Be A Scrooge

DEC 19 - DEC 25 2010 — BE A SCROOGE — ISSUE 185

Tis the season for the return of some familiar holiday characters. Santa (obviously) and his army of elves and reindeer, the Grinch and those energetic Whos, Frosty and his hat, Charlie Brown and gang, and good 'ol Ebeneezer Scrooge. Of all the characters that come out during Christmas, there's one I feel we can really embrace and even emulate with our own lives. And as much fun as it would be to wear giant black hats and pretend to be melting in public places, or to wrap ourselves in a green carpet and steal small children's toys, the character I'm talking about is Ebeneezer himself.

Scrooge, as we all know, was a rich miser who had no heart, even refusing to help poor Tiny Tim who would soon die if Scrooge didn't intervene. Not exactly the kind of guy you want to emulate. That is, until now. Before I explain, let's change topics for a moment, and then tie it all together like some perfectly constructed sugar-cookie knot that's both edible and functional.

JOHN 12:3-6

Interesting story, right? Mary uses a perfume worth a year's wages (let that sink in a moment) on Jesus' feet, and Judas offers a very, very legitimate counter argument. A year's wages could definitely have been used more effectively from a logic standpoint, and her actions hardly seem like those fitting of a good steward, something we're told to be as Christians. As scripture indicated here and elsewhere, though, Judas' real beef wasn't that he wanted to help the poor, but instead himself. He just covered his heart with a noble, even righteous, argument.

When sin comes, it often appears in all sorts of ways; it begs us, teases us, makes promises to us, entices us, lies to us, challenges our pride, dares us, and sometimes it even appeals to us in the form of righteousness; like an orphan on the street wanting our help and one which appears innocent, but upon closer inspection is just a front for a con. It's this form of sin that can be the hardest to identify at times, and the one that tripped up the Jewish leaders of Christ's era. So much of their sin was covered under the guise of righteousness, but remained sin because of their true hearts, not their actions.

Judas said the right thing in that situation, acting on behalf of a very noble, Christ-like cause, yet he was simply justifying and covering up his twisted, selfish intentions. Don't we do this at times? Don't we try to justify an action, a statement, a thought, an impulse, by using a logic-based, noble-intentioned cover story? Don't we also justify not doing something radical for God by other seemingly-noble reasons? "If I stay up late or get up early for God, I'll be short on sleep which means I'll be less coherent and functional at work, which isn't being a good example to my coworkers of a Christian work-ethic. If I drive to that event, it'll cost me gas, and I'd be better using those funds to pay down that debt I have." That list goes on for miles.

Wasn't this woman wasting money?! Blowing it?! Absolutely. Yet Jesus was honored by this act and defended her, even saying that wherever the Gospel is preached, her story will be told, something we've all witnessed to be true.

Maybe we need to get out of that box of rules that so often defines our walks and realize sincerity is far more important to God than blind obedience. Sometimes we need to be honest with ourselves, and own up to our true hearts instead of pretending to be righteous. Sometimes we need to do radical things for God, where our motive is purely to give Him honor and glory, where He'll be honored even if it's a bit "reckless" from a "being responsible" standpoint. Won't the fire and excitement from that truth, that sincerity, that radical thing carry us through the next day? Won't it override any amount of sacrifice we make? Won't the feeling of being alive in our faith fill us up, much like Christ felt when He fed on spiritual food over actual food? (John 4)

When sin comes begging at that door, acting all pure and innocent and in need, seeking to cover your bad heart with a veil of righteousness, be a Scrooge! Bah humbug that orphan back to the gutter. Be stingy. Be angry. Be the big fat meany you've all wanted to be at times when something or someone is frustrating you. Unleash it all on that sin.

This holiday season, bah humbug your way into Heaven.

Brett "When sin says 'Merry Christmas' to me, I say 'Bah, humbug!' to it, wrap my man-shawl tighter, slam the door, and then stomp upstairs to have some crazy, time-traveling, ghost-filled dreams" Hibbler

That Sinking Feeling...

DEC 12 - DEC 18 2010 — THAT SINKING FEELING... — ISSUE 184
Guest Author Randall Laraway

As I stated not-so-long ago — which, as fast as times moves anymore, could have been three years, two weeks, and four days ago and it would still seem as fresh as our first look in the mirror after having our braces removed where we saw our teeth for the first time in years only to realize they're ginormous and thus never smiling again for fear of being called "Buck Tooth" by all of our oh-so-forgiving teenage classmates (Or was that just me?) — I'll be slipping in some guest authors here and there to keep the 'C fresh. I apparently will also be slipping in my old habit of writing an entire paragraph in the form of one long run-on sentence.

