The Breaking Point

Have you ever been pushed to your breaking point? All things have a breaking point. A breaking point is the point at which enough force or pressure is put upon something so that it breaks. What is your breaking point? How much pressure can you handle before you reach the breaking point? Again, have you ever been pushed to your breaking point? Or has God ever pushed you to your breaking point?

In John 6, we see Jesus pushing people to their breaking point. He is with his disciples on a mountainside, and a great crowd followed him. He looks up sees the crowd and asks, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” His disciples are confounded. Jesus then proceeds to perform a miracle by feeding over 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish. That night, Jesus goes up on the mountain to pray. While he is doing this the disciples get in a boat and sail across the lake. Jesus comes out walking across the water and joins them. Two major miracles have occurred both showing that Jesus is master of this world. The crowds wake up the next morning and realize that Jesus has gone. So, they set out for Capernaum looking for Jesus. They find Jesus and ask, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus responds by telling them that they came to eat some more of the bread he gave them, when they should be coming to him for the bread that endures to eternal life. He goes on tell them that he is the bread of life. They begin to grumble at this. They could not accept that he had come down from heaven. Then, Jesus continues saying that they must eat of his flesh in order to live forever. This puts the Jews in sharp disagreement. It was scandalous to think of eating raw flesh, let alone a man’s raw flesh. That totally went against the Law. Jesus responds to them by saying that they must eat of his flesh and drink of his blood or they will not have eternal life. At this point, his disciples began to grumble and argue about this. Jesus replies, “Does this offend you…this is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.” From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. The crowds and his own disciples had been pushed to the breaking point. Jesus turned to the Twelve asking, “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe that you are the Holy One of God.”

Has God pushed you to your breaking point? Is your response like that of the crowds and disciples or the Twelve? Only Christ has the words of true life. When God pushes me to the breaking point, I have nowhere else to go. “Lord to whom shall I go? You have the words of eternal

A Rock and A Hard Place

I am between a rock and a hard place. I don't know what to do to solve the connundrum that is before me. The only options I see I don't like. I hate this...how does this all get worked out? Oh joy, the Rock and the Hard Place...

Live Love

“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.” 1 John 4:16

Live Love.

God has called each of us to be his people in this community. We have been chosen to be a part of his kingdom. The foundation of that kingdom is Jesus Christ. Christ came to show us how to be the kingdom while living in a broken world. The words, the actions, the pulse of the kingdom is love.

Love has many forms, romantic love, puppy love, tough love…each one is different but all contain the same essence. Love is giving what is needed no matter the cost. Sometimes love hurts. It is painful to love someone. There is always the chance that they won’t return or acknowledge your love. But the kingdom is about love. Love is confronting a friend unrepentant of their sin. Love is providing for a need. Love is saying no to the easy way out. Love is giving up what I want for what God wants or needs me to do. Love takes time. Love takes perseverance. Love moves where God is moving.

We have been called to Live Love. 24/7. To our community, to our families, to our friends, to ourselves. We must Live Love.

Live Love. 24/7

The Point of No Return

Lately, I have been wrestling with the issue of God's goodness. I know God is real. I know God loves me, but I have been struggling with his goodness. I believe he is good. I have experienced and continue to experience his goodness, but I am trying to reconcile his goodness with some stories in scripture. I have been reflecting on the life of the prophet Jeremiah. From an outsiders perspective, Jeremiah's life seems to be pretty crappy. At one point, he even calls God out saying that God has deceived him and he is deceived. Jeremiah was used by God to speak to the people of Judah about the coming invasion of the Babylonians. He was thrown into a cistern. He was put in prison. He had an assaination attempt carried out against him. The people refused to believe his message. He is known as the "weeping prophet". God used this prophet to speak to his people, but his life does not appear to be blessed. In all actuality, it appears to be the opposite. I admit that I don't know the direction God has for my life. I don't know if I am simply in a time of weakness, but I keep coming back to this idea that God wants me to be obedient and follow him no matter what. I have no guarrantee from God that he will bless me in the ways that I want so desperately. I have no promise from him that he will do what I desire. I have been commanded to follow him regardless. Its a bitter pill to swallow to think that God in his goodness may not give me the desires of my heart. I have reached the point of no return. If God is good, may his goodness be showered upon me. However, if he chooses not to, so be it. I am all in. I am trying to surrender what I want the most to him. Lord, let my words be your words, "Father, not my will but your will be done". But if you will let my desires be fulfilled. Past the point of no return, "Father, you are all I have to cling to!"

Who is Equal to Such a Task?

