Joseph Arthur Lyrics

From the song You've Been Loved, from the album Redemption's Son...

You don't know how you feel

Are you a dream?
Are you for real?
Cause you don't ever slow down
To find what you lost or lose what you found
No one's saying what you need to hear
You've been loved
You've been loved
You've been loved
You've been loved
You've been loved
You've been loved
It's always hard to admit
Most days you feel like you don't exist
Temptation sneaks past your fists
Until the devil won't let you resist
Oblivion is what you want
But you've been loved
You've been loved
You've been loved
You've been loved
You've been loved
You've been loved
You've been loved
You've been loved
You've been loved
What you're gonna do with your life?
What you're gonna do with your life?
What you're gonna do with your life?
What you're gonna do with your life?
You've been loved
You've been loved
You've been loved

A Thought About Sanctuary

I thought last night (Wednesday) was excellent. From where I was standing it looked like there was some healing taking place, both during and afterwards as well. This is what we were shooting for when we planned this particular theme. We are thrilled that God moved in the hearts and minds of some of you, our beloved students.

I wanted to share something interesting that one of your fellow students noticed last night. If you will recall on the stage there was a pile of broken stuff: fishing rod, golf club, plate, dying plant, etc. The pieces in and of themselves were irrelevent, but the symbolism was that all of the things up there were broken. We had a lamp laying down on its side with the light on, and the light happen to be shining on all of that broken stuff. Our intention was that the lamp laying on its side represent something broken as well (not a good attempt, but it's all we could think to do). One of our young ladies came up to me last night and said, "Did you notice that the light was on and shining directly on all the broken stuff the way Christ shines on our broken "stuff?" We never intended that to be the message, but she saw it anyway. I was floored when I realized that God had been speaking to people in ways that we had never even considered.

I love when He does that.


shalom, matt

Spiritual Enlightenment, part 2

The Love of Mystery in the Presence of Unanswered Questions

Mystery. We avoid it, like that annoying cousin-in-law during the holidays, the one with the crazy eye, halitosis and a penchant for the awkward and irritating. It terrifies us because it’s, well, it’s just too mysterious for us. We can’t handle it, grip it, or get our arms around it to hug it. And so we let go of it and shun it, keeping it at a reasonably safe distance. Like a deep, impenetrable interstate fog we pull over at the rest area until things clear up, wondering when it will clear—or even if it ever will. Part of us likes mystery, I know, which is why Stephen King has sold somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 gazillion books in his career. But unlike Stephen King books, which solve themselves in 400 pages (or 1200 if he gets long-winded), life isn’t like a novel, and it can be a lot scarier than any King book (how many of you still fear clowns?).

We start asking questions from the time we are old enough to begin speaking. My son is the consummate question-asker. It can be trying at the very least and downright annoying when you’re tired and want some peace and quiet. The first question learned is nearly always, “Why?” Why did you do that, Daddy? Why is that person doing that? Why did Spongebob say that? We are born wanting to understand, to solve the unsolvable, to jump into the Magic Mystery Machine with Scooby and the gang and peel the mask off Old Man Jenkins. We discover that he isn’t a goulish demon after all, but the crabby, white-haired owner of the closed down amusement park. He’s not as scary as he seemed in the dark.

God is cloaked in mystery. The Voice that spoke into the void and created all that is; the Voice that told Abram to pack up and head out of town; the Voice that spoke from the bush that would not be consumed to the shepherd with the staff; the Voice who spoke to Israel from within the cloud and fire of Sinai: this God is nothing if not mysterious. He has to be, doesn’t He? If we could explain Him, solve Him, define Him, then He would cease to be God, or at least the all-powerful “version” that we know. He would be a lesser, weaker, dime-store-front-window deity who wouldn’t be able to change our socks, much less our lives (not that our God is in the business of changing socks but stay with me on the metaphor, will ya?).

Mystery is not the evil monster in the closet. When we begin to understand that mystery is a natural, beautiful part of our existence and our spiritual journey we can come to the place where we embrace and seek it out. It becomes one of the great joys in our life, to pursue the enigma that surrounds the Holy One of Creation.

