Just as it is ridiculous to think that you could bring a community together by standing on opposite sides of the street, hurling stones at one another, so it is for elected officials, who claim to want to bring the country together, while employing this same strategy from opposite sides of the aisle.
The only time I find genuine peace
Is when I’m with You
It is the only time I can
Cast off my burdens
Let down my guard
And be completely transparent
The only time I feel truly secure
Is when I’m with You
In Your presence
I am a child
Slow to speak
Wise to listen
And with nothing to prove
The only time life makes sense
Is when I’m with You
In Your realm
There is no shadow of turning
The truth stands unchallenged
And there is no place to hide
The only time I truly feel alive
Is when I’m with You
You are my refuge
You are my hope
You are my fulfillment
You are my destiny
Only You know the truth of my heart
So only You can love me for who I really am
Posted in Free Verse / Poetry | Leave a Comment »
In speaking to the religious establishment of His time, Jesus lamented their inability to “discern the signs of the times”. In the book of Isaiah (5:13) it speaks of God’s people going into exile due to their lack of understanding and in Hosea (4:6) it says that God’s people perish for their lack of knowledge (understanding). As a people who live in what has ironically been called “The Information Age”, I believe that we need to move beyond simply having the information, to a place of understanding and discernment. To that end, I felt led to share this list of distinctions that could be important.
The people of God must understand (or discern) the difference between:
Resting and slumber
Remorse and repentance
An experience and an encounter
Ritual and relationship
Peace and quiet
Pleasure and joy
Abundance and prosperity
Imagination and inspiration
Brokenness and depression
Being discerning and being critical
Being called and being commissioned
A visitation and a habitation
Tolerance and forgiveness
Spirituality & Christianity
Believing and trusting
Justice and mercy
Personality and anointing
Association and brotherhood
Information and understanding
A gesture and a commitment
The sin and the sinner
Petition and prayer
A wish and a hope
Affection and intimacy
Favor and good fortune
A blessing and comfort
Fellowship and friendship
Confidence and presumption
Knowledge and wisdom
Admiration and adoration
Reverence and submission
Humility and low self esteem
Cooperation and covenant
Grace and compromise
Ideas and revelation
Adrenaline and passion
Goals and covetousness
Being an heir and being a son (or daughter)
What is pleasing to the flesh and what is pleasing to the Spirit
A Savior and a Lord
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Years ago, the Lord showed me a picture of an oil painting, sitting on an old, chrome framed, yellow vinyl, kitchen chair. The chair was sitting out on the lawn, with masking tape across one corner of the paintings frame. As I pondered what the scene meant, I remembered hearing stories about people who’ve cleaned out attics and inadvertently sold valuable masterpieces, by artists like Rembrandt or Picasso; sometimes getting as little as five or ten dollars at a yard sale. Obviously, the people, who found those old pictures, had no idea of their value; and as I continued to meditate on this, a deeper understanding began to emerge.
The most obvious meaning was that God considers each of His children to be a masterpiece, regardless of whether they’ve ever been treated like one. Sadly, when you’ve been handled like old junk, it becomes easier to believe that’s what you are. But in truth, the real value of a masterpiece is not diminished by the failure of its beholder to understand it’s worth. It is the one who undervalues the artifact who ultimately suffers the loss.
Few would argue God’s credentials as a “Master” Creator; but just as it is with the Master Painters here on earth, some might want to quibble over His “greater” and “lesser” works. Yet to the artist, each work is an expression of their inner being, each is valuable and irreplaceable. One painting might get more attention than another, one may bring more profit, but each one is of equal value in reflecting the heart and vision of its creator. Undoubtedly, if those who looked upon such a painting, with untrained eyes, had known the name of the artist, they may have had some greater sense of its worth.
Genuine art lovers can often pick up subtle details in a picture that an unskilled or maybe even an uncaring eye might miss. They can often derive much more significance from a work than someone who only scans for the obvious; and so it is with us. We may not always see the beauty in people, but how often have we really looked for it. We may not always understand what the Creator was trying to convey to us, but simply knowing who created them should make these works valuable to us. While this may be difficult with some people, it may be most difficult as we look in the mirror. I sense that God’s heart is just as grieved when we don’t understand our own value to Him, as when we don’t see the value in others.
