I Know What's Gonna Happen

 
Psychic - having or exhibiting an ability to perceive events in the future or beyond normal sensory contact.

The above is technically the definition of "clairvoyant". But no one ever says "I'm clairvoyant." But don't we all think we're a "little psychic" sometimes?

It's like when you're having a party and this one friend keeps saying "I'm on my way" but never shows up. Somebody always says: "I knew she wasn't coming!" Or it's like when you ask for some tricky time-off at work and get denied; you walk away grumbling: "I knew it..."

Have you ever noticed that our belief in our psychic abilities is only strengthened by negative occurrences? As stated in a previous post, about once or twice a year I truly believe that I'm going to win Mega Millions. But, alas, I'm still a thousandaire. I "knew it" but was wrong. This doesn't make me less psychic. If something good surprises me when I had been expecting despair, it doesn't make me doubt my powers. But when I correctly predict a bad outcome...I KNEW IT!

This applies to nearly all aspects of my existence: both natural and spiritual. If a prayer doesn't get answered (or seems voided or unanswerable), I can get into an "I knew it" mode of thinking. Which is really just code for "I-never-had-faith-in-the-first-place" but then again, why does faith have to be continuous? If I have faith for one second, why isn't that enough? Who's to say it isn't (Jesus talks a lot about faith the size of a mustard seed)...but I digress. In any case, when you start wondering what happened with your unanswered prayer...if you actually come up with an answer, you might be "psychic."

There are some things that we simply just "know" despite the Word of God:

• The Lord is my Shepherd (Psalm 23:1)  - "I just don't feel shepherded at this time" 
• All things work together for good (Romans 8:28) - "NO good can come of this!" 
• But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it (Romans 8:25) - "I need some sort of sign!"

And the list goes on. 

I know not many people find the Bible funny, but I came across a hilarious exchange between two prophets: Elijah and Obadiah. And though, I'd love to identify with Elijah (and one day never die, but be taken away in a chariot of fire - 2 Kings 2:11), I really see myself in Obadiah.

Situation: Elijah has been on the run for a long time. An evil king has been seeking him everywhere, making people swear they had neither seen him nor were harboring him. Obadiah is walking down the road and runs into Elijah who says: "tell the king I'm here." Obadiah's response is awesome:

“What sin have I committed, that you are giving your servant into the hand of Ahab to put me to death? As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent to search for you; and when they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made the kingdom or nation swear that they could not find you. And now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your master, “Behold, Elijah is here.”’ It will come about when I leave you that the Spirit of the Lord will carry you where I do not know; so when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have feared the Lord from my youth." - 1 Kings 18:9-12

This guys sounds just like me! He's both psychic AND has a victim's mentality. He starts out with "why me?!" one of my favorite lines, then he proceeds to tell Elijah exactly how everything will turn out if he does what the Lord (through Elijah) has requested. Obadiah doesn't even fault Elijah. Elijah could mean well, but the Spirit of the Lord will whisk him away when Obadiah isn't looking and then...it's curtains. He even puts in a little bit about how he doesn't deserve this death because he has "feared the Lord" from his youth. He has hit ALL the bases of Christian complaint:

1. Why me? 
2. If I do this, then that will happen, and I don't want that to happen.
3. God could stop this if He wanted to.
4. Haven't I served you?

Long story short, Elijah promised him none of that would happen, Obadiah told the king and then disappeared from the story. He later reappears in scripture...alive.  He grumbled for a moment, but then he did the will of the Lord. But how often do we let our "psychic" powers deter us from doing what is right? How often do we let this "knowledge" of future events based on either our obedience or disobedience inform our decisions? I think it's incredible how many things I think I know. And I declare them all the time. But I don't really know anything.

I don't know what's going to happen.

This is an important truth to remember, but I'll forget about it. I know it...I'm psychic.

Ummm...That's a Lie

I've been blogging randomly since the beginning of 2014; this makes the blog much harder to write. So I've decided to start a new series, which I actually was thinking about a few years ago. The series will be titled "From the Dead" and will be centered on the places in scripture where someone who is dead comes back to life! I had to put an exclamation point, because that just feels exciting.*

Most Christians are hoping to be raised from the dead, as opposed to being a live witness to the second coming of Christ. Non-Christians might be like: "that's silly" but trust me...there are some drawbacks to being around at that particular time. Trust me. In any case, I thought it would be great to write a few blogs on resurrection, which is basically the foundational hope of Christianity. Why do I say it's foundational?