Job wanted answers to the mystery. Job didn’t get answers to the mystery. Job was blessed in the midst of the mystery. What if we saw mystery as a blessing in and of itself? What if we were content to simply ask questions, whether the answers came or not? We know we are growing in our faith and knowledge of God when we are content with not knowing something about God, when we enter the Magic Mystery Machine and are simply content with driving around inside of it. Sometimes you unmask Old Man Jenkins, but we must become satisfied with entering into the mystery itself.

shalom, matt

part 1 of this series of posts can be found here.

My New Bike

Rick walked into my office today before he left and said that he had something in his office for me (and one for Patrick), made by a guy from India. I walked in there and was floored by this. It's made out of metal and wood (the grips and the seat are the wood part). It's so detailed it's ridiculous. How cool is it. I put the Gatorade bottle next to it for scale. Pretty amazing. I'll try and get some actual pictures with my camera of the detail sometime next week maybe.

You're jealous, I know.

shalom, matt

Spiritual Enlightenment, part 1

For the next couple weeks I'm going to periodically share with you a few signs of spiritual enlightenment (defined as: illumination; to furnish knowledge to; to give spiritual insight to). In other words, some signs that you may be growing in your knowledge and understanding of your spiritual self. The signs that I'm going to share are not original to me, but they do accurately describe ways in which I've grown. Here below is part 1 of a 5 part series on spiritual enlightenment.
___________________

The Embracing of Paradox

Since we are in the mode of defining stuff, let me share with you Webster's definition of
paradox.

1
: a tenet contrary to received opinion
2 a
: a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is perhaps true b : a self-contradictory statement that at first seems true c : an argument that apparently derives self-contradictory conclusions by valid deduction from acceptable premises
3
: one (as a person, situation, or action) having seemingly contradictory qualities or phases

Definition two is by far the most accessible and comprehensible definition of the three. Take two things that seem in contradiction to each other or don't make any sense put alongside of each other, but at the same time they remain both completely true: this is a paradox.


Life is full of paradox. I realized this truth more clearly at the funeral for an eight year old girl in our church. Joy and pain, faith and doubt existed arm-in-arm, in every tear that was spilled on every cheek. The joy of knowing that the wholeness of heaven was bestowed on one so young; the pain of living here and now, living out the remainder of days without her. The faith of a family, clinging tightly to the God who makes all-things whole and complete in his time; the doubt of "why us, Lord?" the unanswered cries of "why not?" still ringing loudly. In Darby's death she found the fullest life imaginable. Joy and pain. Faith and doubt. Life in death.

Jesus spoke in paradox. A lot. Examples? Dr. Luke, if you will please enlighten us with your record of Jesus:


Luke 9:48--For he who is least among you all--he is the greatest.

Luke 9:24--For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for
me will save it.

Luke 22:46--The greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like
the one who serves.

The least is actually the greatest. Want to save your life? Lose it. If you lose your life you'll save it. The greatest must become like the youngest ( "like children" in an earlier gospel story). Rulers must act like servants. Paradox everywhere.


Christmas is coming.
Christmas is a celebration of the greatest of all paradoxes. God becomes human, enters history and forever alters it and us. God in a manger. God. Man. Godman. A divine being, "making himself nothing" (Philippians 2:7), "taking on flesh and moving into the neighborhood" (John 1:14). Fully human, fully divine. (Don't even get me started on trying to explain it. It can't be done.)

Paradox bothers us. It goes against our proclivity for the scientific method and reason. Paradox takes common sense, turns it upside down and laughs at it, like the 90-pound wuss
everyone picked on in school (read: me). How can two seemingly opposite things be true? I don't know, and I suppose if I did know then it would cease being a paradox, wouldn't it? Instead of trying to explain or solve paradox we need to learn to embrace it, dive into it, roll around in it. You can accept that some things about life and our spiritual journeys don't make sense, even seem to contradict each other, or you can try to avoid it all and miss out on the excitement of wandering into the "cloud of unknowing" that surrounds the Holy One of Creation, and being filled with the excitement and terror that comes from our encounters with Him.

shalom, matt

Clip Art Post

Over the last several years I've been collecting a series of clip art from a blog that I frequent. The clip art is amazing. I thought I would share some of my favorites with you. You can find them at my eSnips site.

Happy Thanksgiving!

shalom, matt

On Death

Anyone who knows me can tell you that I don't cry. Some even go so far as to suppose that I am actually a soul-less robot, devoid of emotion and feeling, mechanical in all that I do. I went to the visitation yesterday for an eight year old girl who died this week because of heart condition.

