A new way to approach politics

I've decided that while the old adage, "all politics is local," makes a lot of sense, when it comes to the federal government, I think it's quite the opposite.

Many people know I'm not a Republican (or a Democrat), but that I voted for Texas Congressman Ron Paul (a libertarian leaning Republican) in the primaries (and then a third-party candidate when McCain became the GOP frontman).

I like Dr. Paul because he believes in the words if freedom that were written in the Constitution; words from which we have veered so far. He believes in limited government, personal responsibilty, peace and prosperity.

Although he isn't our president, I'm still glad he is in the US House of Representatives, fighting for principles of freedom on behalf of all Americans. I wish I could vote for him.

Or can I? There are no serious candidates of Dr. Paul's caliber in my congressional district, nor will I vote for a mainline Republican or Democrat without many compelling reasons.

So this leads me to my thoughts. Our representatives on Capitol Hill aren't typically consumed with how to make life better for us, their constituents. Rather, as citizens of our areas, they are required to weigh in on federal issues.

Well, I propose that we approach politics not from a geographic standpoint, but by an ideological one. I cannot technically vote for Dr. Paul (or his son, Rand, who is running for the Senate) or a host of other freedom-minded acolytes, but I can lend my financial support to their campaigns, promote them in my own social networks, lobby people in their districts and do other such things. I'm not saying I will necessarily, but it makes more sense for me to help like-minded politicians into office rather than lukewarmly sitting on the sidelines wishing I had a candidate like Ron Paul.

The point is, it's better for us to help get as many viable candidates of a similar ideology into office ad possible, than it is for us to be confined to our geographic areas.

Having more pro-freedom candidates in office is better than fewer. Freedom is a local issue. And the more people of a minority ideology that get into office, the more momentum builds, and the easier it will be to get additional candidates into office.

And who knows, perhaps a local viable congressional candidate would eventually emerge.

You're Alive

I've never seen your eyes
But I know the way you look at me with love
I've never seen your hands
But I know what they've given to me
I've never seen your mouth
But I hear the loving things you say

You're alive - you're alive!
And I'm immersed in your presence
You're alive - you're alive!
I feel you, I found you

I've never seen your heart
But I know it beats with love for me
I've never seen your feet
But I hear them moving all around me
I've never heard you breathe
But your breath of life is everywhere

Prayer warrior or mooch?

I've had an impediment in my prayer life these past -- well, my entire life.

I have a hard time praying for certain things. While I love God, I have always had this problem involving Him in the "little things" of life by praying.

Somewhere in my Christian walk, when I was growing up in a more conservative denomination, I was taught that prayer had to follow a formula similar to what Jesus laid out for us in The Lord's Prayer. I don't remember exactly how it goes, but I fo remember that we were told that before we asked for things we needed to thank God for Who He is and worship Him for what He has done.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love to praise my God. I love to reflect on His goodness and worship Him. The problem I have run into with this formula is that I would feel like a moocher if I didn't follow the formula exactly. By having these perceived expectations, this liturgical norm in place, I realize that I eliminate the conversational, abba father dialogue God so desperately wants to have with me.

I always felt that I was just bugging God if I didn't have the right adoration up front. But the truth is, David didn't follow that formula... And he was a man after God's heart! I'm too quick to look at daddy God as a rich old man who is stingy with His money... That I have to schmooze Him to make Him warm up to my request. That's simply not my God!

It's going to take some retraining, but I know that I need to embrace that kind of close relationship with the daddy whose storehouse is never empty, who loves to give gifts to His children.

A balance

Through the iPhone bible I use, you can read people's personal devotionals; lessons they've submitted. Here's one I read by a certain Charles Cameron, who pinpointed right where I'm at:

Jesus cared about spiritual priorities. Jesus cared about social concern. When “the crowds followed Him”, “He welcomed them and spoke to them about the Kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing” (Luke 9:11). This combination of the spiritual and the social is much needed in today’s world. We need to care about God. We need to care about doing His will. We need to care about pleasing Him. We need to care about people. We are to love them with the love of God. We are to show them that we love them. We are to show them that God loves them. True caring is grounded in faith, worship and prayer. As well as healing those who neded healing, Jesus spoke to them about the Kingdom of God. Before feeding the five thousand, Jesus spoke to them about the Kingdom of God. This ministry of speaking about the Kingdom of God undergirded Jesus’ ministry of miracles. Our caring for people is to be built upon the ministry of God’s Word. God’s Word is preached to us. We receive instruction in faith. We are called to worship. We are challenged to pray. We grow in faith. We participate in worship. We persevere in prayer. Out of all this spiritual commitment, grounded in God’s Word, comes the kind of real caring action which makes a difference in today’s world. At the centre of this commitment to faith, worship and prayer, there is Jesus Christ. In Him, the spiritual and the social come together. We’re not forced to choose between social action and the spiritual priorities of faith, worship and prayer. We choose Jesus Christ. We commit ourselves to Him. When our commitment to Him is real, He will lead us in the pathways of faith, worship, prayer and caring action. May God help us to grow stronger in our commitment to Jesus Christ. May God help us to commit ourselves to Christ’s spiritual priorities. May God help us to commit ourselves to Christ’s social concern.

