Losses and Gains: What Really Matters?

Phillipians 3: 7-9 "But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. "

A few years ago I left the University of Ca, Irvine to take care of my mother who had been diagnosed with dementia. I thought I would work from home, and I got the idea to start a Christmas decoration business. I learned a great deal, and frankly, as new business ventures go, I was able to figure out how to obtain ornaments from Ukraine, and even though it took a while to figure out all the intricate details of importing goods, I had a worthy supply of the ornaments for a fairly low investment.

Ah but there was so much I didn't know in the sales department, and I was spread too thin trying to buy, import, sell, ship, invoice, etc. After about four years I closed the business. Now I have thousands of Christmas ornaments in storage; beautiful, hand-painted orbs of Christmas joy, and I am unable to unload anywhere. I've tried all sorts of things, and I will keep on trying, but what was once a great asset I now count as a large loss.

Don't cry for me though; I am okay with it. Eventually we'll find a buyer or two. It makes me wonder how those guys on the storage auction shows get rid of the things they find. I'm pretty sure they have people who do nothing but find buyers for forgotten inventories. My daughter says she has an idea for selling them, and we'll give her a shot at it (We welcome your suggestions too, by the way)!

Sometimes we fill our lives with things that seem important at the time, but end up having little or no value. More than just tangible objects, we fill our lives with thoughts and activities that ultimately yield very little long-lasting value. We live when leisure time is at an all-time high, but at the same time, there are thousands of people who are without work, homeless, hungry, and without an education. How much money does a hit movie make? Hundreds of millions, and often over a billion! Imagine what would happen if the local food banks received such funding.

Eventually we will all come to an end to our lives, and beyond that, Christians believe in life after death in union with Christ for eternity. Others believe in reincarnation, and some say that life now is all there is, and once you die, lights out. Whatever the final scenario turns out to be, there is still this thing called life right now.

Human endeavors, even the greatest of books, monuments, and ideas all fade away. Even scientific progress seems to need to be "rediscovered" from time to time. So what does that leave for us? I believe we need to spend this time finding out what really matters. For me, pursuing a relationship with God seems tantamount in importance. Passing on my thoughts to you is part of that pursuit.

Whatever you decide, it is never a bad idea to examine the things that occupy your mind, and re-prioritize to higher purposes. Assess if the things you are doing now are your best use of time, and then act accordingly. Consider a more spiritual approach to life.

Maddie Goes Swimming

Proverbs 22:3 and Proverbs 27:12
"The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty."

Every morning my wife gets out of bed first and takes our dogs out back. Sometimes I wake, sometimes not. This morning I got out of bed at the same time, and was about to get dressed when I heard a commotion out back; our youngest dog, Maddie fell into the pool!

Now Maddie is a funny little Yorkie. She is a rescue we've had for about a year. When we got her, she was completely wild. She had been a puppy-mill breeding dog, and had never experienced any kindness, as near as we could discern. Over the year, she has really responded well to our affection, and has become a very loving pup to us. She needs work with others, but we are amazed at all she has learned. Her protective instincts are strong, as she tries to distance herself from danger. That's not always the smartest choice, but usually the easiest.

She has this one dangerous habit. She will always walk along the edge of the pool. So when Gwen took her out this morning, Maddie got in trouble. The forecast for today was for high winds. Gwen turned her back on Maddie for a moment to crank in the awning. the noise startled Maddie, who jumped back... and thus took an early morning swim.

Fortunately Gwen was there to rescue her, but whether Maddie learned an important lesson from the experience only time will tell. Hopefully next time she is in the yard she will start giving the pool a larger buffer-zone.

The verse we quote today is interesting in that it appears twice in fairly close proximity in the book of Proverbs. Repeated text is not that unusual in the Bible, but it is interesting to note that the writer uses it twice indicating he places value in its teaching. You can see why in my illustration of Maddie's morning dunking. Her initial reaction, the simplest one that relied on her instincts, got her in deep water. In time she will learn that a more prudent, thoughtful approach might be of value.

We often react before we think. You can probably envision situations in your own life where you wish you had thought things through a little better. You may also find that certain activities lead you to stray from living the life you should. Avoiding the things that lead you astray and into danger may be the first step in beating the obstacles that cause you to stumble. Experience teaches us to be less reactionary, and more careful. Think about how you can avoid or better prepare for dangers that lead you to make the wrong response. Set up your refuge; your "buffer-zones." Identify the things that lead you astray. Set yourself on a course to higher goals. Be more mindful, and you will have a better chance to succeed.

Human 2.0, or Christianity Explained

Romans 6: 1-4
"What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."

