Curtains!

I have had about enough of curtains.  It is amazing how many windows there are in the house we just moved into, but that isn’t the half of it.  We have bought, hung, disliked, returned, bought, hung, disliked, and returned more curtains then I would want to admit to (I just did).  Rebecca asks me what I think and I now respond, “They look fantastic honey.”  Some curtains were too bold, one set reminded us of Joseph’s coat of many colors (yuck), some were to short, and others, well we couldn’t quiet express why, but we just knew they weren’t right.  Yet, curtains are important.

We both agree that we need curtains; it’s the aesthetics that are in question.  The curtains in our bedroom are heavy and keep the light out.  That pesky sun doesn’t wake me up anymore.  The ones in the living room are light, airy, and inviting.  The curtains in the dinning are elegant.  As you can tell I watch way too much HGTV.  Curtains, however, aren’t just about my house.  We have expressions about them, as well.

“It’s curtains for you” comes from the theatre.  When the curtain closes or falls, the play is finished. The expression above could be used to refer to the end of an event, or even a threat against you life.  “It’s curtains for you, buddy.” 

In the bible THE CURTAIN was the one hung in the Holy of Holies.  The Hebrew word for curtain is an unusual word, and is often translated veil.  Another Hebrew word translated curtain refers to the opening of a tent, which is appropriate for the tabernacle since it was originally a tent.  The later Temple kept the inner curtains.  The curtain was to signify God’s Holiness, His separation from sinful man.  Going beyond the curtain and into his presence was allowed once a year, by the high priest, for the purpose of atonement.  It was a constant reminder of how far man had fallen from paradise. 

Jesus’ death was the atonement for sin.  When he cried, “It is finished,” the curtain fell, or ripped from top to bottom.  It was an illustration of God’s removing the separation of sin between Him and us.  The barrier was removed and in the darkness a great light shines.  We can now come to God, through Christ, in the light, and with the assurance that judgment has been met. 

I am looking forward to having all my curtains put up, but there is one curtain that I am glad will never be rehung, it has been taken down and returned forever.  I’m just saying….

True Mark of a Friend

Friendship is difficult to quantify.  It isn’t about shared interest. There are a lot of people who like the things I like, but would never be my friend.  It isn’t about age.  I have friends that are much younger and older than me.  It’s not about proximity, race, economic status, or even education.  I have rich friends and poor friends; black, Asian, Hispanic, European, African, Middle Eastern, and white friends; well educated and less educated friends. 

I have thought about friendship lately while reading about God’s friendship with his creation.  He has had special relationships with people all throughout the scripture, but only two are referred to as friends.   Exodus describes the intimate relationship between God and Moses, “Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend” (Ex. 33:11). The Chronicler described Abraham as God’s friend forever (2 Chr. 20:7).  James, in the New Testament said that Abraham was called God’s friend because he believed and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.  Jesus broadened it out and said all who are obedient are considered his friends (John 15:13). 

Friendship is about knowing and trusting.  Whether it is with men or with God, friendship intimately understands another person, and is willing to live with the conflict that is inevitable.  When it comes to God the conflict is one sided.  God endures our sin, redeems us through Christ, and allows us to know Him more fully, as he already knows us.  Friendship with humans is two sided, as we expose our frailties, forgive and receive forgiveness.  The deeper we know one another the more opportunities there are to be gracious and grant mercy.  

Friendship doesn’t come easy.  Unlike Facebook where we ‘friend’ everyone under the sun, real life friendships are built over time, based on mutual respect and trust, forged in adversity, solidified in compassion and grace.  Like David and Jonathon, this kind of friendship comes once in a lifetime.  I have a few friends like this, and I hope to have a few more before I die.  But it means being willing to open my heart up to pain and rejection, as well as joy and camaraderie. 

I also want to be known as a friend of God.  One who is obedient, faithful, and who meets Him face-to-face.  Each day is an opportunity to “hang out” with God, get to know Him more, learn from His wisdom, walk in His ways, and find peace in His presence.  Like any friendship it takes time.

