As I was reading in Leviticus 4:13-15, there is a concept of communal sin that I don't understand. The community sins and the elders take responsibility for the sin. As it was playing out, I felt the Spirit saying that I needed to pay attention to this and confess and repent for my family and declare a new mission for the family.
So, my wife and I listed all of the family sins and we confessed them. Then we erased each sin and wrote a good work/principle in its place. For instance - Racism we erased and instead put "Reconciliation". As head of the home I declared the cycle of sins broken by the authority of Jesus Christ and declared the good ways we would pass on instead.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Guerrilla Giving
Give. Be gracious as you were given so much.
I've been asking a few people about creative ways to give cash to strangers. Hiding change in laundromats, coffee shops. Putting coins in coke machines and not buying the coke. Handing dollar bills out on the street. Putting money in balloons and giving them out.
The big kicker is one called "Jubilee", borrowing from the Levitical idea of countrywide debt forgiveness. A group held a celebration on Wall Street one day where they dressed in cognito, and carrying a ton of change, dollars, etc. they chunked in all after a short speech and celebrated in the street with sidewalk chalk and bubbles. People caught on and starting giving to each other in the street. Pretty awesome.
So, think and act in utter generosity.
I've been asking a few people about creative ways to give cash to strangers. Hiding change in laundromats, coffee shops. Putting coins in coke machines and not buying the coke. Handing dollar bills out on the street. Putting money in balloons and giving them out.
The big kicker is one called "Jubilee", borrowing from the Levitical idea of countrywide debt forgiveness. A group held a celebration on Wall Street one day where they dressed in cognito, and carrying a ton of change, dollars, etc. they chunked in all after a short speech and celebrated in the street with sidewalk chalk and bubbles. People caught on and starting giving to each other in the street. Pretty awesome.
So, think and act in utter generosity.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
House Church Covenant
So, talking to my lady, we realized that setting up a house church and simply inviting strangers in is OUT! It's dangerous, it's stupid, and I suspect that the 1st Christians didn't do that.
Jesus taught us that there are many wolves out there in sheeps clothing. But... we know the good ones by the fruit. So, in order to introduce someone into our intimate world, we need to know them quite well. It's our HOUSE for crying out loud.
Also, the churches of old were communal in their property ownership. They weren't a bunch of sex-crazed wife-swappers, I'm sure, but I do know that they shared everything. You can't share everything with someone simply because they said they are Christian.
This actually happened to me in college. I decided to experiment with the concept, and it burnt me instantly because I didn't know the person well. I told him that we would share since we were both Christians. I came home one night and his friends were over, looking up porn on my computer - and one of his friends had his fingers in my peanut butter. EW and EW! I did not judge that situation well, but it did teach me that you need to know people and covenant with them before you let them in on your junk.
So, in seeking to actually fellowship, consider the following: 1. you will need to feel people out for their Christianity and 2. you will need to covenant only with those who bear Christian fruit. That's all.
Jesus taught us that there are many wolves out there in sheeps clothing. But... we know the good ones by the fruit. So, in order to introduce someone into our intimate world, we need to know them quite well. It's our HOUSE for crying out loud.
Also, the churches of old were communal in their property ownership. They weren't a bunch of sex-crazed wife-swappers, I'm sure, but I do know that they shared everything. You can't share everything with someone simply because they said they are Christian.
This actually happened to me in college. I decided to experiment with the concept, and it burnt me instantly because I didn't know the person well. I told him that we would share since we were both Christians. I came home one night and his friends were over, looking up porn on my computer - and one of his friends had his fingers in my peanut butter. EW and EW! I did not judge that situation well, but it did teach me that you need to know people and covenant with them before you let them in on your junk.
So, in seeking to actually fellowship, consider the following: 1. you will need to feel people out for their Christianity and 2. you will need to covenant only with those who bear Christian fruit. That's all.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Mistakes with Chocolate
I recently heard a sermon from Steve Chalke, the founder of Stop the Traffik. His crusade is against human trafficking and slavery in the world.
He issued a challenge for us to rebel against the corporate empires that support slavery by eating only fair-trade chocolate. It's an immense challenge. 42% of all cocoa comes from Cote D'Ivoire in Africa says he. He goes on to say that this chocolate is most certainly harvested and produced by slaves.
It seems vague and unreal and all, but I decided to try it. I bought a bar for $3.50! Yikes. I felt God's pleasure in it. The next day though, I forgot completely about it as I bought some Oreo Cakesters. Gosh, that was a short-lived fight.
I want to do better in this area. I think that it is a pleasing endeavor toward God to support fair-trade, so I'll do what I can. I know I'm going to make mistakes, but I don't want to get to the end of my life having never rebelled in small ways against the apathetic masses who consume without thinking.
