Eggs, dye, and baskets

So let me ask you a question. Do you like things that are empty? Don’t you just love it when you are running a little late, not too late, then you glance down at the gas gauge and yes…it’s basically empty? Or how about this one? You been working hard and you reach over and grab your coffee, anticipating that nice sip of joe, only to realize it’s empty. Maybe you go to reach into the pantry to grab your favorite snack, only to see that someone ate it all, and left the empty box in the pantry.

So when you think about Easter, what comes to mind? Little white fuzzy bunnies, Cadbury eggs, pastel colors, and did I mention candy? Is Easter all about getting together with the family and hunting for some eggs? Not that there is anything wrong with any of this, but is this the 1^st things that comes to mind when we think about Easter? Has Easter been watered down to this? Doesn’t this version of Easter seem a bit….empty?

When it comes to Easter, empty is well….a good thing. Let’s think about the empty tomb. The empty tomb matters because it is proof. Proof that Jesus is who He says He is. One of my pet peeves is when someone brags and makes boast about something, and then can’t back it up. We don’t have to worry about that when it comes to Jesus. He told his disciples that he will have to suffer many terrible things and be rejected and killed by the religious people, but in 3 days he will rise from the dead (Mark 8: 31). Jesus not only said these things, but He did them! Now that is backing up what you say!

The empty tomb is powerful. Power that is greater than sin and death. Jesus came to earth and died so that we may have eternal life with Him. He died to restore humanity. He died to show the ultimate unprejudiced love that God has for His creation. For something to live something else has to die. Ate any fruit today? Well that fruit was disconnected from its life source so that it may give you vitamins, minerals, nutrients….life. The empty tomb shows us that Jesus has power over death. He took death’s worse sting and kept moving forward! He gives us life!

The empty tomb is permanent. When people visit Jerusalem, may people visit a site that historians say is the burial place of Jesus. And when tourist look inside the tomb….it’s empty! Jesus wasn’t in the tomb three days after he died…He isn’t in the tomb today…and He never will be again! Jesus’ body wasn’t stolen or placed in the wrong tomb. This isn’t some magic trick, Jesus is alive!!

So when we celebrate Easter with family and friends, let us not forget what we are celebrating. Let’s remember that Jesus took on death face to face and dealt it a huge blow. Let’s remember that Jesus showed us what sacrificial love looks like, and commands us to display this same love to others.

O what a glorious day, what a glorious way….O happy day!!

Happy Easter friends!!

A call worth answering...

So I have started to re-read the book Barbarian Way by Erwin McManus, but in a different light. When I first read the book some 4-5 years ago, I was still a cop. And anytime a cop reads a book about being a barbarian…well you know what happens…and if you don’t, you are about to. I only looked for certain portions of the book that talked about being raw, untamed, and just….well….wild. I was looking for a reason to go against the grain, to hold onto this have to be tough, rugged, and harsh mentality. I wanted to be able to justify “getting in someone’s face” about not putting God as a priority in their lives. I guess there was this “spiritual high” that I wanted to maintain, because it made me feel good. I mean I was a cop, reading a book about being a barbarian was like an adrenaline rush for me. But all that I remembered from the book was the part in the beginning about the movie Brave Heart, because Brave Heart is a manly movie, and a cop can identify with being manly and wanting to save the world!!

But as I read Barbarian Way now, I see that it is more than just living like a crazy lunatic for Jesus. it’s more than just being that dude that is always running around saying “churchy” clichés. It’s more than just being “obnoxious for Jesus”. It’s about going against culture. It’s about following God, knowing you have to die to yourself and sacrifice a whole heck of a lot. It’s about unprejudiced love for people. It’s about looking like a lunatic to the religious who walk around thinking Christianity is about fairy tales and happy endings.

In chapter 2 of Barbarian Way, McManus talks about how John the Baptist was a barbarian. Not because of his choice of clothing (camel skins), not because he ate locust and honey, not because he lived in the wilderness, it’s because he followed the will of God, no matter what. No matter if it called him to be labeled an outcast, no matter if people looked at him funny, no matter if it cost him his life, which it ultimately did…..he did what it took, no matter what, no expectations, no excuses.

