Surprise!

The midnight garden was silent with the quiet of air before a storm, but they couldn't sense it. All they could sense was the stillness, the darkness, the lateness. They'd been walking all day, and though they couldn't tell what it was, the heaviness of the night bore down on them. It'd been a big week, and something was happening. They just didn't know what. But they did know that the easiest thing to do was to give in to the pull towards slumber. And as their friend went off down the garden path, they couldn't help but doze a little. And before they knew it, the deceptive peace of the garden had lulled them into a deep and long-awaited sleep.

You know, I don't think He was a bit surprised to find them like that. When Jesus returned, wiping beads of blood-sweat from his forehead, I doubt He was shocked that they would be so weak-willed as to let sleep rob them of the prayer they needed so much more than any physical refreshment. I don't think he was surprised, either, when Peter slashed the servant's ear off. Or that Judas did what he did, realizing only too late that it wasn't even what he really wanted. Nor do I think Jesus was surprised that all of His disciples fled from Him that night, deserting Him to a terrible fate. I would have fled. Wouldn't you have?

And poor Peter. "No, I really don't know Him!" he screams for the third time, throwing some of the dirty language from his old life in as well. Immediately, the rooster crows. And though Jesus is too far away to really make out, Peter can feel his gaze. It breaks Peter's heart. He feels his insides descend into excruciating sadness as he realizes the one thing he swore he'd never do has already happened, and he can't take it back.

But Jesus wasn't surprised.

He knew. He knew that, as followers go, His disciples weren't necessarily the most qualified. But He chose them anyway. He chose Peter. He chose Judus.

It doesn't surprise Him when we mess up. But it does surprise us. And I think that's what He wants to happen. He wants us to be surprised so that we will finally see what He already knew: we aren't naturally good; we need Him. He is faithful and committed to us. He is not surprised at the sinful things we do. "The spirit is willing, but the body is weak," He says. He knows when we're going to mess up and fail. But he continues to love us when our image of ourselves having it all together is shattered to our surprise; He continues to love us into Truth. We can either deny the surprise and stay stubbornly (but falsely) self-righteous. We can pretend to be good people, though actually filthy. Or, we can accept the surprise, let go of pride, and know God.

What would it be like to see myself this way? Even others? What would it be like to see ourselves as Jesus does? Not surprised at corruption and sin, but saddened by it? Not condemning, but compassionate and encouraging and hopeful, urging ourselves onward to becoming the best version of ourselves, with His help, in Him? What would it be like to let Him love us into Truth, passing on, then, that love to others? Because God knows we all need healing, we all need grace, and we all need another chance. From Him. From each other. From ourselves.

We goof things up all the time. But in reality, it's no surprise. Not for Jesus anyway. He loves us, regardless. And that's where our life is, if we let Him override the surprise of our fallenness with the surprise of His goodness. Out of the two, the latter is the greater surprise. We just rarely get there because we can't get over the fact that we can't get it right. And He says,

"It's okay.

I know.

Let me.

Here,

I have something for you."

He opens His hands, and they overflow with light as His dreams for us and His love for us and His eternal, unending blessings pour into our weary souls. As we stand there gaping from the awe and wonder and shock of it all, He smiles, and tears flow from His eyes, echoing the streams flowing from our own.
And He whispers,

"Surprise!"

Chip said it.

"Prayer is our passport

to God's perspective."

Big

Trees tower over us...

...reminding us that we are not the biggest things alive.

But they also provide us with shade and beauty...

...reminding us that What is bigger is also benevolent.

Glory's Blood Grows Brilliant Still

Growth is Encouraged Here

Peace of Beauty

When God Smiles:

The One Thing

The only difference between
immorality and immortality
is this:

and that's all.

Direction

Proverbs 23:23

"Buy the truth and do not sell it."

