30. November 2009 by BruceSmith.

Job 28:12ff reads, “Do people know where to find wisdom?  Where can they find understanding?”  It is the question of the age, of all ages.  

Self-Help manuals, secret insight writings, personal growth gurus, success sages, motivational masters, … the list for sources of advice in our culture seems endless.  In a world seemingly more sophisticated than ever, it seems we are still groping in the dark for true knowledge, real truth.  If the studies are even briefly scanned, and the headlines read, despite the abundance of personal growth advice which seems to multiply daily, we remain a society deeply unfulfilled, misguided, angry, addicted, and emotionally off kilter.  In fact, what the research demonstrates, despite our modern achievements, wealth, comfort, and “progress”, is that, as a whole, we are more dependent upon counseling than ever, more “prescribed” than ever, and more unfulfilled and sad than ever.  What is missing?

Self appointed spiritual sages suggests truth is relative, non-exclusive, undefinable, open to opinion, relationship gurus tell us to open ourselves to anything that makes us feel good as long as “consent” is granted, pleasure pundits suggests the key to happiness is, well, happiness or fun without boundaries or at least self-delineated boundaries, success gurus tell us that accomplishment will fulfill us, hollywood tells us that celebrity can define us, and the corporate world tells us that title and wealth will ultimately protect us.  Is it working?  Not even remotely.  Why?  Its all about the missing piece.

Shel Silverstein, in his profound little book, The Missing Piece, tells of the problem we all face.  As we journey through life, looking every which way but the right way for that thing which will “fit”, we pursue one futile attempt after another, never really finding that essential part which fills the void.  When in relationships we miss the truth of God which calls for patience, kindness, gentleness, self-control, and a slow tongue, and instead we opt for a full on fight for our rights, our way, our desires, the last word, and the drive to be proven right.  Rather than grace and restraint, we offer spite and callousness.  In place of a hunger for the best in the other to be nurtured we follow our cravings and desires.  In place of team work, we choose individualism.  In place of cheering one another on to godliness we sit quietly as the call of God for our lives slips away.  Then, in the aftermath of broken and cold relationships, we wonder what in the world went wrong.  

In the professional world we kick, scream, and threaten our way to the goal, and then wonder why we have no true friends or people that engage and respect us.  Or perhaps we long to be united to someone in a meaningful relationship, someone who will value, support, encourage, and lead us, and yet, we continually place ourselves in social settings where we are more likely to find the exact opposite profile.  We desire to win a mate to our side who will go with us the entire way on life’s journey, and yet, we continually choose those who are more interested in themselves, and who are looking more for physical enticement than faithful companionship.  We desire relational depth and maturity, but we allow ourselves to be pulled to “sexy”.  We desire to be in relationship with someone who values us for the person we are inside, and yet, our presentation of who we are only calls attention to our exterior.  We desire the life God would have for us, knowing it must be best, yet we continually avoid the lifestyle He leads us to believing the lie of culture that the wide road is the route filled with more fun and fewer prohibitions.  Or we desire to walk with God more intimately, yet we rarely spend time with Him in prayer, worship, or study, and we find ourselves at a loss when we are dry inside, confused, and numb to the things of God.  Where is the wisdom in any of this?

Perhaps, like many, you attend church, know some of the lingo, hang out on the fringes of the christian group at certain times, enjoy the Sunday service, but you also tend to follow the party crowd.  You separate your life into categories.  There is the fun-time you, and there is the spiritual you.  There is the parent you, and then the frisky-fun you.  There is the you who longs for meaningful and intelligent, even spiritual conversation, but then there is the potty mouth you, the emotionally careless you.  More often than not, you find yourself trying to convince others how good you are despite the disparity in the way you live from one situation, one setting to the next.  Is there wisdom to be found here?  Will this ever work?  Will follow the norm this way ever prove ultimately satisfying?

Such an approach to life will always leave us like that wandering character who never finds the one piece which brings the puzzle of life together.  God has an idea in mind for how we experience Him, how we walk with Him, how we walk with others, and how we manage our inner lives, even our social lives.  Try as we might, to make life work another way, it never will.  All the opinions of cultural gurus, talk show hosts, and motivational experts will never replace the one missing piece, WISDOM.  

Wisdom, truth as defined by God alone, is the piece to the life puzzle which brings all the moving parts of our lives together in harmony.  That wisdom cannot be found apart from a committed and passionate desire to read and understand the scriptures given to us by God, the Bible.  Parenting help?  Its there.  Marriage manual?  Its there.  Friendship issues?  Its there.  Sex guidance?  Yep, that’s there too.  Emotional control issues?  Its there.  Fatherhood issues?  There.  Teenage craziness?  Yep, you can find it there.  Anger?  Got that too.  Forgiveness?  You bet.  Betrayal?  Oh boy, its there.  How to deal with poverty?  There.  Wondering about what life in the church should look like?  Its all there.  Gossip problems?  Your cure is there.  Selfishness?  Done.  Wanna know how you should live out your faith in front of others?  Ditto.  Praying and hoping your kids will find their way to God?  Look in the Book.  You name it, the Word of God has insight for your life.  Wanna know how to really win the heart of your potential mate?  Read the book.  Biblical wisdom is the ticket.  That, above and beyond the opinion of friends, Oprah, writers, coaches, and anyone else, is the wisdom you need.  Try as you might, you cannot, will not, ever, find true wisdom elsewhere. 

