day 11- soul

“I’m a soul man…”

Did I get you humming? Dallas Willard calls the “soul” the CEO of who we are. My friend Doug calls it the captain of the bridge, using the sailing ship as a model. In these metaphors we can see how it relates to the concept of soul.

In order to run an effective corporation or an effective crew we need a leader through whom all members of the team are drawn together. A biblical understanding of this looks this way.

At conception, God gives us our soul which is the organizational hub of who we are. From what we know of the sciences of genetics and biology, we can make the philisophical connection of the soul creating the DNA which is crucial for the design of who we are physically. “Body.” The soul is the framework out of which we make decisions (heart), the seat of our thinking and feeling (mind), and is the connector of our relationship with others (social relationships), and with God.

The soul is not a separate entity like a ghost floating around, but it is intimately woven through us and holds all parts of who we are together. Heart, mind, body, and social relationships are all immersed and connected by soul.

When you do things today, think of how many dimensions of what makes you, “you,” are at work. “Is my mind engaged? My body?” etc.

christcast 21- what's on your mind?

Dana and Kristina talk about acting, depressing movies, God's intimate nature, and cremation, among other things...

this podcast can be heard on I Tunes under my podcast, "Christcast"

If you do not have I Tunes download for free here

Then go to music store and subscribe or listen free by typing in "Christcast" in the search box

day 10- body (strength)

"Love the Lord you God with all your strength..." Here Jesus is talking about our bodies. Our body is our presence in the physical and social world. We are more than our body, in that our consciousness goes beyond what is physically "wired" into us. However the way we actually work out the decisions we make using our mind and chosen in our hearts is usually through the body.

The body is where we can get in a lot of trouble. It is not that our bodies are evil, created by God after all, but we often act through our bodies without thinking. The Bible often calls our bodies "flesh" or "human nature." Through our bodies we are prone to sin. Living our lives by our feelings and the instincts of our bodies we are left with the pursuit of pleasure and/or power as the driving forces of our existence. Using my body to gain pleasure and using my body to gain influence over you.

Rage, attack, withdrawal, seduction, manipulation and such all have body elements attached. Even the way we speak about it gives us a clue. We talk about reading someone's "body language."

Notice today when you are influenced and/or tempted by your bodily whims and desires.

day 9- mind

The second part of you and me to examine is our “mind.”

‘Love the Lord your God with all of your mind…’

The mind is separated from the heart, but it works with it. The mind is constantly working on providing direction for the choices we make. The mind is further divided into two parts. “Thoughts” and “feelings.”

Thinking is where we process the world around us. We can consider many things in relationship with other things. Thinking is where we have the capacity to use imagination. It is where we form opinions and perceptions which we may or may not act upon. In a healthy mind, we use a set of standards called, “logic,” which helps us measure our thought.

Our thinking is influenced by our feeling. It is our emotional response to what is being processed. Something may be logical but we may feel that it is wrong. Two people can think in an identical way about something but have a very different response because of how they feel. We are often pulled away from right thinking because we allow how we feel to take priority. This is where we can get into big trouble.

Look for examples in news accounts and/or personal interaction of people making decisions primarily by emotion and feelings rather than logic.

gospel according to Pirates of The Caribbean:...Black Pearl

what do we learn about sin, death, and the power of the devil? and
from Johnny Depp, no less!
Arrgghh!


this sermon can be heard on I Tunes under my podcast "Christcast"

If you do not have I Tunes download for free here

Then go to music store and subscribe or listen free by typing in "Christcast" in the search box

day 8- heart

We use the word “heart” a lot. Even with young children. We often teach little ones to love Jesus with all their heart. We ask them, “Where is Jesus?” They reply, “Jesus is in my heart,” as they point to their tummies. I don’t teach Jesus this way with small children. I teach them Jesus is all around them covering them everywhere.