If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.  - 1 Corinthians 15:13-15

I really love this scripture because it's super convicting. Am I the only one who thinks it's strange that the worse thing is not: 

1. That the gospel (for which Paul was whipped, beaten, stoned and shipwrecked for preaching) was useless
2. Your faith is useless

??? 

Really? To me, the uselessness of the gospel and my faith actually would have been the worst thing. Not to Paul. The absolute worst thing would have been his misrepresentation of God. The worst thing would be attributing to God something that He didn't actually do. Or sometimes the worst thing is assigning a false "why" to something He actually has done.

We (myself included) tell these sorts of lies on God all the time. 

For example:

1. Lying about the position of God's heart - We do this by thinking "God must hate me" when a series of tragic events come to pass in our lives. We can sometimes get so caught up in our suffering that we start accusing God of all sorts of malintent.** Even though scripture blatantly tells us otherwise (Jeremiah 29:11, John 3:16, Romans 5:8, and the list goes on and on).
   
2. Lying about God's motivation - To put it simply, by believing that our actions are the driving force behind God's choices about our lives. In short, bad things happen to bad people; good things happen to good people. Only. So when something good happens, thinking: "Because of my faithfulness, or because of my goodness, God has blessed me with XYZ." And likewise: "If you were serving the Lord fully, this stuff wouldn't be happening to you. This is a wake-up call from God." 

When I hear stuff like that my eyes shrink into tiny slits of incredulity.  Why does God have to wake me up with a lightning bolt? I'm pretty positive I could be gently shaken awake... AND, I'm pretty positive all the people who are "#blessed" are not as pure as the driven snow.

More importantly, when we think this way, we rob God of His sovereignty (conceptually of course). When you think like this, YOU are sovereign. You're the captain of this ship and you can turn God at will based on your decision to do "good" or "evil." While it would be amazing to have that level of control...we just don't.

Jesus said as much while strolling down the street with His disciples:

As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.  - John 9:1-3

I love that the disciples find there are only two possibilities: either this man sinned, or his parents sinned. There was an assumption built into their approach to God. They didn't ask: "Why was this man born blind?" because they already "knew" the answer to that. They already believed a lie.

Harmless mistake?

Not in Paul's opinion. And not in God's either:

...the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right... - Job 42:7

The biggest karma peddlers in scripture are without controversy Job's three friends Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. God was angry with them for assuming and speaking falsely about both His heart towards Job and His motivations regarding Job's trial/test. 

Are we the Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar in our own test? Are we the three friends condemning ourselves (and accusing God) in our own trial? Are we being that kind of friend to our friends?

Have we believed the lie? And if so, who are we telling it to?!

* This is not a part of the series. I was derailed by this random thought while studying.
** malintent isn't a word?! It's slang for "malicious intent"...I'll keep using it anyway.

I Want to Be a Genius

Writer's block is real. I've wanted to write a blog ever since Portland, but inspiration has been far from me. Or, something would inspire me, but I could never really grasp hold of it tightly. I couldn't turn an idea into anything more than an idea. Then, today, at work we had an "All Hands Controller's Meeting" which is really just a plain old team meeting.  At the end of the PowerPoint presentation outlining our key performance indicators, there was a quote with a picture of Albert Einstein (genius):

"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." - Albert Einstein

I have included a picture of young Albert Einstein because I get tired of seeing just one view of him: disheveled genius. He was young and dashing, as well as a super smarty, at one point.

oh la la

But I digress, a little. In any case, this was a great quote, and though I'm sure I was supposed to apply it to my job: How can I understand derivative valuation and analysis enough to explain it simply? Hmmm. I'm not ashamed to say I'm not there yet.  Every time someone asks me "what is a derivative?" I die a little inside. Not because I don't know, but rather because I can't tell you without using the words "underlying", "notional", and "net settlement" at which point your eyes have glazed over. And if I do tell you without those words, I run into the second quote in the PowerPoint: 

"Make things as simple as possible, but not simpler." - Albert Einstein

I have to say this quote actually blew my mind a little bit. It is an incredibly hard task to make something easier to understand, without removing the complexities or ignoring critical nuances. And that, my friends is the reason for my writer's block. I have wandered into territories (spiritually) where I don't know enough to carelessly toss it in the blog. And if I did know, and from what I think I know...I'm afraid of what I might be losing in the translation from my head/heart to the page!
 

