Rogue State of Heart

Now there’s some rare air that even MJ couldn’t reach on his own - without some divine intervention.

It was just reported in the Charlotte Observer that the high school jersey Michael Jordan wore, stolen 20 years ago, was returned in a large envelope.

The only notation - a verse from the Bible, and a request for forgiveness.

Whoever it was, I applaud them for taking a hard look at their rogue state of heart, and responding to the light God shone on it.

I am curious what verse it might have been…aren’t you?

Say good-bye. Sayonara. Auf Wiedersehen. Riva derci. Hasta la vista, baby. Time to go back to work.

Well, I guess it’s time to post again also. I took off the month of August to relax, take care of the home, and spend some family and friend time before jumping back into the fray. Now that summer is over, school is starting, and we’re all racing around at 93 mph with the church fall programming in gear, it looks like it’s time to roll up the sleeves and start finger smacking the keyboard again.

I’ll start posting some thoughts, observations, and other tid-bits again this month as we continue our journey. See you soon!

I went to my buddy Dom’s for a little summer hair cut. He’s a fellow rogue, able to dialogue about the wide and wild experiences life throws at us - the highs & lows, peaks & valleys, and even the darker issues we wrestle with. We can go from telling stories about the kids to revealing the ‘adult’ issues that haunt us.

In other words, he’s a cheap psychologist with a trim to go.

Anyways, he passed along a great quote from CS Lewis concerning the nature of the changes inside us God desires to make, and how we resist the very things that could breathe new life into our soul. I thought I’d pass it along for you to enjoy: 

“Imagine turning a tin soldier into a real man. It would involve turning the tin into flesh. And suppose the tin soldier did not like it. He is not interested in flesh; all he sees is that the tin is being spoiled. He thinks you are killing him. He will do everything he can do to prevent you. He will not be made into a man if he can help it.

 

The real Son of God is at your side. He is beginning to turn you into the same kind of thing as Himself; He is beginning, so to speak, to ‘inject’ His kind of life and thought, his Zoe, (spiritual life) into you; beginning to turn the tin soldier into a live man. The part of you that does not like it is the part that is still tin.”

CS Lewis perfectly describes the rogue state of heart inside us.

Thanks for the quote, Dom. And no offense about the shrink joke, right?

Guess I’ll know if I walk out with a mohawk next time.

When I heard this song, I thought about our life-long journey to discover and experience Love. Isn’t that what life is all about? We’re continually searching and seeking, trying to make good choices that will allow us to reap the reward and joys of a satisfied soul, and avoid the choices that bring misery and destruction. And along the way, we discover that all that glitters is not truly gold, and that the external things we cherish so much may not deliver what they promise.

HT to Aaron K for first passing it on to me. You have a poet’s soul, bro…

(excuse the 10 second commercial that come up first. Gotta pay the bills somehow)

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One of the most authentic, realistic, and moving songs about marriage ever composed. This version will just show the lyrics, so you can hear every word and experience the power behind them.

I meant to post it last month, but forgot. Thanks to Jerry P. for the reminder to do it.

I am amazed at the way God designed us to be connected. It is everywhere. It’s instinctual; it’s intrinsic to who we are.

A few months back, I went to my chiropractor because I was having some leg tingling and numbness caused by some back issues. We were still in the discovery mode at the time of just what exactly it was (we learned later a herniated disk was to blame), and how serious it was.

In the office, a neuro-technician checked me out with all kinds of wires, plugs, and sensors. I laid on the exam table while he plugged me in extensively up and down my right leg. I looked like some test experiment out of Frankenstein or Total Recall.

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When I hear of people claiming to be followers of Christ whom I respect admitting to extramarital affairs, I get a very stirred-up reaction. Actually, it’s a variety of emotions—sadness, disappointment, anger, and more. And with this particular episode of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, all of those came in spades.

I was immensely let down by a man whom I knew very little but respected from articles that I read about him turning out to be such a disappointment in some extremely important areas of his life.

I felt strongly for the state of his heart—what is the condition of his soul that would encourage him to repeatedly make destructive and hurtful choices over and over again?

I was angry that he’d break his vows, and put his wife through a tremendously public humiliation—and his sons through a bewildering series of painful life situations.

But I also felt something else: a very humbling sense of kinship.

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As I enjoyed our Sunday baptism service, which was all about people telling stories of how they came to Jesus, I hearkened back to a chapter in The Jesus Creed which viewed the baptism of Jesus like I had never seen before. I remembered a new angle for reflecting on Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River, and why it is such a powerful image for me even today as I watched people take the plunge.

You may recall that before Jesus arrived, John the Baptist was calling people to repent—that is, to change their strategies for living and coping and seek God’s way instead. It was time to make a clear and decisive change from the past, humbled by the reality of personal darkness and aided by the Spirit of God. It’s easy to see why everyone else was “going under” – they wanted to stop living independently of God’s truth and love and forge a new direction in a right relationship with Him. That’s a no-brainer.

So why did Jesus do it? What did he have to repent of?

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This weekend, we had our annual Father’s Day weekend camping trip (which should really be called Mother’s Day Two camping trip–but that’s another post). Anyways, a bunch of us survived the Saturday morning ‘wall of water’ that greeted us as we awoke.

Afterwards, the clouds eventually broke, and, as a matter of fact, it became a pleasant day by sunset. We even had fires going by the afternoon, much to our children’s delights.

At one point in the afternoon, I was horsing around near our fire pit with Riley, the four year old son of my friend Nathan. I’d lift Riley upside down and pretend to lower him to the ground. He would giggle and squeal about letting go, but then jump back at me for more. 

At one moment during our tussle, as I held him in my arms, a stub of a fresh green pine-cone dropped right between us—amazingly accurate targeting by the tree, I must add. He picked it up and laughed. I told him it was a gift from Mr. Tree.

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Sit down, hold on, and enjoy the ride!

These were guys from our church who went WWR out in western PA last month.