But back to the point. This week's guest author is a man you'll count yourself lucky to meet if you haven't already made his acquaintance, a Mr. Randall Laraway from the Cleveland Church. His story of God's hand in his life is one that will move your heart, and his life and demeanor since then breeds inspiration. He too sends out a weekly letter, and I really wanted to share this one with you. Enjoy.

––––––––––––

"SHREVEPORT, La. — Christopher Patlan was hanging out with friends on the Red River when he heard the desperate screams coming from seven teenagers.  One minute they were wading in shallow water, the next they plunged into a drop-off 25 feet deep."

"Patlan bolted the 10 yards to the river and jumped in, saving 15-year-old DeKendrix Warner.  By the time he had dragged the boy to safety, the six others from two families — all non-swimmers — had drowned.  Family members, who also can't swim, watched helplessly."  Unquote...

What do you do when your children are literally drowning right before your eyes?  The screams, the frantic running back and forth, the tears of total brokenness, helplessness, their hearts crying out for someone to HELP---unable to help their OWN children who only minutes before were playing, and enjoying a nice day with parents & friends at a cook out on the edge of a river.

OH, that DANGEROUS river!!!  The current was swift, the sandy shore was soft and loose...UNSTABLE.  IF ONLY THEY'D HEEDED THE OBVIOUS ? ! ? !   Is this not how the river of life in the world takes us by surprise?   That river of "life" we think is so cool and "right."   But SUDDENLY, that river of life becomes the sinister river of death that will steal our very soul---suck us DOWN into the depths of everlasting hell!!!

Not a pleasant thought you say?  Rather shocking?  But it actually did happen to real families.  So do matters of the heart become treacherous if we---as God's family---persist in our sin and give in to temptations.  As God's children HE IS DOING EVERYTHING TO GET OUR ATTENTION!!!  Like Sonny said this evening, God even gave HIS ONLY SON to buy us back out of the hands of Satan---yes, even from out of the consequences of our own sins!   HOW can I get away from any temptation coming at me?   Then cry out,... "O Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, the worst of sinners!"   So, dear brother, can you swim?  Have you or are you teaching your children to swim.....that is, swim in the Godly ways of Jesus and the Bible?  OR what kind of example do you display to your kids?   Plus, let's be sure to stay away from those things that allure us away from God and into darkness and uncertainty.

It was encouraging to sing that closing song: "Love Lifted Me."  I was sinking deep in sin, Far from the peaceful shore, Very deeply stained within, Sinking to rise no more; But the Master of the sea Heard my despairing cry, From the waters lifted me, NOW---safe, am I.   L-o-v-e lifted me, YES, love lifted me...when NOTHING else would help.....LOVE lifted me.

With sincere love and respect, ybiC, Randall

The Wonderful World Of Now

DEC 5 - DEC 11 2010 — THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF NOW — ISSUE 183

At the risk of sacrificing every last ounce of my manhood, can I just say how much I wish life was like a Disney Cartoon? Think about it. At any given moment you could bust into a random song which perfectly articulates everything you're feeling in a such an emotional and melodic way, that every person in your town will join in, creating a rambunctious song and dance sure to make it's way straight to the top of the soundtrack charts, and at just the right moment, the dream of your life will break into a duet with you, even though neither of you have ever heard the song before and couldn't possibly know what words or notes come next. Plus, you'd get a super cool animal companion that always cheers you up and somehow communicates well enough with humans to scrounge up your friends when you've fallen in trouble. In fact, about the only downer to being in a Disney film is that you'd have some crazy aunt or uncle or step mom that wants to make your life miserable until ultimately deciding one day to just bump you off. A bummer for sure, but eventually you'll defeat them thanks to the help of your fairy-god-whatever, so it's all good because that's exactly what "Happily Ever After" means; at the end of all those struggles and trials, all ends well for the rest of your life. (Or until a rash of non-hits by the studio forces them to make a sequel and thus add drama to your life one more time.)

Though it would be an interesting social experiment to see how many people would join you in a spontaneous song and dance in the middle of the mall, for those of us not blessed with a Disney voice, that's not a real viable option. The optimism, genuine nature, kindness, and dedication always carried by the lead characters, who often find themselves in very unenviable positions (picked on, disrespected, treated lowly, given all the worst chores, locked up, and denied even some of the most basic privileges), and even loyalty to those who are causing their woes, is one to be admired and is far more obtainable. And though that joy seems almost unreal in light of where they're at, it's not if you realize that it stems from one very simple thing, a dream. They always have an unquenchable hope of one day attaining some bigger purpose, of living a life where they've left their current trials behind and are living happily ever after.