Then what about the heart? The biblical understanding of the word, when it is not referring to the actual physical organ in your body, has to do with your choices. “Will,” “spirit” and “heart” are basically interchangeable words in the Bible. Your “heart” has to do with the choices you make. Your “will” and your “spirit” have to do with choices. You can substitute “choices” when you see these words and it will usually be an accurate understanding.

Choices assume action. To choose is to exercise your own freedom. When you “love the Lord God with all your heart,” you seek the good of God’s plan through your choices. You actively partner with God to bring about what he wants brought about in the life you are leading together. To put your heart into it is to live as if it were so.

In news accounts for the day and/or personal interaction, look for examples of someone placing blame on their troubles outside of themselves.

day 7- who are you?

29Jesus replied, "The most important commandment is this: `Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.' 31The second is equally important: `Love your neighbor as yourself.' No other commandment is greater than these."
(Mark 12:29-31 NLT)

Our human nature is how God designs us. You could call it “the dimensions of our existence.” What makes you “you.” Jesus gives us an understanding of what our human nature is made of in his answer to a lawyer’s question, “What is the most important commandment?”

‘Love God and neighbor with everything you are.’

What are we?

Jesus breaks it down to five parts.

Heart
Soul
Mind
Strength (body)
Neighbor (social dimension)

If I can understand what makes me “me,” then I can begin to see how transformation affects all parts of my life. I will look at each of these dimensions and their relationship to spiritual formation.

When you do things for others today, do it as if you are doing it for God. No, really…

inside out- talk 2

a course in spiritual transformation

this session includes the question-
what does it mean to love God with all of your heart?

this second talk can be heard on I Tunes under my podcast "Christcast"

If you do not have I Tunes download for free here

Then go to music store and subscribe or listen free by typing in "Christcast" in the search box

day 6- is it all good?

When we declare something good, it doesn’t mean it’s all good. There is a phrase that has been around for awhile that shows this.
“It’s all good.”

I wish I knew where this phrase originated. I want to know the situation in which the person spoke. Why? It’s not all good.

There are people who think of ways to destroy you and they don’t even know you. That’s not all good. There are people who you will come to trust who will betray you when you least expect it. That’s not all good. What can you do?

When we say, “It’s all good,” maybe we know deep down that it’s not all good but we say the words like some kind of magical chant in order to convince ourselves that it doesn’t matter. Yet, we know inside that it matters deeply. Even though Queen said, “Nothing really matters…” (Bohemian Rhapsody)— it does.

So what do we do? We become the kind of people who can care. When Jesus transforms us from the inside out, then we can see things through his eyes for the first time. Then, we don’t declare, “It’s all good,” but we can say with confidence, “There is hope and it starts with Jesus working through me.” Then the logical question becomes, “How do you live with a sense of reality and hope for the future?

Today, find ways the news media attempts to cast a negative spin to the news. Headlines, reports, etc.

day 5- sinking into the role

Jamie Fox won an Oscar for Ray. The acting was so good; it’s as if he was Ray Charles. You could say, Fox really “sunk into the role.”

In the language of the Bible there is a word for this “sinking into.” enduo. Romans 13:14 reads,

Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ…(Romans 13:14)

We are to literally, “sink into” our role as followers of Jesus. This doesn’t mean we try to look like him on the outside. Did you know there are still groups of people who wander around in robes and sandals warning about the end of the world. They think they are supposed to look like Jesus. That’s not the point. It’s not trying to look like Jesus (who knows what he looked like anyway?) that is important. It’s sinking into the role of being like Jesus on the inside.

To clothe yourself with Jesus is part of that inside/ out process we have been talking about. We become like Jesus on the inside so that the things we do on the outside are done as Jesus would them if he were us in any given situation.

Treat everyone you meet today like they are the most important person in the world. They actually are, to Jesus.

the gospel according to The Incredibles

What are spiritual gifts and why does God give them to us?
Using the movie, The Incredibles, I look at the biblical concept of spiritual gifts.

