:Book Review:

Just wanted to share a review I had to write for a course I'm taking on a book that was assigned to us. I found the book VERY interesting, and would encourage everyone to read it, if they have the chance. There's lots of good stuff to wrestle with and think through--and it's one of those books that challenges you in different ways to think about things differently. 

Anyway, the book's called "Flickering Pixels" by Shane Hipps. Check it out!

...and here's the review.

Book Reading & Response

“Flickering Pixels” by Shane Hipps

            Shane Hipps’ book, Flickering Pixels, was a very intriguing read for me. It is definitely one of those books that I will likely be reading again in the near future, just to wrestle with it further. In it, Hipps basic premise is that the medium by which a message is delivered (i.e. television, radio, written word, etc) has an effect on us, regardless of the message it carries. Whether a positive or negative message, the medium will always have its own effect on the receiver of said message. Hipps also suggests that every medium can, does, and, (if not handled correctly), will “reverse” on itself—that is to say, something that started out as a positive influence, will eventually reverse on itself and become a negative influence, if not handled in a wise manner. One major example of this, to Hipps, is the cell phone—what was meant to connect people and make people accessible has in many ways made the people right in front of us LESS accessible than ever before, because their lives are run by every beep emanating from the little black box on their hip. Hipps speaks fairly in-depth about how our faith is a “communicated faith”—how from the beginning, it was passed on through oral tradition, then written down, and passed on that way. He speaks of how Jesus and Paul and others throughout scripture taught using the spoken word, and how this shaped their listeners—how (Hipps argues) the message changed depending on those they were speaking to (i.e. Jesus presented a different message than Paul did, due to speaking to Jews instead of Gentiles). He uses the example that certain passages in scripture will mean one thing to a rich businessman, and another thing to someone living under a communist regime. When it all boils down to it, Hipps’ main argument is that, to some degree, the medium IS the message. The medium we use affects the message we are presenting.

            Insofar as the effectiveness of this argument is concerned, I think that Hipps presents his argument well. He seems to tackle things in a well-though-out way, and covers all his angles well. I’m not so sure as to whether or not he presents it in such a way that would convince all readers, though. I know I, for one, still take issue with some of his points, and because of such, if we’re measuring the argument’s effectiveness on the basis of whether or not it’s convincing, I’d have to say that it is not completely convincing, depending on your own convictions and beliefs. One of the main arguments in his book was actually one that I took issue with. As I said above, Hipps argues that the message changed, depending on who someone was speaking to. He continues this line of reasoning by stating that the message does change, depending on the medium, and that our message needs to change along with our mediums. I’m not sure that I agree. Paul and Jesus may have presented the message differently, but the gist of the message was the same—believe in Jesus, and you will be saved (Paul uses those words, and Jesus talked about how he was the ONLY way to the Father). The heart of the message didn’t change—their presentation did. So I would argue that the way our message LOOKS may change, the methods we use to communicate that message might change, but the heart of the message itself does not (or maybe should not) change. Our message is still (or should be) the gospel of Jesus Christ that we see through the pages of scripture. I don’t know if I agree that whether we use video or music or printed word to communicate it changes the message. I agree with his argument that the medium speak their own message, and that they affect us in their own unique ways (completely separate from the message they are carrying), but I simply don’t see eye-to-eye with him on the fact that the message itself changes (perhaps, though, when it all boils down to it, this is more an argument of semantics—i.e. the meaning of the word ‘message’ in this context—rather than actually not seeing eye-to-eye).

            As far as it affects my thinking, life, and ministry, I think that there was plenty of good food for thought in the book, and lots to pull from that was (and is) very important to keep in mind when working with and incorporating technology into our lives and ministries. I think that Hipps’ argument about technologies reversing on themselves is a very valid one, and proves the whole concept that anything taken too far can become something negative. The challenge we’re up against, I think, as individuals and churches, is learning where that line of “too far” is. It’s also a challenge of ensuring that our congregations are educated as to the influences of technology (now, as to how we would go about doing that, I don’t know… but I think many of society’s—and the churches—issues stem from a lack of education on the part of many people toward certain things). The trick is to learn and understand the power of the particular medium you are working with, and then to use that medium wisely, without allowing it to use you, or without using it to manipulate in a wrong manner. I’m not sure that it changed my thinking, per se, to read this book, but I know it definitely brought to the forefront some things that I felt convinced of, at least to some degree, already. I know that I will (and already have made) make more conscious choices and decisions regarding my use and the level of inundation of technology in my life—these are tools, not things designed to use me as their tool.