My wife, Gwen, and I were discussing the point of my last writing, where I spoke about how it was impossible for humans to live a "Holy" life. And as is often the case, I realized I left a good part of what I believe out of the discussion. I realize that I was essentially making the argument that sets up chapter six of Paul's letter to the Romans. Being human, it is impossible for us to live sin free. So do we just keep on sinning?

You can see how the idea might find footing; If God, through the act of His Grace, forgives our sins, then doesn't it seem like the more we sin, the more grace we get?

Paul makes the case that if we, in true repentance for our human flaws, come to accept the gift of forgiveness, the forgiveness is a complete package, covering both the sins of our past, but also the sins of our future.

As someone who is trying to be an instrument of clarity on Christian philosophy, I do not want to write anything that would take away the real simplicity of the Christian message. There's plenty of that going around already, as misguided pastors, filmmakers, secular publishers and even atheists try to explain Christianity. I've written this before, and I will continue to believe that Christianity is really a simple faith to understand. But you also have to accept a few premises to the argument:

First,that God is real

Second, God has moved toward man in love.

Third, he became a man (flesh incarnate in church-speak) in the person of Jesus Christ.

If you can open your mind to these three ideas, then understanding the faith called Christianity is easy. The Bible is essentially a gathering of inspired documents that chronicle God's relationship with man. Oh, it says a lot more about him, such as being the creator of the universe, his omnipotence, his constant presence, and so on, but the main theme is about our mutual relationship.

First, he creates our world, and delegates responsibility for it to man (a task for which we're just beginning to understand the magnitude). We immediately show we are flawed, but rather than toss us away like the first batch of bad waffles, he decides to do something amazing. He says, "I can work with this."

So man gets to thinking we're pretty hot stuff, and we tend to forget him. So God tells us this:

"Okay, I am going to let you grow. Become a nation. Try to run yourselves. You will forget me. So I will give you some rules to follow. You'll forget them too. You want a king to enforce those rules for you? Sure, I'll give you one if you think that will help. It won't. You see, I know you. And I know your flaws. "

"So here, I'll make you a deal. After you've tried all these other things, I will come to earth in the form of a son. And yes, I know you: you will find a way to kill him too. But here's the thing: When you do try to turn your back on me again, this time you will fail. That son is going to live, despite your flaws. He is going to take on all your sins, all your shortcomings. You will insult him, strip him, humiliate him, hate him, make fun of him, beat him, and nail him to a tree. Even then you will taunt him, drain out his blood... every horror man can heap on him, you will do."

"And after all that, He (I) will forgive you. "

"Even then, after he comes back to life, after he walks among you a second time, most of you won't recognize him. After a while, He'll come home to me."

"But..."

"A few of you will realize what happened. A few of you will understand. And my deal is this: In spite of your sins, all you have to do is accept who Jesus is, admit your sins, and accept his forgiveness. If you do that, then You and I are going to be fine. You will be a new version. 'Human 2.0,' if you will. No longer bound by the sins and errors of your way, the old you dies as Jesus died. Your life is now new, changed, and amazing. Not just for this world, but for eternity."

So, now, as a Christian, you are a new creation. That should inspire you to become more like Christ. We "press toward the mark", as Paul goes on to write to the Phillipians.

Yes, even then, you will still fail. But now you know those failures (hopefully fewer and farther between) are forgiven.

So embrace the new you. You have been given a great deal of forgiveness and acceptance, and most of all, eternal love. It should inspire you to do the same for others you meet. Instead of passing judgement, you understand. You give up condemnation for loving.

You are a new person. Show the world what God would want you to be.

What Really Is A Holy Life?

2 Timothy 1:9
"He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time"

Of course the question that begs to be asked from this scripture is "exactly what constitutes a 'Holy Life?'"

There are thousands of people who would give you a pretty radical view of what constitutes a holy life. Take a look at a lot of the terrorists: There are those who would tell you that their motivation is to become holy; to earn favor with Allah or God (remember not all religious terrorists are Muslim), and they act to cleanse the world of the unfaithful.

Well, if truth be told, what is really happening is that a large number of weak-willed people allow themselves to believe a bunch of religious justification for horrible acts at the bidding of evil leaders. They tell their blind followers to do something in the name of a diety. Maybe they are motivated by some screwed-up sense of religious obedience. Usually though, it is more about having power, at the expense of innocents.

But that's the most extreme level of how people think they are living "holy lives." It often comes dressed in far more subtle ways. I am often at a loss to explain why homosexuality is the preferred sin to justify condemnation of people in church communities. I've been at churches where gay staff members and ministers have been rejected by senior staff in a church, who in turn have affairs with their secretaries, steal from the offering plates, and callously destroying lives around them. I cannot begin to count the highly visible celebrity ministers who have been brought down by their own indiscretions. But they never seem to learn. They often resurface, outwardly penitent, but every bit as judgemental as before.