"Who is equal to such a task?"...today at Church Dustin spoke about Guilt and how God frees us from the guilt of our past sins and past failures. He forgives us and frees us from the bondage of guilt. One would think that following a sermon like that I would leave Church feeling upbeat and free. Yet, I left Church with a burden. Following Sunday School, I had a brief talk with one of my youth sponsors. During this conversation, I learned some information about one of my students that breaks my heart. I need to talk to the parents of this student about this, and it will be difficult. Also, I get the impression from some of my other jr. high students that they don't respect me and may not even like me. Usually this does not bother me, but when my students don't like me i question myself. I recognize that I am sinful. I struggle with lust and laziness daily. I know that I don't do enough to help my ministry be more successful, but at the same time I know that I will never be able to do enough to help my ministy be more successful. I will never have enough time, resources, or sponsors to meet the needs of each of my students. This does not justify my laziness, but it is reality. Who is equal to such a task? Who can do enough? Who can be enough? I am weak. I am broken. I am frail. I am human. This task of being a minister of the gospel is too big for me. But praise be to the God who makes the impossible possible and uses broken frail sinful humans to accomplish his purposes. I know that he has put me in Mason City for a reason. I must strive to grow and be the man I am called to be. I like Paul cling to this verse "my grace is sufficent for you, my power is made perfect in weakness." Lord, I am weak and I am in need of your grace...

Inked

On Friday, March 26 at approximately 2:15 pm, I joined the ranks of the inked. It took roughly an hour to get my ink done. I had it done at a small shop here in Mason City. Going into it, I had been given different opinions on how it feels to get a tattoo. Some said that it hurt a lot, while others said it didn't hurt at all. I must admit that when it began it was not the most pleasant of feelings, but it did not hurt bad. I noticed that the longer it went the better it felt. I don't mean that it stopped hurting, but that the pain felt good. It was a cathartic pain. It felt like I was being purged by pain.

My tattoo is a celtic trinity symbol. It has been used for centuries to symbolize the oneness and threeness of the Godhead. This particular symbol has a smaller symbol on the inside. This is a symbol of the unity of a person, our body, soul, and spirit. This tattoo represents the reality that a person can only be united and whole when all of them is caught up inside the Godhead. I can only be who God has called me to be when I am in right relationship with him.

Hours after my tattoo was finished, I understood the addictive nature of tattoos. I already have plans on what I want to get next on my left forearm. I figure I have to balance my arms out. I can't have one on the right forearm and not on the left. So once I have the cash and the design, here comes tattoo #2!

P. S. having a tat makes me feel even more B A...

The Veil Grows Thin

The ancient Celts believed that at certain times and in certain places the veil that separates our realm from God's realm becomes thin. When this happens, we are able to catch glimpses of transcendence and the beauty of that realm. They marked these times with sacred days that were holy to them. They marked the places of power with stone cairns that alerted people to the sacredness of the place. They hallowed any place that reminded them of the intersection of the two realms such as the edge of a forest, where does the forest end and the outside begin, the beach, where does the ocean begin and the beach end, a crossroads, where does one end stop and the other begin. All of these places are pictures of the intersection.

This weekend, I witnessed another intersection of the two realms. My good friend and brother, D Willy, became a wedded man. The preacher remarked that one of the reasons we anticipate weddings even though we already know the surprise is because a wedding is a time when the veil between the realms becomes thin. A wedding helps us see two things that are from God's realm. First, it gives us a glimpse into the original order of things. For one day, a man and a woman come together to united as one flesh. I can't help but think that the Creator of Romance who has brought them together remembers the first Day that a man and a woman were brought together. This wedding day points back to that day. Second, it gives us a glimpse of the future that is to come. One day, the Lover of Humanity will return. On that day, he will be the Bridegroom who is eagerly waiting for his bride. He will have the same smile that I have seen on my friend's faces as his Bride makes her way to him. She will be radiant in her pure spotless gown. On that day, we, the Church, will be that bride. We will be guests at the greatest Wedding Feast ever seen. At the wedding of the Lamb all will be set right and all will finally be truly good. The old order of things will have passed, and the new order will begin. What a glorious day that will be. Every wedding we attend point us back to the first time a man and woman came together, and it points us forward to the Day when the Lamb shall have his Bride.

On Saturday, I caught a brief glimpse of the other realm. treasure the glimpses...