In the end, though, isn’t it fascinating how much power a medium holds? Think about the communication tools we’ve got available—and how incredibly powerful they are! Is it any small wonder to us that, when used incorrectly, or pushed too far, they become a powerfully destructive force as well?

--Sam

:In Review--2011:

So here’s a recap of my goals for the past year, and a bit of a look at how I did on them.

They are organized by month and goal, with the status (i.e. how I did on that particular goal) and reason (as in “the reason I scored myself this way”, [NOT AN EXCUSE!]) listed underneath them:

January—            To Retake Control of My Goals…

• By completing a plan for what my monthly goals are
• STATUS: Completed
• THE REASON: I had this sheet of goals completed within the first couple days of the new year.
• By sharing my goals with my accountability
• STATUS: Completed
• THE REASON: Once I typed this all up, I had my wife read it.
• By submitting to God’s leading and guidance throughout the process of setting and completing goals
• STATUS: Completed
• THE REASON: I embarked on this journey with much prayer. What was perhaps missing (to some extent) was a continued pressing in for guidance.

February—            To Retake Control of My Devotional Life…

• By spending time in prayer daily (personal & as a couple)
• STATUS: Spotty. Needs work.
• THE REASON: This is an area I’ve always struggled with tackling on a daily basis. I don’t know why—it just is. Definitely a goal for next year.
• By spending time in scripture daily (personal & as a couple)
• STATUS: Spotty. Needs work.
• THE REASON: This is an area I’ve always struggled with tackling on a daily basis. I don’t know why—it just is. Definitely a goal for next year.
• By journaling thoughts and words from God
• STATUS: So-So. Improvement has been seen in this area in recent months, but work still needs to be done here.
• THE REASON: This is an area I’ve always struggled with tackling on a daily basis. I don’t know why—it just is. Definitely a goal for next year. It’s seen improvement through things like the LDN (the course I’m taking)… but it’s not where I’d like it to be yet.

March—            To Retake Control of My Finances…

• By tracking spending more carefully
• STATUS: So-So. Improvement has been seen in this area in recent months, but work still needs to be done here.
• THE REASON: I’ve been busy, disorganized, and lazy with this. I really just need to do it, rather than making excuses. I’m stepping up this goal in the new year.
• By reducing unnecessary costs
• STATUS: Healthily Improved. Much progress has been seen, but more steps could still be taken in this area.
• THE REASON: Mostly necessity. We’ve cut corners as far as cost is concerned in as many places as we can, and are looking for new ways to do it all the time. It’s become a game. There are a few areas we can still cut costs in, so we’ll continue to work on this in the new year.
• By attempting to begin some sort of savings plan for various purposes
• STATUS: As-If. No steps were taken in this area. The desire was there, but the means and follow-through were not present.
• THE REASON: Simply a matter of cash-flow and income-allocation. We’re pushing harder to unload certain debts, which will, in turn free up some money to begin some sort of savings-type plan. We’ll see what happens in the new year.

April—            To Retake Control of My Time…

• By cutting back on time wasted on internet
• STATUS: Healthily Improved. Much progress has been seen, but more steps could still be taken in this area.
• THE REASON: I cut out all games on facebook, except for one, which I rarely, if ever, play any more. This means that the internet is primarily a news source, connection point (email and facebook), and writing outlet (blog) for me now. I find myself bumming around on the net a lot less often now for no reason.
• By cutting back on time spent “moping” around
• STATUS: Completed
• THE REASON: Part of this was the internet games. I’d get bored, and spend time on them. This would only make me more bored. I’ve found myself less bored since working on this, and more engaged in life.
• By creating time for the things I love and to celebrate & enjoy life
• STATUS: So-So. Improvement has been seen in this area in recent months, but work still needs to be done here.
• THE REASON: I’m still not GREAT at managing my time, and need to work on creating time, rather than creating excuses.