Long story short, I'm worried about my lack of genius.

As I've said before, I'm on the Bible in One Year plan, and we just got around to the "genius" of biblical times: King Solomon. King Solomon comes to the throne as a "man of God" and there's this day where he offers 1000 sacrifices. And in response God says "Ask what you wish me to give you." I immediately stopped reading and thought: genie-in-a-bottle! Like, what do I want most? If I was in Solomon's situation...what would I say? Then I read on:

Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David, yet I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. Your servant is in the midst of Your people which You have chosen, a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted. So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” - 1 Kings 3:7-9

To keep it real, I rolled my eyes. And immediately said to myself "It's EASY to ask for wisdom when you already have everything! You're king!" I wasn't impressed. 

But GOD was.

It was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. God said to him, “Because you have asked this thing and have not asked for yourself long life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to understand justice, behold, I have done according to your words. - 1 Kings 3:10-12

...those were legitimate things he didn't ask for. See, my carnal mind went automatically to ways to discredit his righteousness, so I wouldn't be accountable to it. But, aside from his riches, he had no way of knowing how long he'd live. People with money always want more money, and as far as enemies? Those need to be eliminated. Especially in those days; that was real life Game of Thrones! But he didn't ask for any of that. He didn't ask for what would keep him in his position, but rather for what would make him do well in his position. 

So, I've been praying for wisdom lately. Which is a departure from my usual prayers:

"Dear Lord, where is my husband?...Dear Lord, I'm ready for a promotion at work...Dear Lord, Mega Millions?...Dear Lord, I have this doctor's appointment next week..."

Don't be deceived. The prayer for Wisdom hasn't replaced the others, but it is an add-on. But really, it's the biggest thing.

For if you cry for discernment...

If you seek her as silver

And search for her as for hidden treasures;

Then you will discern the fear of the Lord

And discover the knowledge of God.

For the Lord gives wisdom

- Proverbs 2:3-6 

Wisdom is at the bottom of a lot of values lists, when it should be searched for like a hidden treasure. But the real clincher is this: God gives wisdom!

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. - James 1:5

Wisdom, unlike everything else I pray for, is guaranteed. That's a downer to some people, because all the other stuff is SO important (and it's important to me as well). However, to pray for something and KNOW it is God's will for me to have it takes the really hard "faith" part out of it. I can get wisdom. And as my faith grows, I'll get other stuff too. But wisdom is an excellent, awesome, guaranteed starting point. 

I'm kind of geeked about it.  I might not be a genius...but, you'll see. The blog will get wiser. 

Summer of wisdom! 

Portland: No Diversity!

Disclaimer: This article is in no way meant to defame, malign, or otherwise "throw shade" on Portland, Oregon. So far, I'm having a great time. 

Sunday was my first full day in Portland, Oregon. I'm not exactly looking for a new city to settle down in, but every time I take a domestic vacay, I try to take note of potential. What do I like? What do I dislike? Could this be my future home? 

imagine me in the middle of this crowd...

So yesterday, I'm sitting down by myself, indulging in a little people-watching. June has abandoned me in search of tea and snacks, so I really had a chance to look around and soak in my surroundings. Suddenly,  I began to feel very out-of-place. It was an extremely strange feeling. I liked the vibe of the city with its natural beauty everywhere, the quirky fashion sense of the citizens, and a true foodie culture.  Yet, there was something that I could quite put my finger on...and then it hit me: "where are the black people?!" Perhaps a little  research was in order prior to this trip, so I would not be shocked by the Portland demography. However, I kid you not, I saw more black people in Rome, Italy. So right there, from my perch, I start smartphoning it: "black people in Portland." The results were, to say the least, not ideal. I started to give in to a sinking feeling when, wait! There, in the distance I spotted the one person I didn't think existed here: a black woman! And her daughter! They exist!

Then I immediately started to feel bad. And then sad. For two reasons:

1.  The "Why of it All" - Why is the realization that there are few to no black people the origin of a "sinking feeling"? In 2014, shouldn't I be beyond the pressures and the tensions evoked by race? What's wrong with me?
2. The "Where of it All" - This is bigger than #1. My first point is naive foolishness. Anyone who reads a paper or watches the news has to admit that there are still race-centric issues in the United States of America. But me, yesterday, I was having this disconnected, "I-don't-belong-here", make for the hills feeling...at church. 