We turn back now to Job, a man whose righteousness and life skills far surpassed anything any one of us could hope to aspire to.  This upright, accomplished, wealthy, important, and well known man, on the heels of amazing success, amidst an onslaught of severe difficulties, and under the weight of a myriad of confused opinions, came to find the answer to the riddle of life.  In seeking understanding for his life and problems an important realization was provided him.  If this truth were so central to the life of this man, how much more must it be true for us?  We turn back to his question posed at the beginning, “Do people know where to find wisdom?  Where can they find understanding?  No one knows where to find it, for it is not found among the living.  ‘It is not here’ says the ocean.  ‘Nor is it here’ says the sea.  It cannot be bought with gold.  It cannot be bought with silver.” Job 28:12-15

And so, Job makes us aware that wisdom, true wisdom, cannot be found by human opinion, it cannot be found in nature, and it cannot be bought.  If we should hope to find the piece which brings all the disorientation of our lives together, we will have to turn somewhere else for help.  Job, again, offers the compass for that part of the search, “God alone understands the way to wisdom;  he knows where it can be found, for he looks throughout the whole earth and sees everything under the heavens.  He decided how the winds should blow, and how the rain should fall, and He laid out the path for the lightning.  He saw wisdom and evaluated it.  He set it in place and examined it thoroughly.  And this is what He says to all humanity:  ‘The fear of the Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is real understanding.’”  Job 28:23-28  What is fear of the Lord?  An acknowledgement that His truth is life defining, and a passion to follow it.  What is the evil we are to forsake?  Anything which God does not call good.  If its not what He calls people to, its now for His kids.  Wisdom joyfully understands, and gratefully runs to this reality.  

And so, Job, a man who learned wisdom through the good and the bad, at the hands of a God who loved him and tried him, came to discover, the piece for which we all search.  The part which enables families to work, hearts to soar, lives to have meaning, and souls to be set free, is the wisdom of God.  The scriptures suggests that such wisdom is worth more than silver or gold.  Wisdom from God is that missing piece which, when found, brings a sense of alignment we could not experience otherwise.  Wisdom is the missing piece to the equation which makes the math work.  It is the sense of scale, depth, contrast and color, which makes the landscape of our lives come into proper focus.  Wisdom is the first violin, the part which makes life really resound upon the score of our experiences.  It is the breath which brings life to every situation.  It is the heart of any lasting love affair.  Wisdom is the catch of all catches.  It is the wind which fills the sails of any voyage worth taking.  She is bigger than any opportunity, more lovely than any woman, more attractive than any man, to be craved more than any fantasy, and more satisfying than any experience known to man.  Wisdom, is indeed, the missing piece we all need.  Search it out.

What is your need today?  What does your soul need an answer for?  What dilemma are you facing?  What opportunity is being offered you?  What relationship are you considering?  How are your relational patterns?  How’s your anger quotient?  What’s your view on modesty?  How is your definition of fun defining how life is working out for you?  Is your escapism working for you?  What friends do you need?  What friends are keeping you from wisdom?  How are you deciding how to spend your night?  Your weekend?  Your year?  Your life?  Need any direction?  Is your career one that honors wisdom?  Honors God?  Are you winning the hearts of your kids?  Are you doing your part?  Is the life of the church a critical part of your life?  Is wisdom defining who you are, how you live?  Seek wisdom.  Find God.

Bruce Smith

optimuslife.org

soulstormsite.com

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26. November 2009 by BruceSmith.

A Grateful Heart

On the day which, for many, is merely an appetizer for the gift gorging season, it is good for us to truly think on the many gifts and miracles in our lives.  Beyond the turkey, the football, the desserts, and the sofa, Thanksgiving should be about two things; Thanks and Giving.  

The thing about this great holiday, which comes and goes all too quickly, is it offers us a moment to look across the table, the yard, the field, the living room or the kitchen, and notice the grace of God in our lives.  As you find yourself today in the midst of family and friends, take note of the lives represented there and the bonds you have shared, even those which have been tested over the years.  Give thanks, verbally and otherwise, to those you have shared life experiences with, and realize how fortunate you have been to be alive and to be engaged in the lives of others.

Husbands, notice, really notice your wife today as she works herself weary to prepare for her family and friends.  Join her in the kitchen, put your arms around her, and let her know how truly thankful you are that she is there, and has been there, that she gives herself so freely to others, and that she makes life better for those around her.  Wives, make your way to your husband today and express how grateful you are for his role in your life, his provision, help, friendship, strength, and leadership in your home. Don’t take each other for granted, actually give thanks, verbalize thanks, for the food being there, the kitchen to cook in, the home to eat in, the hands to prepare it, and the lives around you.  

Use this day as a marker, if needed, to re-ignite the flame of gratefulness in your home and in your life.  We go through too many days, weeks, months, and years neglecting the importance of expressing gratitude for others, even for the smallest gestures and gifts.  It needs to be said, expressed, regularly.  Its a characteristic which should define our lives.  Gratitude unexpressed is thankfulness unknown, a hidden gift.  In order for it to be seen it must be shared, offered.  The expression of gratefulness is a testimony to our character, our humility, our understanding that its not all about us.  