I am using a new beta version of software for my podcast recordings. The capability of putting a sound bar to listen directly from this site is not available, yet. I am sorry for this inconvenience if you listen directly.

Most of you are subscribing for free to "Christcast" which is my podcast address in I Tunes. If you don't have I Tunes, you can download it for free and subscribe or listen to my podcasts, including sermons, free, as well. If you are a Windows or Mac user, I Tunes works in both. Simply go here to get I Tunes, and if if you have it already, simply type in "Christcast" at the top right search box to find the podcasts.
Thank you for your patience.

day 4- using a little "won't" power

“I am not going to get angry anymore. No, really I’m not. This time I really mean it! I AM NOT GOING TO GET ANGRY!!”

Whenever we want to change something about ourselves, the direct approach is usually the way we choose to go. We try “willpower.” It might as well be “won’tpower” because the direct method almost never works. We can’t convince ourselves to change. For awhile it may be possible. Then we come under stress and our changes change back. The harder we try the more frustrated we get. What is the problem?

The problem is commonly labeled, “Self-help.” We are told by every magazine article that we can do it. Go to Borders and check out the self-help section. If you can’t lose weight/ be friendlier/ be more confident in five easy steps then there must be something wrong with you. “After all,” the author seems to say, “If I did it and wrote a book about it, then you can, too. Not write the book, of course, but you can change.”

So, why don’t you?

To change from the inside out doesn’t last on our own power. We need something more. Recovery groups like AA know this to be true. They teach that you have to give yourself over to a higher power to be sober. You can’t fight unhealthy behavior directly. Alcoholics can stop drinking when they place their trust outside of themselves. This is a great start. If they want to do more than just get sober, they can live a transformed life when they give their lives to Jesus.

Write down how many times you can think of when you started dieting/exercising and then you stopped. What happened?

day 3- seeing is believing?

Did you know there is no such thing as “science”? There are many different fields called “sciences” but there is no theory that wraps them all together. Though there are some scientists who make claims for a “theory of everything,” no one has come close.

Did you know that according to science, about 96% of the universe is composed of two things that astrophysicists label “dark matter” and “dark energy”? We know they are there but we can’t see them or directly measure them. In other words only about 4% of what most astrophysicists trust exists can be observed and directly measured. The other 96% is assumed based on evidence of its effect. It appears that the vast majority of existence is considered reality through trust based on evidence. Trust based on evidence. Does that sound familiar? It should. This is a good definition of faith!

What if God is real? What if God is the creator of all reality? Then if the sciences are considered our ultimate guide to all of existence we miss out on the very center of life, God himself, in the sciences. God is not physical, yet I would argue God exists. If God exists then there are spiritual dimensions to our lives that are not physical but they are real. If God is real then an education based on the sciences alone would miss out on the most important information of all. Knowledge of God would be absolutely essential. Without thinking about God, in a way, we would be uneducated.

Now, I am not advocating teaching about God in a science class. I am advocating talking about spiritual matters in other classes, if possible. Certainly as a parent, I make sure that happens in my home. Why would I want our children to ignore the most important wisdom of all, if there does happen to be a God?

How can we have any knowledge of God if we can’t see him?

We don’t seem to have trouble claiming knowledge of a lot of stuff we can’t see. Like, maybe, 96% of everything?

Today think of how many things you can that you trust are true and real but you can’t know them through your five senses.

day 2- let's face it

It’s always hilarious when you see a news account of people who look like their dogs. There is research done on this topic and it reveals that chances are it is not that dogs and their owners (sorry, “caregivers” in LA) resemble each other over time. It is more likely that the dog owner consciously or unconsciously chooses a pet with similar characteristics. In my case, we have a black labrador retriever named, “Dudley,” and I don’t look anything like him, except when he puts on a few pounds!

With humans I do think we take on the appearance of someone over time. Ourselves. Who we are on the inside begins to reflect more and more on the outside. I remember the story The Picture of Dorian Gray, where a man was able to live a wild and crazy immoral life without affecting him. Booze, sex, destroying the lives of others, you name it, Dorian did it. But it didn’t seem to age him a bit. He stayed the same young, good looking guy. His secret?

