Mistaken

Warren Barfield wrote a song called "Mistaken" which was on his self-titled CD. I heard it for the first time at a Third Day concert in Monroe a couple of years ago where Warren opened for them. He was out on the stage, just him and his guitar. I was instantly hooked. I don't know another song that speaks to the calling of humanity as does this song. In case you haven't heard it, here are the lyrics:

I shouldn’t have to tell you who I am
Cause who I am should be speaking for itself
Cause if I am who I want to be
Then who you see won’t even be me
Oh the more and more I disappear
The more and more He becomes clear

[CHORUS]:
‘ Til everyone I talk to hears His voice
And everything I touch feels the warmth of His hand
‘ Til everyone I meet
Sees Jesus in me
This is all I wanna be
I wanna be mistaken
For Jesus
Oh I wanna be mistaken

Do they only see who we are
But who we are should be pointing them to Christ
Cause we are who He chose to use
To spread the news
Of the way the truth and the life
Oh I want all I am to die
So all He is can come alive

‘ Til everyone I talk to hears His voice
And everything I touch feels the warmth of His hand
‘ Til everyone I meet
Sees Jesus in me
This is all I wanna be
I wanna be mistaken
For Jesus
Oh I wanna be
Oh I need to be mistaken
For you
Oh I wanna be mistaken

[BRIDGE]:
May He touch with my hands
See through my eyes
May He speak through my lips
Live through my life
I want Him to
I want Him to live

It is my desire to be mistaken for Jesus.

SIM CP

Da Vinci Code: The Movie

I made it to "The Da Vinci Code" movie yesterday. I was bracing for the protest , but not much of one (about 8 people with two signs at the marquee).
The movie was good. Because I has already read the book, I was "informed" as to what was going to happen, so the shock factor wasn't there. The coolest thing was seeing the places talked about in the book. I am a Tom Hanks and Ron Howard fan, and I liked Tom's performance and Ron's direction. There was a bit more visual to the self mortification of the albino monk than I think was necessary, but what you gonna do. All in all, a good action/thriller.

Somethings I Have Learned From My Kids

I, as I have been for some time, am reading several books (Currently, "The Importance of Being Foolish, How to Think Like" Jesus by Brennen Manning and 1st to Die by James Patterson). I have mentioned in earlier posts that I feel the more I read the less I understand, which still holds true. One thing that I am really trying to learn right now is what Jesus' thoughts were and what He really focused on. To me, when someone talks enough about a subject, it would seem that they are passionate about that subject. I guess there are people in the world that talk about things that don't really matter to them, but I would venture a guess that the numbers are few. In regard to Jesus, He really cared about the "poor". Your guess is as good as mine, but my thoughts have changed on what Jesus means by "poor". Used to, I would understand that to mean, lacking in financial means, now it seems to me to mean much more. For instance (and I will not bore you with exact biblical references, things I myself usually read over when someone else does), when asked about kingdom greatness, Jesus uses a child to illustrate. I have recently learned that a child in ancient Israel was not as esteemed as children in modern America are, and sometimes, even looked upon with disdain. A child was considered of little or no importance until such time that he (girls/women's place in society never changed)was old enough to be considered an adult, around adolescence. Knowing that, Jesus used an object of "poor" reputation in society to illustrate His point, those that are of little or no importance by the world's standards are "poor". He said to His disciples, who were wondering how to get the best seats in Jesus' Kingdom, that to enter God's Kingdom (God's Kingdom? Here, now, later? Not sure on that), one had to become like a child.
I have wrestled with that statement for several days. Jesus talked very highly of children, going so far as to ridicule His disciples who were trying to prevent children from approaching Jesus. He was a little angry about that. Again proving His esteem for children.
That being said (boy, that took awhile to say) and if you are still reading, here is where I am with "being like a child". Those of you that have kids, have you ever sat down and observed your kids without them noticing. Of course, you may see more than you want to see, but there have been times when God has really taught me a valuable lesson simply by observing my kids. For example, kids play with anybody that is around. They don't care about what their skin color is (mine simply say they were playing with, "that boy" or "that girl", rarely is color mentioned and when it is, it doesn't mean anything, they are just communicating to me who they were playing with), they don't care if they are dirty, poor, well off, tall, short, etc. They just play. Another thing I have learned about God through my kids is, I like to watch them sleep. I know that sounds weird or freaky, but in some profound way, it gives me great peace to see my kids sleeping. I think that God gets pleasure watching us sleep (which, not to change the subject {but I will anyway}, I think this goes a long way to disprove that I have to do something to please God).
Lastly, an important thing that I have learned is, God loves me as I am, no matter what I do. My kids will always be my kids and I will always love them. When I have said this in the past to people, they quickly challenge me with questions like, "What if one of your boys grows up and "becomes" (not quite sure how this happens) homosexual?" or "What if one of your boys marries a girl of ethnicity?" or "What if one of your boys kills someone?" My answer is the same. I will love them as I have always loved them. Granted, none of these things have happened, but I really feel deep down in my gut, that I will still love them the same. This gives me great comfort. I believe that God loves me just as I am. Lazy, depressed, fat, selfish, any other trait that would, by the world's standard, be considered unflattering, God loves me. I don't wish to be these things, and I am not this way all the time, but I am from time to time, unappealing. But through it all, God still loves me more than I could ever imagine. He forgives my short-comings everyday. Its as if everyday, God has completely forgotten those things which hurt His heart just hours before. To prove my point, think about Jesus' attitude towards His disciples after the resurrection. He greets them in the upper room with, "Peace to you. Do not be afraid". No, "Well, if it isn't the scardy cats..." or any other sarcastic statement. Even when He visits with them, after they have spent the night fishing, He doesn't even bring it up! What does He do, cooks them some fish! It's as though it never happened. This is God as I understand Him to this point and frankly, He will not be the One changing.