Look your kids, spouses, siblings, and friends in the eye today and convince them of their importance in your life.  Embrace your kids in a way that wakes them up to the love you have for them.  Call someone and give thanks for their place in your life.  Text someone who may not have expected to even hear from you and enrich their day.  Make it a day of giving, of yourself, your words, your emotions, your encouragement, your touch, your life.  Walk across the room and tell that estranged family member how good it is to see them.  Call that one the family has not seen in some time and let them know they are missed.  Find a way to give of yourself amidst the feasting.  Give with an uncommon sense of generosity today.  Extend generous portions of grace.  Serve up a pile of thankfulness.  And make it a day to remember.  Then live that way the next day, and the next, and the one after that, and keep it going.  

In a culture so blessed its easy for us to become numb to the many gifts and privileges in our lives.  We are so “more” driven, and comfort crazed, we tend to lose sight of how much we really have.  And all too often, because we can be so self-centered, we rarely give thought to anything beyond our own shadow.  This is a day which calls us to look beyond ourselves, and to look upward, to the One who has given us the abilities, means, and gumption which enables us to provide for ourselves and others.  As we express thanks to those around us, may we, foremost, express profound gratefulness to our God above, who is matchless in loving-kindness, grace, patience, gentleness, forgiveness, and provision.  Without Him none of us would exist, joy would be unknowable, beauty inexpressible, wonder indiscernible, and love untouchable.  It is to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom we are supremely grateful.  

Thanks be to God!  Happy ThanksGiving.

Bruce Smith

optimuslife.org

soulstormsite.com

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18. November 2009 by BruceSmith.

Trophy Love

“I stand in the middle of my living room and feel the floor shaking.  I briefly consider the possibility that Vegas is being struck by an earthquake.  I don’t know what to do, where to stand.  I walk to the shelf that holds my tennis trophies and pick one up.  I hurl it through the living room, through the kitchen.  It breaks in several pieces.  I pick up another and hurl it against the wall.  One by one I do this with my trophies.  Davis Cup?   Smash.  U.S. Open?  Smash.  Wimbledon?  Smash, Smash.  …I pick up the broken pieces and smash them against the walls and then against other things in the house.”

The scene above, from Andre Agassi’s book, Open, comes on the heels of a painful and confusing episode with his then girlfriend Brooke Sheilds, and amidst the realities of Andre’s unstable heart and emotional torture.  Amidst the emotional, spiritual, and relational contexts of Andre’s life, all the trophies which represented his fame, fortune, and accomplishments, came to represent an imprisonment for him.  All the things which so many assumed were bringing him life and joy, actually, had become for him, a trap, a drudgery.  His professional life had become a pursuit of the dreams others had for him, his relational life was severely lacking, and his inner world was catastrophic.  In light of that reality, the trophies meant very little.

Eventually, Andre found his way free from a life of trophy boredom, relational collapses, and emotional instability.  But it did not come easy.  His journey from a confused, angry prodigy to impassioned giver and builder and promoter for the underprivileged and uneducated has not come to him on a silver platter with his name etched in it.  It was a fight won on the fists of love, friendship, relational stability, and faith.  Only as Andre has come to know who he is, who his true friends are, what love really looks like, what is important in life, and who his God is, did he make his was out of a life of destructive and painful patterns.  As he came to find out,  life is bigger than the trophies.

Some men marry trophy wives.  Some women marry into trophy families.  Some live for trophy careers.  Some wear their ability to party like a rock star as a trophy.  Some show off their bodies as a trophy for the world to see.  Some educate their kids in order to make them trophy offspring.  Some hold up their little black books as trophies.  Others build trophy houses, buy trophy cars, have trophy second and third homes or collect trophy titles.  Somehow, if not careful, wall all seek the trophy life.  Trophies are not inherently bad, but all too often we make the trophy the thing and forget the journey which is the real thing.  

I have always loved sports.  Growing up I played almost everything.  I ran track, played baseball, football, tennis, hoops, swam a bit, and played soccer.  Because God decided to give me a decent amount of genetic coding which offered me a measure of coordination, I always did fairly well in whatever sport I played.  Along the way, I collected a fair number of ribbons, medal, plaques, and trophies.  Nearly all of those are gone now, sucked into some vacuous space reserved for such things, but some memories remain.  What stands out for me, now, as a broken down, tired, and aching nearly forty-one year old, is the journey which all of those trophies represented.  What I remember now is not the trophies themselves, but the stuff behind them.  In fact, what stands out for me is not the first place markers, but rather, those which represented the heart of the matter.  I remember the hustle awards, the hardest worker awards, the most tenacious awards, and the others which represented my inner self rather than the accomplishment.  For me, now, those trophies and the others I have acquired in life and work, are about the heart that went into the journey.  Its about who I am, and what I want to be.  Few, if any of them, have come easily.  Many have been accompanied by pain; physical, emotional, relational, financial, and otherwise.  But those markers are now about the journey.