He had a painting that would take in all his sin. It was a portrait that got uglier and more sinister looking. I won’t give away the ending because I want you to read the story, but let’s just say Dorian found out the truth.

You begin to notice that about people. Those of us who have been around a while begin to show who we are on the outside by who we are on the inside. Our faces take on smile lines or frown lines. Anger, like a twisted plastic surgeon, etches pain felt and pain dished out. Botox is no antidote for bile.

So, what do you do? Changing the inside changes the outside. You have a choice in life. There is a God who forgives what’s on the inside so you can be transformed into the kind of person who will shine with his glory on the outside. You are more than just your physical body. How is that? Don’t skip ahead just yet.

Look closely at stranger’s faces today and imagine what has gone on in their lives (don’t stare, however).

day 1- inside out

Starting at the beginning, we realize we are designed to be in relationship with Jesus. The Christian life is not a set of rules and regulations. The Bible is not a rule book but a description of this way of life. We do not have a list of laws that we follow and then we become worthy of the attention of God. To grow in faith, we live the life we are designed to live and we are transformed from the inside out.

This is the key. From the inside out. We don’t get involved in a flurry of activities that make us acceptable to receive God’s love. We receive God’s love and are open to being changed from the inside out. We don’t do good things to please God. We become the kind of people who can do good things naturally because we are being transformed. It is out of the “becoming” that the “doing” follows.

Think of the things that you do “naturally” today, after you do them.

inside out- talk 1

intentional spiritual transformation...
becoming the kind of person who can do the things Jesus would do if he were me

These sessions will be made available each week in a spiritual transformation course you can participate in on line. Simply follow the excercises that are blogged on from day to day.

Bible hike

Being away for three days with other church leaders and praying, eating, and praying, and sleeping, and praying, and then praying. Sounds impossible/ boring/ uncomfortable, but it was none of these.

Refreshed/ committed/ urgency/ “band of brothers,” all we have completely in common is Jesus. Jesus is enough. Jesus is always enough.

The highlight for me was hiking with another brother early in the morning and reaching the top of the mountain we were on and looking out over a lake framed by pine trees and then he whips out his Bible and we do an impromptu Bible study on ministry. I wasn’t expecting that and wondered at his motivation.

Was he taking this Bible stuff too far?
Was he getting points for doing this?
Was he trying to tell me something?

No, it’s just what he does. And I was blessed. So blessed in fact, that I was looking forward to the next day when I could ask him to do the same thing, only this time I hiked a lot faster so I could hear scripture and David’s reflections that much sooner.

what is it?

Five years later and there still is a fundamental misunderstanding of the terrorism that is taking place. Why do they do it? They tell us. Overwhelmingly, those advocating and committing the murder are self-identified Muslims who are set on killing Christians, Jews, other Muslims, and anyone else who doesn’t place themselves under the rule of their view of Islam. Simply, but not simplistically, they are killing people who don’t agree with them.

What can the world do about this form of terrorism? Three choices. You would have to imprison or kill every person who supports this way of thinking,you would have to convert to their view of Islam and follow the Sharia, Muslim law, according to their interpretation. or they have to change their minds. The first option is impossible both realistically and morally. I refuse the second option because to deny Jesus as God would put me in jeopardy of eternal life without God according to the worldview I trust. So, I would argue the third choice is the only realistic way things will change.

Logically, the ball is in the court of those who follow this killing ideology. No one can make you change your thinking for you. As a professor of psychology told me years ago, the question is this:

“What can you do to stop you from feeling this way?”

I would modify this statement to:

“What can you do to stop you from thinking this way?”

Notice where the responsibility lies? On the person with the killing ideology. Who is this? The vast majority of those doing the bombing, etc. are young men age15-30. How can they stop thinking that they have to kill people who don’t agree with them?

