Enjoy the Ride

Picture in your mind- your... perfect... dream... car.  

It could be... 

an exquisite classic, 

a sleek sportster, 

or the newest luxury custom.  

Imagine your dream vehicle fresh out of production, 

brand new without a scratch or defect.  

I'm giving that to you (in your mind). 

***
Now consider, you don't already have a car or even any cash.  So to alleviate the worries of having this car, I also tell you I will give you the money to pay the annual registration, inspection, other taxes, monthly insurance (with no deductible) , and even give you an allowance for gas.  I also have set-up a contract with the best mechanic for regular maintenance. There is even a lifetime bumper to bumper warranty that covers all parts & labor.

What's the catch?

Well first, let me ask you, when you got the car and pictured yourself behind the wheel - how fast were you going?  Was your seat belt on?  When I described all I would do and give, were you thankful or increasingly dubious?  Do you trust me?    

What if I told you I expect you to follow all the traffic laws?  I also don't think it's too much to ask that you treat others on your road with a certain courtesy and respect regardless of their treatment of you.  Would you also mind, maybe now and again dropping by to visit between adventures, I miss you ya know - you're never around since I got you that car.  If anybody asks or you feel like telling, let them know I gave you that - you can even give them my number, I like giving away imaginary dream cars. Would you still take that dream car?

Imagine after a few years, you've racked up so many speeding tickets that the insurance got cancelled, but you never told me.  You didn't take the time to get the oil changed so the engine knocks and the warranty won't cover that, plus you were mean to my mechanic friend so he won't bother to help you even though he would do it for free if I asked and you apologized.  You see I gave him an imaginary dream car too. 

Then you get in a road rage argument and decide to trade a little paint with another friend of mine that I gave a nice imaginary dream car to too.  Your engine blows as you rev it full bore and you slam into the median causing a wreck of 50 more cars along the way (all my friends and gifts from me, I might add).  The wreck severely injuring about 100 people including yourself.  For our little mental experiment, we'll be nice and say you didn't kill anybody, but just think if you did- how would feel?

You've also been spending the money I send you for registration, taxes, inspection, and insurance on booze to get liqoured up and drive around like this.  You of course make a run for it, but you're hurt, so the police get you in a dramatic foot chase televised on all the news channels.  Your vehicle, or what's left of it gets impounded and sent to the junk yard.  Since this is your third offense and there are so many other crimes involved, the judge sentences you to life in prison - noting he wishes you were in a state that allowed the death penalty for being such a complete idiot.  He's actually a friend of mine, he picked a 1955 Red / White Ford Fairlaine Sunliner as his car, he takes pretty good care of his and follows most all the rules - in his hard thinking that's why you should too.

Just as they are carrying you away to the punishment you deserve.  I stroll in, talk quietly to the judge for just a second and then he tells them to let you go.  I come over and hug you, telling you that I'm just glad you're ok.  I hand you the key to your car and tell you it's been fully repaired - just like new.  I hand you an envelope.  I explain that in it is your title and information on a financial trust that makes sure everything gets paid exactly like it should- plus there's a gas card in there that will always get paid no matter how much you use it (but just for gas, please).  I ask if you'll just drop by and see me between adventures and tell everybody what's been done for you. Maybe if you don't mind would you give a few of my imaginary dream cars away - I just gave you power of attorney over my assets to do that.  The last thing I ask you is to do your best to follow the traffic laws and treat others with kindness and respect.  Then they take me away to serve your sentence - justice must be met.  Enjoy the ride.

Would you throw the keys down and try to serve the sentence yourself (even though you can't) or go sell the car and walk everywhere you went denying there ever was a guy who gave out imaginary cars?
***
God gives us life and all that we need to live.  We choose to live apart from Him in ways that harm ourselves and others.  Christ takes the judgement due us and offers us a new, eternal, life.  We can embrace that redemption or throw it all down and walk into judgement.  