Eight.

I cried.

Maybe it's because I have my own child that I grieve more for those who lose one of their children. I didn't cry when my papaw passed away. I was sad. I just didn't have any tears I guess. But yesterday I cried.

I think part of me was sad for the family--certainly not sad for Darby, given that she is far better now in the arms of God--and I mourn their loss because she will be missed. But I think part of me was mourning for all children who suffer. The very notion of a child suffering is repugnant to me and makes me physically ache all over. I just hurt. I've been to Riley Children's Hospital a number of times and have had to almost numb myself to the pain in that place. Children with heart conditions, varying forms of cancer, mysterious illnesses that no one can figure out, injuries that no one should have to endure.

I'm not even going to attempt to explain why things are this way. All explanations I've heard (and used) fall short every time I try to draw a definitive conclusion. I guess at the end of the day I have to keep coming back to the hope of something better, that somehow God is in control of all that we see and experience and that whatever it is He is doing in allowing these types of things to happen, He knows what He is doing. And I always hold on to the hope of "Someday" in heaven. I have to hold on to that. If I don't then death takes control and becomes the final say in life and Jesus' resurrection becomes a meaningless event.

Death does not win. It is only the beginning...

shalom, matt

From Kethuvim

Good article from my brother over on his blog at Kethuvim. The post is on doubt.

Occasionally, he has something worthwhile to say and he didn't even steal it from me. Amazing.

shalom, matt

Thoughts on the Daily Office

I was reading in Habakkuk (a book we all frequent I'm sure) today, chapter 3, verse 17-18, and thinking of the recent events of this weekend. Let me share the passage with you first, and then I'll share my thoughts on it.

Though the fig tree does not bud/and there are no grapes on the vines,/though the olive crop fails/and the fields produce no food,/though there are no sheep in the pen/and no cattle in the stalls,/yet I will rejoice in the LORD,/I will be joyful in God my Savior.

Yet. Yet. Faith in God's sovereign control is best described by this word yet. Habakkuk is crying out over the destruction that he is witnessing all around him. Desolation. Barrenness. Ruin. He looks at it in all of its raw reality, all of its naked destruction, and can proclaim loudly "yet."

Maybe faith is more simple than we thought. Maybe faith is being able to look at the circumstances of life--the cancer, the heartache, the confusion, the betrayal, the pain, the death--look them right in the eye and scream out at the top of you lungs, "Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior," believing that he can and does still save those who cry out to him.

shalom, matt

And Furthermore... (Other Thoughts on Lesson 9)

Given the events of the previous weekend, a number of things happening that I would have never foreseen occurring, my message from last week seems rather apropos (look it up if you have to) and timely. Jesus tells us to love, forgive and do good to those that hurt us, hate us, persecute us, mistreat us, and curse us. In the context of the recent events I'm discovering how difficult it is to actually live that out for people who are in a given situation that would require them to live this teaching out. I struggle, wondering if I am up to living this teaching out, fighting against my own flesh and bitter hatred--"the beast in me" according to Johnny Cash--to rise above the evil and overcome it with good. I don't know if I could. I really don't. This bothers me. More than you can know. Because every part of me desires to live the life of Jesus in every way possible. Right here. Right now. Today. If I'm ever faced with situations like some of my brothers and sisters in Christ have been faced with recently, I hope God will strengthen me to stand up against the evil and defuse it with good, with love, with life, with light.

shalom, matt

Audio Message Posted (finally)

Sorry it took so long again. It takes a while to edit those messages down and get them uploaded. Throw in email issues sending it to Michael and it makes you want to burn your computer into a heap of ash and microchips. You can find the audio message here.

shalom, matt

Lesson Notes Posted on eSnips

I posted the notes yesterday but forgot to link it here. My bad. You can find lesson 9 notes here.

shalom, matt

p.s. I'll get the audio edited and posted as soon as I can. Sorry for any delay.

Great Picture

This picture makes me laugh. Could either of them seem more uncomfortable? Is she shying away from him? I know pictures only capture a half-second reaction to something and can make anything seem awkward, but this capture is just funny. It's a picture, in case you didn't know, of Bush with the Speaker-to-be, Democrat Nancy Pelosi. They had a little get together to talk about bi-partisanship (isn't that what both parties always talk about after a mid-term election?), working together, and probably a host of other things.

