Circle of Love II

I had an earlier post about a circle of love for college dorms, and now I need to share some more on the circle of love for the Christian family.
First, the Christian family is not always a husband and a wife and some kids.  Sometimes it is two women living together, similar to the case of Ruth and Naomi.  Sometimes it is a polygamous family in rural Africa.  Sometimes it is what it is.  Whatever family you find yourself in, you can use the idea of circle of love, if there are people in your family willing to talk.
The circle of love is for talking and listening.  It is a circle of couches or chairs in which people can talk with one another.  Here are some ideas regarding the circle of love.
1.  Turn the TV and internet phones off.
2.  Ask the one who does not share as much if there is anything they would like to share.
3.  Let each person talk about whatever they want.
4.  Practice your listening skills.
5.  Talk about where you would like to live.
6.  Talk about a dream vacation.
7.  Talk about your favorite food.
8,  Talk about your favorite book or movie.
9.  Talk about stories from the past, so that they can be passed on to the next generation.
10.  Talk about things you want to do as a family.

What word does the sprinkled blood speak? (Hebrews 12:24)

The blood of Abel spoke "LEAVE!" and Cain was banished, stained, and left without much hope, being the first of many to kill his own brother.
The blood of Jesus Christ speaks a different word, "COME!"  Jesus invites his disciples to drink of the new covenant in his blood the night before he dies.  "Come!"
The blood of Jesus says "Come and be Clean" (1 John 1:7).
The blood of Jesus says "Come and Overcome (Revelation 12:11).
The blood of Jesus says "Come and Move Home (Hebrews 10:19).
The blood of Jesus says "Come to Eternal Life (John 6:54).

Come and be Clean
                      Overcome
                      Move home
                  to Eternal Life

Are you dirty and beaten down?  Do you feel banished and that death is knocking on your door?
The blood of Jesus knocks stronger - "COME"

Whatever our circumstance today, let us together come to the foot of the cross and let the blood of Jesus clean us, make us to overcome the evil one, move us home, and give us eternal life.

Jesus does have a wife

Jesus does have a wife, that is, in the eschatological sense.  The new text spoken of here: 

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/04/10/new-tests-show-evidence-forgery-gospel-jesus-wife/IusII8b4eI86HgDTKipLhN/story.html
    
that may be a forgery saying Jesus had a wife, or just someone in the eighth century writing for the Enquirer is not the first reference to Jesus being married. The last book of the Bible, Revelation, describes the Bride (wife) of Jesus, speaking, indeed, of the time to come, the eschaton.  "Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb."  Revelation 21:9.  

It is very hard for us in this sexual time we live in to divorce intimacy with sexual intercourse.

Intimacy does not equal sexual intercourse.  Harvard professor Karen L. King's study of the ancient text would be much more quickly passed over if this belief that sex is intimacy and that no sex is death were not so dominant in our culture.

   "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."  The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.                        

                                                                 Revelation 22:16-17

52 Tattoos

How many people do you know who have gotten a tattoo only to regret it?  Maybe it was a relationship, “Billy Joe loves Betty Sue,” or somewhere too prominent like the forehead, or someplace too personal, “Can I see your tattoo?”  I know a few.  Maybe you or your child or brother is one.  I have an idea for you.

First let me make some other points about the downside of traditional tattoos besides their permanency.   They are costly.  You can tell me that $50 - $70, or even $300 is no big thing to you, but let’s say you get 52 tattoos for $50 apiece.  That comes to $2600.  If you catch the tattoo fever it is not unreasonable to think you could drop a couple of grand on tattoos.

I have an idea that will help you in your desire for tattooing yourself.  It will help you to be able to change your mind.  It will help you to be able to pick from several of your favorite tattoos.   It will also help you save a couple of grand.  Finally, it will help bring out the artist inside of you, and possibly your friends and family.

Open your junk drawer.  The one with the pens and pencils.  See if there is a permanent marker.  If you can find not even one permanent marker, then decide on your favorite color.  If you like lots of colors and cannot decide, no problem.  This idea is fine with indecision.  This could be called the tattoo idea for people who are indecisive.  Next time you go to the store buy a pack of Sharpie permanent markers (variety of colors).  You will spend approximately $5.  That $5 (okay maybe $10) will buy you 52 tattoos for you and 10 other people, a savings of $25,000.  Wow, you just funded one of your kid’s retirement or funded an orphanage in Nepal.  Okay, now go back home.

Now talk you’re the most creative artsy person you know – if that is yourself, talk to yourself.  Say, “Self, what do I want to tattoo on my body?”  If you want you can make a drawing of it on paper before you start drawing or writing on yourself.  If you are too impulsive for that, just start drawing on yourself.  If you want you can tattoo yourself, or have someone else tattoo yourself, once a week.  The advantages to this are enormous.  First, hopefully you can see how much money you would save.  Second, if you do not like it wash it off.  Third, if you do like it keep writing it on after you wash it off.  Fourth, if you really get crazy and write on your forehead, just wash harder.  Fifth, you can create a blog or a facebook stream about the new tattoo you get each week, posting a “selfie” and now having something steady to say on facebook instead of complaining about the weather or that your Hoosiers lost – although you could do a tattoo of the bad weather and the losing Hoosiers (maybe soon the winning Hoosiers).

Since you may not have 52 ideas for your tattoos, I will include a few to get you started.