Help me God to understand You more and more. It is my dream for my life. Thank you for loving me in spite of all the crap in my life. I know that I don't deserve Your love, but You give it anyway. Its hard for me to say most times, but I love You.

The Beloved,
SIM CP

For everything else....there's childhood.

Garden hose----------$10
Water sprinkler------$5
To be a kid again----Priceless

Even More on Dan's Diabolical Treatise...

At Barna.org there is an interesting article from the Barna research group about "The Da Vinci Code". The whole article is good and focuses on the fact that overall this book has not effected most, 95%, of people who have read the book "cover to cover".
As a side note, The Town Talk (local newspaper), in the opinion section today, a group of people will be having a PPP, peaceful, prayerful protest outside of the Grand Theatre May 19th. There reason is because they want to "honor our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ and to console him and make reparation for insults to his sacredness". WHAT!?! Console Jesus? Insults to His sacredness!?! What does this book/movie do to people who are probably somewhat normal otherwise? Do we have to defend the Lord? Is He not God? Does He need mortal humans to defend His honor? I think not! He is God! Regardless of what a book or movie says. Jesus Christ is the unique Son of God and He certainly doesn't need me or anyone else to "make reparation for insults to his sacredness". Come on, give me a break!

SIM CP

More on "The Code"

"Christianity, Christian ideas and ideals have for good reason withstood so many challenges that a 'Da Vinci Code' whodunit in no way presents a threat," director Ron Howard recently reassured the German press.

I was reading the Drudge Report and came across an article which tells how "The Da Vinci Code" is being reacted to by different religious groups presented by the media on a global level. Ron Howards quote sums it up for me. What is Christianity if it cannot withstand a "whodunit" fiction book? Christianity, or the following of Christ, has nothing to fear. What are we if a book of fiction is shaking the foundation of our belief system? I believe what the bible says about Jesus. He was/is God's Son, wholly man, wholly divine. He was without sin. The bible doesn't say specifically that Jesus never married, but I understand that to be true, on faith. It has never been an issue for me. When I was reading the book, the only thing that kept me turning the pages, was finding out the different codes and their solutions. The book's facts about Jesus and Mary were not even on the radar for me. It was a page turner because it took enough fact and blended in a lot of fiction, and the result was great. Once I got to the halfway point, I didn't put it back down. I stayed up till 2:30am to finish it. I wasn't let down. After that, I got all of Dan Brown's books and they are very similar in style, meaning they use a small amount of fact and mix in great amounts of fiction and...Viola! a great book. Not all of them are excellent, but all are good.
My hope is that when all of this hoopla is settled, we can get back to enjoying a good tale of "whodunit".

SIM Church Planter

The Dogs Playing Poker Code

Without a doubt one of the funniest things that I have ever read. Go here to read this hilarious take on "The Da Vinci Code". While your there, cruise around this great satire magazine on religion.

SIM Church Planter

The DaVinci Code

I have to write an entry on this. It is so apparent that the world is on the fundamentalism bandwagon. If it is not Harry Potter corrupting all the children of the world with his "magic", it's Dan Brown's DaVinci Code making life for the modern-day Pharisee's down right unbearable. I have to admit, I just don't get it. When I was growing up, I didn't think that people had fairy godparents that would grant them any wish. I didn't think that taking a bedknob and turning it three quarter turns clockwise would make the bed, on which it was on, travel to the bottom of Naboomboo lagoon. I didn't think that, despite the fact that he wore a cool cape, Superman could really fly and stop bullets with his chest and jump over skyscrapers. It's called fiction. I am really getting tired of all the hype surrounding fictional characters and storylines. If you have nothing else to do but protest fiction, well then you really do have too much time on your hands. Fiction is by definition NOT REAL. I will admit that there are probably some poor souls out there that believe Harry Potter can cast magic spells or that Jesus was married and had children, but these people are also the ones that propitiate things like conspiracy theories, UFOs, and crop circles. I don't buy for a moment that sane, mature, clear thinking adults will believe the DaVinci Code or Harry Potter are things based on reality. They, as I, have seen these things for what they are, fiction (again not real). The other thing that bothers me is the people making the most noise about it are usually the people that have never watched a single minute of the Harry Potter movies or read The DaVinci Code. That really makes me ill. How can someone make a judgment call on someone else's opinion. I challenge anyone reading this blog, to read the DaVinci Code or watch an episode of the Harry Potter series. The catch is watching or reading without a presupposed opinion, that'll be the tricky part.
The bottom line is fiction is just that, fiction. It is not supposed to be reality. I really enjoy fiction for that reason. Reading or watching a movie/book of fiction allows me to go places I'll probably never go. See (in my mind) things I'll never see. It is an outlet from reality. It is a break from what is going on around me that I can't change. It's freedom, for a time, from the hecticness of life.
As a closer, I'll close with a quote from Jesus (my interp.),"The way you are judged is in direct proportion to how you judge".
SIM CP