Psalms 13:
1 How long, O Lord? Will you w forget me forever?
How long will you x hide your face from me?
2 How long must I take y counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
3 z Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
a light up my eyes, lest b I sleep the sleep of death,
4 c lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am d shaken.
5 But I have e trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall f rejoice in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
My mind has been really consumed with the idea of the dark night of the soul, the time that you feel like God is so far away. The scriptures comfort me to know I am not the only one that feels the weight of this type of situation, especially since church people (for the most part) would never admit they feel this. The feeling that though you never doubt God exists, he seems a million miles away…
I’d say that is the way I feel this week, and the reasons why are what really get my mind turning. If God never changes, then it has to be me. As I search my habits I realize God never walked away for a break from me, I (through my actions) started walking away from him as if I could handle things for the week. I’m like a wondering child that should stay near his parents but thinks he can wonder off, then a little time goes by and I realized I got myself lost and have to get back. No moral failures, just the honesty of person that needs to rely on God without a break.
Jesus is standing in front of the temple in Jerusalem
the massive gleaming brick and stone and gold house of God
and he says destroy this temple
and I’ll rebuild it in three days
the people listening to him said how are you going to do that?
it took 46 years to build this temple!
but he wasn’t talking about that temple
he’s talking about himself
he essentially says, listen
I’m going to be killed
that’s where this is headed
because you don’t confront corrupt systems of power
without paying for it
sometimes with your own blood
and so he’s headed to his execution
if you had witnessed this divine life extinguished on a cross
how would you not be overwhelmed with despair?
is the world ultimately a cold, hard, dead place?
does death have the last word?
is it truly, honestly, actually dark
and so whatever light we do see
whatever good we do stumble upon
are those just blips on the radar?
momentary interruptions in an otherwise meaningless existence?
because if that’s the case then despair is the
only reasonable response
it’s easy to be cynical
but Jesus says destroy this temple and I’ll rebuild it
he insists that his execution would not be the end
he’s talking about something new and unexpected
happening after his death
he’s talking about resurrection
resurrection announces that God has not given up on the world
because this world matters
this world that we call home
dirt and blood and sweat and skin and light and water
this world that God is redeeming and restoring and renewing
greed and violence and abuse they are not right
and they cannot last
they belong to death and death does not belong
resurrection says that what we do with our lives matters
in this body
the one that we inhabit right now
every act of compassion matters
every work of art that celebrates the good and the true matters
every fair and honest act of business and trade
every kind word
they all belong and they will all go on in God’s good world
nothing will be forgotten
nothing will be wasted
it all has it’s place
everybody believes something
everybody believes somebody
Jesus invites us to trust resurrection
that every glimmer of good
every hint of hope
every impulse that elevates the soul
is a sign, a taste, a glimpse
of how things actually are
and how things will ultimately be
resurrection affirms this life and the next
as a seamless reality
embraced
graced
and saved by God
there is an unexpected mysterious presence
who meets each of us in our lowest moments
when we have no strength when we have nothing left
and we can’t go on we hear the voice that speaks those
words
destroy this temple and I’ll rebuild it
do you believe this?
that’s the question Jesus asked then
and that’s the question he asks now
Jesus’ friends arrive at his tomb and they’re told
he isn’t here
you didn’t see that coming, did you?
he’s isn’t here
there is nothing to fear
and nothing can ever be the same again
we are living in a world in the midst of rescue
with endless unexpected possibilities
they will take my life and I will die Jesus says
but that will not be the end
and when you find yourself assuming that it’s over
when it’s lost, gone, broken and it could never be
put back together again,
when it’s been destroyed and you swear that it could never
be rebuilt
hold on a minute
because in that moment
things will in fact have just begun
This Monday the Richards crew, Allison and I went out to St. Louis for the day. We got to check out the zoo go to Union Station and watch the Cardinals beat the Braves. Here are a couple pictures from the zoo trip, as you cool see I am a big cat fan… weird since I am definitely not a normal cat guy.
I found this on TheResurgence blog and thought it really was relevant to me right now, thought I’d share it.
For as long as I can remember, smart was equated with intellect and brain power. Smart had to do with grades in school, SAT scores, and one’s GPA. This was the case until author Daniel Goleman kicked the old paradigm in the head in 1997 by writing Emotional Intelligence, which redefined how we understand intelligence. Goleman makes a case for relational intelligence that knows how to get along with others; being smart at building collaborative relationships. The good news is that emotional intelligence (EI) is not fixed, as IQ is generally thought to be. EI can be nurtured and strengthened in everyone.
Real Wisdom = Healthy Relationships
“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, and sincere” (James 3:17).
It seems to me that James is equating real wisdom with healthy relationships. Is he leaning toward EI rather than IQ in describing wisdom that comes from the Lord Jesus? I find it helpful that Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of James 3:17 in The Message starts the verse off with, “Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others…”
This is the era of the team, not the solo leader. Leadership today is more about enabling and empowering than bossing direct reports around out of personal intellectual brilliance. Leaders who are good at developing and maintaining healthy relationships and tapping the power of those relationships will be the most valuable leaders to an organization or church. Long gone are the days in leadership where the know-it-all does it all as he sits at the top and dictates while both under-valuing and under-appreciating what others bring to the table.
Went out yesterday with Jose Torres and we did the photo shoot for my little sister Annie’s senior pictures. It was a blast to go and get to take them, photography has been something we have loved to do together for a while so the time out behind the camera was awesome.
This video is from our first Missional Community meeting in the new building, recorded and edited by Jose Torres a.k.a. J-Rev. Check it out and drop us a comment about, even better come hang out with us some time… Excited about it and what God is doing as the group moves forward intentionally pursuing God.
