indication that it takes all of God's power in me to accomplish even the most common tasks in His way. Can I use a towel as He did? Towels, dishes, sandals, and all the other ordinary things in our lives reveal what we are made of more quickly than anything else."The Major stooped down low to remove those urine soaked socks. Jesus stooped down to wash the disciples' feet. My prayer for my own life and the life of my church is that we will be able to answer the question, "How low will you stoop?" with an answer that will make Jesus smile upon us.

What We Miss Out On!

"They just could not see the beauty of that broken iron stump, the colors, the crystaline shapes; they could not see the possibilities there. Anna wanted them to join her in this exciting new world, but they could not imagine themselves to be so small that this jagged fracture could become a world of iron mountains, or iron plains with crystal trees. It was a new world to explore... a world where few people would or could follow her. In this broken-off stump was a whole new realm of possibilites to be explored and to be enjoyed." Mr. God, This is Anna

The above quote gives us a glimpse at a child's understanding of how God works in the ordinary; how God takes the everyday things of life and makes them extraordinary. The divine has made the ordinary sacred by investing Himself in the ordinary. Isaiah 66:1, "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool." This teaching of Isaiah indicates that all creationi sthe temple of God. Establishing that none of creation is outside the Lord's concern; everthing is sacred because it belongs to Him.

As we look at the life of Christ, the Divine, we see Him investing Himself in the ordinary and making it sacred. By the Divine making the ordinary sacred, believers must treat the ordinary as a sacrament, a pledge or our commitment to Christ. Our act of treating the ordinary sacred is our responsibility of service to our Savior.

John 1:14a says, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." This literally means that God "tabernacled" among us. In the Old Testament the tabernacle was God's dwelling place among the Israelites during the wilderness wanderings. This tabernacle coincides with Solomon's Temple that would be built during Solomon's reign as king over the Israelite people. Like the tabernacle during the wilderness wandering, Solomon's Temple was the place God dwelled among the people. The New Testament teaches that our bodies are God's temple: "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you have been bough with a price. Therefore, honor God with your body" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). God went from dwelling in a building, to human form in Christ, to living in us. There are over 6 billion people in the word. Our bodies are ordinary! But, this act of God dwelling among us, taking on a body, shows us that these ordinary dwelling are not so ordiary. They are sacred vessels of God.

Salvationists (members of The Salvation Army church) joke about and even complain that the only thing the Home League ladies do is eat. This may be true, but guess what? So, did Jesus! Thoughout the gospels we read about Jesus sitting having a meal with sinners, Pharisees, would-be disciples, and even a meal at a Leper's house. In fact, all of the gospels speak of Jesus eating a meal at some point or another. These meals are significant because Jesus was about Kingdom business while he dined. I believe that those meals mentioned above are a mere glimpse of the impact Jesus had on people while He ate. We often refer to the Last Supper as the signifiant meal that Jesus ate. At an ordinary meal, Jesus did the extraordinary. Likewise, each meal we partake in shoud be about Kingdom business. "It has been said that we are not fully Christian until Christ has become Lord not only of the communion table but also the dinner table."

The Widow's offering found in Luke 21 is a great illustration of the ordinary becoming sacred. Scripture tells us that Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts in the temple treasury, but the poor widow's offering was the one that impressed Him. The welathy gave out of their abundance and still had plenty leftover. The widow woman, however, gave sacrificially. The widow being the poorest of the poor because she had no one to provide and protect her was giving from all she had. This act may seem small, but it has great spiritual implications. It is the ordinary becoming sacred. Many see this woman's offering as an ordinary act because it was small in comparison to what others gave. However, this simple act was sacred because of the woman's circumstances.

The Lord must be in every aspect of our lives. If a sacrament is pledging our lives to Christ then that is all inclusive. Every part of us should be a sacrament to the Lord. "I have been crucified iwht Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives within me," Galatians 2:20. If we take these words of Paul and claim them as our own, then we are a living sacrament. Therefore, we must live as Christ lived. Living a life where the ordinary is no long ordinary, it is sacred. When we deal with people, circumstances, responsibilities, and even our own lifestyles, we must treat them as a sacrament. If all of creation belongs to the Lord, and we are made alive in Christ, then His love and His actions should be reflected in every aspect of our beings.

The illustration of Anna and the iron stump is a mere glimpse of what we miss out on because we do not seek to find God in the ordinary. "People thought that Mister God was very big, and that's where they made a big mistake" (Mr. God This is Anna).