1.        Tattoo “your name loves your spouse” over your heart.

2.       A Bible verse along your arm.

3.       Your mission statement (Don’t have one – make one).

4.       Those stick figure family things you see on the back of cars.

5.       Your SAT score on your forehead (It’ll wash off).

6.       Song lyrics.

7.       Movie Quotes.

8.       Have your kids draw on your back (If that is too scary, have them practice on paper first).

9.       Ask your kids for ideas.

10.   Ask your friends for ideas.

11.   Copy other people with real tattoos who do not have the advantage of erasing them easily.

12.   A silhouette of your dog.

13.   “Ain’t nobody got time for that”

14.   24601

15.   Other languages – my favorite is Hebrew and Greek bible quotes.

16.   The names of those close to you.

17.   Have your child who cannot write cursive learn by writing  the Gettysburg Address on your back.

18.   Another child – have them write John 17 on your back.

19.   Tattoo the names of your bones where they are: femur, patella, etc.

20.   Same as 19 but with muscles.

21.   Eagle on your back.

22.   Rubix cube (Remember you have lots of colors).

23.   Your momma’s name.

24.   Your family tree.

That should get you started.

the G.O.S.P.E.L.

Here is an acronym for our biblical word Gospel.  Before I get to the acronym, the word gospel comes from an old English word, god spel, meaning good news.  The Greek word from the New Testament is euaggelion.  So what is the good news we speak of.  John 3:16:  "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life."  The gospel is the good news of God's love for us.

God's (John 3:16)
Overwhelming (Exodus 34:6)
Sacrificail (John 15:13)
Perfect (1 John 4:18)
Everlasting (Psalm 136)
Love (1 John 4:16)

Listening to my teenager during 2014.

2014 is the year I have a teenager.  I feel like I already have one.  One of the things I notice most about having a teenager (almost) is - Oh how the tables have turned!  I was once the teenager who had parents who did not know anything, but now I am the parent who does not know anything.  I was once the teenager who had parents who did not understand, and now I am the parent who does not understand.

I have a tendency to tell my almost teenager to stop talking, pardon my language, to tell him to shut up.

Why?  Watch the first episode of the Cosby show.

He says things that make no sense.

Some of you reading already know this - I am the one who needs to shut up.  One of my worst faults is not shutting my mouth.  So this year in 2014 - the year of the teenage fatherhood, I seek first to understand, not to be understood.

I am setting as a big goal to actually listen to my teenager in 2014.

What is your ides for 2014?

Pants on the ground

“Pants on the ground, pants on the ground, looking like a fool with your pants on the ground, pull them up” was the song going through my head as I saw the man with his pants at his knee and all of his underwear showing.  I thought to myself, “Doesn’t he realize that is shameful, and that shame is something to avoid?  Doesn’t he know that the lifestyle of pants on the ground is one that leads to incarceration, where they take all your clothes, aka – all your clothes are on the ground?  So it begins with pants on the ground, a wasted life.”

Such were my thoughts as Jesus tried to speak to me.  I say tried because it took some time before I listened.  But faintly I began to hear Jesus say something to me.

“Danny, you are judging him based on only what he looks like.” 

Then Jesus said, “Let me show you something.”

He took me back 2000 years ago to where it started for him, a wasted life.

It started with the Pharisees judging him (Luke 5) much like I judged the man with the sagging pants.  Then Jesus was incarcerated (Luke 22) and he was shamefully stripped of all of his clothing three times (Matthew 27) and as he hung on the cross and his clothing on the ground being bartered for, they mocked him with songs similar to “Pants on the ground, pants on the ground, Jesus, you are looking like a fool with your pants on the ground.”

If Jesus died today in your town or state or country, what would the crowd say about him?  What would the Facebook posts say, or the twitter feeds?  We would say the same things we say about the people who are being executed today by lethal injection and all other means around the world. 

Jesus dying on the cross was the “foolishness of God which is wiser than the wisdom of men” (1 Corinthians 1).   In fact, this foolishness of God is the wisest thing that exists, and the only way by which we may become wise.  The weakness of God, Jesus Christ with his pants on the ground, is the only way for us to have strength.  The condemnation of Christ is the way we have no condemnation.  The incarceration of Christ is the way our prison bars are swung open.  The shame of Christ is our honor, the stripping of Christ clothes us with righteousness, and it is by His stripes we are healed, and it is through His death that we have life.  What Jesus wanted to show me is that the man with his pants on the ground was really a picture of Him. 

“God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise” (1 Corinthians 1:27).

The Pharisees said, “He has a demon, he is a blasphemer.”  God said, “He is my chosen son.”

I said, “Looking like a fool with your pants on the ground.”  God says, “I choose him.”

We say, “She is too sick.”  God says, “I choose her.”

We say, “He is a worthless alcoholic.”  God says, “I choose him.”

We say, “He is a sex offender, unfit to live.”  God says, “I choose him.”

What do they say about you?  God says, “I choose you.”

Why does God choose me?

Because He loves to show how strong the weakness of Christ is.

Because He loves to show how wise the foolishness of Christ is.

Because it has nothing to do with you and everything to do with Christ, and Him crucified.

“I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

Paul added nothing to the gospel, the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ and him crucified.  We must add nothing either, not “pull up your pants,” or sag them, or drink, or don’t drink, or be circumcised, or be uncircumcised.

When we add one thing to the gospel of Jesus Christ and him crucified we poison it.  For if we add one thing we say that Jesus Christ and him crucified is not enough.

What if people take the grace of God for granted, what if they abuse the love of God? . . .

It was then that I realized. . .

Oh, the foolishness of God to love us without condition, whether we respond to your love or not, for abused you were, and taken for granted you were.

The foolishness of God.