From what we know about human development, this has everything to do with the teaching a young person receives from birth to about 13. Your values and morality are established by then, with rare changes later. So, the only way to make progress in this whole situation is for the teaching of children who are susceptible to this killing ideology to fundamentally change. I will write more on this when I return.

I am going on a 3 day prayer retreat with 25 other pastors and church leaders from LA out of many different denominations. This event is a first of its kind for us. We hope to discover what God has in mind by pulling this off in the first place. I will be back Thursday. Talk to you then.

the gospel according to Star Wars

compare and contrast themes from Star Wars with themes from the Bible

invisible world

Do you have confidence in the invisible world? That is the question to ask yourself every morning when you get up. You see, your whole day will be swamped and saturated with people trying to get you to believe something that actually is not true. This “visible” world is an illusion of deception.

The news media will always overemphasize bad things and underemphasize good things. Advertisements will always tell you what you want to hear and offer quick and easy routes to pleasure. But I am here to tell you, for example, no matter how much of that particular brand of beer you drink (my 21+ years readers), you are still not going to get to date that babe. Just deal with it.

What about the invisible world? How is that any more real? Here’s how.

(Psalm 103:19)
The LORD has made the heavens his throne;
from there he rules over everything.

(2 Corinthians 4:18)
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

We know God is in charge. We have experienced it in our own lives. We have sensed it in others. There is something besides the constant bombardment. Something besides the noise. It is God at work actively, both visibly and invisibly.

christcast 20- we're back!

Dana and Kristina discuss the recent death of Steve Erwin, the 5th anniversary of the September 11th attack, Islam in America, pep rallys, and a Kevlar bra?!

now I am in trouble

Another terrorist plot has been foiled. This time in Denmark. Nine suspects were arrested; later two were released. Explosives used to build bombs were found with them. They are from the Danish city of Odense. Being of Danish heritage myself, I will give my observations.

- One of the suspects is an “ethnic Dane.” Good luck to me now when I fly next. It was bad enough when Nancy had to go to a separate area, have her disposable underwater cameras scrutinized in two different machines, took apart, and all the rest when we went to Maui. Now they are going to profile blond hair, blue eyes? I am fine with that. No hair you see!

- The reason this story has no legs in the news is it is about Denmark. Danes get no respect. Something about a country that is about the size of LA county. Or they are too busy partying to do anything newsworthy? I just don’t know.

- The suspects are known by the local imam (Muslim “pastor”) in the area. His phone number was in one of the suspect’s pockets. I don’t know what I would do if you arrest 7 potential bombers from my church? Probably say something about, “The leadership of First Lutheran can go on record saying we are not fond of murder. These gentlemen will no longer be allowed to play on the church softball team.” But here is what the imam actually says:

Abu Bashar, an imam in Odense, told the Associated Press that he knew the suspects and predicted that the charges would be dropped. But he said he expected terrorists eventually to strike Denmark, which has about 500 soldiers supporting the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq.

"Osama bin Laden said in a message three years ago that he will punish the countries that have [troops] in Iraq," Bashar said. "Denmark is on the list."

How can he be so confident and matter of fact that, of course innocent men, women and children would be blown up? Nice touch there about his inside knowledge that the charges will be dropped. The explosives weren’t really meant for bombs. Just fireworks for the Queen’s birthday, April 16. Excellent.

why the difference?

Remember my fondness for looking at the math? (last mention August 17) Must have something to do with being married to a math teacher. Here is some new math for you to think about.

The latest Palestinian Infintada began in 2000. In that time period approximately 1400 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces, the vast majority young men who happen to be Muslim, 18-24. The news media’s emphasis is focused way more on Palestinian casualties and Israeli culpability. Let’s just be honest about that before I continue.

Now in an identical time period, two years, in Dafur, Sudan. Approximately 140,000 Dafur residents, or 1000% more deaths, have been killed by Sudanese government military forces. This does not include another 260,000 who have died through forced starvation, disease, etc. impacted by the events. Let’s just stick with military casualties.