This picture is just screaming for a funny caption underneath of it. Any ideas?

On a rather serious note, I'd like to think that both parties mean what they say when they talk about working together, but I'm not naive enough to think that it might actually happen. One can always hope that power hungry politicians could for once put away their thirst for more power and actually work to benefit the country and the world. One can only hope...

shalom, matt

In the Sun

This is an amazing song by Joseph Arthur called In the Sun. This is a cover by Coldplay with Michael Stipe from REM. I saw this on t.v. and it blew my doors off. Amazing song and a great cover.

How Easily We Learn

I was recently interviewing the mostly-intelligible three year old that resides at my address, taking up lots of space with his Hot Wheels, Thomas the Tank Engine trains, and books that he demands be read to him upon request, about whether or not he had been given a Spider-man children's vitamin by his mother earlier in the morning. The aforementioned three year old usually asks for one, because, let's be honest, those things are like candy and he's a fan of all things sweet and unhealthy for you (as am I). I was partial to the Flintstones vitamins as a child. I probably even snuck an extra one on occasion, giving myself a dose of vitamins that would keep a horse energized for all three races of the Triple Crown. Now, I knew full-well that my wife had given him one, because I (a) saw her do it and (b) heard him munching it loudly, as only a three year old with no chewing manners can munch something. I asked him, "Did you already have a vitamin today?" To which he replied, without missing a beat or cracking a smile or flinching in any way, "No."

How quickly we learn to lie through our soon-to-fall-out teeth! Where did he learn to lie like that? It's not like in the midst of imparting wisdom to him I accidentally told him that lying was okay and then showed him how to do it properly. I may not be father of the year, but give me some credit. Now, I know that my son intended no harm by it, and, to be honest, those things are kind of yummy so I might do the same thing in his place. I just find it interesting that lying came so easily to a three year old. As fallen people we seem to be born with an innate ability to learn how to scheme and lie to get what we want, whether it be power and control, a promotion at work, climb above someone on the social scale, be accepted into a group of classmates we had been hitherto excluded from, or simply get another Spider-man vitamin. We just know that the only way to get what we want is scheme to take it. We can't imagine another way.

We are in a constant fight with our own sinful nature, seeking to live a better way that trusts fully in God and has no need to rise above others but instead puts others above ourselves. Let us take the
low road, putting others above us, loving them as ourselves. I think we'll find that in God's economy and kingdom this is actually the high road after all.

shalom, matt

Something Funny About Beatdowns

The longer this video goes the funnier it gets.

http://www.sermonspice.com/search/evangelism%20linebacker

shalom, matt

And Furthermore... (Other Thoughts on Lesson 8)

So my brother and I were talking about last night's lesson and he said when he taught it he used an analogy with them that he thought he would regret, but that I think really puts the idea of cleansing the inside first into perspective for us. To just review briefly we talked last night about how outward appearances and acts don't amount to much if your heart--the inside of the cup--is filthy dirty. My brother said this: If you take a turd and dress it up in a tuxedo, it's still a turd. It may be a well-dressed turd, but it's still a turd. If you even scrub the turd, it's still a turd. You have to throw out the turd. That's the key.

Now, folks, I'll be real honest with you. I can understand that kind of logic. You see, very simply put, there is something in our nature that Christ must despose of before we can begin to live rightly the kingdom of God, the Bible calls it our sin-nature. When we say "yes" to Jesus he comes in and throws out the "turd," so to speak and replaces it with his own nature, which allows us the means and ability to say "yes" to and live out his way of life.

Stop dressing up the turd and throw it out.

shalom, matt

p.s. My apologies for the crudeness of the post, but I figure if Ezekiel can be crude to get the point across then I can, too.

Picture Post

I posted a few more pics on eSnips if anyone cares. I posted some more random photos that I've altered using the free Picasa program off of Google (if you don't have it yet, you are a moron and should go download it right now...that is, if you take digital photos at all).

I also posted the photos from our "knitting night" from a couple weeks ago.

You can find the altered pics here.

You can find the knitting pictures here.

shalom, matt

Lesson 8 Posted on eSnips

Lesson eight in the series is posted on eSnips. You can find it and all the other lessons by clicking on this link...right...about...here.

shalom, matt