Or would a holy life be someone who likes to pray publicly, insist on everyone observing their holidays as they scoff those of other cultures? Or how about the "recovered alcoholic" who is quick to condemn someone else for having a glass of wine with dinner? Prevaricators, Polluters, Pornographers, and Politicians all hold their heads up higher than everyone else around them, so they can be admired, idolized and imitated. They play off the envy of their peers, and promote themselves shamelessly.

I think it's pretty clear: a lot of people leading "Holy Lives" are simply playing "holier than you." I think it just isn't so. I don't believe anyone, not even the "holiest" of us on earth can stand before God and say they live a holy life. Why is that, you ask? Because we're all fallible, mortal, humans. Everyone has at least one downfall, and most of us have several. We want things that we cannot afford, we seek approval from others, we crave fame or money or care more for our pets than people we know. Thousands of sins, those errors of judgement and hurtful decisions we made can never be erased.

Holiness is not something we can attain by ourselves. The term assumes there is, somewhere, some entity that has the right to confer that judgement upon us. I mean, why would holiness be a desirable attribute if it simply means we obtained such status in the eyes of someone who is equally flawed as we are.

No, a holy life isn't something we can make happen. But that's not to say we cannot have a holy life. The crazy thing is though, the only way to get it is to realize we cannot make it ourselves. It is when we acknowledge that we are flawed, and that only through the forgiveness of the completely un-flawed, can we be made holy. That's what the term "Grace" means. God, the perfect entity, grants us status as "made holy" and our shortcomings are overlooked.

If nothing else comes out of this season of Lent, let this be the thing you gain; the knowledge that God, by coming to earth as one of us, understands our sins (flaws), and forgives them. No radical act, no rebellious movement, no act of valor or generosity on our part will ever erase your transgressions. What was done is done, and cannot be undone. But in God, it doesn't matter. Give it a try. Give him the chance to make you holy.

You will live the better for it.

IMAO

Deuteronomy 6: 6-7
"These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."

Here's the problem with little blogs like mine: I may be wrong.

I know. When one writes what they hope to be an inspirational piece, you want to impart some great truth of the world. But the fact is, I could have it all wrong. I'm pretty sure I have a couple things I believe that are probably incorrect.

So I have a disclaimer I like to impart every once in a while: If you think I am wrong, please tell me. Let's talk about it. I have had several people tell me they disagree with me over the years. Some have done it gently, others not so much. But if I am wrong about anything I write, I like to encourage my readers to share their thoughts. I welcome comments and I read them all. I seldom delete comments, unless someone is just absolutely over-the-top foul, hateful, or otherwise downright nasty. But I still read them. I do try to understand, and I do re-examine what I write and think at your urging.

Once or twice I have been convinced. I change my view, and have even deleted entries I determine to be wrong, thanks to your input, or that nagging little voice God puts in my ear to reconsider.

There is a popular text abbreviation people use these days: IMHO. In My Humble Opinion. But I have come to realize that in many cases, the opinions expressed are far from humble ones. I have seldom seen anyone's mind get changed in any online discussion. It just doesn't happen. In most cases, IMAO would be more appropriate. In My Arrogant Opinion.

The scripture quote I posted above was the quote of the day on BibleGateway.com. I didn't set out to find a verse to twist it to match what I write. I try very hard to not do that. Instead, what I write is usually in reaction to a verse I read, and so today I was led to the topic of discussing matters of faith. Thus, my intro.

To me, Internetspirations have been a place where I can go to express myself open and honestly. Occasionally something will happen that will trigger a thought. Often the craziest things, like some reaction my dog has, or one of my weird dreams will set me to writing. Along the way, I learn.

Internetspirations has been online since 1995 in one form or another, and over the past 20 years, I have learned a lot from it. I hope you have found it thought provoking too. Hopefully, every writer learns from taking the time to put pen to paper... or keyboard to blog sphere.

Matters of faith need to be discussed. There are some powerful voices in the world that seek to shut out voices of faith other than their own. Read the Bible, read discussions, talk about what you read with friends and family, and be open to hear the truth, even when it disagrees with your first understanding. That's the only way thoughts transform from simple words on the page to actually making a difference in your life. Trust God's word that the truth contained therein is strong enough to stand against the tides of popular opinion.

I believe in its integrity. IMHO. Really.

Avoid Joining the Stampede

Proverbs 15

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.
The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.
The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.

No rational person seeks to stir up anger. Someone who is angry is unpredictable; there are many directions they can take to vent their feelings.