What I have come to know, and need to know more and more every day, is the fact that trophies will never offer me what I most crave.  Sadly, one all too prevalent memory for me is of one tournament, where as a child, longing to win, I cheated a guy out of a point, and went on to win the match and the tournament, and the trophy.  I pulled a McEnroe-esque move that day, contesting a call I should not have been contesting, broke the guy down, got the edge, and shrunk my heart in the process.  I hated looking at that trophy for the years I had it, and learned through that “success” never to fail that way again.  The inner pain was enormous.  What a loser I was, winning that way.  That trophy was not enough to secure my inner world.

As was the case in Andre’s life, trophies will mean very little in light of the brokenness of life.  In those moments when relationships are tested, destroyed, or otherwise mangled, no trophy will ever be able to soothe me.  When the love I extend is returned with malice or unkindness, no trophy I go out and seek will ever heal my hurt.  When my kids are hurting or have wandered down a destructive path, no trophy will comfort me or bring them back.  When my financial world falls apart, I have no hope of defining myself by my trophies.  And when my life is done, and I am put in a box and buried, no trophy case will be enough to preach a good funeral.

The story of Andre Agassi’s life is emblematic of what is true of all our lives.  There is only one trophy worth pursuing which will offer us any lasting significance.  That trophy is the trophy of God’s love and intimacy with Him.  It is not a trophy we can point to on a diploma, its not a trophy we can show off on our mantle, and its not a trophy we can bring into a social setting on our arm.  It is the quiet, generous, grace-filled, loving reality which resides in our hearts, and which offers boundless opportunity for love to others.  It is “showed off” in our daily lives as we extend grace in place of brashness, love in place of selfishness, forgiveness in place of record keeping, peace in place of fear, purity in place of pleasure, faithfulness in place of self-seeking, honesty in place of deceit, emotional poise in place of reaction, hope in place of despair, wisdom in place of advice, truth telling in place of gossip, holiness in place of worldliness, family in place of individual pursuit, worship in place of neglect, and the truth of Christ in place of culture.  

What we must recognize in a world where hearts, every day, are being thrown against a wall of pain, spite, selfishness and pride, is that no remedy remains for our healing outside of the plan of God.  There is no accomplishment, pursuit, pill or person who can or will be able to offer us what only God can offer.  He alone is our stability when faced with the gut wrenching realities of life on this planet.  He alone offers us perspective and  clarity when all around us is success upon success.  He alone offers healing when our hearts have been dashed upon the rocky cliffs of life.  He alone brings us humility when everyone else extends exuberant praise.  Outside of Him there is no accolade large enough to quiet our souls.  In relationship with Him, there is no brokenness so severe that it cannot be healed.  Only in releasing the trophy of our own heart to Him can we find that healing.  

He is the trophy each of our hearts seek.  He is our journey.  May we pursue Him.

Bruce Smith

optimuslife.org

soulstormsite.com

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11. November 2009 by BruceSmith.

Dear Bruce: what’s the point of getting “dunked”?

Dear Bruce,

I am an avid reader of your stuff, and have appreciated so many of your writings.  I am 35 years old, a fairly new, true believer (though I had some “religious” background), and have seen my life and lifestyle change in big big ways.  God has brought me new focuses, fresh desires, new Jesus’ loving friends, and is helping me deal with so many issues I have had in my life.  I used to live my life for me, lived it up, gave no thought to my spouse, kids, others, …it was just about my fun.  Anyway, I know Jesus has given me a new life, and I am praying that my kids will come to know Him as well soon, and others I care about.  I was never someone who thought about biblical issues, and certainly not someone who ever thought about how my life affected other peoples lives.  He is changing that and so many other things about me.  I hope people can look at me and see the change in my spirit and life.  I pray that is the case.

So, here is the question:  As a new believer I have heard talk about baptism several times, and just need to know the purpose.  What difference does it make if I get “dunked”?  Is this something I have to do?  Does it bring me to a different level of spirituality?  Is it o.k. if it was already done for me as a kid?  I am hoping you can shed some light on this, as I do want to do what God wants on this one.

Thanks,

An Avid Reader

Dear Avid,

Love the question, the story, and the desire to move forward with God’s agenda for your life!  First off, you give some great information that helps me help you on this one.  You point to the change that has taken place in you, on real terms, in real life.  The first thing you need to know about baptism is its purpose and place in the life of the believer in this very regard.  Baptism, essentially, is a spiritual metaphor, and a very powerful one, which points to a death (your old life and manner of living), and a resurrection (your arising to a new life in Christ Jesus).  In baptism we are telling of (a profound purpose of the act itself) this dramatic life change Jesus has brought about in us.  We are telling all onlookers of the washing away and cleansing which has been wrought by God in our souls.  We are celebrating the old life falling away, dying, and embracing the new life at work which has arisen within us.  

As we go through the process of baptism we tell of God’s amazing story of redeeming lives, our lives.  This is vitally important on many levels, and is particularly important as it pertains to your story and your hopes for family and friends.  Baptism, its meaning and significance, offers you a profound tool to use in telling of your new life in Christ.  As God has changed you, He has also called you to be a light to others and to tell of His remarkable love to those around you.  Its a chance, a monument in your life, a marker, whereby you can express to your kids what a difference God is making in you and the  new direction He is charting for you.  You can tell your friends why your lifestyle is changing and how wonderful the changes are, and invite them to your baptism.

