Reflections on "Walking with God" (2)

Walking with God

Prelude,

Does God Still Speak?

(excerpt) I was talking on the phone yesterday with a young woman who was interviewing me for an article of some sort. She asked what this book was about, and I tried to explain it in this way: "This is a sort of tutorial on how to walk with God. And how to hear His voice." I told her several stories. There was a long pause, that pregnant sort of pause that tells me I've just hit upon a great need and a great doubt. Finally, she asked, "What do you say to people who say, 'God isn't that intimate with us?'" I had a hunch -- it was something in the tone of her voice -- that she hadn't experienced the Christian life in the ways I was describing. Maybe because she'd never been told this is available, maybe it's as simple as the fact that no one had ever shown her how.

Is God really that intimate with us? That's a good place to begin. (end excerpt)

Is intimacy with God real? According to Psalm 139, God knows us intimately. But is there more to it? Are we meant to have intimacy with Him? 

Psalm 73 seems more than clear on the subject: "I am continually with You; You hold my right hand...For behold, those who are far from You shall perish...But for me it is good to be near God..."

Intimacy with God is the purpose of our lives. Jesus says that eternal life is to know God. A loving relationship must involve communication. Without it, there is no evidence of love. What kind of friend can a person possibly be if he or she never speaks to the other...ever? Or what kind of father could one possibly be if he remains silent towards his own children?

The answer to both of these questions is neither a good friend nor father.

But God is our Father, and Jesus calls us His friends.

God speaks to us.

God speaks to us through the Bible, but how many people see this as His only words? 

The problem with this is that the Bible itself disagrees with that assumption (remember the power of assumptions?)

The Bible is filled with stories of God speaking to His people. Yet still many would say that "it is different now," and that "God doesn't work that way anymore." 

Are we reading the Bible as a book of exceptions?!

Or are we reading it for what the Bible itself claims to be: a book of examples.

God speaks to His people . The Bible is filled (from the greats like David all the way down to the "little" people like Hagar) with examples of what Walking with God looks like; NOT exceptions.

"But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hears his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father...And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice."


Jesus offers intimacy.

To whom?

Anyone.

What does that involve?

Hearing His Voice.


We were made for intimacy with God,

He wants intimacy with us.

Reflections on "Walking with God"

Walking with God

Prelude,

The Power of Assumptions

(excerpt) "I ran into an old acquaintance at the bookstore today. Actually, i was nearly out the door when he called my name, so i turned back in to say hello and chat for a few moments. He seemed...not well. Half the man he used to be. I wondered why. I expected him to say that he had suffered some major loss. A loved one, i feared. Or maybe it was a prolonged illness. Not that he was visibly deteriorating as some do in the late stages of cancer. But there was something about his countenance, a loss of some essential part of himself. You know the look. Many people have it, actually. It's a confused and disheartened look. As we talked, it became clear that he had simply been eroded by a number of confusing years strung together by disappointment.

As i left the store, i found myself thinking, He held such promise. What happened?

It has to do with assumptions."

--John Eldredge

Am I the one with that confused and disheartened look? Has the stress and confusion of the past 3 weeks taken such a toll? I believe it has. I look back at the last 3 weeks and see wreckage. And, although I’d like to ignore it, it really does have to do with assumptions. Or maybe its just 1 assumption…

Maybe it has just been the 1 assumption that A+B=C; that because I love God, He will bless whatever my choices are. And here lies the shortcoming: I have forgotten that there is a whole lot more to my relationship with God than just trying to be a good person.

Father, I want to know Your voice and Follow YOU.

(John 10:1-4, 9-10)

Tinnitus of the Heart

TCSPZDT7FAUD 
"Wow, what is Tinnitus?"

Its funny you should ask...

Tinnitus is that wonderful ringing in your ears that seems only to last long enough to annoy you thoroughly.

The catch here is that although tinnitus may be a physical condition, we are also experiencing a parallel disease spiritually; and it may be the most deadly weapon of all.

We have been blown off course by a slight breeze that hides a strong current under the surface. 

What we are dealing with is a disease of distraction.

This disease has two parts. The first is the slight breeze; the ringing in the ears if you will. 

This is the part that catches our attention.

The ringing may translate into slight frustration or moodiness. Maybe you just seem more tired than normal, or your not getting as much done as you planned on getting done. 

Overall, the ringing translates into a simple inconvenience of some sort--something that can be handled. 

The interesting thing about the physical tinnitus is that it is usually the result of another event, an event which destroys cells in your ears.

The destruction is caused by excessive noise. This loud noise overloads the hearing mechanism, resulting in death.

The funny thing about this death is that it's permanent, and we have to take these symptoms of frustration, etc... seriously. 

Our heart is crying out for change.  

The cause of this death of our hearts is distraction. We are distracted from God's plan by the most harmless things, or at least seemingly harmless.