That's not to say there are people out there who don't enjoy stirring the pot. Just because it is irrational, there are still those who enjoy doing it. And those who do incite anger can often help direct the flow of the reaction they create, because even though some individuals may not choose to vent in the expected manner and follow their prodding, often times enough people follow to make it worth the inciter's effort.

Ever watch a stampede? One of my favorite movie scenes in the old classic "How the West Was Won" shows a herd of buffalo incited to stampede toward a railroad construction site. Buffalo, by nature simple, grass gnawing beasts, are incited through fear to plow over train cars and water towers; driven to this crazy behavior because they were incited and directed down to the job site.

Of course the best way to see the scene is in the manner for which it was filmed: Cinerama, which was basically three cameras lined up to make a super-wide screen that wraps around the viewer. It was early Hollywood tech to simulate a virtual "You Are There" experience. So it comes as no surprise that in the widest visual perspective of the scene, you can see more than what was intended. And yes, in the middle of this wild, crazy stampede, you can look off to the side of the screen and see one or two animals walking along casually, refusing to go along with the madness. (At the time the scene was shot, the buffalo were actually cattle in make-up. The endangered bison were too few in number to play themselves. They had stand in actors instead)!

But the point is, even when those who would stir us to anger manage to sway a large portion of the population, you don't have to join the stampede.

I think there are times to act on our anger, but I also think that when we are angry, it becomes hard for us to determine just how much reaction is too much. That's why the psalmist encourages our hearts to choose a gentle answer in the face of wrath. Now, I've been around long enough to realize that doesn't always work. Sometimes a gentle word doesn't stand up against someone who is just crazy wicked. We've probably all tried at some point to turn the other cheek, only to have it slapped harder than the first.

But the takeaway here is that harboring a spirit that chooses knowledge over folly, life and peace over the perverse voices in our world is the ultimate winner.

This Lent, as you continue your 40 day journey to become more Christ-like, work to be a soothing voice in a world gone mad. Respond to the rally cries with calm assurance, and let God take the duty of judgement against the wicked. It's such a liberating thing to release the need to respond to evil. Turn away from it, and focus on the Glory of God.

Come Forth As Gold

Job 23:10-11

"But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside."

What a remarkable thing for an individual to be able to say: Whenever your faith is tested, to come forth as gold! How I wish that were the case for me, and I suspect most of us feel that way.

This is an era when it is easy to turn aside. Distractions abound. I have an iPhone, an iPad, several televisions, podcasts, Facebook and the games with friends that can all pull my attention away at a moment's notice. And some of those attention grabbing things can be pretty upsetting.

Once the people of the world could only concern themselves with the events of their local neighborhood. It was long before we had the ability to learn news across vast distances, or had governments who could anger governments on the other side of the world, with the ability to throw hurt our way. Where once the threat was from marauding invaders in the neighborhood, threats now come from everywhere; even from space debris!

My dreams are often filled with thousands of people. Well, last night I was singing doo-wop with Robert Downey Jr., but in most cases, I find myself plodding through throngs of people as I attempt to complete some simple task, like get back to my car. I seldom complete the task. Even in my dreams distraction from my goal is commonplace.

I would love to be more focused on Christ and follow his steps more closely. It is a matter of discipline. I need to set aside the computers, the phones, the devices of distraction and retreat. Making that happen is going to take some lifestyle changes, but that is truly the purpose of Lent. We go through this 40 day cycle every year in order to reflect on our walk with God, and reaffirm our faith.

When I was a child in school, (I was raised Catholic and changed to a more Protestant point of view later) Lent was a time to give up some small thing that would remind me that with each urge to have the thing I forfeited, I would be reminded of Christ. There is certainly nothing wrong with that, and I know a number of people from all denominations who do just that very thing even in their adult life.

But Lent can be so much more. It can be a true retreat for your soul. It can be a time to really look inwardly at all the things that tug for attention, and reconsider the implications of following those urges.

Even now, as I write this, I have three small dogs at my feet urging me to come downstairs so they can have their dinner. Don't worry. They are not starved for a meal. These three jokers have it pretty good, food-wise. But there is also another thing they bring to my party; Life. I have been entrusted with their care, and I see fulfilling that care as part of my stewardship.

Friends and family too, have need of my time. It is important to respond to them because we all need a little soul-stroking from time to time from our friends and family.

The point is, When we take the time to focus on our relationship with God, only then can we see the difference between the things that would distract us, and the things God would have us be and do.

Take the next few weeks to really give Lent its due. Use the time to get back into doing what you are being called to do, and not let the distractions eat up your time. You will be happier for it, and blessed.