I often encourage believers to send out baptism invites in order to celebrate this reality like a bride and groom celebrate marriage.  The baptism then becomes, amidst other moments (just as you share your love of your fiance with others prior to the ceremony) where you have undoubtedly told of your new life to those friends and family you have invited, a public telling and rejoicing of your new journey and relationship with Christ.  It lets all the onlookers in on your great new adventure and passion.  It becomes a ceremony where you publicly acknowledge, “I am not who I used to be…and I am thrilled to be NEW!”  It is a telling of God’s love, grace, and desire to wash us all new.  A chance to submerge the sins and lifestyles of the past.  A chance to rise again fresh and clean, and ready for all God has in front of us.  It is a truly profound metaphor for every believer when rightly understood.  It tells of the work already done in the heart, but its a telling we should long for.

In regard to your other questions let me say a couple of things.  First off,  as with any teaching of the church, we should go into scripture and see what the bible actually has to say about it.  What is the biblical model for baptism?  In the New Testament a few things are very clear and undeniable.  First, new believers were baptized.  Simple.  In that culture, as people came to believe in Christ, they got dunked.  Actually, it happened right on the spot.  “Let’s find a river!” was the approach when someone finally let go and said, “God, amidst all opposition from friends, culture, and family…I am yours!”

We should also note, regarding the biblical model, that people were always baptized, not as infants, but rather, upon reaching an adequate age and an understanding, and accepting Christ as Lord.  The biblical model calls for intellectual and heart felt recognition of sin, repentance (a turning away from sin), awareness of need for a new direction, and a plea for God’s gracious intervention in Christ upon the cross (which is our only hope, as we cannot change or redeem ourselves).

Lastly, we should note that in the New Testament, the model was for a believer to be, as you say, fully “dunked”.  That is to say, they were put totally under the water from head to toe.  It was, then as now, a physical metaphor with spiritual significance, telling of the submerging or death to sin, and the rising to a life of renewed and washed reality, as we said above.  People often ask me, “What about sprinkling, or other methods”.  My typical response is, “If the submersion model was good enough for the first century church, and its the model we clearly see in the New Testament…why change it?”  I say this being aware that in certain times and places, and cultures, etc. sometimes it has been expedient or necessary to go another way.  The absolutely crucial reality is, however, the reality of a truly changed life, and a desire to follow God’s plan in giving an open telling of this amazing change He has brought about.

Remember, Jesus’ last words to the disciples were instructions to go and make disciples (not just converts but fully devoted followers), and to baptize them in the name of the Father… .  Jesus, then, connected the dots for us and answered your question.  When we come to faith in Christ, it just makes sense, we want to follow in obedience, tell of the awesome work of God, experience the metaphor, and please the God who is at work in us.  In the process, God uses this wonderful experience to tell His story to others who may not yet know Him, and He woos them to Himself as they watch the metaphor unfold, and as they watch our transformed lives.

Avid, use this calling of God for the next step to tell your friends and loved ones that you are now different by the grace of God, you are passionately excited about the new life ahead, and you are humbly moved that they might come to experience the same kind of change.  Use it also to share with your kids what God is doing in your life.  Tell them of the old you, how God has brought you away from it, and tell them of the new things He is doing in your life.  Point them to their own need to experience this reality for themselves.  Go through the new waters He is nudging you toward, and take it all in.

Go get yourself dunked!!

Bruce Smith

optimuslife.org

soulstormsite.com

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5. November 2009 by BruceSmith.

Alien-ology 101:  Mind Abductions and the Loss of Christian Thought

We are citizens, not of this world, but of His Kingdom.  We are aliens, as it were, ie. just passing through, for a time, and for a purpose, but finding our identity in the Kingdom of God, though living amidst people largely alienated from Him.  This is alien-ology 101.  

No, this is not an essay on science-fiction, Area 51, or other extra-terrestrial ideas.  Rather, this is about thinking, Christian thinking.  More clearly, this is about how we arrive at a legitimate worldview and actually live within that worldview on a moment by moment basis in a culture where the least common denominator (or the least amount of common sense) generally rules the day.

The idea for this treatment of “Alien Theology” has come about for several reasons for me.  First off, one cannot turn the television on for more than thirty seconds without being bombarded with images and messages which are in stark contrast to the biblical definition of living.  I often just get weary of being inundated with so much secular thought.  

Also, I believe, wholeheartedly, that too many of us allow ourselves to become desensitized to God’s truth by virtue of the fact that we allow our minds to go into flatline mode and refuse to do the work of thinking amidst the constant bombarding of false values.  Its like the frog in the kettle.  You know how it works right?  If you place a frog in a pot, in cool water, and you gradually turn the temperature up over a period of time, the frog will not notice the temperature is changing until its too late and he has actually boiled to death.  If we are not careful, as believers, we can get all caught up in the mood of the day and lose sight of what life in God is to actually look like.  Our lazy minds are tempted to diminish the severity of the cultural deception, and we allow our minds to stew in the favored brew far too long.