Today is a hanging out day with God.  I wonder what He will teach me.  I’m just saying…

Ten Things I like About Moving

1.  I get to move things that that I don’t really need, and keep them until I move again.

2.  Everything that has been in storage for 1 ½ years will be like new.

3.  I get to find out if I have any friends.

4.  I get to eat out more, because there is no time to cook.

5.  Even my old stuff looks good in a new place.

6.  Tobi gets to mark explore a new place.

7.  It’s a puzzle, trying to fit everything into new places.

8.  There are opportunities to learn patience.

9.  Rebecca is honing my cleaning skills.

10.  I will be closer to work!

I'm Just Saying....

Superior Satisfaction

I finally settled in to watch the Super Bowl after half time. Since the Green Bay Packers weren't playing, I wasn't as enthused as I could have been. The game proved to be more exciting then expected. Going into the second half the game was virtually tied, and the battle for victory was hard fought, all the way the end. The Giants prevailed.

The Patriot's depression was matched by the Giant's exaltation. As the Patriots slinked off the field the Giants began to celebrate. Pictures, interviews, and finally the presentation of the Lombardi trophy. With great fanfare the trophy was paraded through a line of players as they touched and kissed it in a display of satisfaction (and dare I say idolatry) that started to turn my stomach. I don't want to dismiss the euphoria that comes with reaching the pinnacle of your profession. The Giants deserve to feel good about their season, and celebration is their due, but this, to me, was a little excessive. Tomorrow, Tuesday February 7, 2012, down the streets of Manhattan, their will be ticker tape parade honoring the victors of a football game. The city wouldn't even do that for the troops coming home from Iraq. How skewed our worldview is when those who protect our freedoms are met with less enthusiasm than a football team. 

The irony is that God sees how believers respond to their passions (whatever they are)and longs that we would be as passionate for Him. Football isn't the only culprit. Sports in general, work, hobbies, addictions, and even family can so passionately be pursued that they replace God for our attention. Sin keeps us from God, that's why we need a savior. Sin vies for our attention, and we lose focus on God's redemptive plan. 

We often think of idolatry as an evil and destructive force, but the objects of idolatry don't present themselves as evil. In fact we replace God with these things, because the opposite seems true. We settle for an inferior satisfaction, because the good feelings are immediate. Yet, those immediate feelings are short lived. Football seasons end, children move away, spouses disappoint, work becomes tedious, and my hobbies merely distract. They satisfy, but not very deep, and not very long. When all is torn away we need something that satisfies; we need a Superior Satisfaction.

Our souls were created for God, the were created in His image, they were created for communion with Him. Sin has placed a chasm between Him and us, and that is why our souls feel empty, and why we try to fill it with something, but nothing but God will truly satisfy.

It is a wondrous thing; the love of God. Knowing our need He provides the way, the means, the substance, the superior satisfaction. He provides Himself. "For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross" (Col. 1:19,20). Until we come to grip with our need for Christ, and the superior nature of His satisfaction, we will never become the person for which we were created. I'm just saying...

Death Diminishes Us All

“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee" (John Donne, 1572-1631)
          I just received word that a fellow student of my son died.  I pray for the school and the family.  The year 2011 was filled with prayers for families wrought with sickness and death.  Sorrow has filled the hearts of many in our community. 
         It would be easy to dismiss the death of people we don’t know.  We feel little sorrow for those unseen faces in far away lands.  We pause a moment for others who our friends might know, or the hero we see on television, but life goes on and we become busy.  
         Yet we are diminished, if but a little, with the passing of every human, created in the image of God.  We are diminished because it reminds us of our own mortality, and the inevitability of our end. We are diminished, because we are helpless to stay the reapers blade. We are diminished because every life is precious from the moment of conception until the last breath. 
         The scripture says we are destined to die once and then the judgment.  We are diminished when someone dies because their eternal fate has been sealed, those who believe to life, but those who do not to eternal condemnation.  We are diminished if we have stood by and done nothing. 
         The year 2012 doesn’t bode much better; death comes to all.  My prayer is that there will be fewer this year that die apart from Christ.  My prayer is that God will bring people across my path that need to hear about Jesus.  My prayer is that, though I am diminished by every man’s death, Jesus death is a gateway to life to those who will come.  I’m just saying…..