May—                        To Retake Control of My Music…

• By spending at least 1 hour per week writing or learning music outside of church responsibilities
• STATUS: As-If. No steps were taken in this area. The desire was there, but the means and follow-through were not present.
• THE REASON: This goes back to the “creating time” issue. Definitely needs work.
• By creating space/time for learning new songs, instruments, and techniques
• STATUS: As-If. No steps were taken in this area. The desire was there, but the means and follow-through were not present.
• THE REASON: See above.
• By creating space/time for recording and editing
• STATUS: So-So. Improvement has been seen in this area in recent months, but work still needs to be done here.
• THE REASON: I’ve been doing more of this since Ben and Mark moved into town, but it’s still been a challenge, due to the “creating time” issue. Needs work still.

June—            To Retake Control of My Photography…

• By spending at least 1 hour per week intentionally out seeking photos
• STATUS: Spotty. Needs Work.
• THE REASON: Again, with the “Creating time” thing. I’ve realized that some of these goals need to be scaled back and maybe “generalized” a little bit, so that they have a little more room for flex, and are a little more attainable in a busy schedule.
• By carrying a camera with me as often as possible (appropriate camera to situation)
• STATUS: So-So. Improvement has been seen in this area in recent months, but work still needs to be done here.
• THE REASON: I’ve just gotten out of the habit. Time to get back into it.
• By organizing and cataloging photos & dreaming up possible commercial applications
• STATUS: Healthily Improved. Much progress has been seen, but more steps could still be taken in this area.
• THE REASON: I’ve organized and cataloged MUCH of my photo collection, and have worked on getting things ready for craft fairs, farmers markets, etc. Now we just need to actually start doing them…

July—                        To Retake Control of My Writing…

• By spending at least 1 hour per week writing lyrics, poetry, novels, or books (separate from music writing time)
• STATUS: Spotty. Needs work.
• THE REASON: “Creating time”. What else can I say?
• By blogging thoughts/whatever at least once a week
• STATUS: Spotty. Needs work.
• THE REASON: See above.
• By spending at least 15 minutes reading a newspaper, book, or magazine daily
• STATUS: Completed.
• THE REASON: I’ve done this most of the year at work now. It’s been great. Very enlightening, inspirational, and thought-provoking, even when it’s just fluff. It’s amazing what’s out there when you choose to engage with it.

August—            To Retake Control of My Routine…

• By implementing the above and following goals into my life
• STATUS: So-So. Improvement has been seen in this area in recent months, but work still needs to be done here.
• THE REASON: Well, you’ve read this all so far—didn’t do as well as I had hoped, but better than I could have done. =P
• By establishing a routine for wake-up and bedtime
• STATUS: So-So. Improvement has been seen in this area in recent months, but work still needs to be done here.
• THE REASON: I’ve been getting up at pretty much the same time, and my morning routine is establishing itself. But I still need to work on it somewhat, and in some areas.
• By establishing a routine in everyday things (i.e. hygiene, dishes, laundry, etc.)
• STATUS: So-So. Improvement has been seen in this area in recent months, but work still needs to be done here.
• THE REASON: it’s just hard to establish routine with a young child and a busy schedule (even though that’s a bigger reason to have routine!). We’ll keep working on this one.

September—            To Retake Control of My Ministry Administration…

• By re-establishing a contact list of emails & phone numbers
• STATUS: Completed
• THE REASON: I’ve got an email list, and the church directory. We’re god to go.
• By ensuring I am on track with ministry goals
• STATUS: Completed
• THE REASON: any ministry goals I had for this past year were completed.
• By making sure all records & binders, folders, etc. are up to date and current
• STATUS: So-So. Improvement has been seen in this area in recent months, but work still needs to be done here.
• THE REASON: We’ve got lots to do on this front (new songs from the past year)… but it can be done in a day or afternoon sometime, and we’ll be up to date. The trick is staying on top of it so it doesn’t become so HUGE.

October—            To Retake Control of My Communication…

• By re-establishing my efforts to romance my wife
• STATUS: So-So. Improvement has been seen in this area in recent months, but work still needs to be done here.
• THE REASON: I’ve definitely improved here—and perhaps I’m my own worst critic in this area as well. But I always see room for improvement—therefore, this one’s carrying over into next year.
• By re-establishing (and maintaining, insofar as it depends on me) contact with key friends
• STATUS: Spotty. Needs work.
• THE REASON: Creating the time, again. It’s been better this year than in years past, but it still needs improvement.
• By making an effort to maintain solid and regular communication with family
• STATUS: So-So. Improvement has been seen in this area in recent months, but work still needs to be done here.
• THE REASON: the business of life gets in the way, along with the distance. Really, we just need to make more of an effort.

