Leave it Like it is

“The God who spoke light into existence, saying, “Let light shine from the darkness” is the very One who sets our hearts ablaze to shed light on the knowledge of God’s glory revealed in the face of Jesus, the Liberating King. But this beautiful treasure is contained in us – cracked pots made of earth and clay – so that the transcendent character of this power will be clearly seen as coming from God and not from us”
(2 Corinthians 4:6-7, The Voice Translation).

One Thing I Know for Sure

You all know my friend Mike by now, he’s a frequent guest contributor. I really love his post below, mostly because it does what all great writing does: it provides both an invitation and a confrontation. Enjoy! You can follow Mike on twitter here.

One thing I know for certain in life is that every human being is an addict. We’re all addicted to something: Drugs, Alcohol, Sex, Money, Power, Status, especially our own ways of thinking. Addiction is just a way of providing ourselves with a self-cure. We don’t know how to live with the pain and frustration of life and so we create ways to self-cure. We make an idol out of these things because we don’t know how to deal with the fact that life is painful, frustrating, ambivalent, and hard.

One thing I also know is that while we all try to protect ourselves from ourselves with a self-cure, we also protect ourselves from others. We hide ourselves from others because the shame is too messy and we don’t want other people to be offended by our mess. What things like shame and addiction and violence reveal are the ways in which we protect ourselves from others and them from us. The famous Philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre once said that, “Hell is other people.” I don’t think we really believe that. I think what we really believe is, Hell is our need and dependence upon other people.

The Apostle Paul, in Philippians, shares an interesting tidbit about Jesus when he says,

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

Rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

Paul uses an interesting word when he says he made himself nothing. In Greek, this is translated kenosis. Kenosis is a word that describes self-emptying. On the Cross, Jesus empties himself for the sake of humanity.

Story telling is an interesting thing because if we are self-protective and if we protect ourselves from others, then our stories will often negate the things that we ourselves don’t want to see and we shape it to how others want to hear. But when we tell our stories honestly, truly honestly, like when we sit before a therapist two things occur:

1. The fragments of our stories our picked up when we have our, “A-HA” moments. When we tell ours stories, sometimes unconscious things become conscious and we finally see with clarity. Storytelling becomes a cure for our self-protection.


2. Storytelling becomes the way in which we are known. All of our intimacy issues are being worked through when we honestly tell our stories. All of the things in which we are ashamed of, guilty of, and all of our addictions and violence are revealed.

The other interesting thing about story is that when we tell our stories, when we empty ourselves and give the gift of our stories to others, The Crucified Christ shows up. Because when we empty ourselves out, God shows up to pick up the fragments of ourselves and God shows up to the pick up the fragments of our relationships. Storytelling is one of God’s cures for the idols we make in our self-cures.

When we honestly tell our stories about our addictions and struggles and frustrations, God shows up to pick up the fragments of our lives and delivers us from all the self-destructive things we do to protect ourselves from ourselves. When we tell our stories The Crucified Christ is there to meet us and deliver us. When we tell our stories about the things that we have done and how they have made us hide from others, The Crucified Christ meets us there and brings us together.

Source: The Actual Pastor by Mike Friesen

Mike Friesen's post on addiction
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Now is the time.

Melissa offered me some amazing verses of encouragement tonight. Here they are:

Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the Lord Almighty.
Haggai 2:4

The Lord gave this command to Joshua son of Nun: “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I promised them on oath, and I myself will be with you.”
Deuteronomy 31:23

And he became more and more powerful, because the Lord God Almighty was with him.
2 Samuel 5:10

David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished.
1 Chronicles 28:20
*Great fatherly advice

So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.
Zechariah 4:6

The Armor of God
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Ephesians 6:10-20

I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:10-13

Test me, Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for I have always been mindful of your unfailing love and have lived in reliance on your faithfulness.
Psalm 26: 2, 3

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalm 139: 23-24

The Crickets Have Arthritis

Shane Koyczan
This may be use a bit off base, but his guy has such amazing passion.
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