The last part, that's real... we've lived a life chargeable with offenses, the verdict is guilty, the Judge is perfect, the sentence is the death penalty- justice will be met. Either by Christ already given and served or by you if you'd prefer. 

Will you accept the keys to life from the nail scarred hands of Jesus Christ who died for you to be free from death?  Don't you believe God is the provider of your life and all that is in it, so much so that you would now live as He asks and caring for others the way He cares for you?  

Please don't throw the keys to life down.  Please don't try to serve the sentence yourself or deny that God gives you life and Christ died for you.
****
I hope you enjoy your refurbished imaginary dream car on the ride toward eternity.  
Let me know how it goes between adventures, would you?

Learning Forever

My Grandfather always said and my Dad oft repeated,
"Learn something new everyday.'

Each day I try to look up that particular date on Wikipedia
and use that as a jumping point to learn something new.

For example, on this day in 27 BC, Octavianus was conferred by the Roman Senate with the titles 'Augustus' ("the Illustrious One" - as to his divine authority) and 'Princeps' ("the First Head" - as to his sovereign authority). He further styled himself 'Imperator Caesar divi filius' or 'Commander Caesar divine son' referring to his adoptive 'father' Gaius Julius Caesar, who was killed by Roman Senators fearful of the absolute powers Caser might have declared unto himself even though they kept declaring power unto him.

HAIL!!! Imperator Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus Divi Filius Augustus, now Supreme Ruler of Imperial Rome and the World.

"People of Rome, we are once again free."
"Ista quidem vis est!" [Why, this is violence!]

***
Everyday no matter what new thing I learn,
I learn a few things over and over again:

1) the same things have a tendency to happen again & again throughout history & our lives - even (and especially) if we try to prevent them

2) no matter how much we learn or develop ourselves or our society, we are still completely ignorant of most everything else even if we think we rule our little world

5) everybody dies, all kingdoms end, no person reigns supreme (for long), wars will rage on, and all people are flawed & foolish

***
To me, Octavian's greatest claim to fame is that he was briefly granted supreme power over the Mediterranean region, including a little backwoods hasmich called Judea, such that when as Augustus he ordered all his subjects to be registered for his own petty governmental purposes, he was really just causing the still pregnant mother of the real ruler and sovereign King of all to go to Bethlehem so as to fulfill God's prophetic revelation of Himself and His Son Jesus Christ.

God's majesty, Christ's grace and the Spirit's power are amazingly displayed throughout history and the lives of people. The question is whether we will look to our own momentary fame in this short life, maybe even by attempting to establish a legacy for ourselves or if we will embrace the everlasting glory of eternal life by acknowledging Christ's truth, which He has been working out from before creation and throughout time until He will fulfill His purposes.

a look left into glory

"This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice & be glad in it." Ps 118:23-24

God is master of the most beautiful moments & redeemer of the darkest ones. 

His glory shines through & His majesty is proclaimed. 

I am blessed to have even been made alive in it to see & express such. 

******

Let me share this story with you. I shot the picture above this morning from the intersection at the turnoff of our country roads onto the nearby highway. Early this week (Monday night), at this intersection one of our neighbors tried to turn from this highway onto this little country road and someone hit her from behind at full speed. The impact killed the 5 year old daughter in the back seat, caused injuries including brain damage to the 7 year old daughter which claimed her life Wednesday morning, and broke the mother's back leaving her paralyzed. Her blind husband was picked up from their house and taken to be with her. She is still in a hospital bed in critical condition. 

Every morning this week as I've come up to this intersection, I've become increasingly frustrated and upset about all of this. Mostly for my youngest daughter who played some with these girls and is now dealing with the emotions of loss including the big issues of God's sovereignty/goodness and the world's brokenness. Also for my wife who is struggling with the closeness of such a tragedy and the reality of how fragile this life truly is. Some for me and my guilt for not really knowing these people better by investing in their lives with interest, time and care. 