I have a group of friends and, on an almost annual basis, we visit West Virginia to hang out in cabins. I go there with an expectation of Confederate flags, and lawn gnomes that really aren't gnomes...just little black men surrounded by grass and tin water cans. I expect to see racist vintage art hung up on the walls of random establishments and I don't waste time looking around for a ton of black people, because I know they're not there. I have an expectation of homogeneity. 

the "ideal" church--per carnal thinking

So Portland merely took me by surprise. And believe me, there are no confederate flags, or "little Sambo" lawn ornaments, or vintage blackface posters, there's simply: no diversity. No big deal. No one has treated me strangely (though someone did try to sell me weed--Normal? Not normal?) or made me feel unwelcome.

But as it came to the church, I started to wonder: am I looking for diversity in the wrong place? Should I expect homogeneity in the church? And I don't mean this in the "Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in Christian America" (a la MLK) way. I mean shouldn't I look for homogeneity in a way that transcends all of that?

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,  for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. - Galatians 3:26-28

There are many who would teach that this is only a theological point, expressing a sort of spiritual/divine equality and unity through the spirit of Christ. It's theological, but not...practical. I find that to be the saddest interpretation of scripture I've ever encountered. We are either all one in Christ Jesus--and are in Christ Jesus all the time; or we can step in and out of Christ Jesus at will, for practical purposes, effectively making racial ("Jew or Greek"), socioeconomic ("slave or free"), and sexual ("male or female") issues both a practical and theological part of corporate worship.

So on Sunday, I was sitting in my folding chair in that huge garage/auditor church thinking these thoughts, and  thinking of that verse. The preacher was preaching, and it was an excellent message (you can check it out here) on the greatest of all the commandments: 

and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

 - Mark 12:30-31

You might think that's completely unrelated to my previous train of thought, but that sermon had me jumping from notion to notion, and scripture to scripture (like the one in Galatians scripture above). But then I started trying to let myself off the hook, telling myself: "I love God, I love people...I'm all good." But is that 100% true? If that were the case, then when I looked around the church, should I have seen (only) a room full of white hipsters? And it brought me to this scripture: 

If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. - 1 John 4:20

Clearly, I wasn't in there thinking: "I hate these people." I'm not looking to this scripture to determine whether or not I hated them, but I'm looking to it wondering: have I actually seen them. In the Greek, the word for "seen" here is from a root that means "to stare at properly" and it can mean more than seeing with the eyes, but also perceiving with the mind.

So, I started looking around thinking, who am I really looking at? Who really has their hands up in the air? Who's really singing these praises? Who are they...really?

No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

 - 1 John 4:12

Should I see God? 

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.  For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. - 1 Corinthians 12:12-13

Or should I see myself? Someone that I am intricately connected to through Christ? No one looks in a mirror and sees disparate parts. They see themselves. One body. Christ is looking at us, but is seeing Himself.

Isn't that what I should see as well? 

Ugh! Why did I say that?

Saturday night I went to a concert in DC. Priscilla Ahn. As you know, I'm a huge Ingrid Michaelson groupie, but I have to say that Priscilla has the purest, most beautiful/organic sound I've ever heard live. Her voice has a sort of ethereal quality that transcends what you hear on the CD. But enough about that, this blog is not about her. The blog is about what happened after Priscilla and I parted ways.

So, it's late night. I'm in the metro. Alone. I have a twenty minute wait for the next train. I see a security guard waiting as well, so I sit by him. Will he protect me if things get rough at Metro Center? Probs not, but women are comforted by fantasies. Anyway, I'm sitting there in imaginary safety when two young men who may or may not be of the thug variety sit next to me. One on each side. I am sandwiched between potential thugs. And then my security guard suddenly catches a blue line train (I'm waiting for orange), and I'm left alone with them. My initial thought: I will now be robbed or harassed. Or both. Le sigh.

Like one minute after security guard leaves one of the guys says: "I like your hair." I say "thank you" politely and resume staring off into space (I dare not pretend to play on my phone as that increases the odds of it being stolen...in my mind). He doesn't say anything for another 2-3 minutes, then this happens:

Potential Thug 1: I was gonna ask you for your number, but I think maybe you think I'm too young for you.
Me: I'm definitely too old for you. I'm pretty sure your mom would slap me if I dated you.
Potential Thug 1: How old are you?
Me: (never so happy to admit this) 31
Thug 1 and 2: (gasp) What? I would have never guessed that.
Thug 2: Yeah, I would say like 27 at most.

