Tuesday, April 22 is Earth Day, and there will be much hoopla over the rising price of gas, oil and food caused by the increased production of ethanol. Rather than engage in endless hand-wringing and navel-gazing, I offer you some tips. Most of them come from Creation Care, a site I encourage you to visit.
If you get a chance, go to your local theater this weekend and watch Expelled. Ben (Bueller, Bueller, Bueller) Stein has created a documentary about the battle between creationism and Darwinism in the public schools and universities.
I'm not huge on the culture wars, but I suppose that if we are supposed to watch Gore's propaganda film and Michael Moore's left-wing rants, we can watch Ben Stein's film and see what he says. I don't expect him to receive a Nobel Prize or Academy Award, but he may make some people think.
I've attached the trailer for the movie above. Enjoy.
I may have been a bit trite yesterday in my treatment of the Opus comic. In an email conversation, someone told me that the way we get off of it being about ME is this: "The only real way to stop believing that I am the center of the universe is to recognize that Someone Else is the center of the universe. Acknowledging that Someone else is the center of the universe occurs most easily when I realize that the Center of the universe wants a personal relationship with me."
Read this article, which reflects many of my thoughts on how creation calls us to God. My apologies for giving God short-shrift yesterday.
As you have probably read here I have been working with the guidance of the Holy Spirit on removing the scales on my eyes and looking at the world to see God's handiwork no matter where I am. While I am not going to go to the extreme of trying to exegete a banana as my fellow blogger Bishopman depicted so eloquently here.
What I am referring to is the ability to see God regardless of the situation, location or circumstance. The evidence of God's handiwork is all around us. We need to take a minute and look with eyes that see. God will show himself to us when we honestly seek him.
The video below depicts a young man wandering the streets of a big city praising God, and all the folks around him just ignore him. Plus it's a good David Crowder song.
The person who lives in right relationship with God does it by embracing what God arranges for him. Doing things for God is the opposite of entering into what God does for you. Habakkuk had it right: "The person who believes God, is set right by God—and that's the real life."
— Galatians 3:11b, TM
That came today in Soul Care, a daily devotional published by the Church of the Nazarene office of Clergy Development. It spoke directly to me as I biked to work on an absolutely glorious morning here in Michigan. We have had 2 spectacular days already this week, and I have been biking whenever possible. It is good for me and saves gas for the 8 mile round-trip.
What I realized over the past two days is how God is working in my life and going ahead of me. My business is good, and recently many things have fallen into place for clients with interviews with major media and audiences they want to reach. For that I am grateful.
As I biked to work this morning I saw a beautifully still river with trees reflecting off of it. I was mallard ducks swimming, gentlemen fishing, older couples walking the bike path, moms and babies in strollers and the usual hustle and bustle of the city. It reminded me that God is the Lord of all things, and the world he made for us is for our pleasure. We are to be stewards, but we are to appreciate what he has given us. I find myself doing that as I bike to work. Praise God for the beauty of the world. Praise Him for all that we have, and all that He has kept away from us. Praise Him for everything.
Rich Mullins had the gift of seeing God in nature. I truly miss him since his death 10 years ago. Look at the lyrics to one of my favorite songs that he wrote. The song is "The Color Green" from CD A Liturgy, A Legacy and A Ragamuffin Band:
"And the moon is a sliver of silver Like a shaving that fell on the floor of a Carpenter's shop And every house must have it's builder And I awoke in the house of God Where the windows are mornings and evenings Stretched from the sun Across the sky north to south And on my way to early meeting I heard the rocks crying out I heard the rocks crying out
Be praised for all Your tenderness by these works of Your hands Suns that rise and rains that fall to bless and bring to life Your land Look down upon this winter wheat and be glad that You have made Blue for the sky and the color green that fills these fields with praise
And the wrens have returned and they're nesting In the hollow of that oak where his heart once had been And he lifts up his arms in a blessing for being born again And the streams are all swollen with winter Winter unfrozen and free to run away now And I'm amazed when I remember Who it was that built this house And with the rocks I cry out
Be praised for all Your tenderness by these works of Your hands Suns that rise and rains that fall to bless and bring to life Your land Look down upon this winter wheat and be glad that You have made Blue for the sky and the color green
Be praised for all Your tenderness by these works of Your hands Suns that rise and rains that fall to bless and bring to life Your land Look down upon this winter wheat and be glad that You have made Blue for the sky and the color green that fills these fields with praise"
What a gift he had. The video for that song is below. Just click on the play button in the screen.
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
Psalm 8:1 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! 2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. 3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?
Do you ever just go outside and stare at the night sky? I do, and I am humbled by the majesty of what God has done. He created all of this from nothing, to show his glory. And when we stare at what he has done, we can sense the presence of the Holy God.
Try it sometime. Go outside on a clear night and stare at the night sky. Let your soul drink in the presence of the Lord.
Here is a video clip to get your mind thinking on this topic.
For review, here is the original article on which this post is based.
(3) Missional communities are discontent with spiritual formation as primarily cognitive assent ("I believe this to be true"). Instead, formation is presented as a way of life, a rhythm of being, and a rule of values. It emphasizes faithful living during the week rather than gathering for worship at a weekend event. The sharp boundary between the sacred and secular is evaporating as missional fellowships seek to hear God's voice in culture and creation.
Do you hear that? It is the sound of the author hitting the nail on the head! I've been ruminating on what kind of church I would like God to place me in when I begin pastoral ministry. The best I have come up with so far is a church where its actions are fed by discipleship and motivated by love. What I believe the Lord wants is for the spiritual formation that we go through be shared with others as He brings opportunity. Not just witnessing, but acts of service motivated by love.
I love the phrase the author uses "a rhythm of being" for its sheer imagery. It describes a life where our discipleship/spiritual formation or whatever you want to call it is so ingrained into our being that what we do directly reflects what we believe. I think of the people of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, who saved thousands of Jews from the Nazis during World War II. I saw a documentary film about that amazing community and what struck me was the statement of one lady who said,I'm paraphrasing here, "we didn't have to organize and think about it. We just did it because it was the right thing to do." That is spiritual formation driving action motivated by love.
For many of us, spiritual formation has become an intellectual exercise. And I speak of myself here. We need to renew our sense of awe and wonder of creation. Consider this from Paul's letter to the church in Rome:
1:18
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness,
1:19
since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
1:20
For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
We can experience God in creation, as well as in the Bible and revelation of the Holy Spirit. Let's hone all of these aspects and then use our love to go minister to all of creation. We have no excuse, and we are incomplete if we exclude any of these areas. Enjoy the fullness of God with me. And then let us share it with others.
I'm a Renaissance Man wannabee - I keep getting into weird stuff like trebuchet construction, homemade smokers, bat house construction and strange things like that. I'm over 50, self-employed and a high school teacher. I married way up and lost her to cancer, and have two wonderful daughters who continue to amaze me.
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