I set aside yesterday as a day of rest, only to find that by the end of the day i felt just as worn out as i had all week. The reason for this was that i was giving into the "harmless" distraction of clean television (to be exact, the animated series wolverine and the x-men)

Now, nothing seemed amiss while I was watching tv, in fact i was enjoying being able to sit and relax.

BUT (and there's always a 'but' to these situations) the feeling of relaxing was so momentary and quickly fleeting that this process began to distort my vision. 

We begin to remove true relaxation and fellowship with God, and replace it with distraction. 

Now, don't exclude yourself too soon. This distraction doesn't have too be tv (although it probably is for you if you think about it) and it doesn't even have to be media related! A distraction is simply something that gives you a false sense of fulfillment, and more importantly hinders you from glorifying God. 

I know that in my distracted state, I cannot bring myself to even do homework, let alone be able to connect with God enough to write this blog.

This disease rears its ugly head most often in times of high pressure, or when attempting to relax after times of high pressure.

As this process continues to subtly wreak havoc, we eventually find ourselves lost and confused with only the faint memory of the spiritual life we used to have, and not clue how to return to what once was.

This is the answer: we have been thrown off course by distraction, and the way back is to eliminate those distractions.

So maybe its time to ask yourself some hard questions:

What is the biggest distraction in your life right now?

How far have you been pushed off of your course, your pursuit of Christ?

What is keeping you from deeper intimacy with God?

It is time for action.

Start to destroy the harbingers of death in your life, and you will find life again.

Welcome God in. He stands at the door and knocks, and your distractions are barricading that door more and more as you let them rule over your.

Ask the people closest to you to be honest about the things they see in your life that are taking you away from God, and ask them to let you know when you show signs that your ears are ringing (i.e. moodiness, tiredness, etc...)

Examine your attitude at the beginning, middle, and end of each day to see if you've been blown off course.

I'm in.

Are you?

The Battle before the Battle (uh...really?) Pt.1

We step back into Po's adventure right where we left off: Po looks up from his rocket propelled chair only to find out that he has been chosen to become the Dragon Warrior.


 Po is amazing and excited by the fame that he steps into, but doesn't realize the implications of this massive calling.

After Po is paraded through the show grounds, he is brought to the training grounds and thrust into intensive training. By training i really mean something in-between comic relief and torture. Po is subjected to extremely dangerous exercises without the skill or experience to handle any one of them. 


Then to top it all off, he confidence is blasted by over heard conversations and direct confrontations with one message:


You don't belong here.

Don't we all go through times like this? 
Times when we have just stepped into something so unbearably exciting, and then the world does everything it can to steal our excitement, and the enemy does everything he can to lets us know we're in the wrong place. 


Peter writes: "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you."


Peter precedes this remark, telling us that trials are for the testing of our faith. 


Just as Po's faith is being tested, 
so is ours.

Unfortunately, just as many of us have experienced, Po's enthusiasm is significantly diminished by the end of the first day.


I've experience this more than once.


I've heard that haunting voice saying:
 "you don't belong here"
"you can't handle this"


And i have believed those words too many times.


The battle for our future is raging as i write. It is more serious than any war that humans have fought, and it is more constant than anything else in this world.


Are you prepared for the battle?

Destiny and.... Noodles?

I know. I know what your saying right now.

"Really VJ? You really chose Kung-fu Panda as your first movie to look into for deeper meaning?"

Yea...


I went there...




If that doesn't quench your curiosity than keep reading and stay tuned for more exploration into
Kung-Fu Panda.




We are first introduced to Po in an extravagant dream of his. A dream filled with kung-fu, and feats of greatness. 


 He wants to be a great kung-fu master. He longs for greatness, almost as if he is destined for it, but ,of course, reality sets in as Po wakes up from his dream. Po wakes up to a life that is centered around his job and controlled by pleasing his "father" who is (also his boss) clearly not his true father. 


 He has spent his entire life being fed the lie that he is already living out his destiny in his mediocre, unhappy, passionless noodle-making existence. He is told that any dream outside of this mediocrity is foolish. 


Stop


Can we see ourselves in this yet?


Can we step back for a minute and put this tale in perspective?


I know that i can see myself just a few years ago buying into the same lie that Po bought into: that i was destined for mediocrity. That i could spend my whole life consumed by the day to day business of work and living in America and i would never have reason to do anything more significant than that.


Are you living consumed in the day to day? Are you (as Colossians 3 say) shuffling along with your head down, only focusing on the things that pertain to you?


Have your dreams been crushed and shattered by the wrecking crew to disappointment, or the tsunami of fear?


Have your passion and your dream become simply a passing memory?


Are they only something from your youth? Something you matured out of?


You have been fed the lie of the enemy.
The lie that you are not made for anything greater than where you are right now,
that your not going anywhere in life.


