Jesus, I am Resting, Resting

According to my post-listing, I copied down the following hymn on October 6. It was probably during one of my reading sessions for my Gospels class, but I am not entirely sure why this particular hymn stood out at that moment.

Whatever the case, it was a fitting read when I stumbled upon it this evening.

Rest. Satisfaction. Trust. Dependence.

Each are promised by my Father through Jesus Christ, and yet I am too quick to look elsewhere.

Jesus, I am resting, resting,
In the joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness

Of Thy loving heart.

Simply trusting Thee, Lord Jesus,
I behold Thee as Thou art,
And Thy love, so pure, so changeless,
Satisfies my heart;
Satisfies its deepest longings,
Meets, supplies its every need,
Compasseth me round with blessings:
Thine is love indeed!

Ever lift Thy face upon me
As I work and wait for Thee;
Resting ’neath Thy smile, Lord Jesus,
Earth’s dark shadows flee.
Brightness of my Father’s glory,
Sunshine of my Father’s face,
Keep me ever trusting, resting,
Fill me with Thy grace.

Jesus, I am resting, resting,
In the joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness

Of Thy loving heart.

role models

I'm not a role model.

Just because I dunk a basketball doesn't mean I should raise your kids.

I'm not paid to be a role model, parents should be role models.

As a basketball player, Charles Barkley is universally loved. His talent and silliness made him stand out from his peers. I was at the Sixers game on Monday night and joined in on giving him a standing ovation after watching the highlights of his career as a Sixer.

Off the court Charles is still loved for his willingness to greet and talk with fans. He will give the time for anyone who seeks time with him. However, Charles is far from a saint. He loves gambling and speaks with a frankness that makes most people cringe. Some people (myself included) find it refreshing, while others find it offensive and ignorant.

Whatever the case, his three quotes stated above, which were given in 1993, are highly applicable in today's sports world.

Just in the past two weeks, two high-profile athletes have given credibility to Barkley's words.

First, Lance Armstrong confessed to cheating (and that's an understatement) after years of vehement denials and threats to any who would accuse him. And what's worse is how the scandal has put into question all the positive work accomplished through Armstrong's charity.

Then Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o apparently got scammed by a internet relationship and decided it would be better to promote the lie than come out with the truth. He gained popularity and support for his ability to overcome the deaths of his grandmother and "girlfriend" in the midst of a successful football season. Even as we speak, more details are coming in which only add to messiness of the entire situation. It's hard to believe anyone or see innocence from either party.

Throw in the Penn State scandal, murders and suicides at the hands of former and current players, labor conflicts over dollar bills, and countless domestic abuse cases it is easy to agree with Barkley.

And while there are examples of positive athletes, the general trajectory is negative when it comes to athletes being role models.

In fact, the general trajectory for any popular figure is negative. Hollywood stars, musicians, leaders, pastors, and the like rarely exemplify character traits worth emulating. They tend to fall and very hard at that.

This isn't just a problem for today, but an ongoing problem throughout human history. We follow people we think are worth following. We follow people who seem to have what we lack. We follow people whose lives appear better than our own.

And when they fail, we are devastated for a time. Then we move on to another figure as the cycle repeats.

Instead, we should follow Paul's advice to church in Ephesus (Ephesians 5:1). While parents can be looked up to and respected as Barkley suggests, there is one who will never fail to be worth imitating.

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

a dose of hockey

I typically leave the "official" sports talk for my brother. He has far more resources than I for staying up-to-date. On Sundays, I watch NFL RedZone while he has his pick of the litter with NFL Ticket. I watch whatever basketball game is on TV or tune in to NBA TV for the highlights while he again has his pick of the litter with NBA League Pass (yes I am slightly jealous).

But when it comes to hockey and baseball we share the same footing. And the big news there is the end of the NHL lockout and subsequent start of the 48-game season. Hockey fans everywhere are excited. I, on the other hand, would classify myself as disappointed.

Why?

For those foreign to hockey, the NHL just went through its 3rd lockout since 1994. That is not a good stat. I heard somewhere that since 1994, the NHL has lost nearly 25% of the games it was scheduled to play. Add up the numbers and that is a lot of money being lost. Personally, I don't care about the players and owners, but the countless individuals who depend upon hockey being played for their livelihood. As much as the owners and players say they care, going through a lockout nearly every 3-4 years screams otherwise.

