Some crazy paul

II Corinthians 11:16-23:

I repeat: Let no one take me for a fool. But if you do, then receive me just as you would a fool, so that I may do a little boasting. In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord would, but as a fool. Since many are boasting in the way the world does, I too will boast. You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise! In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or pushes himself forward or slaps you in the face. To my shame I admit that we were too weak for that!

What anyone else dares to boast about—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast about. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham's descendants? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.

"I am out of my mind to talk like this." I just don't recall anywhere else in the Bible where anyone said they were out of their mind. Crazy. That's some good Paul.

Isaiah in the buff

Isaiah 20-14

In the year that the supreme commander, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it- at that time the LORD spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz. He said to him, "Take off the sackcloth from your body and the sandals from your feet." And he did so, going around stripped and barefoot.

Then the LORD said, "Just as my servant Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years, as a sign and portent against Egypt and Cush, [a] so the king of Assyria will lead away stripped and barefoot the Egyptian captives and Cushite exiles, young and old, with buttocks bared—to Egypt's shame.

Think Job had it bad? Well, he did, but Isaiah had to walk around naked for three years just to prove a point and it wasn't even Hedonism. You would think a few days would be enough.

I kind of get the picture of Isaiah singing in the rain "Some people have all the luck." Poor guy.

What's truly of value

Proverbs 23:23:

Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding.

There are so many people out there dying to win the lottery, to which I have to ask, "why?" You can do a lot of things with money, but the one thing you can't do is make yourself more disciplined. The things that are of real value are priceless: wisdom, discipline, the fruits of the Spirit.

I finally came to a place in my life where I realized I didn't want to win the lottery. If I had more money than I knew what to do with, I would spend it trying to become the person who could make it on their own. That's irony.

So why look for money? It's only a tool. Look to enrich yourself - the inner you. The rest is fluff.

Paul with an attitude

As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

Go Paul! This was from Galatians 5:12 in a chapter where Paul was talking about people fighting over circumcision. If he were speaking today, it would come across: "these people who are causing these problems should just cut off their..." You get the point.

Who said the Bible is some pristine book put together by saints? It's about real life and it was penned by real people.

Good stuff, Paul.

Giving God the glory

As I was watching a fumble turned touchdown by Victor Abiamiri of the Eagles in highlights during my workout yesterday morning, his touchdown ritual started me thinking. As he was skating across the end zone he pointed to heaven, which I can only assume is him giving glory to God.

As nice as this gesture is, I feel differently about it. If I were in his shoes and someone approached me after the game about my faith, I would tell them I am a Christian and that I am a Christian because I believe that holds the potential for the best possible life, even though others might feel differently. I will acknowledge that God set things in motion and he is the one who made me as I am so his plan is the best for me.

But as to giving the glory to God, I have a different opinion. God may have put all the parts in motion, but if I sit in front of the TV eating Cheetos, I won't have anything for which to give glory. It is only because of hard work, diligence, and discipline (which are all part of Christendom) that something like that would be accomplished.

If God is our heavenly father, what lessons can I learn with my own kids? If one of my sons made the same play when he was in the end zone, I wouldn't want him to say "It was my dad, everyone! My dad made this happen!" I would want him to acknowledge his hard work paid off, strut his stuff, and yell "I'm da man!" and as I watch in the bleachers, thinking of how much effort he put into it, I would yell back "Yes you are!"

Because in the end, it's not what happens on the field where we give glory to God. It's in the locker room later, where the press comes in and asks, "how did you get the drive to do this?" and we say "Honestly, I had a great father. I trusted him. He was always looking out for the best for me, and I followed his plans, and here I am."

Most witnessing is more about showing something of value and very little is explaining where the value comes from. If you are sad, broke, and people don't like you, giving glory to God isn't going to win any converts. Likewise, if you work hard, practice, work out, eat right, make a touchdown and give glory to God, people are going to realize it is due to your effort that you made that play, and to some degree giving glory to God may feel to them to be disingenuous.

I believe the end goal that God wants for us is to live a great life and witness by example. "God has the best plan. I followed it and it's worked great for me." After all, if it hasn't worked great for us, who will want to follow it anyway?

$50 to find out if you're going to heaven

Here is an interesting article dissecting the "business model" of a guy who charges $50 to tell people whether or not they are going to heaven. I worry about this guy counting himself in that group. I don't know that Christ suffered and died at no cost to us so some jackhole can charge $50 a pop to do nothing more than rip people off in Christ's name.

Good business plan? Maybe. Good life plan? Not so much.

Reap what you sow: common sense

2 Corinthians 9:6:

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

It's pretty simple really. It can be applied to so much: the effort you put in is the effort you get out. Have you ever used a manual well pump? The more you pump, the harder you pump, the more water you get. That's just how life is.

Are you not getting as much out of life as you want? If not, what are you doing to change that? It's not about what you get out but what you put in. Life is about becoming better, not getting freebies. Most people want to win the lottery to solve their financial problems, but that money rarely does solve problems because learning how to spend wisely is the first key to having money. Furthermore, earning a million dollars and becoming the person that knows how to make that happen is more valuable than the money. It may be hard, but it's worth it.

It's time to start sowing.

His banner over me

Here is an interesting recollection:

He has taken me to the banquet hall, and his banner over me is love.

...

I am my lover's and my lover is mine; he browses among the lilies.

There are basically two places you will find these words: In Song of Solomon (in this case Song of Solomon 2:4 and Song of Solomon 6:3) and in a song I used to sing in Children's Church when I was 10 (and younger):

I'm my beloved's and he is mine.
His banner over me is love.

It's a little... weird. For those who don't know, Song of Solomon is a passionate book about sexual desire. There are several people who are not fond of it being in the Bible. In fact, some of those people try to change it's meaning into so sort of metaphor for Christ and the church, which ends up having them make children's songs out of it.

Which is worse: to understand that sexuality and physically intimacy are part of God's plan, good, and healthy even to the point it is included as a book in the Bible, or to hide from sexuality so much, to pretend it's nothing and try to pawn it off as appropriate for children?

Finally - the lesson in Job

We all know that Job teaches patience. Mainly for making it through all 42 chapters. But after finishing the * ahem * blessed book, I have to say there there are other lessons in there. Specifically that sometimes you have to rely on what you know is right and not listen to the naysayers of the world.

The real question is why Job just sat and listened to it. He's a more patient man than I. If my friends shot me down like that, I might say a few choice words, and then I'd make them read the Book of Job.