Jesus is WHERE?

first- this is technically in the week after my last blog- so i do not lie- this is at least once a week!

I have this song that I like- and i'm not bashing it, but here listen to this- i'm quoting a few differnt places, so this is not the way it goes- i just am getting the parts i want to note:
"I'm here to meet with you, come and meet with me
I'm here to find you...

... As I stand and sing Your praise, you come, you come and fill this place" (-Meet With Me- Lamont Heibert of Ten Shekel Shirt)

So, when I sing this- the last line sung I sing referring to me as "this" place- but based on the first lines- I don't think that's the intention. Note my italics.

I know that churches are often times dedicated for the Lord, and they are seen as "holy" places. But why do we only do the holy, or think of the holy while there? I was at our young adult group the other nigth and one person mentioned a friend of hers who swears every time he sneezes, so he can't sneeze in church. This begged me think of this- so it's not ok to swear in church, but everywhere else he can sneeze and swear?

I know people who think it's sacreligious to meet a significant other in church because that's a holy place... and somehow relationships are banned from the sacred? I know people who all the time say, well, we can't do that in "church" as though God is somehow always in church so we can't do it, but he's not somewhere else so we're not going to offend him there. ?? anone else see the trouble in this thinking?

In the Old Testament, God's manifest presence was found in either the tabernacle of meeting, or in the Temple! Sound familiar? The people would go to the temple, do the right things, then too many would live their lives however they wanted to- because God was in the temple, but not elsewhere- in their minds.

Now we live in a day and age where God does not dwell in temple made with hands. We are told that our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19). God dwells in us, not just in the church. So if there's a conviction about swearing, or anything else- church is no different of a place than anywhere else.

When Jesus was on earth, he spent a lot of his time with the sinners. So why should we think that God, or the Holy Spirit dwell only in the "holy" places now? I understand that often times we do things in church because of other perceptions, but... I know someone who was talking about how kissing, handholding, and anything romantically inclined didn't belong in church because "we're here to focus on God!" I used to kinda agree that we are here to focus on God, but i realize more and more how much that is a ludicrous statement! Of course, we put our focus on God in church, but should we not put our focus on God as often as we can, church or no church? Should we not spend time with God outside of church? Is it ok to hold hands outside of church because we're not focussed on God?

anyway- just a few thoughts- Jesus does not dwell in church- He dwells in our hearts! When we come together, it is not asking the Spirit to join us, it is our awareness of the Spirit moving and working in and among us. This is not some new age God is everywhere and in everything- because i don't think God is in a tree- but I do believe that God is not restricted to some building we put together.

"I may not know very much about God, but I will say this- we've made a pretty good box for Him"- Homer Simpson (episode babf11- s11e15- Missionary Impossible) after building a church in microasia.

Life after Elections

So the election hype is over- we have figured out who our nation's leader will be for the next 4 years. And I didn't post this earlier because i was having trouble with the website last week. Regardless, this post has nothing to do with politics, nor will it be a well thought out idea that is reasoned semi-logically. I just like my title, and decided i need to post something to keep my viewers happy- assuming i have any viewers. I have two comments posted on previous blogs, so I must have viewers, right?

So, I struggle sometimes with stuff. Last weekend, I was taking my students through an "encounter night" which is part of our youth ministry direction- to have time set aside to encounter Jesus instead of always doing stuff, learning, teaching, etc. I want my students to be given time to spend time with Jesus to help them to cultivate the habit in their own lives. Anyway- this requires me to spend that time myself, and more so than I normally take.

So I was sitting there going through psalm 46 one day- and I felt this conversation going on:

me- "Lord, man- this is a busy day! I have a lot to do, but i'm gonna try to spend some time with you. Boy there are so many things to do this week! But I want to give you a little time today, so, here it is. Anything to share with me?"

God- "Be still and know that I am God"

me- "right... I will, but first... holy cow, too much to do this week. First, I have some requests for you. Would you like to hear them? I know they seem like a good bit, but... I have more than requests for you! I want to spend time with you, and ask you to change me! Transform me- there's so much going on- help me to be more like Jesus! I want to be like Him so that with everything going on, I can handle it all! What cand I do?"

God- "Be still and know that I am God"

me- "Again, sounds like good advice. I'll get there, I promise! But can you give me something specific to do? My head is always swimming with stuff, and I'm always going though stuff so quickly. it's rough- I've got so much to worry about- my youth ministry, my young adults- how do i get more people to come out for those? I want to set the example for them, but..."

God- "Be still and know that I am God"

me- "Come on, that's it? don't you have anything else for me? SHEESH!! Come on- that can't be all there is! Don't you say anything else? what can i do?"

God- "Be still..."

me- "I know! Come on, something else!! that's all? Lord- i'm scared of the quiet, i don't want to quiet everything down... when i bring it down you know what's there! I have to come face to face with You! And that scares me because i have to come face to face with my own sinfulness, my own unworthiness, and how much i've messed up, even recently- I don't want to face that!"

God- "Are you done?"

me- "yeah, i think so..."

God- "Good. Be still and know that I am God."

...