Usually, it's about this time--once the old hag reality sinks in--that youngsters go away. But instead of hitting on me, they have now turned to me for life advice.

Thug 1: So, what kind of advice would you have for someone my age? You know life advice.

 I was shocked. For two reasons,

1. Did he really just ask me that? Clearly, this is not your garden variety thug. Most likely not a thug at all. I profiled him based on the way he was dressed.
2. My answers. My answers made me feel like the oldest person on this planet. I said all the cliched things I heard when I was younger: "Stay in school" "Be safe" (in regards to sexual practices). Ahhh! I'm 50! Very practical, yet, in hindsight I felt like I told him all the wrong things. 

♫See you at the metro...so you won't be lonely.♫

First off, he'd already given up on school in his pursuit of a rap career. Which I can't hate on completely b/c what if Jay-Z, Nas, Kanye West, Lil Wayne and so many others had given up? So, we talked a little about back-up plans and what not. Practical.

Second, I don't know about safety, but he was already on his way to meet a girl for drinks who, as he put it, was "pressed" and that he had her mind messed up... He said he often gives a girl a compliment, like "I like your hair" and then he's silent. He says the silence messes up their minds. Whaaa? I was confused by that, so I just talked about being nice to girls and more about safety and responsibility. Practical.

But...where was my come-to-Jesus speech? Honestly, it never even crossed my mind. Is that normal? Abnormal? Do we only talk as the Lord leads us, or should our first inclination be to hit them with scriptures?

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

- Colossians 4:5,6

I spent 15 minutes in the train station and then 30 minutes on the train (they were going where I was going), having a lively discussion with these two young men. Yet, I doubt that from the viewpoint of Christ I made the "best use of the time." Why? I don't know. I have to think more about the cause-and-effect of the entire situation. Nothing bad happened. We didn't have a bad talk. I would say, we had a good talk...but at no point was it a god talk either. I'm not like wretchedly convicted or crying my eyes out over here, but next time, I want to be prepared to make better use of the time. At the very least, it'd make for a crazier story. 

Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. - 2 Timothy 4:2

If I could do it all over again, and someone said: "what kind of advice would you have for someone my age?" I could tell them that the best thing they could ever do is to develop a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. And then just be silent. 

The silence...it messes with their minds.

Do You Love Your Job?

A few days ago, my old boss sent me a link to a sermon, but I didn't really find time to listen to it until today. The sermon was called: How to Get the Most Out of Your Work - Part 1. You might be thinking: "You must be some type of horrible employee to be given that link..."

You might be correct. But I don't think so. Recently, there have been some shake-ups in the workplace that left me feeling a little sad and dejected.  So, I think my old boss tried to cheer me up with a little Charles Stanley.

I'm not one to turn down help, so I put in my earbuds, and listened to it today at my desk (I multi-task). What's strange is this was also--briefly--the topic of my small group/bible study last night: Should we find purpose, meaning, and significance in our 9 to 5? I was like "I don't know about that."
Stranger still, two weeks ago I was relaxing in the National Mall (not a store, but a grassy are by the Smithsonian) with a friend and we discussed the extent to which a person can be defined by their career. And I said: "I wouldn't define myself that way."

So, this has come up three times! Maybe I need to pay attention a little. Should my thinking concerning work change?

chained to a desk? Break free!

I come from a school of thought that can be summed up in a few different ways:

• Everybody's working for the weekend - the Rock and Roll way
• Working to eat is a tragic, tragic curse (Genesis 3:17-19) -  the take the Bible-out-of-context-to-make-my-point way
• "Look down, look down, you'll always be a slave..." - The Les Miserables way

Clearly, I'm joking (a little bit). I don't, by any means, hate my gig, but the stuff Charles Stanley talked about, the things that we discussed in small group, and the way my friend feels defined by his government contractor career...all felt super foreign to me.

I didn't ask my friend how he came to internalize the career as part of his identity. So, no help there.

I was super skeptical in small group (where David was our comparable) for the following "legit" reasons: 

1. David has been called by God to his position. Anointed even. No oil has been placed on my head to anoint me as a CPA. Therefore I scientifically deduce this to be "apples and oranges."
2. At the height of my career achievement, I think the highest title I could ever have would be something like: "Controller" or "CFO." Yet, none of those sounds as significant as "King." I think it's easier to find meaning, purpose and significance when your title is "King." I'm just saying.



