In Him was life, and that life was the light of men

John 1:4 is saying that creative life-giving power comes from Jesus.  That life itself resides in Jesus.  A little later on in John's Gospel we will hear Jesus say, "I am the resurrection and the life."  It is hard for us to see the one on one correlation between life itself and Jesus himself.  What does it mean that Jesus gives life?  I think that God has necessarily brought about the existence of Jesus because of the very nature of life itself, but what does it mean?  John adds the application at the end of verse 4, "and that life was the light of men."  Jesus' life is the thing that provides spiritual illumination, understanding, comprehension, or in our modern language: good information about God. This is profound, it means that the life of Jesus is the source of spiritual information for everyone.  This isn't such a far fetched exclusivist idea as you would think, because people from many religions have a place for Jesus somewhere, as a great prophet, a holy man, or other things.  Even so, to have true spiritual understanding one cannot ignore, but rather must accept, Jesus' own self-disclosure that was so clearly preserved in the Gospels. Spiritual darkness doesn't necessarily mean that a person has no knowledge about God, or has not heard some really good information about God.  Spiritual darkness can be like a dark cloud of circumstance that envelops our life, that hangs over our head like a blanket, so that we neither see, nor even breathe!  An understanding and acceptance of Jesus will dispel this.  A realization and communion with the Lord will pull the blanket from our head.  Coming to Christ is like coming out of the spiritual fog, out of the darkness.  But, with John's Gospel, we sometimes see that "the light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it."

The Church Experience

The Church Experience

Participating at Church can positively affect your life, in a significant way.

If your Church puts an emphasis on effectively serving the poor...

If your Church attunes you to new spiritual insights and understandings...

If your Church encourages you to have a real and personal connection with God...

If you know that you are a part of a group that truly cares for each other...

Be less than this, want less than this, and see what happens.

see http://www.barna.org/images/stories/church-exp-tradition-2.png

Urgent: Ephesians 2:8-10 needed badly!

So people say, "we have a lot of churches needing pastors."  And I say, "Well, ain't nern called me yet."  Then they says, "Problem is ain't none them churches y'ed want no how."

This is coming from people and clergy who ought to know better, and is being repeated, sometimes meaner than others:  "You wouldn't want to go there and pastor."  [The meanest was, "They ought to close down and give their property to (local megachurch wannabe)."]

Well, call me dumb, but I think that attitude is a problem.  It reveals an insanely unspiritual corporate job/career/professional viewpoint of Christianity that STILL creeps me out.

The issue has never been whether or not churches have problems.  Or whether some got's more problems than others.  Or whether Christians got problems.  Or whether churches can sin like crazy. 

The fact is Christians is people.  And people in groups can sin much more efficiently than they can by themselves.  Isn't it all about redemption and healing through dependence upon God? "...and that not of yourselves...."

How do I know this?  Because I am one of em.  Yep, ministers is people, too.  And people sin, some more one day, some less the next day, some quite well, some with difficulty.  Point is that there ain't no church more broken than I have been, or even am. Welcome to earth!

So what church is good enough for me?!?  That is the criteria for a call in this modern megachurch goin' straight to h^ll, world loving man-centered religion?!?

Better this: What church am I good enough for?  Now THAT question only God can answer, folks.  

Our attitude ought to be one of dependence on God and not our own perfections.  If churches have to be "good enough" to call a pastor, then God help us all.  We all have to come to the end of ourselves spiritually, realize that we have a need for God as individuals and in community, humble ourselves, give over our sin to the power of God, and accept and receive his forgiveness and redemption.  This is about love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness.  I hope.

Now, don't that sound better than "get your act together or die?"  I'm telling you, there is no grace left in modern megachurch goin' straight to h^ll, world loving man-centered religion.  It's all about performance, perfection, and spiritual self-sufficiency. "How do you stack up against the big dogs?"  No one tells you that the "big dogs" got that way by...(the spiritual equivalent of free beer).

Here's to all them imperfect churches out there without perfect pastors, waiting for Superman. (He ain't coming, especially if he says he is.)  "...we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we might walk in them..."

I just mean...dern y'all.  Fix this attitude now and stop discouraging one another.

KFC: The Best of Sunday

The new KFC commercial jumped out at me during the games.  It goes something like this: They saved the best for Sundays: the best games, the best sleeping late, the best shopping, the best food.  So, KFC fits in perfectly for your Sunday menu.

So, aside from being a transparent attempt to cash in on Chic-Fil-A being closed on Sundays, the commercial has a glaring omission: The best Christian worship!Or, the Best Family time in Church! Or, the most spiritual day for Christians!  Or anything like that could have been included and been true for a vast number of practicing Christians (who are also steroid chicken munchers watching the NCAA Men's B-Ball Tourney).

I noticed that there were no scenes depicting anyone entering or exiting a church building of any type. At least they could have shown a family happily exiting, shaking off their captivity, and diving full speed for KFC! (Believe me, I have experience seeing this type of thing.)

The really odd thing is the punchline in the ad: TGIS- as in, you got it, thank God it's Sunday!  So, after leaving God out of Sunday, we all just thank God for it?

As I said today during the message, worship is something for which we were built.  I think we are longing to worship in spirit and truth from some place deep within.  It is just sad that this natural impulse hasn't translated very much into what people experience in church.  Again the classic clash between religion and spirituality.  Or is it just laziness?  *sigh*

Another consideration for advertisers might be what is the best of Friday- would a Muslim be ill if Friday prayers were not mentioned?  Or how about the best of Saturday- does this sort of leave out the Jewish Sabbath? I mean, if you're gonna leave something out...

I guess Sundays are nice, and some of the "best" is saved for Sunday.  But I have different reasons for this sentiment than KFC (the junk food formerly known as Kentucky Fried Chicken).