AMEN!

Seek ye first...

I'm getting to a place in my faith walk where I have to make the words of Jesus real in my life, more than ever.

The Word says to seek first the kingdom of God, and all these other things, desires, will be added to you.

It seems sometimes we can put so much emphasis on spiritual gifts: healings, prophecy, speaking in tongues, etc. And while those things are wonderful and faith building, by themselves they are incomplete.

Jesus makes it clear that true faith, true pursuit of the Kingdom of God, involves profound, practical giving. He says that the poor will always be with us, and that "true religion" is to look after widows and orphans.

If that's true, which of course I believe it is, then that's what should occupy our thoughts and haunt us in a holy way. That's what our motivating force should be. The Kingdom of God is a backwards community of strengthening fellow believers to go out and recklessly love the people around them.

Don't get me wrong... I love explosive, intimate encounters with God, and yet I believe if we are truly experiencing Him and His presence, we can't help but do the things He did and to yearn for the things for which He yearns!

What did Jesus do with most of His time? Look at that, and our priorities will come into focus...

Tim Keller and the Prodigal God

Saw a fantastic message delivered by Dr. Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan during the annual Willow Creek Leadership Summit, broadcast at our church.

Dr. Keller dug into the story of the Prodigal Son, which many times we Christians believe is all about the lost wandering back to the Father. And it is, but we often forget to look at the Father's other son -- the one who didn't run off and squander his inheritance, but stayed home obediently.

Check out the summary of Dr. Keller's notes from my colleague Tim Schraeder of Park Community Church in Chicago. He does a great job of capturing the essence of what was said.

In summary, though, neither brother really showed love to the father. The younger son had no interest in him, and the elder felt the father OWED him for his obedience and goodness. There are two ways to show you don't love God, Keller posits: irreligiosity and religiosity. One way ignores God; the other tries to order Him around.

The Bible clearly communicates that the latter is more spiritually dangerous, and in the end, it's the irreligious son who makes it to the big party (salvation!). There is a third way to be, Keller says, and it's the best way: Instead of living for God in order to get something, living for God because you GOT something -- eternal salvation!

Get this: Loaves and Fishes = Jesus' life!

In the story of the loaves and fishes feeding the 5,000 (John Chapter 6), it's often resolved that the story is about how God can take something small and multiply it if it's freely offered.

That's true, but I also believe a few other things are important. First, the fact that people needed to be sat down before the food was to be passed... this required an amount of faith -- or at least cooperation.

It also put everyone on the same level, unable to fully see what was happening in the baskets. Each person had an experience reaching into the baskets and pulling out bread and fish. It was an individual experience, shared by many. Each person had to take the action of reaching to grab some food, which everyone to some degree must have thought foolish.

But the fact was that the multitude had gathered in pursuit of God through Jesus, and He wasn't going to let those people's needs go unmet. And He wasn't going to let the needs of the flesh distract them from the words of life.

The Word makes special note that Passover was near -- and I wonder why. Is that relevant? Is it because it shows a contrast between God the Passover protector and God the Passover lamb?

This experience eventually leads to where Jesus explains that people must consume Him to find life. By being filled with the bread of life -- the Word of Him who was sent -- and drinking, being filled with the blood of the Passover lamb, eternal life is possible. People thought He was being a cannibal or something, and got freaked out, but what they didn't understand was the fact that Jesus HAD to die, and that His sacrifice of body and blood was what was to be consumed. It was a gift that appeared small -- ONE life, but in God's hands (like the loaves/fishes), proved to more than fill very soul, with "food" flowing over -- endlessly!

Accepting Jesus' sacrifice is much like eating the bread and fish -- we must have faith in what we don't see to give us nourishment. We must be in a position to receive Him, and then do so on an individual level, while experiencing Him together. His food never runs out!