King of Israel, King of Pop...both great titles!

3. We were told to seek meaning...but not all told how to find it.

So, no take aways for me right?

But maybe my thinking is extremely twisted. To the first point, if I'm on the path that God has planned for me--I might not be, but if I am--then aren't I called to the work I'm performing? To my second point, does the significance of the title matter? Lots of teachers view their careers as their identity and there's nothing prestigious about it! "Teacher" is neither royal, nor is it lofty. But the fact that I'd want to only be identified by my job title if it was "Princess of Monaco" just makes--to my third point--the answer offered by Charles Stanley even more of a bitter pill to swallow:

View Yourself As A Servant

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Why Charles, why?

Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. - Colossians 3:22-24

This is the verse he hits me with. My first thought was "technically, I'm not a slave but rather an at-will employee..." but let's not mince words. I have to work somewhere, else I will be hungry. Or cold. Or hungry and cold. So though I'm not forced to work at a specific place, I am forced to work. But I don't have to view work in the ways listed up above. If I view it as a good work that God has prepared for me...won't I reverence it more? Enjoy it more? Love it more?

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. - Ephesians 2:10

And if that's a stretch, like if the good works have to be ministerial kingdom building, then what if I just do what Colossians says and view it "as for the Lord"? That is really key. I work for men. The slaves Paul was addressing worked for men! But if we merely work for men...it will potentially suck. Paul is asking us to look past those people, and to imagine (or even to realize) that everything we do is in the service of the Lord!

I tried it today. And failed miserably. I kept repeating in my mind: "Iamaservant iamaservant iamaservant" to no avail. I kept getting mad at e-mails and auditor requests. But I'm going to pray on it and keep conditioning myself to think this way. Why? Because life would be better if I lived as if I was anointed with oil to do my job: as if a good job for my boss is a good job for Jesus. Whether it's true or not. Though...I think it's true:

...the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. - Luke 22:26

Come As You Are

I had a conversation last week with June that went like this:

Me - I'm thinking of writing a blog called "Come As You Are"
June - Like the song?
Me - Like the scripture...duh!

However, I immediately thought "maybe that's not a scripture..." so I went on a quest for the red letter verse (I'd take black letter as well) that said: "Oh ye sinners, come as ye are...and I will give ye rest" (KJV).  Something along those lines.

RIP Hall of Famer!

But alas, there was no such divinely inspired Word. There's only an old Nirvana song and the memoria of pastors and missionaries saying "come as you are" in sermons and religious conversations when I was a kid/teenager.

While there is no specific passage that says "come as you are" we know that the concept is biblical. "Come as you are" simply means you don't have to "clean yourself up" prior to coming to Christ. It means there's no prerequisite to salvation (Mark 2:17). Which is awesome!

I went back and forth between titling this post: "Come As You Are" or "Take Me As I Am" (see Faith Hill or Mary J...depending on your musical tastes).  Why? Well, when it comes to relationships, these two phrases speak to the "dream" situation. At one point or another, we've all said that we want someone who "loves me for me." When we want someone to love us and our crap, we have a "Take Me As I Am, don't try to change me" mentality. Additionally, we bask in the idea that our crap is just so darn lovable that the other person is thinking "Come As You Are, because I wouldn't change a thing!" That would be TRUE love. Right?

We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us...1 John 3:16

OH, so that's true love. Since true love is most obviously manifested in Christ's finished work on the cross, we have to ask ourselves: what is the intended end result of that love?

Be ye transformed!

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. - Romans 12:2

 Could we say brainwashed...or is that too hard to handle?

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. - 2 Corinthians 3:18

Could you imagine your face changing into someone else's face in the mirror? 

...in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. - Ephesians 4:22-24

He'll take you as you are right now, but then...Extreme Makeover: Mind, Body, Soul Edition.

How is it that what we expect out of our carnal relationships is not at all what we can expect from a relationship with God? We want someone to accept us as we are instead of trying to force us to fit this image of the perfect girlfriend/boyfriend/husband/wife/friend.  And though it's true that God wants you to "Come as you are!", He also intends for you to leave totally changed. He plans to conform you to the image of His Son. Isn't it a little freaky to think of it in those terms? We have this idea that a person can love us so much that they never try to change us. But God loves you enough to change you! To change your whole life.

...I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.  - John 10:10

Why is that so scary?