November—            To Retake Control of My Organization…

• By implementing the above and following goals into my life
• STATUS: Healthily Improved. Much progress has been seen, but more steps could still be taken in this area.
• THE REASON: Many of these goals were either completed, or worked on quite heavily. It’s the most goal-oriented year I’ve had in a long time. It felt good, but still needs work.
• By establishing an organizational structure & method for all papers, receipts, books, movies, cd’s, etc. by which they can all be found and returned easily and efficiently
• STATUS: Spotty. Needs work.
• THE REASON: Just never worked on this to the extent that I desired to. Will work on this again in the coming year.
• By creating a method/task-list by which organization can be maintained to at least a nominal level
• STATUS: Spotty. Needs work.
• THE REASON: See above.

December—            To Retake Control of My Plans For The Future…

• By submitting the past year to God and praying for guidance for the future
• STATUS: So-So. Improvement has been seen in this area in recent months, but work still needs to be done here.
• THE REASON: Definitely need to spend more time working on this one.
• By laying out new goals for the year of 2012
• STATUS: Completed
• THE REASON: I’ve already completed a new goal list for 2012.
• By looking ahead and laying out more long-term goals
• STATUS: Spotty. Needs work.
• THE REASON: Haven’t really sat down to set out long-term goals. I’ve got some in mind, but we’ve never put them in writing.

Overall—

• To find creative ways to inexpensively celebrate more things in life
• STATUS: Healthily Improved. Much progress has been seen, but more steps could be taken in this area.
• THE REASON: Kudos to my wife on this one. She’s amazing, and has been drastically helping me in this area.
• To learn to balance work and rest more effectively in my life
• STATUS: Healthily Improved. Much progress has been seen, but more steps could be taken in this area.
• THE REASON: I’m learning what it means to balance life with a family. It’s not easy, but I’m working on it, and it’s making a difference.
• To become a better husband and father
• STATUS: Healthily Improved. Much progress has been seen, but more steps could be taken in this area.
• THE REASON: I’ve always got room to grow in this area. I can always be better than I am currently. So this is an ongoing goal.

 Kinda fun to look back and see what was/wasn't accomplished. Here's to a whole NEW YEAR!

:Here's To A More Intentional 2012:

So I did this last year, too—to a reasonable amount of success. I still have to go back and find my goals and see how well I did as far as meeting them (I'll post them [along with my review on how I did] when I find them!)—but I feel like I can confidently say that it worked FAR better than setting “resolutions” has EVER worked for me in the past.

So, having said that, I have again, for 2012, chosen a major area in life that I want to “re-engage” in. I’ve specifically chosen the word “re-engage” for a couple reasons: first, it implies active involvement that extends beyond the first time doing it. So the point is to continue on with these goals, beyond the initial 30-days. Second, engaging implies that I am already involved in these things—I’m merely setting a goal that’s beyond what I’m currently doing. Third, the idea of engaging means that something is already going on—and I’m stepping in to be a part of it. I found that last year, when I talked about “retaking control” of things, it put the onus on me and my strength, rather than creating this idea of reliance on God to give the strength to follow through on my goals.

As I said, for each month, I’ve chosen a major area of my life. I’ve set three simple goals in each area—ways to re-engage in these areas of life. By doing this, I make these things reachable and measurable (i.e. it’ll be pretty obvious if I am or am not doing them!) Working on these things isn’t JUST confined to that particular month—I may begin working on some of them earlier than the month they are in… but the main focus for each month will be trying to work that goal into my life, with the hope that I will have reached most of them by the end of the year. Here’s to a more intentional 2012!

They say it takes 30 days to make a habit. So the hope is to make each of these things a habit by the end of the year.  Here goes nothing!