Peter and John

I'm sure almost everyone made this statment when they were a child, "but that's not fair". I am almost as equally sure that your parents responded like mine with the phrase, "yes, but life's not fair." Life is not fair. This is easily seen if you look across the landscape of the world. If life were fair, children in South Africa would not be oprhaned by AIDS, parents would not divorce, young girls would not be sexually abused, racism would not persist, etc. Life is not fair. Now, you may raise the question what has sparked my thinking about this subject? Was it any of these harsh realities of our world? Nope, it was Valentine's Day. I will explain. I am not a typically jealous person. I don't covet most of what other people have. I don't spend my time devising ways to get the cool gadgets and toys that others own. But, I am jealous of those in relationships, not in the way that I would try to take someone's girlfriend, but in the way that I want what they appear to have. I am jealous of that. My lack of success with the female sex has been well documented. I have been single for a long time, longer than many people I know. This is where I begin to be jealous. I see people who are great people, deserving, loving, and all around awesome people finding and developing relationships. I am happy for them, but at the same time I am jealous. Soon after I speak the congratulations, inwardly I speak the question, "when will my time come?" This is when I have once again realized that life is not fair. More importantly, God is not fair. In all acutality, God cares nothing for fairness. He cares about justice, but not about my definition of fairness. This reminds me of the story in John 21. Jesus has risen from the dead and appeared to the apsotles. He meets them while they are fishing. He calls out to them from the beach and they have a great catch of fish. They realize it is Jesus. Peter jumps out of the boat and swims to shore. After the rest of the apostles reach the beach, they share a breakfast of fish and bread. Jesus begins asking Peter if he loves him. Peter replies with the affirmative. Jesus continues asking. Peter becomes distressed. Jesus then tells him how he will die and to follow him. Peter looks back at John and asks Jesus, "what about him?' Jesus tells Peter its none of his business what happens to John. Peter's duty is to follow Jesus. In Peter's mind, it would only have been fair if John would share in the same kind of death, but in essence Jesus says fairness matters nothing, only obedience does. God knows what my heart desires. Fairness says I should get what I want, obedience says I must follow irregardless.

"Father, when will my time come?"
-Super Dave

"Follow Me!"
-Jesus

I'm A Shredder!

I thought this day would never come, the day I could call myself a shredder. Now, I am not talking about shredder in terms of snowboarding, oh no. I am a shredder on the guitar. I can shred with the best of them now, and by now and the best of them I mean the best of those who play guitar hero for the ps2. I have not learned how to play a real guitar, but I can shred on my new guitar video game controller to classic toons like killer queen, smoke on the water, iron man, and symphony of destruction. I have mastered the art of the whammy bar and star power. In other words, I have become addicted to this game, Guita Hero. I spend my evenings after meetings shredding on the game. I have beaten easy and medium, the next challenge is hard. So how will Super Dave celebrate Valentine's Day, prolly by playing guitar hero and watching my video game rock god self get all the girls. Maybe one day the video game will be reality!

Death

We hear about death at least once a week. Usually, its on the news or from a friend who had a friend who had a friend that had someone die. It doesn't affect us until it hits close to us. Evolutionary theorists and humanists try to get us to believe that death is natural. It is simply a part of the cycle of life. We live then we die. The Bible acknowledges that for each person there is a time to be born and a time to die. But, the Bible does not show that death is natural. It was never a part of God's plan. Death is a consequence of humanity's sin. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death. Usually, I associate this with spiritual death. We will die by being separated from God. I had not fully realized that this verse includes physical death as well. We die because of sin. This is not meaning that those who die unexpectedly or young, die because they are horrible sinners. The Bible speaks in the Psalms how the righteous die but the wicked prosper. People die because each of us sin. We sin, therefore death will come. Death was never meant to happen. God's plan was for us to live forever with him in the garden. Wonderfully, he came into our world as Jesus and made a way for us to restore our life with him. We can't escape death, but the sting is gone. The after effect of separation from God had been demolished for those in Christ. Death sucks, but God has overcome death.

The Name Game

Buckle your seatbelts, hold on tight, place all valuable eyewear in a secure place, get ready for a good ole fashioned rant!

One of my biggest pet peeves in the blogosphere are anonymous commenters. People will come post a comment and not leave a name. Sometimes they post good things, sometimes they post bad things, sometimes they are flat out mean. Yet they never tell you who they were. It could be they simply aren't smart enough to figure out that even though they have to log on as anonymous they can still leave their name at the bottom.

An example:

anonymous said...
i think super dave smells like cabbage.
-Super Dave
12:00 PM, January 5, 2006

See, it's not that hard to do. You may not have blogger, but you can still identify who you are. Some people may say they don't want to leave their name because they are afraid of the repercussions from what they said. Hey if you aren't man or woman enough to deal with the consequences of what you say, then don't say it. Stop being wimps and wusses who aren't willing to stand up and be recognized. Anonymous comments piss me off, but if you talk crap about me in an anonymous comment, I won't respond. I will get pissed, but I won't let it eat at me. I will forget about it. It will carry no real weight with me. I will only get pissed because you didn't have the guts to reveal yourself. What you say will make no difference to me if you don't have the dignity to say who you are.

The moral of my rant, don't post anonymous comments without saying who you are. If you do, I will delete it!