Another reason for approaching this subject and addressing it in this way, is that our current cultural mood is so wide open to anything and everything.  If it sizzles, sells, attracts, entertains, or sexes us up…we’re in, all too often.   The society we live in, the world we live in, is alienated, by choice, from the design of God.  Lately, there seems to be a heightened resurgence to the whole alien thing and the paranormal.  Maybe its the time of year, but it seems, even beyond the season, that the allure to these things has grown in intensity.  I have spoken with too many people, christian and not so christian, who just embrace or are open to anything they hear on the subject, or any for that matter.  Again, this is not a treatment of the alien issue or the paranormal deal, but let’s chase that train for just a moment because its a great set up for the topic at hand.  It illustrates our lack of devotion to intentional biblical thought and action.  

Scripturally, there is no hint of and certainly no teaching regarding the existence of extra-terrestrial beings as presented by those in Hollywood or the media.  Without playing God and speaking about things which I am no expert in, I am on safe ground following the logic presented here.  If you read the scriptures you cannot help but notice the resounding theme that God created this world from nothing, and for a purpose.  He created us, called us into being, and set us apart, singularly, the human species, as that creation, formed by Him, in His image.  The story of scripture is so precise on this point that we must take it as it is.  God, in His plan, according to the revelation He provided for us in scripture, created the world we know, and placed us humans at the center of the story!  Wow.  

As you read the unfolding drama of scripture, you must also notice that God is intimately involved in this story and it is, actually, His story of redemption.  The whole thing unfolds in a way that makes one say, “This entire thing has a point.  God is intentional, redemptive, concerned, present, and at work.”  The point I am making here is simply that in a world so full of design and beautiful intentionality, the attempt to place some large headed, big-eyed, green, slimy, fancy spaceship driving, evolved entity into the story just seems like, well, science fiction.  It stems from a naturalistic, anti-God, evolutionary basis which removes an active, loving, and purposeful God from the equation.  

In reading the bible, it is clear that the point is, “This is who God is and what He is about…live in that reality”.  Is it possible that God could create other worlds where He reveals Himself to other creations He spoke into existence.  Sure.  But His character would not change.  He would reveal Himself as He truly is, and one of the central teachings of the bible is that God is unchanging, the same yesterday, today, and forever.  So, logic would suggest, any such other creation stories, should they theoretically exist, would in great measure correspond to the story we are experiencing.  In fact, more than one high level scientist, even those employed by NASA, has suggested, from a strictly rational, and statistical standpoint, based upon the physical realities of the universe we have explored (so intricately precise that if any of it were off by the smallest fraction, it would change everything as we know it), the chances of intelligent life on another planet, anywhere, is one in multiple trillions.  Our minds cannot even begin to image how infinitely unlikely the possibility is.  So why be so enamored with such things?  God has more for our minds, and this is the point of this little essay on alien theology.

The point here is not to dismay all the science fiction lovers or to place undue focus on a minor issue, but rather, to highlight the reality of how our Christian minds can be so easily abducted.  We are too easily taken captive by the surrounding mood with respect to how we think about so many issues.  We make icons out of people who look good in front of a camera and pay them millions to look good for us.  We idolize a guy who can catch or throw a ball, pay him millions, get drunk watching him do it, cheer for him as if he were a god, and fantasize about how wonderful his life must be (until he shows up in the headlines bursting our bubble).  We embrace Hollywood’s flavor of the day, pay $100 for a night at the movies, and turn off our minds as we watch, too often, life realities displayed on the silver screen which could not be more contrary to the life God has called us to.  We get in our vehicles or go into our rooms, or put our earphones on, turn our minds off, and passions on, and listen to things which God views as poison for our souls.  We read books, attempting to find the “secrets” to life, attempt to “help ourselves”, and all the while ignore the one book which God Himself gave to us for life and purpose.  We call that which is in God’s eyes evil, “fun”, and we mock the purity and perfection to which God calls us.  We hear about someone who wrote a book about living a past life, and so we think, “Hey, cool idea, maybe I did…”  We see that “everyone” we know is going to this bar, that movie, this event…and so, we go too.  We hear everyone say, “There is no such thing as absolute truth.”, and so we begin to think, “Maybe that’s true.” (Which by the way is an absolute thought in itself).  We embrace the cultural group think.  If the masses “know so much”, we might as well not feel stupid and out of place, and so we jump into the stream.  In so doing, we have allowed our “christian” minds to be abducted.  Problem is, we lose our peculiar flavor.  And the scriptures remind us, “You are the salt of the earth…if the salt loses its saltiness, how shall it be made salty again?”

Now, let me make very clear.  I love movies.  I actually enjoy studying the art of making movies and the process for telling stories which capture us.  Its not about the medium itself, but rather, what we are doing with our minds, our souls, our affections.  Likewise, I love sport, played all of them, still love to compete.  But again, its about properly placed emphasis and how we view what makes a person valuable, how passionate we are about trivial things, and how we use our time.  I love music, many different genres.  Again, however, music has power.  This is undeniable.  It moves us.  It literally has the power to move us, our bodies, our minds, our spirits.  Plato suggested as much, Hitler knew as much, and psychologists today are keenly aware of this.  More importantly, what we do with our minds is a direct correlation to the affections of our heart and the desire of our souls.  We think on, spend time surrounding ourselves with, that which we identify with or enjoy.  And the call of scriptures is to be mindful, as believers, that we are “aliens in this world”.  The scriptures call us to think on those things which are “holy, pure, noble, praiseworthy, and good”.  That is to say, we should not be too comfortable, as believers, with the world’s status quo.  We are to love people and enjoy their company, as Jesus did.  Yet, we are called to do so in such a way that our saltiness is effective, our citizenship in heaven evident, and our passions for the things of God clearly identifiable.  We are not to be so cozy with this present world, and its brokenness, that we find ourselves comfortable with the pursuits, venues, tastes, and pleasures of the day.  God’s call for us transcends time, culture, and setting.  If there is no discernible difference in our lives we must ask if our saltiness is intact.  The battle begins in the mind.  As the book of Proverbs (23:7) suggests, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he”.  What are we thinking about?  Are we thinking as God calls us to think?  Is our thinking based upon His revelation of truth?  