The sprint-like season also demonstrates the NHL's lack of care. They simply want to get their hands on as much money as they can. It doesn't matter if the players will be at much higher risk to injury because they are playing almost every other night. Games mean tickets which mean dollar bills. The NHL is looking at the shortened season as a successful alternative despite it being largely their fault that games had to be missed.

Listening to the players is annoying too. Like the NHL, they are apologetic for the lost games, but they are raving about the excitement the upcoming season will bring. And this is despite the fact that many of the players, especially the Americans, are out of shape. Many have confessed it will take a number of weeks (since camp lasted all of two days) to get back into playing shape. Only the handful of guys, mainly non-Americans, feel ready because they played overseas during the lockout. The players seem to ignore the fact that the level of play and competition will be lower than usual. And the fans are eating it up regardless.

Now I will admit hockey are a different bunch. They are not the atypical sports fan. They have tough skin and love their hockey. Sadly, they are also feeding the monster that is the NHL.

What happened when hockey went on strike? Hockey fans begged and pleaded for it to come back. (point NHL)

What happened when games kept getting canceled? Hockey fans continued begging. (point NHL)

What happened when the strike lifted and practices began? Thousands of people showed up to practice just to watch hockey. Flyers fans were the worst when 12,000 showed up in NJ, followed by 20,000+ at the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday. (point NHL)

What happened when tickets went on sale this week? They sold out in minutes with the face value being as high, if not higher, than they were last season. (point NHL)

The fans made this whole lockout a win for the NHL. Sure, they lost a great deal of revenue with the canceled games, the Winter Classic being the biggie. But at the end of the day, the fans came back without even thinking twice. They spent thousands upon millions of dollars the instant that the league came back.

The fans could have taught the NHL a lesson by holding back on their enthusiasm. They could have demanded cheaper tickets or boycotted some aspect of the league (one radio caller said he would not buy merchandise as his form of protest). They could have let the NHL know that lockouts are not the way you show your fan base how much you appreciate them. Instead they folded the royal flush they were holding with a smile on their face.

Hockey fans, I thought you were better than that.

Godless

I read an article, Why I Raise My Children Without God, when I got home from work today.

The author/mother gave seven reasons why she keeps God out of her parenting techniques. She says, 1) God is bad parent and role model 2) God is not logical 3) God is not fair 4) God does not protect the innocent 5) God is not present 6) God does not teach children to be good 7) God teaches narcissism.

She explains herself in the article and even concludes by saying how she does not want to eradicate religion, only keep it in the private spheres of society.

I am not angry by this mother's beliefs about parenting and faith. Yes, her arguments stand in stark contrast to the Christian faith. Yes, her arguments are hostile toward God. Yes, her statements of what she believes to be facts are untrue. But my anger will not help this situation at all.

Instead, I am sad. I am sad for this mother. I am sad for her children.

More and more parents are following in this mother's footsteps. They are raising their children apart from any and all religious influences. They want to raise "objective" children, and think removing faith is the best way to do so. They fear what happens when individuals are raised in the world of faith.

This makes me sad for our culture.

This makes genuine evangelism all the more pressing. Our culture needs to know that God is our great Father. He is logical and fair. His defense of the innocent is ingrained in His character. He not only teaches us to be good, but makes us holy. His plans are for His glory, which means our good.

We need to be heartbroken over our culture. And this heartbreak should motivate us to share the truth of exactly who God is and what He has done, most notably through Jesus Christ.

rotten bones

I've been listening to the Bible on my phone the past few weeks as a result of a minor head injury I suffered over Christmas. Listening puts far less strain on my recovering head.

It is also a different media, which allows another sense to pick up on things my eyes miss. Tonight it was Proverbs 14:30,

A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.

Rarely will I ever identify myself as tranquil (and not simply because that word is outside of my vocabulary). I wish I could, because throughout the course of any given day my flesh needs life.

I will admit I suffer from rotting bones. Sadly, I could create a very long list of things I envy. If given a time limit, I could still come up with a handful. Some of them are petty, while others are less so.

Envy comes easy to me. I can convince myself that there are important things I lack, and then stress how crucial it is that I somehow attain them. And as Proverbs 14:30 says, I grow rotten.