Have you been buying into that lie?


Has the lie become a reality?


Only you can decide

Coming soon: More behind the Movie (MbM)

Is there ever a reason to watch a movie more than once? 

I never really thought so. 

Then I began to observe the feelings that other people expressed when they returned to re-watch a movie. Some would do so simply because of the group of people they were enjoying it with, while others just loved it; whether they were by themselves or with friends. I noticed more and more people had these specific movies that they could watch 100 times and not get tired of. It is this occurrence that I want to dwell on, study, and experience together with you.

Now that i think about it, one of my favorites is Braveheart. I feel like the movie is telling a part of my story that has already happened, and a part that will happen.

How about you? Do you feel this way about your favorites?

Is there a united reason for people like me?

 I believe so. 

I believe that the movies we will never get tired of, whether new or old, are that way because they in some way touch our hearts. Whether it is our dreams, passions, imaginations, or our past, something about the movie deeply relates to our lives.

That is why I believe that these movies have significance that is worth exploring and experiencing again and again through a new lens.

So, coming soon i will begin publishing my deeper journey through some more popular movies in which we can see the human story.

Comment here or on Facebook with your favorite movie and maybe i will take a deeper journey through those as well.
Or
Send me your own deeper journey through one of your favorite movies and i will publish it on
The PlunGE!

Please send your deeper journey to tunkfd@optonline.net

Thank you for your contributions!

Heart Cry

God, these are the thing my heart longs for:  

(hear my cry)

To know you more everyday and never fall back into only knowing about you;  

To be broken over injustice of any kind and over any kind of sin in my life;

To be joined in a community of believers who are fully (heart and soul, as David's armor bearer) committed to each other, and to be a part of leading that community;

To be joined in relationship with my future wife in a way that most fully acts out the love of Christ for His people;

To be used greatly in the radical life change of others around the world; 

To impact the world and unite the body to do the same;

To be humble above all else in service and in everything I do;

To lead a family who's only objective is bringing God glory by whatever means necessary;

To live a life that draws the questioner closer, not pushing the back into darkness;

To create a home environment that is welcoming although maybe not pretty,

and

To give--no, not just give--to EXPLODE with extravagant SACRIFICE for family, community, neighborhood, church, the lost, and the kingdom all for God's glory:

To give of myself as God constantly and eternally gives of Himself. 

  Hear my cry, Have your glory.

 

More to Life (cont.)

So we have searched and searched.  We are constantly looking for it. But what is it? That indescribable it that leaves a hole, no a desire

for more

A desire that we have tried again and again to quench. Into that hole we have poured money, never to be satisfied, just left with one feeling.

More

Some may think that this desire for more means more of what they are doing already. Others turn elsewhere. From money they turn to power, or to love, and the death trap has closed its grip.

As much as we do not want to hear these words,

we are living in death.

We have been imprisoned by these things. These things to which we keep turning to save us from our desire, our instinct that there is more to life. These things into which we keep giving and giving without receiving in return. To our detriment, we have been imprisoned not just in chains,

but in darkness

A darkness so blinding that there is no reason to assume that we are in chains. A prison so deeply hidden and entrenched that the very though of our restraints breaths of lunacy. But the definition of lunacy only stems from the status quo.

Darkness Creates Deception.

Darkness IS Deception.

A deception so powerful, that we have been utterly swept away from our original search for…

something more

That something that will fulfill our desire for more out of life.

And that something…

that something that has been missing all of your life. Evading your pursuit at every turn. That something that you are grasping for in the passion of true love, the pride of accomplishment, the leisure of a big wallet, and the bottom of a glass. That single something that you have turned up ever rock in search of.  

That something is LIFE.

True life.

All thirst for it.

Few find it.

Through it, everything else is made whole.

Made new...

This is where the healing begins

More to Life

Have you ever gotten that feeling that somehow, at some point in your life, that the wool has been pulled over your eyes? When you think back to your childhood you remember the dreams, the passions and the love you had for life; but where has it all gone? Does being a mature adult mean getting too caught up in the day's activities to dream bigger? Does becoming a "grown-up", that ever admired position in a child's eyes, mean becoming more focused on doing your duty and putting your job before your family? If that's the case then America's grown-ups are doing a great job.  If America's collective childhood dream was to become a nation filled with divorce, greed, hypocrisy, and a strong perversion of love and beauty, then bravo! Congratulations America, you've done it! You've worked hard, thought selfishly, and looked out for number one through and through and look at you now. Well aren't we proud...


theres more than this...

But there it is again...that lonely, quiet, broken and battered voice. That voice that has been stuffed down, shut up, put off, and insulted. That voice, no matter what it says, leaves you with one single, lingering thought...


That maybe, just maybe, there is something that you've been missing out on...