In the case of Sudan, their government is made up of Arab Muslims, so they basically have killed 140,000 fellow Muslims of all ages and sex, though racially, the Dafur residents are black.

It is primarily only through the efforts of Christian organizations that this has been brought to the attention of the world. The mainstream news media has not emphasized it whatsoever.

So why the difference?

Could it be anti-Semitism in journalism circles that brings an overemphasis on what is going on with the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and the way it is being reported?

Could it be racism in those same circles that brings an under emphasis on the Dafur conflict?

What do you think?

the fray- starting high school

Here we go again. Another two disciples joining the fray in the public school realm. Not the fray. The fray. Today our boys begin their freshman year and join their senior sister in public high school. Depending on where you live, your public schools could be very different than ours in LA, or very similar. We are about as diverse as possible, as expected. There were enough students of a different culture or racial/ethnic group than our boys at their former private school (our church school) that this is no culture shock. That and years of city park and recreation league basketball.

What will be very different for them though, will be the faith background of their new friends. The majority of their classmates were connected to Jesus in some way in our school, with many of their friends attending our specific church. Not so with their high school. They get a huge pool of opportunity to be an influence with new friends. They also get what their sister has received over the last three years at the same school.

• A big opportunity to find new ways to drop the “F” bomb.

• A big opportunity to spend time with kids who don’t know God from a giraffe and are proud of their “atheism.”

• A big opportunity to hear from several faculty members why Bush is an idiot and should be impeached. Lovely to be paying taxes for uninformed blather about the president no matter who that president might be. Not a reasoned examination of the evidence of our political system. Just taking the easy way out of name-calling so no one really questions my research and argument.

So, why do we do it? Send our kids into all of this?

• For the other amazing teachers who thirst to guide them to seek out knowledge and make a difference.

• For the new friends who look at life from a non-Christian perspective so our kids can learn where they may connect, and what the needs and desires their friends have are, which, of course, only Jesus can fulfill. Somehow our kids might provide bridge to him.

• And, yes, to actually get them into classrooms with extreme politicized teachers so they know how weak extreme politicized thinking really is, and they can be better prepared to build bridges of finding common ground with open minded but different minded people so they can join together and actually think through why they think what they think.

• Prepare them for the university and beyond.


This can all be done in a private school setting, but hey, why not? Like Daniel in the Bible, why miss out on all the fun?

Ephesians 2- God's masterpiece...you!

what if you are God's finest work of art, designed before the beginning of time?

what if you are God's masterpiece?

what do I mean, "what if?!"

you are!

the vampire lady listens

I have been doing a lot of work with the book, Simply Christian, by N.T. Wright, this summer. Wright is a bishop (Durham) and theologian of the Anglican Church. He is a man after my own heart: a liberal to extreme conservatives and a conservative to extreme liberals. Just like I like ‘em. A deep thinker.

Simply Christian is about as fine of an explanation of what it means to be a “Christian,” as you will find out there. Having read other books by Wright concerning the New Testament, first century Judaism, Paul’s teachings, and such, it is refreshing to see him put it all together in one book.

That and the front cover testimony by, of all people, Anne Rice. She is the “vampire” writer, as in Interview with the Vampire, who has come to a strong faith in Jesus. Now she is writing Jesus books, the first being, Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt. If you can move from sucking blood/sexual thrillers to the blood of the Lamb, you probably want to learn from a guy who is an influence on her.

Mull over this key passage from the introduction of Simply Christian over the weekend. I’ll be back Monday.

The point of following Jesus isn’t simply so that we can be sure of going to a better place than this when we die. Our future beyond death is enormously important, but the nature of the Christian hope is such that it plays back into present life. We’re called here and now, to be instruments of God’s new creation, the world-put-to-rights, which has already been launched in Jesus and of which Jesus’ followers are supposed to be not simply beneficiaries but also agents.