Surprise, Surprise

So it's November 3, the day after the election, and surprise, surprise- I am without the knowledge of who my next president is. The commentators seem sure it will be George W. Bush to continue his term, mostly because Ohio does not have enough outstanding votes to make up the ground that John Kerry does not have.

I do not know this, although my mathematically inclined mind tends to agree that when a lead is 136,000 and there are an estimated 140,000 ballots left out there- it is nearly impossible to overcome, and even if there were 240,000 out there, John Kerry would have to take more than 2/3 of them, which... may be possible, but it is likely the votes are split. Anyway- just me showing off my brain.

The real reason I'm writing to day- when did honor and dignity go out the door in the United States? 4 years ago, I went to sleep fairly sure that my new President was George W. Bush on election night, and then I woke up to "well, we're not sure now because Al Gore is challenging Florida." Not to blame Gore- it was a close state, but he still lost it, and the election. This year, John Kerry seems to be a bit better- because he's not insisting on a recount in Ohio, he's just betting against the odds that he will pull out a miracle (as of the time of this writing). it's strange, however, because Al Gore won the popular vote, but John Kerry isn't even close in the popular vote. But there is no concession, even though it seems that it is highly unlikely.

Not to just talk about the vote. The way campaigning on television commercials, and in speeches, and... all that is disgusting! No one takes the high road of not attacking anymore, and I would suppose that if someone did, they wouldn't win. I would refuse to particpate in mudslinging... and I would lose.

And both parties had lawyers ready to go and contest results? Argh! At least John Kerry seems to have some class and is not demanding recounts, but... What are the odds that he can win? I think it is very slim... And I do not say this because I support one over the other, I say it because the office of president should belong to someone with dignity, and if you cannot concede a race that you more than likely can't win, then you should not be there anyway. I am not sure what Bush would do- he may do the same thing, and if he did, I would complain again. But this is the way it is now, so what is the candidate doing about it?

Where is our dignity? Where is our honor? Who is our president?

Wanna talk politics?

As I write this, I still am without knowledge of who my next president is- although all the commentators seems quite sure it would take a comeback bigger than the Red Sox vs. Yankees in 2004 for John Kerry to win the election. However, over the past few weeks, months, and even years, I have heard a lot of things that make me want to just comment on my Blog about politics.

I have heard so many people tell me a number of things for this election. I agree that it is VERY important for Americans to vote- even if you don't know who you want to vote for, it is very important because we all must recognize that we have a privledge that too many people in the world do not have.

However, I have heard so many people tell me this- vote for George W. Bush because he is a good Christian man. I do not dispute the claim to faith that this man has- because it is not my place to judge his faith. He seems to be very genuine, and his stances on issues such as abortion, homosexual marriages and stem-cell research certainly follow my own beliefs on such issues, and are along with many evangelicals.

There are other things which trouble me, though. I was talking with a friend the other day who voted for John Kerry for another reason beyond moral stance. This friend is a devout Christian, and I respect him as much, if not more, than just about any other Christians I know. He, however, like many central Pennsylvanian Christians, is a pacifist. And he finds it hard to trust President Bush because of invading Iraq. He truly believes that this is politically unforgivable. Especially with all the casualties that are after "victory."

I am a just war theorist at best, but... I do not know exactly how I believe about this. But I must say this becuase of my friend's stance on war. If he were elected president, he would have to make decisions that go against his faith. Which brings me to my first point today- we cannot make our voting decisions based on a person's religious affiliation.

I may think it is great that President Bush is an evangelical Christian. I think that's great, but I am SURE that being President has caused him to do things that are contrary to his faith. I am not saying he's a terrible person, but with as much power as the president of the United States has, it is going to make it tough for him to be true to faith all the time. Too many Christians can find no fault with the man, but let's be honest- nobody is perfect. In some ways, Christians are holding him as sort of a national pastor (see Blog regarding the requirement of perfect pastors).

I could continue to drive this point home by making my point again, but honestly, I believe that Christians would be required to compromise if elected President. My friend and I both agreed that we would not want to be there- even though it seems like it could be real cool.

The other point of this Blog today, the day after election day, is this. My brothers and I have talked politics, and one of my good friends and I came to the same conclusion. This election, if it goes to John Kerry, would be won on hate. I am not saying that the President would normally win (no one can say this- although he won the popular vote by 3.5 million this time). But the point is this- there are so many people in the United States that hate George W. Bush that they are willing to vote for his opponent regardless.

At so many repulican rallies, there are protestors. And I saw more signs of "No More War" than I did "elect Kerry/Edwards." More people seemed to be actively opposing the war issue than they did to be supporting a candidate. I am not saying there are true John Kerry supporters out there, but many of the people who I know would have voted Kerry would have done so because they hate Bush.

Hate is a powerful motivator- but when it comes to electing a president, as much as religious affiliation cannot be your only deciding factor, hate (and other strong emotions) cannot be your only deciding factor too. People should have researched a lot more than they did and not just taken everything at face value. There is much more below the surface for everyone to discover that should make a difference in your vote.

So, with that said- I just wanted to talk about my view on this election. Who did I vote for?

I'm not telling...