I believe that God wants us to be like the lovers of great art; to look deeply into His creation and to find Him in it. The scripture says that the invisible qualities of God are found in the things He created and that we were created in His own image. I sense that He is calling us to look past the obvious (love covers a multitude of sins) and to find the beauty He’s placed inside of each one of His children. Once we find it, I believe that He would have us cultivate (i.e. to shine the light on and water) it. Isn’t that what Jesus did? He didn’t focus on the flaws or mistakes, He treated each one as precious and valuable. We can see that people were transformed by that (e.g. the woman at the well, the woman taken from the bed of adultery, Zacchaeus…). Jesus told the apostles that people would know His followers by the way that they loved each other. Is that how people know us church folk? How much of a difference would it make if we sought the beauty that God placed in each person and if we truly valued them as a unique creation, from the hands of a Master Artist. If our hearts are going to align with His, we are going to have to become more passionate about those He created.
Posted in Heart of "The Father", Word Pictures | 4 Comments »
1. Impatience: One of the most prominent features of western culture is the ongoing quest to make everything faster and more convenient. Things like, stopping at toll booths, standing in line at a fast food counter or even writing on a piece of paper, are quickly becoming passé. Unfortunately, these “advances” also have the net effect of making us less tolerant for anything that isn’t convenient or instantly gratifying. This is problematic for “followers” of Christ, who are often required to wait on the Lord or be stilled by the knowledge that He is God. It is also in direct opposition to His character, which is ultimately supposed to be our destiny.
2. Self Sufficiency / Stubborn Independence: The United States was birthed in rebellion; and though most would argue that the tyranny of our early history was ample justification for it, that rebellious nature has engrained itself in our national character. American’s are famous for their brashness and their failure to adhere to conventional thought or established wisdom. As such, Americans seem to idolize the traits of stubborn independence and self-sufficiency. Of course, these traits stand in stark contrast to the character that Christ presented; as He spoke of coming to the Father like little children and allowed Himself to be a lamb led to slaughter. He said that He didn’t do anything that He didn’t see His Father do first and that apart from Him, we could do “nothing”. That is a picture of absolute dependence, which isn’t a portrait that most Americans would want to hang on their wall.
3. Market Based / Consumer Driven: Misguided ideas about evangelism have caused much of the western church to become market based and consumer driven. This causes ministers and ministries to fashion themselves after the whims of popular demand, instead of the unchanging character of God and His Spirit. It keeps them focused on cultural trends and marketing data, instead of on the Author and Finisher of our faith; and it transforms the church into more of a network than a family. Watering down the gospel certainly doesn’t make it any more palatable and it absolutely diminishes its potency.
4. Vanity / Insecurity: To some, vanity and insecurity might seem to be almost opposites, but in truth, they go hand-in-hand. Vanity is the exaggerated portrait that we try to paint when we fear that people would be disappointed if they could see us as we really are. Unless a person genuinely invests their sense of identity in what God says about them, they are bound to battle the very common fear that “if you really knew me, you wouldn’t love me”. Such deeply rooted insecurity breeds competition, jealousy, offense and results in a continual struggle for recognition, position and power. Sadly these things are commonplace in churches across America.
5. Comfort: Many would say that money is the god of western culture, but I would contend that at its root, the love of money is generally motivated by a deeper love of comfort. Though many Americans are willing to part with some amount of their money for charitable causes, I would suggest that few give to the point that it might affect their own level of comfort. For the follower of Christ, a love of comfort turns out to be a serious spiritual handicap; as the scripture tells us that what is pleasing to the flesh is not pleasing to the spirit; and that what is pleasing to the spirit is not pleasing to the flesh. Jesus told His followers that they would be hated for His sake and that anyone who was unwilling to take up their cross, was unfit for His kingdom. Though we like to think of ourselves as the “Army of God”, heaven help us if the battlefield isn’t air conditioned.
Posted in Commentaries, Lists | 4 Comments »
It’s not as though love never passed between us
In fact, there was a time when your eyes sparkled for me
But the years choked that flame to a flicker
And now you simply refer to me in affectionate terms
I was once the object of your undying pledge
But now, there is only the occasional acknowledgement
There may be ‘no hard feelings’
But neither are there tender ones
Some would say that I should fight for you
But I wonder who I might assail
After all, your affection wasn’t stolen from me
It was given away
For love to be real
It must be free to go
And for love to last
It must choose to stay
The absence of love is not hate
It is indifference
Posted in Free Verse / Poetry | Leave a Comment »
In the years that I’ve endeavored to walk with the Lord, I have encountered an amazing number of people, who identify themselves as “Christians” and yet possess few (if any) of the characteristics that the Bible would use to describe a follower of Jesus Christ. Most statistics seem to indicate that this phenomena is quite common in the United States, where the vast majority of Americans still describe themselves as “Christian” and yet adhere to a belief system that would seem to have little in common with the tenets of scripture. As I’ve pondered this disparity, I’ve come up with a few ideas about what might motivate such people.