As believers we are given the gift of a renewed mind, as the scriptures calls it.  At the same time, as we have been given this newness of being, we are simultaneously called (throughout Paul’s letters in the New Testament) to “put on the mind of Christ”.  We are called to recognize who we are, and we are called to live in the reality of who we are.  This is not a pick em and choose em, episodic calling, but rather one which envelopes every moment of our being.  And the thrilling reality is that we have been given the incredible privilege of being able to experience God in great intimacy every step we take.  The reason our minds tend to be abducted so easily is that we are so enticed by the glitter of the world and fall for the lie that the current pleasures are of more value than the gifts of God.  We buy the lie that money brings happiness.  We buy the lie that sex at will, or as any two consenting people define it, fills our cravings and soothes our spirit.  We buy the lie that marriages are disposable.  We buy the lie that addiction will never get the best of us.  We buy the lie that social setting and friends cannot play a role in molding our character.  We buy the lie that its all about me.  We buy the lie that fame is to be more desired than character.  We buy the lie that status means more than integrity.  We buy the lie that Sunday is for us and not for worship.  We buy the lie that what people think of us is more important than what God thinks of us.  And on and on it goes.  As we buy into the lies of cultural mood, we allow our minds to be abducted.  When our minds are abducted, we lose our saltiness.  When our saltiness is gone, we must ask, “What good am I in this state?”  The very people called out by God to be peculiar, set apart for Him, aliens in this world, become the very ones whose minds are alienated from the reality of His truth.  

The true aliens, friends, are those called by God, placed in this world for His purposes, called to know Him, love Him, and enjoy Him forever.  As we lose our comfort with the easy approach of common cultural reality, and dive deeper into the universe of God’s truth, a world richer, more meaningful, and more glorious than anything we could ever imagine opens up to us.  Not a life full of ease and riches and health and conquering (at least not all the time), but a life that makes sense in light of God’s calling for us.  A life that brings a tangible sense of heightened awareness of His presence every day.  A life which offers us the gift of experiencing Him in ever increasing intimacy.  A life which brings continual growth and renewing of our minds, enlarging of our hearts, and purifying of our souls.  A life in which relationships are worth more, people are worth more, experiences are bigger, and all of life is more genuinely alive and beautiful.  This is alien theology in action.  This is what it means to be truly caught up in Him.  This is the life He calls us to, the life He offers to us.   

Let’s put our thinking caps on peeps!  Its worth every ounce of effort.

Bruce Smith

optimuslife.org

soulstormsite.com

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3. November 2009 by BruceSmith.

Go Saints!  Setting the Stage …for Life …and Winning

Last night we Saints fans watched our team hit the 7-0 mark with a win over the “Dirty Birds” from Atlanta.  For the first time in our team’s history it appears we actually have a Super Bowl contender!  How cool is that?  Very cool.  But how has this happened?  Have the statistics just finally maxed out on our badness?  Are we just experiencing a statistical anomaly?  In a football world so vast, was this just bound to happen, by chance, at some point?  If you know anything about football, or coaching, or talent, or competition, or leadership, or team building, … you know there is more to it than chance.  The stage has been set for success in New Orleans, and how.

Setting the stage for success in the ranks of the National Football League is more than a bit complicated.  Champions in that competitive world are built through precise execution, study of tape, team chemistry, coach/player trust, management of emotion, making the most of momentum, rabid adherence to the playbook, love for the fight, appreciation for the game, poise amidst pressure, and a pure passion for playing at a high level…all of this, every play, and actually between every play, and between every game, remaining the focus of a gifted community of competitors.  Its a lot like life, as it turns out.

Imagine, if you can, this same 7-0 team, wandering through the week, paying little if any attention to the play book, practicing only when its convenient, the players never talking or spending time together, eating poorly, listening to what everyone has to say about football strategy, conditioning little, each one pursuing only their own ideas for a game plan, watching music videos rather than game tape, and only practicing the plays each one likes to be a part of.  Chances are pretty high that this same group of athletes would  be a bit off of that 7-0 record.  

Imagine with me also, a cast of thesbians, award winning stage actors, who have taken broadway by storm, and have become “The show to see” in New York City.  After months of precise training, conditioning, rehearsal, and mastery of the lines and choreography, and after wowing fans from all over the world, they show up for the closing night amidst a sea of media coverage and fanfare, and get ready to take the stage.  Only one problem though, someone has set the stage for an entirely different performance!  Envision, if you can, the cast of Fiddler on the Roof, taking the stage and finding it set for River Dance!  Not sure that would work.