I'll share some sites for buying good fair trade stuff:
http://divine.serrv.org/crs/cart.php?m=product_list&c=3
http://www.clothingmatters.net/Mission.html
http://store.gxonlinestore.org/
http://www.puravidacoffeeshop.com/index.html
He issued a challenge for us to rebel against the corporate empires that support slavery by eating only fair-trade chocolate. It's an immense challenge. 42% of all cocoa comes from Cote D'Ivoire in Africa says he. He goes on to say that this chocolate is most certainly harvested and produced by slaves.
It seems vague and unreal and all, but I decided to try it. I bought a bar for $3.50! Yikes. I felt God's pleasure in it. The next day though, I forgot completely about it as I bought some Oreo Cakesters. Gosh, that was a short-lived fight.
I want to do better in this area. I think that it is a pleasing endeavor toward God to support fair-trade, so I'll do what I can. I know I'm going to make mistakes, but I don't want to get to the end of my life having never rebelled in small ways against the apathetic masses who consume without thinking.
I'll share some sites for buying good fair trade stuff:
http://divine.serrv.org/crs/cart.php?m=product_list&c=3
http://www.clothingmatters.net/Mission.html
http://store.gxonlinestore.org/
http://www.puravidacoffeeshop.com/index.html
Friday, June 6, 2008
Simplicity
Daniel is a guy I met on a trip to Haiti. He's been on Oprah for his freegan lifestyle. You should check out some of his ideas.
This is a pretty extreme reaction to the waste our country creates. Daniel chooses to dumpster dive in order to conserve resources so that he can be more generous. He is a talented opthamologist who could just be making money, but instead he uses his excess to help others out, such as the homeless. He lives in a neighborhood that is in an impoverished section of his city. He's trying to love the poor like Jesus did. This is a revolutionary act.
http://theburts.wordpress.com/
This is a pretty extreme reaction to the waste our country creates. Daniel chooses to dumpster dive in order to conserve resources so that he can be more generous. He is a talented opthamologist who could just be making money, but instead he uses his excess to help others out, such as the homeless. He lives in a neighborhood that is in an impoverished section of his city. He's trying to love the poor like Jesus did. This is a revolutionary act.
http://theburts.wordpress.com/
There is Nothing New
Hierarchy.
Tithe.
Temple.
Sacrifice.
Sabbath.
Levitical Law.
Passover.
Forgiveness.
Relationships.
Holy Spirit.
Fear.
Love.
Submission.
Politics.
How is it that the New Testament era has changed all of these concepts, and yet God remains the same? I hope to struggle through some of these concepts, seeing if there is room or need for helpful change so that we can serve God with each little thing we do every day. I do take seriously the fact that we are supposed to love God with everything. But what does that look like?
There is nothing new under the sun, but maybe a discovery of the original intention and context can help us to understand and love God how He intended. That is a dangerous thing to talk about. Faith acts are very dangerous. They sometimes make the system of norms angry. They sometimes inspire. They sometimes heal. They sometimes teach us that we are weak.
Tithe.
Temple.
Sacrifice.
Sabbath.
Levitical Law.
Passover.
Forgiveness.
Relationships.
Holy Spirit.
Fear.
Love.
Submission.
Politics.
How is it that the New Testament era has changed all of these concepts, and yet God remains the same? I hope to struggle through some of these concepts, seeing if there is room or need for helpful change so that we can serve God with each little thing we do every day. I do take seriously the fact that we are supposed to love God with everything. But what does that look like?
There is nothing new under the sun, but maybe a discovery of the original intention and context can help us to understand and love God how He intended. That is a dangerous thing to talk about. Faith acts are very dangerous. They sometimes make the system of norms angry. They sometimes inspire. They sometimes heal. They sometimes teach us that we are weak.
Life is a beautiful thing.
God gave me a wonderful day today. Things are amazing. Work was just fine. I'm healing from the bitterness. I trust that no matter what happens, I'll be okay. Whether in living or dying, I know God loves me.
I've been very disatisfied with who I am lately. I was praying to God, and He basically told me to chill. He said I thought too much in the future. He also said to listen to Him say, "I love you."
And that most definitely is the only reason I can be satisfied with who I am without forgetting to improve. He loves me.
What a beautiful thing!
I've been very disatisfied with who I am lately. I was praying to God, and He basically told me to chill. He said I thought too much in the future. He also said to listen to Him say, "I love you."
And that most definitely is the only reason I can be satisfied with who I am without forgetting to improve. He loves me.
What a beautiful thing!
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