I am not one who fails easily.
I am not one to take failure lightly or gracefully.
Failure, as far as I am concerned, is not an option.
. . . . . . .
“This is a place where you will fail. Consistently, daily, and this is a place where it is safe to do that.”
This is how she starts our first day of class. This is how she introduces me to what will quickly become my favorite class, my favorite subject, my desired continued area of study.
I feel my stomach tighten as she mentions failure. My mouth fights to grimace or smile, I cannot decide which.
“Failure?” I think. “I don’t really do failure.”
But in this classroom, surrounded by these fellow students I will come to welcome the freedom of failure.
I'm over at A Deeper Church today writing about failure. Join me over there to read the rest of the post.
Showing posts with label a deeper church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label a deeper church. Show all posts
Oct 25, 2013
May 24, 2013
torah
If you and I were to sit down and talk, get to know each other for just a bit, it wouldn’t be too long before you learned that I love the Old Testament. More specifically I love the Pentateuch. Those first five books of the Bible, and Deuteronomy in particular, they have my heart. I had the opportunity to take an intensive class on Deuteronomy this year, and in that short week I fell more in love with Torah. Here is a small glimpse into why I love Torah.
Imagine all of Israel encamped on the eastern side of the Jordan River.
Moses stands before them, his arms spread wide, as he recounts for them their parents’ exodus from Egypt and subsequent rebellion when they were first invited into the Promised Land.
The story is familiar, but each Israelite listens intently as Moses reminds them of the punishment they and their parents endured at the hand of Adonai. And Moses reminds them that throughout the entire journey, a journey which should have taken eleven days but instead took forty years, God was with them, providing for their every need each and every step of the way.
I'm writing over at Deeper Church today. Head over there to read the rest of this post.
Imagine all of Israel encamped on the eastern side of the Jordan River.
Moses stands before them, his arms spread wide, as he recounts for them their parents’ exodus from Egypt and subsequent rebellion when they were first invited into the Promised Land.
The story is familiar, but each Israelite listens intently as Moses reminds them of the punishment they and their parents endured at the hand of Adonai. And Moses reminds them that throughout the entire journey, a journey which should have taken eleven days but instead took forty years, God was with them, providing for their every need each and every step of the way.
I'm writing over at Deeper Church today. Head over there to read the rest of this post.
Mar 28, 2013
Israel Did Evil in the Eyes of the Lord
This is the second post in a five part series. It is inspired by the Book of Judges and my studies of that book. Posts will appear here and on A Deeper Church. You can read the first post here.
“The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asheras.”
The Book of Judges reads like a downward spiral, with each revolution marked by some variation of the phrase, “again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord.”
Each time it gets worse.
Each time the person leading the people of Israel gets worse.
Each time it is worse because they have turned more fully away from the Lord.
What was their evil?
It was a violation of covenant. A violation of an agreement with the Most Holy God. The One who brought them out of Egypt, out of slavery. The One who removed them from under the hand of their oppressors. The One who drove out those who would oppress Israel so that they might receive the land of their inheritance.
It was a violation to love the Lord their God and serve Him only. It was bowing down to other gods, to idols made, sometimes from their own hands, instead of the One True God.
It was prostitution of self for the purpose of self-indulgence at the cost of true identity, at the cost of the relationship that mattered most.
I do not have idols of metal, wood, or stone.
But that does not mean I do not have idols.
I do not prostitute myself to Baal.
But that does not mean I do not attempt to sell myself off to the lowest bidder, to the cheapest thrill or hope of love, forsaking the greatest love readily available and freely given in the hope of something that feels a little easier.
Our idols are not the idols of Israel during the time of the Judges. But that does not mean we do not serve idols of our own making, idols of this time, today.
The evil we do in the eyes of the Lord may look different on the surface than the evil of Israel, but the cost is the same. Each choice we make to choose ourselves over Him is a step away from Him and toward the worship of self; the worship of what each one of us sees fit to do.
What calls you from your worship of the Lord?
What tries to promise an easier love than the love available to you in Christ?
“The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asheras.”
The Book of Judges reads like a downward spiral, with each revolution marked by some variation of the phrase, “again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord.”
Each time it gets worse.
Each time the person leading the people of Israel gets worse.
Each time it is worse because they have turned more fully away from the Lord.
What was their evil?
It was a violation of covenant. A violation of an agreement with the Most Holy God. The One who brought them out of Egypt, out of slavery. The One who removed them from under the hand of their oppressors. The One who drove out those who would oppress Israel so that they might receive the land of their inheritance.
It was a violation to love the Lord their God and serve Him only. It was bowing down to other gods, to idols made, sometimes from their own hands, instead of the One True God.
It was prostitution of self for the purpose of self-indulgence at the cost of true identity, at the cost of the relationship that mattered most.
I do not have idols of metal, wood, or stone.
But that does not mean I do not have idols.
I do not prostitute myself to Baal.
But that does not mean I do not attempt to sell myself off to the lowest bidder, to the cheapest thrill or hope of love, forsaking the greatest love readily available and freely given in the hope of something that feels a little easier.
Our idols are not the idols of Israel during the time of the Judges. But that does not mean we do not serve idols of our own making, idols of this time, today.
The evil we do in the eyes of the Lord may look different on the surface than the evil of Israel, but the cost is the same. Each choice we make to choose ourselves over Him is a step away from Him and toward the worship of self; the worship of what each one of us sees fit to do.
What calls you from your worship of the Lord?
What tries to promise an easier love than the love available to you in Christ?
Oct 5, 2012
New York + Las Vegas + Los Angeles = Corinth
This is the first in a five part series that will run for the next three months. It is based on the book of 1 Corinthians, and posts will appear A Deeper Church and here, on my personal blog.
It has been said that if you combined modern day New York, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles you would end up with something like Corinth in the time of the Apostle Paul.* A city marked by the hustle and bustle of ships in the harbor and merchants traversing overland trade routes. By the temples and idols and the people who called those steps their office and those statues their gods. By the one-upmanship that colored their philosophical discussions and their drive to reach the next rung on the social and economic ladders.
You can read the rest of the post over on A Deeper Church.
It has been said that if you combined modern day New York, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles you would end up with something like Corinth in the time of the Apostle Paul.* A city marked by the hustle and bustle of ships in the harbor and merchants traversing overland trade routes. By the temples and idols and the people who called those steps their office and those statues their gods. By the one-upmanship that colored their philosophical discussions and their drive to reach the next rung on the social and economic ladders.
You can read the rest of the post over on A Deeper Church.
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