So fast forward to the year 2011, we as Americans have the freedom to do, and believe, and become whatever we want. If we want to be a doctor fine, we want to be a Buddhist fine, if we want to live in a townhouse fine. We live in a culture that tells us we have to do unto others before they do unto you. A culture that says, if you’re not 1^st your last. A culture that is me-centered, forget about the nation of Japan who is struggling to just make it day to day, I want more money in my 401K!!

What happened to Jesus’ command to love God with all your might, all your soul, and all your strength, and then love others as yourself? What happened to what followers of Jesus looked like after he went to heaven? When people were in need, they didn’t look to FEMA or to the government, they looked to the church, and not a building neither, but to the people. And how did they know to go to the people, because the people lived as barbarians, living out the will of God in their lives, even though it looked like madness to the religious.

So as I am re-reading Barbarian Way, again I can feel God renovating my heart, because it is all a matter of the heart. When God comes in and begins to renew and restore our hearts, it’s like a bit in the mouth of a horse, where you tug it that huge animal will go. When we live out the will of God and allow him to transform our hearts, where he leads us, we will follow. So I have figured out that I don’t have everything figured out, but I am trying to be more self-aware.

I leave you with an actual quote from the book that I have been chewing on for a while now.

“The Barbarian Way is not about violence fueled by vengeance and hatred. The Barbarian Way is about love expressed through sacrifice and servanthood”.

My hope is that this statement challenges you, just like it is challenging me!!

It's just a rock....

When I was around 10-12 years old, I found a box turtle at my parent’s house. I think my dad actually found it when he was cutting grass. But needless to say we found a box turtle and decided to keep it as a pet. We bought some chicken wire and made a nice size protected area for the box turtle to roam. I would feed the turtle and after some time the turtle would hear my voice and would fully extend itself out of its shell and would let me pet its head and its neck. I think we had the turtle for a couple months when Raphael, that’s what I had decided to name the box turtle, came up missing. We never found him.

A couple of Sundays ago, two to be exact, Breana and I were walking in the parking lot of the church after the 11:15 service. As we were walking to my car, we were talking about what she learned in her class when she kicked something in the parking lot. I caught a glimpse of what she kicked. Breana noticed that I stopped to take a glimpse at what she just kicked and she just assumed it was just a rock, and continued to walk towards the car, not even giving it another thought that it could have been something else. So I picked up this “rock” and showed it to Breana. At first she didn’t comprehend what it was, I mean she was so convinced it was just a rock. But when the “rock” started to move, it was obvious that it was a small turtle. Immediately she felt compassion for the small turtle and asked the million dollar question……daddy can we keep it?

How many times when God tries to speak to us, tries to get us to live outside of the box, tries to get us to move, we assume that it’s just a rock? We are so consumed with the busyness of our schedules, we crave popularity, we long for acceptance, when God breaks in on our busyness we are totally dull to it. God calls us to die to our selfishness, our insecurities, our rejections, and our pride in order to give us life. A life that rebels against the culture, rebels against a me-centered lifestyle, and lives an others-centered lifestyle, a life that the apostles lived in the book of Acts.  

I find myself in that place quite frequently. Where I am so enthralled in the task at hand and God wants to move me, challenge me, and stretch me to perhaps to pay for the person’s coffee behind me at Starbucks, or to simply engage in a conversation with a stranger who looks like they just need someone to listen to them, or maybe it’s when your kids are crying and whining because they are not getting what they want……it’s like walking along a parking lot and being sure you just kicked a rock, not thinking twice that it could have been a living, breathing turtle.  

Back to Breana’s question, daddy can we keep the turtle. We did keep the turtle…Breana named it Yertle…Yertle the turtle. We’ve had it for two weeks now. But I think the best part of having Yertle is Breana is active in taking care of him. She is always wanting to feed him and see what he is doing. The cutest part is she prays for Yertle every night before she goes to bed.

Breana told me that she is going to pay more attention while walking in the parking, just in case she kicks another turtle….

I hope I can pay closer attention also….and not assume that it’s just a rock!!