As Christians, we're past the part of our troubled pasts; we buried that part of our life in the waters of baptism. Our dreams of living Happily Ever After have begun, having been given the gift eternal life with only the housing part of that promise still to come. Yes, our "crazy uncle", played so demonically by Satan, still envies our position and wants to get his kicks in where he can. Unfortunately for him, the part of the movie where the hero, epically filled by Jesus, seems to have been defeated, only be raised from the dead, slay the villain, and conquer death and sin once and for all, ushering in new life and eternal promises, has already happened. And with the help of our "magic ferry-whatever", which the Holy Spirit wonderfully fills, we can continue to live in service of the Great King, our Awesome God, in the epilogue of the film.

The climax is over. Satan has lost. Our woes of being trapped by an unappreciative and suppressive world are through. So sing those songs because you're not just dreaming the dream, you're living a part of it. I guess life's more like a Disney cartoon than I thought.

2 CORINTHIANS 4:16-18

Brett "Now that I'm grown I eat 5 dozen eggs, and I'm roughly the size of a baaaarrge!" Hibbler

That Son Is Lost Again

NOV 28 - DEC 4 2010 — THAT SON IS LOST AGAIN — ISSUE 182

One of the primary purposes of the 'C is to get you a reminder (or first notification in some cases) of all things Kingdom related that are happening here in Toledo each week. This week I have no calendars yet, nor was I upstairs to hear announcements, so I cannot be held responsible for anything you read below. In fact, I can guarantee some of the listed events are not gonna' happen. Can you figure out which ones?

There are lows in life, and then there are lows. Sick-to-your-stomach, don't-even-look-at-me, why-do-I-exist, I'm-a-disgrace-to-humankind lows. Those moments when you feel so alone, so separate from any form of acceptance and love, and so upset over something you've just done that hope has been replaced by impending judgment and self worth is only measurable in loathing. Typically they result from a continued failure in your life, something you're aware needs correcting but seem to mess up in time and time again, but sometimes it's just one of those actions without forethought. Regardless, many of us have had to stare at ourselves in the mirror after such a moment and it's in those moments that all our accomplishments, our success, our victories, our faithful acts of love seem completely useless, replaced by a feeling of disgust.

I remember at one of these particular moments in my life, Dave asked me if I felt so low that even God couldn't help. Obviously the answer to that is that it's impossible to be that low, to have messed up that bad (minus that whole blasphemy of the Spirit thing of course), to be beyond God's assistance and helping hand. But even though I knew that to be true, it certainly felt like I was indeed beyond repair, like that had been the last in a long line of straws to break the camel's back and now there were no more fixes.

LUKE 15:17-19

In the parable of the Lost Son, we read about a man who comes to this very conclusion, who believes he is, "no longer worthy to be called a son." He's hit the bottom. He's realized his choices and the absurdity of what he's done and it has struck him hard. But then he realizes something, something we should all remember and something Nick (thankfully) pointed out to me — where else can we go? What else is there but God? Like Peter's realization about Christ, the Words of life only come from one place and once you've tasted that truth, no other paths seem right in life.

And that's the conundrum. We know the truth, we've embraced the truth, we've loved the truth, we've served the truth, but we suddenly find ourselves a hypocrite and a willing rebel of the truth. What are we to do? It's simple really. We do what that son did, we go home. We go to God. We acknowledge what we've done, we comprehend our weakness and need of Him, and then we stand in awe of His boundless love. We accept His gift of a ring, a calf, a party.

Do you think that lost son was perfect from that day forward? Do you think he never messed up again? Do you think he never dreamed or had brief moments of fondness while thinking back to his days of recklessness that may have caused slips in his behavior? More importantly, when he did mess up again, do you think his dad's response was any less loving?

We are never beyond God's grace. We are never beyond His help. The parable of the Lost Son is as applicable to your life now as it was when you were outside the Kingdom. Remember, Christ died for us when were still enemies of God (Romans 5), why wouldn't His death cover you if you're now a son or daughter?