Beauty and Power

A short time ago, I took a morning stroll—a nice 2.5 mile-long stroll (give-or-take a few feet). I meandered along local roads I’d never been on, walked a hidden trail in the woods, and made quite a few older ladies nervous by being the stranger to walk down their street, provoking their dogs to bark while the suspicious elders peeked through their curtains at me, scowling.
But that wasn’t the point of my walk. Instead, I was seeking to explore, first of all. And I was seeking to spend some time with God.
After awhile, I opened up my pocket Bible to Psalm 29. It read,

1Ascribe to the LORD, O mighty ones,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.
3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the LORD thunders over the mighty waters.
4 The voice of the LORD is powerful;
the voice of the LORD is majestic.
5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the LORD strikes
with flashes of lightning.
8 The voice of the LORD shakes the desert;
the LORD shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the LORD twists the oaks
and strips the forests bare.
And in his temple all cry, "Glory!"
10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
the LORD is enthroned as King forever.
11 The LORD gives strength to his people;
the LORD blesses his people with peace.

It’s a beautiful psalm, to be sure. But I couldn’t help but be a little surprised when I got to verse 9. “Hang on a second,” I thought, “Why are the people praising God while it seems as though a tornaquake…er, a hurrinado…um, I mean an earthicane—while natural disasters are going on right and left?” I don’t know about you, but if there’s a tornado going on, more than likely I won’t be crying out, “Glory!” I’m thinking it’d be more along the lines of “God, please don’t let me die yet!”
But the images painted by this passage aren’t about judgment or wrath or fear. I mean, they could be about any of these, but I don’t think that’s why everyone is praising God. Notice the words used—words like “splendor” and “glory”. Psalm 29 is about the absolutely enthralling, over-powering, all-engulfing Beauty of God.
And yes, that’s Beauty with a capital B, as in Actual, fully-real, 100%, pure Beauty. See, one cant’s see beauty without seeing Beauty—not truly. The beauty of this world cannot be fully appreciated without appreciating its Designer. And that’s what’s going on here. Fearing for one’s life aside, the raging power of the overturned elements is enough to get one to notice and, at least in some sense, to contemplate The Designer.
I mean, think about it. What power over beauty do we have? Can we really make beauty happen? After all, this world operates by natural laws we have no real control over. We can affect them, but we can’t control them. For example, think about the plant in your garden. You can water it, you can give it sunlight, you can prune it—you can do all the right things, but natural laws in effect are what actually determine the success of its growth. Ultimately, beauty is something we have no control over. Beauty is in God’s hands.
Now, sadly, the common definition of beauty often takes God out of the picture. Beauty is reduced to something shallow—something merely on the surface. Behind the elaborate décor of buildings are thin walls and plywood. Towering columns that look like marble are merely plastic fronts around central poles. And in terms of people, beauty is reduced to the false perfection of the outermost layer. Digital imagery allows the enhancement of facial features in print. The accentuation of the human form becomes the standard of beauty. And when all is said and done, beauty becomes only a façade. Minus the depth of True Beauty, the world becomes a shell of its truest self. And so do we.
As I pondered these things about beauty, I realized that, since you can’t truly appreciate beauty without appreciating the Designer, you have to come to terms with Faith. And Psalm 29 shows us a picture of faith. The people in verse 9 aren’t celebrating their strengths, their weaknesses, or their abilities. They aren’t even celebrating themselves. Instead, they’re celebrating God, and His power, splendor, and beauty. Faith is not believing I am capable of something. It is believing He is capable of anything. Sometimes, one thinks of faith as a hidden, seldom used power, and that if we could just really grasp it, we would have no limits. “Just believe, and you can do whatever you put your mind to.” Faith alone is powerless, just like beauty without God is only skin deep. Power—like Beauty—comes from what you have faith in, and that Power has a will of its own. God is Power, and Power can only be served, not owned. God is untamable and fierce. If you don’t believe me, try ordering a tornado around. Try stopping a hurricane. Try keeping the ground still during an earthquake. We aren’t really in control at all. That leaves us at His mercy. Depending on how you take that, it’s the most Beautiful position to be in.

What is man that you are mindful of him?

