Jesus in the Frying Pan

"The creation waits in eager expectation
for the sons of God to be revealed."
(Romans 8:19 NIV)

Here's my sorry confession: I'm perversely intrigued by the stories and images of Jesus that seem to pop up everywhere. Jesus has been seen in cloud formations, on the faces of mountains, in tree trunks, in frying pans, and in Cheetos bags. He's also been seen on the face of an iron, within a cut orange, in a potato chip, on a slice of toast, and in bathroom mold. I love the story of the pretzel that curiously came out of the oven in the image of Madonna and Child. The owners of the pretzel (smartly, if you ask me) offered the treat on EBay. The auction price rose up to 2 million dollars before EBay pulled the item because of a listing infraction. Too bad for the cook, also for the kooks.

The above scripture passage informs us that creation is eagerly awaiting the revelation of God's sons. It is sonship within God's sons and daughters that reveals the Lord Jesus Christ; sonship reveals His face, His glory, His nature, His authority, and His works. It is Christ within and through God's children that creation is looking to for hope and restoration. Apes and insects and planets and bushes and stones are looking for Christ within the faces of humans. Are we going to allow them to remain smarter than us?

Lord Jesus Christ, let your face shine through me.

Trash Day

"Dan Savage, Dan Savage, Why are you persecuting Me?"

- Jesus

Happiness in Marriage, by Edward Willis

Throughout my years in the chaplaincy, I am amazed at how many couples struggle to find happiness in their marriages. The pain, the bickering and the loneliness that is increasingly more common among married people is directly related to what I have defined as the American definition of love: “Love is the happy feeling I experience when someone else is meeting my needs.” Otherwise known as romantic idealism, this fleeting emotional state is the foundation upon which most couples establish the most important relationship of their lives, and it is tearing the fabric of our culture apart.

It begins with dating. As Americans, we date for entertainment. We date for fun. We date to find someone . . . anyone . . . who will meet our needs for the moment. It’s not that dating shouldn’t be entertaining or fun, but we go into the dating relationship as consumers to see what we can get out of the other person. If that person gives us what we think we need out of the relationship, we begin to fixate on getting our needs met and “fall in love” with the other based on their willingness to meet our needs.

Dating then becomes a precarious dance of needs meeting to keep the other person committed to the relationship. There is no real commitment, no marriage. Either can walk away from the relationship at any time. So, we do whatever we think we need to do the keep the other person happy in the relationship. This may feel like love, but it is not love at all. In reality, we are fraudulently investing into the other just so that we don’t lose that person in our life that is making us happy.

Then the big “I gotcha” comes along; marriage. With the marriage comes commitment and with the commitment comes the freedom to be your self. Now you have a piece of paper keeping each other in the relationship, so you no longer have to strive to keep the other happy. But, you still expect your spouse to keep meeting your needs, even more-so now that they have promised to love you for the rest of your life.

The result is two people selfishly consuming one another. They devour one another until every shred of happiness is purged from the relationship. The resulting unhappiness leads each to come to the conclusion that they must not be “in love” anymore. They terminate the relationship, get divorced and move on to the next dysfunctional relationship, looking for that one-and-only human being who will make them happy for the rest of their life.

Perhaps there is a better foundation upon which to build our marriages. The Bible teaches that love is a decision to care more about someone else’s needs than you care about your own. The Bible teaches that love is selfless and unconditional and is the ultimate expression of human nobility.

Now, imagine how redefining love to agree with God’s definition of love can affect a marriage. Instead of two people selfishly devouring one another, you would have two people selflessly serving the other. Instead of tearing each other down, leading to feelings of bitterness and isolation, you would build each other up by attending to the other’s needs. As each builds up the other, the bonds of marriage truly strengthen as you appreciate the other and trust one another to meet each other’s needs. The result is a true, unshakable happiness and satisfaction in your marriage that is the result of your love demonstrated toward your spouse. You grow together, not apart.

Furthermore, as that ethic in marriage spills outward to our other relationships the fabric of our culture becomes strengthened by our ability to establish and maintain healthy relationships. What relationship would not thrive founded upon God’s definition of love? This kind of love would truly transform our families, our places of work, our social networks, our schools, our communities and truly our nation. So important is this concept of love that even our Army has established it as one of its core values; Selfless Service.

So make that decision today to care more about your spouse’s needs than you care about your own. Start loving your spouse in the manner God intended. It might be hard at first and it might even take time before your spouse begins to reciprocate. But, the first spouse to take this first important step will truly take themselves and their spouse on the journey toward profound and ever-increasing happiness in their marriage.

Peace.

Darn Kids These Days! by Edward Willis

Everywhere I go or look, I am confronted by what seems to be an increasing lack of social civility. Or, maybe I am simply being confronted by my age and I becoming one of those old guys who gripe about everything. I don’t know. Let me share some observations and you be the judge.

Let’s start with some of things that people put on their automobiles. Personally, a “God Bless America” license plate frame was pushing the envelope for me. But, some people slather their car with images that reflect what they like out of life. That’s fine, even great, to a point. Socially benign decals depicting sports teams or sea turtles (ad infinitum) are harmless images that convey the likes of the vehicle’s owner. Some images express the owner’s point of view on controversial issues. Some I agree with. Others I don’t. Some even make me chuckle whether I agree or not; hence the magic of free speech. But, the images that some people put on their automobiles actually fit the legal definition of being non-free-speech-protected obscene or even pornographic imagery. My fuddy-duddy opinion not-with-standing, it seems that people shouldn’t be subjecting others, especially children, to imagery that is legally defined as obscene or pornographic. But, it seems like I see such imagery on vehicles becoming more and more commonplace.