Now here's the kicker- I'm told that Dawn, the mother of these children, laying in a hospital bed on this side of such tragedy proclaims God's goodness and glory now and to come. This is astounding to me- I must honestly wonder in such circumstances how I would respond.

So as I argue with God this morning about all this, He gently reminds me of His ultimate goodness and I operate in my complete brokenness. I stop abruptly at the highway intersection I've come to pretty much hate this week and I curse it aloud. Then I look left to see the light of dawn breaking through the darkness, mine included.

It's not trite to say this. In fact it's impossible to say it. So much so that it can only be the worship of a broken heart which knows Christ has overcome death and the fallenness of this world and me particularly- empowered by the Holy Spirit screaming out only what it hears: 

"This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice & be glad in it." Ps 118:23-24

God is master of the most beautiful moments & redeemer of the darkest ones. 

His glory shines through and His majesty is proclaimed.

I am blessed to have even been made alive in it to see & express such.

****

Maybe you don't know that Jesus, the Son of God, came through the darkness to show God's glory to the world. Maybe you need to hear today that the light of the Spirit can shine brightly in your life even when circumstances seem their worst. Tragic horrible things happen in this life because of sin and brokenness. We can argue with God and curse this fallen world or we can turn and look into His glory. We can embrace the love of a Father who sent His only Son from that glory to this mess of life to live the life we can never live, die the death we deserve to die and to become our resurrection into glory. 

I'm honest enough to admit that while I believe Jesus Christ is my Savior and Lord, this faith is still being worked out in my heart moment by moment in the power of the Holy Spirit. I can only trust in Him to do that. I pray you can to.

Le Temps de la Vie

assis sur le porche,

ce matin froid et pluvieux,

en écoutant les gouttes,

qui tombent une à une,

L'éternel murmure dans mon âme,

la vie n'est pas destinée à être mesurée, 

donc je pourrais essayer de faire pour moi,

mais il souffla dans l'être

comme l'expression,

de la gloire de Dieu

clairement déjà connu,

que la pluie tombe

pour faire toutes choses nouvelles,

y compris coeur brisé mon

***

The Weather of Life

sitting on the front porch,

this cold wet morning,

listening to the drops,

falling one by one,

the Eternal whispers into my soul,

life is not meant to be measured,

so I might try to make for myself,

but breathed into being

as the expression,

of the glory of God

clearly already known,

that the rain falls

to make everything new,

including my broken heart

My Walk In Life

This... this is the artwork of my walk in life. One particular Saturday morning many months ago, I awoke fairly early to find myself in a dark place. For the previous several weeks I had been in really bad shape. My body had been physically sick for quite a while, I was emotionally drained due to family & work stresses, and I was struggling spiritually with very large issues of who God is and my identity in Him.

I really could have just laid in the bed and given up at that point, but that particular morning I felt compelled to get up and go for a walk. Now, in the last year my physical exercise had been about as limited as my understanding of cosmetology & skin care. So this old fat man dug out some tennis shoes and shorts and hoofed it 2.5m around the local country roads.

The halfway point of anything, especially a walk, is a funny thing unless you know exactly how far the end is. Halfway for me was that point where I better turn around, be awful sure the total circle back was not too far for me to make it OR be willing to wake my poor wife up to come meet me at the ER. Just as I was contemplating this particular point of turning back, pressing forward, cutting through the woods straight home, or falling over- covered in sweat, unable to get even a half of my regular half breath, and just about to make that phone call to my sleeping wife to explain why she needed to come get her idiot husband- I looked up at this scene.

The road stretched out before me, enveloped by a canopy covering of trees with darkness and shadows filling the view. My body hurting, head hurting, and my heart hurting. I wiped the sweat and maybe even some tears from my eyes and coughed up the junk in my lungs. No inhaler in my pocket, not a wise choice for an asthmatic with bronchitis and probably walking pneumonia.