COLOSSIANS 1:21-23a

Brett "Sometimes I wonder if I've ever repeated a middle name" Hibbler

The Taste Buds Of Sin

NOV 21 - NOV 27 2010  — THE TASTE BUDS OF SIN — ISSUE 181

This week we'll be gathering around tables, more-than-likely ones filled with family and friends, eating out of an over-abundance of food, sharing stories, and hopefully giving thanks for the massive quantities of blessings found in our lives when we just take a moment to get a bit of perspective. But since food tends to be the reason for the season until next week when that red and green monster known as Christmas devours every ounce of our sanity, I thought we could discuss those ever important taste buds. (Without which our Thanksgivings would be about as much fun as peeling potatoes while listening to a nine hour lecture on different forms of sediment found in common lakes and streams. — No thanks.)

"The reason we eat so much food that is clogging rather than cleansing is that we're prisoners. Prisoners! That's right. We're prisoners of our taste buds. We will do anything for our taste buds. If there is a food that can't outrun us, and is not nailed down, and it will fit into our mouths, and it tastes good, we'll eat it! We don't think twice about it. The only requirement we have about food is 'How does it taste?' But what about the rest of the body? When you look at the tiny area of the body that your taste buds occupy, and then you look at the rest of your body (which is what has to deal with the foods that pass over your taste buds) you have to wonder why people place so much attention on one small part of the body and ignore such a large part." — Harvey and Marilyn Diamond

That's just one of many nuggets of gold from their book, Fit For Life. And though it's a great springboard into a new look at your eating habits, I'd like to draw a very easy, but scarily real, parallel from it to our spiritual lives.

JAMES 1:14-15

We've all spent time paying for food we shouldn't have eaten, and likewise, how often we find ourselves living through the turmoil created by our sin. Taste buds tell us, "This is sooooo good, are you feeling this?" In the moment it seems so right. Fast forward a couple hours and as we're feeling the effects of what we ate we wonder, "What did I just do to myself?" Temptation is the same. It tells us how great it will be, how amazing, how satisfying, how fulfilling. And unfortunately clarity often comes only when it's too late.

Sin, which stems from those moments of temptation and unrestrained action, is such a small part of our total thought process. Think about all the things you think about during a day. (Kind of a weird statement, but follow me here for a second) If you broke it down thought by thought, how much of it would actually be temptations? I'm sure they wouldn't even come close to how much time you focus on activities at hand, things yet to do that day, things to do at a later point in time, analyzing conversations you're in, entertainment you've just experienced, etc., etc., etc. But much like our taste buds dictate most of what we eat, our temptations (to do good or wrong) often decide what we do, regardless of how few of them we have when compared to our total thought process.

So what then, shall we continue to allow such a small enemy win out? Shall we allow temptations, the taste buds of sin, to continue to control, direct, influence, and dictate what we do with our lives? Or will we finally wake up and look at the big picture, learning from our mistakes, the ones we see others make around us, and those that have come before us, and decide those fleeting moments aren't worth the often long-term ramifications? Will we finally learn to control them, putting them in their rightful place and only using our taste buds for lives worthy of our calling?

We've all had food that both tasted amazing and was still nutritious. The reason we tend to still load up on the not-so-good things is because they're quick, easy, and accessible; that's our sinful nature to a tee. The deepest satisfactions you'll ever known can only come from accomplishment, which is never handed to you and always requires work. It's time for us to stop taking the easy way out in our lives, and work for what God's shown us to be the better way, the ways that leave no regrets, no second thoughts, no hesitation, and no doubts.

Take every thought captive for Christ (2 Cor 10:5), and remember that we will never be tempted beyond what we can handle (1 Cor 10:13).  With these lessons in place, we'll be well on our way to a spiritually fit lifestyle where we listen to our entire body, and not just the part that screams the loudest.

Brett "Just because taste buds are small and I'm small, that doesn't mean I'm a bad influence" Hibbler

Flexible

NOV 14 - NOV 20 2010 — FLEXIBLE — ISSUE 180

Kids, here's a very important lesson about life; READ THE WHOLE SIGN. Don't just glance at the details on a sign for something you're attending or planning to attend, or some sign posted on a door you're about to enter. Read it all. Had I done that today, the amazing spaghetti dinner (and I'm not usually a big spagghetti fan) would have gone from a filling, one plate helping, into a massive, stuffed-for-three days, multi-plate-covering heaping of delectable Italian fantasticalness. Somehow, the words "all-you-can-eat" alluded me when I entered. But perhaps it was for the better. Had I been left unchecked there may have been a world-wide meatball shortage.

Something I either heard, read, or somehow concluded in the past week is what I'd like to discuss today. So thanks to whoever inspired the thought, and I apologize for not remembering where I picked it up, but as we just discovered, apparently some details escape me at times.