JANUARY: To re-engage in my devotional life by:

• Spending at least 15 minutes a day in scripture
• Spending at least 15 minutes a day in journaling/engaging
• Spending at least 15 minutes a day in prayer
  
  

FEBRUARY: To re-engage in my marriage by:

• Dating my wife (either out, or in-house) once a week, unless absolutely impossible (no lame excuses!)
• Leaving love notes and messages for her each day before I leave for work
• Creating time and space for her to have time to pursue her loves
  
  

MARCH: To re-engage in my family life by:

• Protecting one day a week as a family day—nothing work-related gets scheduled on these days!
• Protecting as many evenings as possible by getting work done during work (and morning) hours
• Intentionally engaging together in playing at least as hard as we work (i.e. taking time to rest, play, hike, camp, whatever)
  
  

APRIL: To re-engage in my schedule by:

• Engaging in these goals
• Setting a “wake-up” time, and keeping it unless utterly necessary to break it
• Building healthy routine into my life
  
  

MAY: To re-engage in my finances by:

• Beginning to track things as closely as I did when we first got married (paper trails for everything!)
• Committing to saying “no” to the credit card unless the money is there (or it’s an absolute emergency)
• Putting any extras against debt and bills, rather than just allowing it to disappear (i.e. TELLING our money where to go)
  
  

JUNE: To re-engage in my health by:

• Continuing to bike to work whenever possible (which means sometimes doing it when I don’t feel like it!)
• Spending time exercising as a family (biking, hiking, walking, etc)
• Making wise food choices, and sticking to them.
  
  

JULY: To re-engage in my hobbies by:

• Blogging/writing at least once a week
• Carrying a camera and taking photos/video whenever it avails itself
• Intentionally creating time to complete projects
  
  

AUGUST: To re-engage in my work by:

• Learning to see the joys in whatever work I am currently doing
• Actively pursuing work options (regardless of how frightened I may be by stepping out!)
• Continuing to strive to do the best I can at whatever I am doing
  
  

SEPTEMBER: To re-engage in my projects by:

• Spending a half-hour writing at least once a week
• Spending a half-hour working on a manual project (i.e. building, etc) at least once a week
• Actively pursing creative ways to supply/fund my projects
  
  

OCTOBER: To re-engage in my communication by:

• Re-connecting with key relationships via letters, etc.
• Learning to be a better listener
• Working on a (at least) yearly family newsletter for family/friends
  
  

NOVEMBER: To re-engage in my ministry by:

• Continually seeking out new materials and inspiration
• Continually seeking out new ways to use my (and others’) time more effectively
• Continually seeking out new methods to draw new musicians/ministry members in and draw new things out of existing team members
  
  

DECEMBER: To re-engage in my neighbourhood by:

• Learning to be unafraid to just say “hello”
• Making a point of engaging in conversation, rather than shying away from it
• Bringing cookies to neighbours (at least 5 houses in either direction) as a way to say “Merry Christmas”.
  
  
  So that's that. We'll talk again (hopefully throughout, but for sure at the end of the year) and see how this has all gone!
  
  --Hobbes

:Surrender: The Jonah Principle:

Just wanted to share my draft of the message I preached at The Well on July 31st.

I never thought I’d get here, but here I am. Preaching the message that I had hoped to use the first time I preached. I guess the fifth time’s the charm.

I used to wake up often in the middle of the night for no apparent reason.

I say used to, because now I wake up often in the middle of the night for a VERY apparent reason. But back to the story. No apparent reason.

At least, that’s how it seemed. As I spent more time throughout those years growing in my faith and understanding of how God was working in my life, I came to realize that the reason was actually quite apparent. It became as clear to me as my hands on the keyboard at this moment…or I guess in THIS moment, it’s my hands in front of me. No keyboard. As clear as a summer day. As apparent as the sum of 1 & 1. Need I go on?

The reason was actually reasons. And it went one of two ways.

Either God wanted me to pray for someone or something, or there was something in me that he wanted to point out and have me change. If he wanted me to pray for someone or something, it was always a pretty sweet deal. I’d lay there praying until the name of the person or thing came to mind, and then pray for them (or it), and almost instantly I would fall back asleep, as if someone flipped me off like a light switch. I got to be involved in interceding for someone, and I got my sleep. Definitely an awesome deal. A pretty sweet gig, if you want to call it that.

But if I didn’t pray for the person, I’d lay there awake and have a fitful sleep at best. See, what it boiled down to for me as this: it’s all about surrendering my agenda rather than pushing for it to be followed.

It’s kinda like what I like to call  “The Jonah Principle”. If you refuse to give up your will and do what God is asking you to do, you’re bound to run into storms. Let’s take a look at this a minute...