I just saw a random computer generated clip from NASA TV called "Cosmic Collisions." It covered the different possible collisions in our universe, from asteroids that, as they supposed, killed off the dinosaurs to the collision of galaxies. Yes, galaxies. As it told of collisions, it zoomed out of our solar system. That can make you feel small enough. Then it zoomed out to show the entire Milky Way. That makes you feel that you don't have anything on an atom--comparitively speaking, you don't even register. But when you watch the Milky Way collide with galaxy Andromeda, and the gases mix over what would have to be billions of years, and they combine to form a new united galaxy, what can you do but wonder, "Wow. Could it happen? Is that how big our universe is? Would I even notice if that happened (if I could live that long, that is)?" But then I had a thought. As I listened to "Walking in the Air" by Celtic Woman, I realized that watching galaxies collide seems something God might enjoy in His pastime. And why not might we enjoy it in Heaven? It's a wonder that He even wants us to watch galaxies with Him. Why does God care so much about not-even-atoms?

And how do we miss Him?

Be overwhelmed...

"God

shines

forth."

Ps. 50:2

"Send forth your light and your truth,

let them guide me..."

Ps. 43:3

Grace

It is not something you fall from.

It is something you fall into.

Where Do I Fall?

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly....
In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth—men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.

2 Tim. 2:15-16, 20-26; 3:1-9

Why you "can't"

Your actions follow your beliefs.

Quotes to Question

• "'Your job is the relentless pursuit of who God has made you to be. And anything else you do is sin and you need to repent of it.'"-pg. 114
• "I am not defined by what I am not."-pg. 115
• "Why blame the dark for being dark? It is far more helpful to ask why the light isn't as bright as it could be."-pg.166
• "If the gospel isn't good news for everybody, then it isn't good news for anybody."-pg.167
• "One of the illusions of faith is that at some point we get it all mapped out and things get smooth and predictable. It is not true. The way of Jesus is a journey, not a destination. On a journey, the scenery changes. A lot."-pg.168

Curious? Check out the book Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell.

Man of Sorrows

No one has suffered more than God.

Golden

The happiest people are those that realize

their happiness isn't the point of life.

matt7.12

Windgazers

God is Mystery.
And we say that because
Life is a mystery.
So if God is Mystery,
and God made Life,
then Life is . . . what?
Exactly. And we all try so desperately,
passionately,
excruciatingly,
(or sadly not quite that much,
or tragically not at all)
to search out the mystery.
We label life. We speculate on love (our favorite topic).
We try to fit
God in our heads instead of
our hearts in His hands (the latter is
a safe and spacious fit. No, not safe.
Maybe safe. And space might not have
anything to do with it. But it’s a
right fit.
The right fit.)
And the mystery is never solved,
because there is no Mason or Holmes,
even though we all try, and that’s
who we’re all striving to be:
Detectives of Reality, PLUS—or maybe x10 to the highest power.
And some are painters,
some, musicians,
some, crafters or biologists or historians,
or some writers,
and the colors, the notes, the tools,
the formulas, the fossilized choices—
and especially words, those wisps
of thought that are the reaching
arms of the mind—all of these
are the portals of humanity:
the portholes through which we
peer to get a better glimpse of
the land we’re inevitably approaching,
all of us.
From this, the ship Existence, we strain our eyes,
pushing our sight past the sea-spray
and the seaweed and the salt
caked on our windows.
The notes,
the words,
the colors,
the choices—
they all are not quite enough.
But they’re the only bridges we have.
In seeking out as best we can,
The Question-Maker, the Mystery Land—
The Eternity of this: ?
or maybe this: .
(who knows?)—the best
we can do is pianos, pens,
paintbrushes, and the past and present.
From here to there,
they’re the only bridges we have,
these tendrils from us to the edge of . . .
just what, we have no real clue.
That’s why we keep reaching.
That’s why we should never stop.
Bind yourself to the sky, like a lover,
and let nebulas—where suns are birthed—
be the playground you know you want,
where Mystery is your favorite slide.

"It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings." Prov. 25:2