1. Heritage / Tradition: Despite popular revisionist history, a Judeo-Christian belief system was an inherent thread within the original fabric of our country and as such, it has become a part of our national heritage. Similarly, there are many people who were raised in the “Christian tradition” (e.g. a reverence for God, trying to live by the Golden Rule, celebrating Christian holidays…), which has made it a part of their family heritage as well. For such people, their sense of connectedness may not be as much with the person of Jesus, as it is with their family and its history.
2. Being Good / Morals: Most of us were raised with the idea that we should at least try to be a good/moral person; and many of us were also raised with the idea that ‘good people’ are ‘God fearing’ people. For much of America’s history, a popular way to demonstrate such a reverence for God has been through church attendance. For some, going to church is just what ‘good people’ do on Sundays and it lets their friends and neighbors know that they belong in that category.
3. Being Blessed and/or Empowered: One of the major themes of the Bible is God’s love for mankind and His abundant provision for those who belong to Him. Undoubtedly, it is His desire for His children to live blessed and empowered lives, but our human nature has little trouble with trying to exploit that arrangement. One can easily develop a taste for the blessings of heaven, without developing a corresponding love for the dispenser of those blessings. In such a case, God’s role is reduced to little more than that of a divine vending machine.
4. Being Right: While becoming an heir to Christ’s righteousness is certainly a part of our relationship with Him, that differs dramatically from the very natural desire we have for others to view us as being ‘right’. For those endeavoring to come out on top of every argument, having a scripture reference to back up every point can be a handy tool. But this latter form of righteous is rooted in self-serving pride, which actually repulses God.
5. Avoiding Hell: No one who truly understood the implications of eternal separation from God would desire such a fate; but simply wanting to avoid hell is a far cry from knowing and loving God. Though there are many religious practices that we can adhere to, unless they lead us into some sort of genuine relationship with the person of God, they may amount to little more than faulty fire insurance. As it is with a bad insurance policy, by the time we figure out that we’re not covered, it’s probably already too late.
This is important because the scripture so clearly warns us that their will be people who refer to Jesus as Lord and rightfully claim to have done things in His name, who will be denied access to heaven because He never “knew” them (i.e. had a relationship with them). The word “knew” in that passage is the same word used in Genesis, when “Adam ‘knew’ Eve” and she conceived a son. Throughout the New Testament, there are warnings for people who profess to believe one way, but who live in a way that denies those beliefs. Though the Western church often promotes a doctrine of inclusion, the scripture still says that “narrow is the way that leads to life” and “few find it”.
Posted in Commentaries, Lists | 2 Comments »
“The danger in coming to a genuine understanding that God is always with us, is that we can easily become complacent in our efforts to always be with Him.”
Posted in Commentaries, Opinions, Thought for the Day / Quotes | 2 Comments »
Bjcorbin's Blog 
Manhood
March 14, 2011 by bjcorbin
I was the youngest of three brothers*; two years younger than the oldest one, and a year younger than the other. Because we were so close in age, I was always trying to prove that I was their equal. That desire deepened in me when I wound up in the same grade as my middle brother, and was compared to him on an almost daily basis. Despite my best efforts, I never could quite measure up to either of my brothers.
In hindsight I can see that it wasn’t really a fair comparison, as a year (or two) makes a very significant difference in the development of a child, but at that time in my life I didn’t understand. Combined with the fact that I was slightly built, with poor eyesight, and very emotional, I grew up with a deep sense of inadequacy. These feelings were magnified during adolescence, when I found that girls never seemed as interested in me and as I was in them.
In those years I struggled to find a place where I felt significant, or where I sensed that I fit in. During high school I was working at a downtown restaurant, where for the first time I encountered openly gay men. For many of these men, a skinny teenaged boy was a thing to be coveted, and they had no trouble expressing their desire for me. While I was not physically attracted to men, I had to admit that it felt good to be seen as desirable and special; and those feelings began to open a door way in my mind. I began to wonder if the reason I didn’t really fit in and that women didn’t seem very interested in me was because there was something deficient in my manhood, which could somehow make me gay by default.