Jonah’s a prophet; a man called by God and sent out to deliver messages, and warn the people of coming judgment or other things of that sort. Basically, he’s heaven’s UPS or FedEx delivery guy, minus the cool cargo van (mind you, if you had a FedEx guy come to your door and start shouting about some coming judgment, you’d probably flip out!). He gets the messages to the people in time so that they can repent and turn back to God, before he decides it’s too late and wipes them out or punishes them.

Like our apocalyptic FedEx man above, Jonah (and the other prophets, for that matter) didn’t always receive such a warm welcome. But, in the end, it wasn’t a bad job, overall. He got to see the world for free. And I mean, who can really argue with that? Definitely an awesome deal. A pretty sweet gig, if you want to call it that…

So that’s Jonah’s job description. And like you or I, there were times when he didn’t like his job too much. Take this one time for example.

He’s sitting at home between jobs, waiting for the phone to ring, his pager to go off, his facebook chat window to pop open, or some heavenly twitter to come down from on high…. (For you purists, here ya go. He’s sitting in his tent, just outside of the last town he prophesied to. He was probably sitting on the ground, on a mat that he could easily roll up when he had to travel. His camel was sitting outside, and everything seemed right. He was just about to head to sleep, when…)

All of the sudden this voice pops into his head. He recognizes it right away… it’s God. He knows this because he talks with God all the time. After all, he is working for him, right? So you’d think he would communicate with his boss sometimes. Jonah patiently waits until God is through talking…or at least that’s what he intended to do.

About halfway through God’s latest assignment for Jonah, he mentions a large pagan city called Nineveh. Now, the Israelites really didn’t like the Ninevites… and vice versa.

So Jonah raises a complaint. “Wait a second, God. I don’t want to go there! The people are complete morons! They’re Godless (as if he needed to tell God who was Godless and who wasn’t) and perverted. What on earth do you want me to go there for? I mean, you’ve got to be crazy!”

But God won't hear it. “No, Jonah. I’m not crazy. Warn them to change so that they can repent and be saved from the coming judgement.” It’s obvious that he wants Jonah to go, no questions asked.

So Jonah reluctantly agrees (what he doesn’t seem to realize is that God knows full well that Jonah just said yes to please him, and that in reality he was planning on skipping out first chance he got).

So come morning, instead of heading out to Nineveh, Jonah skips town on a ship headed as far as he could possibly go in the opposite direction

(The really funny thing is, he actually thinks he’s getting away with running off on God).

Well, he rides this ship for a while, and all of the sudden, a huge storm whips up. It’s like nothing the sailors have ever seen before. And they had definitely seen it pretty rough. They're tossing absolutely everything off, over the side of the boat. But nothing’s helping. It looks absolutely inevitable; they are so going down. So they all start praying to different gods and all that, trying to get the storm to stop. But that doesn’t work either. Finally they go down below one last time to see if anything else is in the hold that can be thrown over. They find Jonah, fast asleep in the bottom of the boat.

WHAT THE HECK!? IN THIS STORM?!

Of course, they wake him up and tell him what’s up, and then he confesses that it’s all because he was running away from God that this was happening.

(Seriously, maybe NOT the best thing to admit to a bunch of scared-for-their-lives sailors…).

Instead of killing him out of frustration, like most normal humans would do if their lives were totally jeopardized like theirs were, they actually ask him, Jonah, the cause of everything, what they should do (must have been some storm to make them desperate enough to ask the guy who got them into the mess in the first place to think of some way to get them out of it).

Jonah tells them that all they need to do is throw him off the ship and into the water, and then the storm will stop (again, maybe not the best thing to be saying at this point in time). So they do.

I often wonder exactly how eager they were to throw him off…there’s a part of me that wonders if they weren’t all too happy to see him go down like a stone? At any rate, the storm immediately stops. Then Jonah gets swallowed up by a big fish, spat out on land, and goes and tells the Ninevites to repent. They do, and the whole city is saved. (Yes, I majorly abbreviated that last part, but that’s because it’s beside my point…)

Now, see what I mean? Jonah decided to run away from God and not do what he had been told to do right away, and things got rough. There were some pretty intense consequences.

But as soon as he admitted that he had done wrong, turned around, and did the right thing, things went much smoother. You can read the entire story in the Bible in the book of Jonah… it’s a short book right between the books of Obadiah and Micah, near the end of the Old Testament (which are also very small books too…). It shouldn’t take you too long to read it--it’s only like 2 pages long.