The analogies above, like any analogy or metaphor, will break down at some point if taken too far, but the images work on many levels for us as Christ-followers, saints,  called to be champions, and performers in the game of life.  If, like the 7-0 football Saints, we the saints of God (saints being the word for “christians” in the bible) have any hope of performing on a high level, we will need to take a similar road to get there.  Christians, saints, can only hope to live the kind of life God calls us to if we are rabidly committed to being in His playbook, following His coaching, studying His strategy ideas, and remaining utterly focused and attune to His calls every step of the way.  We cannot just show up on Sunday, have a great spiritual party or pep-rally, and expect that to be enough.  If the Saints showed up on Sunday after a week of sporadic practice, having never looked at the game tape or play book, it would be ugly, very very ugly.  The same is true of our life.  We christians, if pursuing this kind of “strategy” would wind up looking like the New Orleans Saints of old who were know the world over for having fans who put paper bags over there heads while in the stands.  

But this kind of thing happens, sadly, all too often in the lives of God’s people.  Somehow, if the statistical analysis is accurate, it appears that God’s people have largely forgotten that the playbook is supposed to be followed.  Studies show that rates of divorce within the church match those in the culture at large, commitment to key fundamental biblical doctrines (like the divinity of Christ, sin, absolute truth, and others) remains far lower than expected, lifestyle realities look all too similar to that of the culture at large, child-rearing strategies too closely resemble that of the general culture, similar views on sexuality and marriage remain, and entertainment pursuits/tastes are all too close to those of the society at large.  

Yet, if you talked to the average christian person in many local churches, especially on Sunday, one would get the idea that all was well.  What are we missing?  How have we somehow lost the ability to connect the dots of God’s play book with those dots which represent the realities of our daily life?  How is it that we can view, listen to, talk about, enjoy, and believe such much of the blatantly non-christian propaganda offered to us by a world so far removed from God’s field of play?  How is it that we are so ready to rationalize, dismiss, and otherwise ignore God’s plays for us which set us up for victory?

If we are to have the quality of life offered to us in the scriptures, it will only come as we understand the pristine and life-giving quality of God’s call for us.  When the coach sends a play in from the sideline, the team only succeeds when they understand the coaching/player roles, and apply the call to real time, real competition.  God, we can trust, never sends in a call which is amiss.  He gets it right every time.  We need only execute.  There is no confidence greater in all of life.  To know that the Man making the calls for us ALWAYS gives us the call which is for our success is a huge gift.  He knows every play, has seen every opposition and defensive scheme, and has a game plan which has been tested and has never failed.  Why would anyone try to go it alone?  What were we thinking?!  I ask myself very thing all this too often.

The call for us, if we want our lives to resemble an award winning production, a championship season, is to take to heart all that God has offered us in His word.  He has given us the perfect stage preparation for a life of grace, peace, joy, fulfillment, and hope.  The reason our lives so often fail to live up to our aspirations in love, finance, emotions, friendship, career, and other areas is that we go off stage so often.  We attempt to find our way to the award podium, in hopes of receiving our Tony Award, never paying any mind to the fact that we have actually memorized the lines to the wrong play, and have danced to the wrong choreography.  We seem to want the Super Bowl trophy, but ignore the road map to the trophy presentation.  With our emotions, our responses to difficulty, our choices in love, our management of households, our guidance for our kids, our failed application of biblical teaching, …we have gone off script and fallen upon props which were never destined to be in our performance.  We have wanted a big night come performance time, but we have neglected our preparation through a life of daily reading, worship, spiritual focus, and devotion.  We ignore Him till it matters to us, and then we expect it all to go so well.  But this does not work on Broadway, nor on the field on Sunday, and it does not work in life.  God is bigger than that, and He won’t allow it.  He wants not just to be our first, but our all, and in all.

There is a way to victory.  There is a bigger life.  There is a way forward to a fuller and more vibrant daily experience.  It begins and thrives only as we give our all in every moment to Him.  Our emotions find a center in His plan.  Our kids find direction in His playbook.  Our entertainment enriches us, and our kids, as we embrace and entertain ourselves with things which God would find joy in.  Our mind and souls find growth and enrichment as we prepare them through study and education which points us to Him.  Christ in all, all the time.  He is all we need, despite the cries of a culture which believes that fun will replace joy, entertainment will replace soul enrichment, mindless downtime will replace a hunger for a deeper knowledge of Him, and pleasure will replace true contentment.  It will never happen.  Until and unless we turn our lives over to Him completely, wholly, and without reservation, we shall not find that victory offered to us in Him.  It must be His plan entirely.  We must be fully open to His playbook and each play call.  We must place ourselves squarely in the center of His stage.

Is His life the one we fight for, long for, hunger for?  May God make it so for each of us.  Do we truly want a life bigger than the one we now have?  Are we arrogant or deceived enough to think we have all we need as we follow our own calls?  Is victory out there?  It is indeed.  Let’s head in that direction.  It won’t happen by chance.  Let’s get intentional, focused, impassioned, and courageous.  Let’s get after it.  We got this!  Go saints!!

Bruce Smith

optimuslife.org

soulstormsite.com

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