While it may sound a little strange for a boy who was wildly attracted to girls and not attracted to men to wrestle with the idea that he might be gay, I had adopted the world’s philosophy that some people are just made that way and it made me wonder about myself. The issue wasn’t really about sexuality as much as it was about identity; because I was insecure in my identity as a person, I started to become insecure in my identity as a man.
Fortunately for me, one of the most significant elements in forming the identity of a child is its relationship with its parents, and the relationship of its parents with each other. In this regard, I had been blessed with two parents who loved me, believed in me and modeled for me the God given roles of a man and a woman. Even though I was not conscious of it, these things were strongly encoded in my being, and eventually this sense of my identity as a man was strong enough to keep me from being drawn into the gay community.
Though that experience cleared up any potential for confusion about my sexuality, it didn’t necessarily solidify my identity as a man. I continued to struggle in finding much common ground with the cultural images of manhood (e.g. Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, Rambo…) and as such I drew the conclusion that I must not be much of a man.
Over the years I found ways to compensate for, or to conceal, those traits which weren’t seen as being particularly manly (e.g. being expressive, showing emotion, loving children…) and eventually I came to what I thought was peace about it. Years later, when I came into a meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ and began to read the scripture, my whole concept of manhood was revolutionized.
In the light of God’s Word I could see that the culture had adopted, and even promoted, a faulty image of manhood; and that only “The Creator” could reveal to me my true identity. When I read about Gideon, I heard him essentially say that he was the least of the least, and the facts surrounding his life seemed to support that claim; but God’s assessment was that he was mighty, and once Gideon got that revelation, his life went on to validate that view.
It struck me that God knew who He made Gideon to be, and that nothing from his past had the power to change that. I understood that if this was true of Gideon, it was true of me too. It didn’t matter what my history had been; only God’s assessment of me was valid.
When I read that God said that David was a man after His own heart, I decided that he must be an example of what God was looking for in a man. And while David possessed many of the traits that are typically associated with men (e.g. strong, bold, fearless…), he also manifested others that aren’t (e.g. expressive, emotional, vulnerable…). Through this I began to understand that God’s concept of a real man was quite different than that of our culture.
As I read the Gospels I realized that Jesus Himself was God’s model for manhood and in the Epistles I learned that He’d predestined me to be transformed into that image. With this understanding I stopped trying to live up to some false idea of what a man should be and began to pursue becoming the person God made me to be.
Not long into that journey I discovered that many in the church are more in tune with the cultural image of what it means to be a man (or woman), than what is portrayed in scripture. As I heard teaching on the subject of men, women, children, marriage…much of it seemed more rooted in Psychology than in the Word of God.
I remember as a young father, I volunteered to be in the Nursery to watch the kids, and that there were actually parents who refused to leave their children with me because I was a man. If Jesus is our model, why should a man who is willing to serve, and who loves children be so unusual? I would suggest that it is because we’ve been more influenced by cultural images than by the image of Christ.
There are certain images of Christ that men seem to willingly embrace, like Christ preaching the Sermon on the Mount, or turning over tables in the temple, or dueling with the Pharisees; but are men willing to embrace the image of a lamb led to slaughter, or His open display of emotion at the tomb of Lazarus, or of Him washing the feet of the friends. Love, kindness, patience, and gentleness are all hallmarks of His character, but these things run counter to the generally accepted concept of being manly. Are we endeavoring to mold our little boys into the image of Christ, or are we more interested in molding them into the next Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Bill Gates…
The people of God need to see “manhood” in a different light than the culture. The tenets of scripture stand in stark contrast to the principles of the world. The Apostle Paul said that “the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself as love”. David said that the kind of heart that God honors is broken and contrite; and Jesus said that unless we come as little children, we would not receive the Kingdom. If outward expressions of love, having a broken heart, or possessing childlike trust don’t sound very manly, I’d suggest that maybe it’s because we’ve studied the wrong model for manhood.
* I also have a sister who is eleven years younger than me. While she is the jewel of our family, she was not around in my formative years, and thus didn’t impact the sibling rivalry dynamic I developed with my brothers.
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Posted in Commentaries, Opinions, Parenting / Family | Tagged manhood, self identity, sense of inadequacy | 4 Comments »