Anyway, that’s what I mean by running into storms. They aren’t always that big, but they are usually always enough to make us go “Oops… I messed things up here…”

So... back to my original story here...waking up at night…In general, I was pretty good with praying for the people, because I really liked my sleep.

How many of you remembered that I was talking about that in the first place?

But when it’s something that God wanted to point out and change in me, I was always a little slower on the draw. I seem to be a slow learner when it comes to things that directly affect me, as weird as that sounds. I guess if it affects someone else, I'm just quicker to change, because I don’t want to cause them any problems.

But I don’t seem to have that much of an issue with causing problems for myself, or creating inconveniences for my own personal walk through life. They’re like self-imposed obstacles and barriers, and sometimes it takes weeks or months or years for me to finally get over them and get their lesson through my thick head.

Very seldom do I learn it on the first try.

I’ve become familiar with spiritual “scraped knees” and “stubbed toes”. Stumbling through the fights I set myself up for is as difficult as finding your way through a pitch black room. And unfortunately, it has become a way of life at times. A habit that isn’t always easy to ignore. It’s counter-intuitive, if you think about it. We want the best for ourselves. So why do we fight it when the best might be a little tougher than sipping lemonade on our back porch on a hot day? Why do we turn down the only antidote for our otherwise incurable disease?

So often, the times that God shows me something that I need to change will turn into an inner wrestling match. Because I can’t be disgusted with God. He’s not the one who is taking forever to grasp the simple concept, laid out so plainly in front of my eyes. I’m too often blinded by other things. So I end up disgusted with--and fighting--myself.

The only problem with fighting yourself is, you are your own perfect match when it comes down to sheer willpower and strength. So unless the one side of you gets God involved, You’ll be wrestling for a long time. And time is not something that comes cheap. Every moment you waste fighting now is a moment you’ll never have again. Funny thing is, that’s not always enough motivation for me to get off my one-track mind and get on board with what God is trying to say to me or the direction he’s leading me in.

I used to spend a lot of time during these “divine wake-up-calls” writing in my journal… most usually at some obscure hour (that’s how these things always seem to work…it’s just a wonder any of it ever made any sense) –but I’d be spending time with no distractions, just really, really wrestling with the sin in my life, the obstacles in my life, the things I refuse to surrender in my life… and how so often I want so badly to change, but I never find a way. Or --even worse-- I refuse to accept the way that is presented to me.

The God-ordained detour takes me where I wanted to go, and it gets me there the best way possible. But I choose to blaze my own trail instead.

Something I found interesting looking back through much of my writing from these years is this: while it wrestles with a lot of very real questions, it doesn’t leave you hanging. Often now, when I write a piece, I will leave my writing hanging or open-ended to leave the listener or reader curious. But I think during this time in my life, I needed to feel the hope produced by an action. So many of my ramblings contained this line:

--I lay it down at your feet--

            To me, this is HUGE. Ultimately, we can wrestle with our sins and addictions and struggles and temptations from now till kingdom come. And we will. I’m sorry I can’t promise that it’ll get any easier. But it’s not that there’s no hope. See, the thing is, without actually taking that step --that action-- and laying it down at the feet of Christ in total surrender—total surrender to the one who was totally surrendered— all of our wrestling is useless and futile struggling, which will inevitably end in failure, with us completely drained and dead. No one can use a dead man for anything.

See, the question is this: Our way, or God’s way? The “rugged individualism” that our society promotes so highly as an ideal to be achieved does not glorify God. But surrender does. God is glorified when we acknowledge that we need him. Jonah found this out the hard way, after being caught in that storm, thrown overboard, and spending three days in the belly of a huge fish. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather learn without some life-or-death situation coming my way first.

Once we’ve taken that initial action, and tasted how sweet surrender really is, we start to want it more and more. So we will come back to Christ again and again and again to gain that freedom that we desire so much; that freedom we crave that he freely gives. When we have discovered the true freedom found only in Christ, we have found the way to change, and we will never be--or never want to be--the same again. The freedom found through surrender is incredible. Don’t let your life drift by without ever tasting that sweet freedom. Refuse to allow yourself to be cheated of this gift. Surrender it all. Take that step.