One thing we can definitely say about Jesus is he was disciplined and focused in completing the work God laid before Him. There seems to be no indication He ever wandered aimlessly or did anything without a bigger purpose. Even the glimpse we get of His childhood is one of a young Jesus preparing for His ministry some 18+ years off. I don't even prepare for work some 18 minutes off, let alone years, so for me, that's pretty dedicated.

In the current American lifestyle, time is a very valuable asset, and a commodity rarer than some precious metals. We have our days scheduled and booked, right down to times to when we'll stop to eat, sleep, and I'm sure if we could schedule it, we'd even regulate some unavoidable body functions for better convenience. (Porta-Johns in the car?) Our spiritual lives are no different and we lay out plans while emulating Christ, setting times for gatherings, evangelism, study, serving, and the like.

While this is all well and good, sometimes we book ourselves so heavy, even with spiritual things, we have no flexibility for those spontaneous moments where our services would be better utilized and where God's glory could shine brighter than any pre-set activity. Our heart to be like Christ and to be responsible with the time God's given us is amazing, but one thing I'm learning about Jesus is this:

Jesus had a plan, a goal, a purpose, but He never seemed to have a definitive schedule.

Even though everything we read Him doing in the Gospels was in God's glory, and all was the will of the Father, we never read of a daily itinerary. In fact, we often see Him deviate from His plan just to assist those spontaneous moments of need. When He's going to heal Jairus' daughter, He stops to address the bleeding woman. (Mark 5) When He takes the disciples away to a secluded place after they had returned from Him sending them out, the crowds find them and He never turns them away, instead teaching and healing and even feeding them. (Luke 9) Would any have blamed Him for continuing with His original plan without deviating to assist these other needs? I don't think so, but that's not His way. He always welcomed unexpected events, occurrences, and never seemed stressed by "inconveniences" when they delayed His plan.

Schedules aren't bad and being a good steward with time is vital to being productive, especially in the land of distraction that we currently reside in. But look at your schedule and reflect on your past few months. Are you so busy you've missed those spontaneous moments? Have you passed chances to serve because you were on your way to some event and couldn't be late? Remember Mary and Martha. Martha's serving was noble, but Jesus said Mary chose the better. She chose Jesus. Shouldn't we?

LUKE 10:41-42

Brett "If I put on my schedule to do something spontaneous, is it still spontaneous?" Hibbler

Generations

NOV 7 - NOV 13 2010 —  GENERATIONS — ISSUE 179

It's been a while since I've sent a 'C this late (cheers self quietly and pats self on back), but hopefully you'll allow me some grace since I've spent over thirty of the last 72 hours in a van. I spent today teaching my legs how to move again and have a new appreciation for sleeping horizontally as apposed to sitting straight up.

The theme of this year's ACR conference was "Generations." While there we heard lesson and message after lesson and message about people throughout the scriptures who had passed, or failed to pass, the teachings of God from generation to generation. We also witnessed first hand modern day men and women who have taught their children the ways of Christ, who then have taught their children and so on. We heard the power of following those teachings and the dangers of not, along with how quickly God's influence can become non-existent after merely one generation's negligence and slack.

The question I find myself pondering today is one I didn't hear addressed much this weekend, (perhaps that's because it was self evident or implied through the family focus) but is one a lot of us should make sure not to overlook with all this talk of generations.

Realizing I do not have children of my own, the idea of passing God's teachings about life in line with His will to the next generation takes on a bit different shape than it did for Abraham, David, Joseph, Noah, and the like. The good news is that I don't have to look far for a great example to follow: Jesus. He didn't have kids, yet is responsible for every generation between His death and our current existence for knowing the will of God. He simply made sure to teach and lead by example to any and all He interacted with, and especially to those twelve He invested His life into. A lack of offspring does not make any of us less responsible for the future of Christianity.

It's never a joyous thought to contemplate one's own death, but it can often provide much needed perspective. With that in mind, if you were to pass on this week, how would you have affected, directed, or helped create the next generation of disciples? Will God's will pass from you successfully onto others, or will you be part of the cause for a generation that lives Godless and void of the hope the salvation His Son gives?

EZEKIEL 11:18-21

A Christian's legacy has less to do with their individual accomplishments and everything to do with how they lived out God's own heart. It is through that lifestyle that normal men and women like you and I have gone on to affect the hearts and minds of countless lost souls. Let's pray for hearts of flesh for those we wish to pass along God's will to. Let's help raise up the next generation of Christians.

Brett "Whose head has ever gotten rest using a car's head rest?" Hibbler