Also these days, a trip to any retail establishment gets me going. Shopping carts are everywhere! They are in parking spots, planter boxes, sidewalks, crosswalks and even in the middle of travel lanes. It is literally an obstacle course of shopping carts to navigate with your car until you park, then on foot until you get into the store. I think those empty, fenced-off, corral-looking spaces conveniently placed throughout parking lots are provided so lazy folk don’t have to take their carts all the way back to the storefront after their wearisome shopping marathons. But, since laziness apparently knows no bounds, maybe every other parking spot should now be fenced off and reserved for the returning of shopping carts. Since I am young and virile enough to return my cart to a proper location, I do not require such an accommodation. But, what I do need is the opportunity to write an article about the issue, since am too old and cranky to not be judgmental over this apparent lack of consideration toward others. (I think I feel my hair graying as I write this.)

If I was easily offended by foul language, I would most certainly be in the wrong occupation. I might let something objectionable slip through my own lips about a half-a-dozen times a year (I haven’t always been a chaplain). In fact, once or twice a year I might even use a mild expletive on purpose. However, there have been several times at various places on-post when I have had to ask soldiers to tame down their conversations within the obvious earshot of my small children. They always politely apologize and sheepishly comply, but why is there such an increasing lack of discretion about using such language in public, family-centric gathering places? It wasn’t this way when I was a kid!

Litter, second-hand smoke, booming loud music from cars, unpicked-up dog poop, PG-13 movies playing on big screen TVs at the PX that subject small children to sexual and violent content deemed inappropriate for children . . . and the list goes on and on. It either all adds up to define a culture that is increasingly inconsiderate to the discretion of others or proof that I have out lived my ability to be tolerant. Is it me, Lord? Is it me!?!

In Saint Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, he writes, “Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also consider the interests of others.” In other words, it’s OK to put your shopping cart in the closest shopping cart receptacle. God doesn’t expect you hike your cart all the way back to the storefront. But for Pete’s sake, don’t leave it slopped in the middle of the lot as you drive away. And, no it’s not being considerate to prop it against a curb. So, I think if you can understand Paul’s point about balancing your own personal convenience with the welfare of others as applied to shopping carts, hopefully you can see how it applies to many other aspects of everyday life.

I am still young enough to know that when I point an arthritic finger at someone else I have three arthritic fingers pointing back at me. So, youngins of all ages, please accept the rant of a not-yet-too-old man in the spirit in which it is intended and let us all work together to try to cultivate a more considerate society.

Peace and blessings!

Prophecy, by Alex Henderson

Yea, saith the Lord thy God: I look at the people. I look unto those who cannot do things. I look unto those that are struggling, saith the Lord. I look unto those who are financially down, down, down, in their finances, saith the Lord. I look unto those who are not able to help themselves, and I put out my mighty strong right hand and pull them up into the place, saith thy God, where they will rejoice in me and they will see my face, see my eyes, see my person, see my knowledge, see my understanding, and see my love and comfort for them.

For they travail and they travail and they travail, essentially thinking the Lord has forgotten me. But no, no no; I have not forgotten you, saith thy God. I'm truly with you, saith thy God. And I am proud of you, saith the Lord. For you are children of the family of the Most, Most, Most High God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three in one, saith the Lord.

I will put my arms around you and I will comfort you, and you will be strong—a strong weapon in me for the end times. For we will come against the enemy of our souls and scatter them. And they run one way; and they run seven ways when we all get together in unity, saith the Lord. And you will be unified with me. And when you're unified in me, we will be a weapon so that the enemy will run and tremble before us. And we will be the mighty army of the Living God. And those who do not think that I can do this: I CAN do this.

Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus

Fatherlessness, Homosexuality, and a New Grace

So few people, even ministers, intimately know the Heavenly Father. Every person needs the Heavenly Father, needs Him desperately and needs Him fully. Every person would do well to get to know Him as intimately as possible. It's only through the graceful transference of His nature and love that we, the Body of Christ, can become real sons and real ministers of God's real love.

Only the Heavenly Father's heart and Spirit can cure fatherlessness.

Fatherlessness is disconnection with the father heart and Father heart of God. And fatherlessness is the plague and curse of the nations right now; and homosexuals are the orphans that Christ wants us, the Body of Christ, to love. In stating this, please note: Homosexuals are not exclusively the orphans of the world, but are noticeably orphans along with others who have either been or have felt outcast from the world, the church and the love and/or grace of God. Fatherlessness creates orphans and orphan spirits, and such brokenness of heart is commonly and easily seen within the homosexual community.

To love the hurting of the world (and the church) we must know the love of God. To know the love of God is to know the Father heart of Christ. Coming into intimate relationship with the Father heart of Christ patches up our hurts and heals our wounds. As we become more and more restored, we become increasingly useful envoys and revealers of God's gift to humanity: the Heavenly Father's heart Himself as seen in Christ, as seen within the sons of God.

The Father heart of Christ will be the next true and powerful visitation of God's grace upon planet earth. Now is the time to seek the Heavenly Father's beautiful heart. And in the seeking, we will become healers of broken people and fathers to orphaned men and women.

Ascend The Hill - Hallelujah! What A Savior

Paddy Kelly - Pray Pray Pray