My rottenness displays itself in a variety of ways. I have noticed how it can make me physically tired even if I have done nothing physical. I have witnessed how it draws me away from people and into isolation. I have found how it can move its way into my head and make things up there just as rotten. And it can do much more. It really is a disease.

And just like most diseases, it can go unnoticed for far too long. I can downplay my envy or pass it off as wishful thinking. I fail to fight against it, until it has created havoc and chaos.

At this weekend's youth retreat, we spent the first two nights on Ephesians 1-2. Those passages are very familiar to me, but they always find a way to amaze me every time I read them. What stood out this time was how death was the state we were all in before God saved us through Christ, and how death is what we naturally fall back to.

Envy is drifting toward death. Rotten bones are usually associated with death and disease.

I need life. I need tranquility. I need trust both in the life my Savior has gifted me as well as the good things which are presently mine through Him.

declining an invite

I am set to embark upon a weekend retreat with a group of middle school students. Unfortunately snow will be replaced with spring-like conditions. I still expect a good weekend and anticipate seeing how God's Spirit moves in the lives of the people in attendance.

I wanted to write note about yesterday's news involving Louie Giglio turning down an invitation to pray at President Obama's inauguration breakfast. Yesterday quickly got busy and the time never came about. Thankfully plenty of well-respected folks have written some thoughts worth sharing.

Here's what Al Mohler had to say (feel free to read the whole thing)

The gauntlet was thrown down yesterday, and the axe fell today. Wayne Besen, founder of the activist group Truth Wins Out, told The New York Times yesterday: “It is imperative that Giglio clarify his remarks and explain whether he has evolved on gay rights, like so many other faith and political leaders. It would be a shame to select a preacher with backward views on LBGT people at a moment when the nation is rapidly moving forward on our issues.”

And there you have it — anyone who has ever believed that homosexuality is morally problematic in any way must now offer public repentance and evidence of having “evolved” on the question. This is the language that President Obama used of his own “evolving” position on same-sex marriage. This is what is now openly demanded of Christians today. If you want to avoid being thrown off the program, you had better learn to evolve fast, and repent in public.

This is precisely what biblical Christians cannot do. While seeking to be gentle in spirit and ruthlessly Gospel-centered in speaking of any sin, we cannot cease to speak of sin as sin. To do so is not only to deny the authority of Scripture, not only to reject the moral consensus of the saints, but it undermines the Gospel itself. The Gospel makes no sense, and is robbed of its saving power, if sin is denied as sin.

An imbroglio is a painful and embarrassing conflict. The imbroglio surrounding Louie Giglio is not only painful, it is revealing. We now see the new Moral McCarthyism in its undisguised and unvarnished reality. If you are a Christian, get ready for the question you will now undoubtedly face: “Do you now or have you ever believed that homosexuality is a sin?” There is nowhere to hide.

Maybe now (in case we aren't already) is a good time to start praying in earnest for the Church to continue faithfully speaking the truth with much love and grace to those around her.

a dirty mess

I saw Les Miserables last night. As for a review, I will offer two points.

First, if you do not like singing then avoid this movie. I did not actually count, but I am fairly confident that 95% of the movie is singing.

Second, go see the movie. The music is excellent. The acting/singing is impressive. The ending is beautifully powerful.

Heading into the film I was not overly familiar with the story. I probably "read" it in high school, which means I never actually opened the book. After last night, I wish I had.

Aside from the ending, there was one scene in particular which made me pause. It was when Jean Valjean carried Marius through the Paris sewer system in order to save him.

Marius is unconscious due to his injuries and Jean is trudging his way through human waste. At certain points the two men are up to their chins with Jean desperately trying to keep the two from drowning. It is a rather grotesque scene.

And yet the scene is a beautiful picture of what Christ did for us. 

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved. ~Ephesians 2:4-5

Christ did far more than reach down and pull our dead bodies from the rotten and filthy pit we willingly called home. He jumped into the pit. He covered himself in our mess. He became gross and disgusting by taking on our sin.

And by doing so, Christ saved us. He brought us to life when we were dead. 

The scene is also a great picture for how we are called to minister to one another. We should follow His example and willingly jump into the mess of others and carry them out.