As my fevered body stood shaking, I couldn't help but think I must be imagining the way the light pierced the darkness and danced on the ground. At the end of the long road, there was a clear end in sight- light coming into my view as well. I clicked the phone in my hand to life and shot this picture. I stood marveling at my stupidity, God's glory, Christ's mercy, and the power of His Spirit working in brokenness.

That God pierces the darkness with His majestic light awes me even to the point of fear. That Jesus would cross from eternity to this life and from this life to death on a cross for me so I could stand in God's light without fear shakes me to my very soul. That the very Spirit of God that raised Him to the light of life from the darkness of the grave does the same with my darkened heart constantly by empowering it to believe in Christ as Lord & Savior is absolutely breathtaking.

Life is not an easy journey, it can become a struggle just to breath. We even place ourselves in dangerous situations or just wallow in self-pity. If we look to the light, the darkness seems to fade and the path takes on a very different purpose. We might even be able to express it in some form to the One who made it, ourselves and others.

I kept walking forward after I caught my breath. I followed the road home to my family who was waiting there for me and shared the story of my adventure. They laughed at my silliness and were encouraged by God's greatness. I hope you enjoyed it too.

the bad wolf & greater One

CONSIDER:

'Rejoice with those who rejoice, 

weep with those who weep.' 

Romans 12:15

At this, I am an abject failure. 

Why does the condition of my heart tend toward darkness,

except that I tend such darkness in it. 

How can I extend truly unselfish compassionate love,

except that I have first received and constantly dwell on 

and in such as Christ has given and shown to me.

I am certain that the simple point of my enjoyment at someone else's ills,

 no matter how well deserved, is ill in my heart.

Moreover, my illness at their enjoyment, 

no matter how unsavory, 

I 

judge them to be, 

is still judgement & rather unsavory on my part. 

I am convinced our world exists top left to bottom right 

and the Kingdom exists bottom left to top right.

These are oft to intersect on singular occasion 

caught in the moment of purest sacrifice- 

bloody as all sacrifices must be.

Every moment is full of 

judgement & the blood of men

OR grace & the blood of Christ.

Only at the cross may we

shift thus between the two ways.

Ours so momentary failing forever 

and Christ's eternal now preserving.

The Fable of History (Avis akvāsas ka)

{ESTABLISHED FORM / MANNER / PERIOD} 
    {COMBINANT SHIFT - CONTAINED ANTI-THESIS - EXPRESSION WITHIN CONTEXT}
{TRANSITIONAL FORM / MANNER / PERIOD - SYNTHESIS}
     {DYNAMIC SHIFT - UNBOUND THESIS - EXPRESSION OF NEW FORM AGAINST CONTEXT} 
{NEW FORM / MANNER / PERIOD ESTABLISHED}


Traditional (passed / handed from past ~ a priori) [continuation & maintenance of status quo]
     Reformational/Retraditional (what was is not but should be) [distillative from degraded form, return to purity]
Renaissance / Early Modern (pre-post-traditional) [expressive recreative, what is can be) [possible exploratives]
    Revolutionary / Systemic Deconstruction - (anti-traditional) [deliberative dismantling without determination]
Modernity/Post-Traditional/Prejective (functionality, a posteriori) [apparent efficiency/immediacy/affectual fallacy]           
     Formation/Naissance  (procreative by form, toward specified function, contextualized development)
Post-Modern/Pre-generative/Rejective [apathy/rejection to formative- anarchistic / anacronistic]    
     pRevolition [attempted will without predication or subjegation, bound by systemic constraints]
Generative (developmentally futuristic ~ a ventio) [unwitting creativity toward a perceived but unknown end]
    Reduction [limited prescient affectation - preventative forethought acted out, causality impetus]
Degenerative (preternal) [naturally supernatural / determined non-determinism / attempted avoidance]
    Restoration [volitional aquiesence - dynamic capitulation - integrated activism - unnatural selectivity]
Enstance (definite eternality ~ a aeviternus) [enaltive, edorative, valent singularity, epistatic union] 
©®2012 Mike Hall (terms™)[allrightsreserved]