What is it that you think you can’t surrender in your own life?

What is it that you think you can’t surrender in the life of The Well?

The real challenge comes in here, though. See, surrendering to God is a lifestyle. There may be a point where you say to him: “Hey, God, I give up. You’re in control now. Use me.” But it doesn’t matter who you are, you’re going to need to keep checking up daily to make sure that you are still in that state of surrender. Otherwise our human nature decides to take over and take control. So it’s a constant, ongoing thing, just like eating, drinking, and sleeping. You can’t just coast by and expect it to take care of itself.

            One of my favorite passages that deals with surrender is Romans 12:1-2. It says this:

            “Therefore I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. This is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is for you; his good, pleasing, and perfect will.”

            So we're supposed to offer ourselves, surrender ourselves, and  be transformed by Christ. It's ONLY then that we will know what God's will is in our lives.

I want to share a journal entry that I wrote up shortly after hearing a sermon preached on those verses, and then I’ll expand on the whole deal a little more for you. But check this out:

            What good is it if we present ourselves as living sacrifices, but then keep crawling off the altar? It’s a guarantee; we will crash if we try and pilot our own lives. It’s a flight headed for destruction. We can either be slaves to sin, which leads to death, or we can be slaves to obedience, which leads to righteousness. Which would you rather be?

The biggest problem with us is the fact that most of the time, we aren’t dead to sin, or dead to the things we cant let go of in our lives, we’re just really, really sick. So we get up and walk off the altar. Death is the inability to respond in any way to anything around you. So if we are truly dead, we cant respond to sin. So are we truly dead? Or just really sick? How we live in private; in our homes; where no one else can see us, will reveal who’s really in control; who’s on the throne in our lives.

What do people think of when they think of you? Do they think of Christ? Or something else? It’s a continual process; constant surrender. And it’s not easy. We want control. We want all the gain with none of the pain. We want to take steps forward without running into and problems to hold us back. We want the easy way out; the life on easy street. So what are we holding onto? Whatever is keeping us from dying is keeping us from living. So what’s keeping us from dying? What are we so scared of? Why do we shy away from surrender?

Offering ourselves as living sacrifices is the ultimate form of surrender. It’s saying “God, you know WAY better than me, so I’m going to let you be in control of all that I am, and everything that I’ll ever be.” It’s not something that you can do just flippantly or anything though either. You can't surrender to someone unless you mean it.

The surrender is carried one step further as we are challenged not to “conform any longer to the patterns of this world”. Our surrender needs to be so complete, to total, so overwhelming of the man or woman we used to be, that we need to look different. We need to gauge everything we do by Christ’s standards.

True surrender to God means your life changes.

It means that nothing stays the same, and you become a better, stronger, deeper person. It means you relinquish all control and subject yourself to the loving guidance of Jesus Christ. And as you continue on following Christ in complete surrender, you learn to be more and more like him. As you present yourself as a living sacrifice, it takes some dying to self. But the freedom that comes in the end is so perfect that once you’ve experienced it, you won't want to go back. Once you’ve experienced the true freedom of surrender, you will remain forever changed, and forever changing…Changing more and more into who you were created to be.

            But everything in society goes against the idea of surrender. Everything around you is going to fight that concept. In fact, everything inside of you is going to disagree at times.

And I’m sorry, but it won't be easy for a second.

            Here’s another journal entry that I wrote when I was trying to sort out what it meant to really surrender everything; to totally give up despite the fact that everything around me screamed to hold on and keep control myself. I think it’s a pretty good example of the struggle that it can be to surrender things in your life. Maybe it can help some of you connect the whole concept in your mind a little better.

            To be totally honest, I am struggling with giving my future, along with my dreams and the things I want for my future, totally up to God. That’s what it all boils down to. I have my own plans and ideas of how I want it all to go, and there are days where I rip the plans out of Gods hands and say “Ok God, now you sit back and watch me... I’m going to put myself in the spot I need to be in.” Then God sits back and watches me mess it all up, and lovingly comes back and says “Ok, now you know what happens when you take it all into your own hands. Allow me to guide you, and it will all work out.”

For a while that works, as long as I am in the convalescence ward at the hospital, but then as soon as I get discharged, its like I had some sort of brainwashing surgery, because I’m right back at running my own life again. You’d think I would have learned by now that it only leads to problems, but yeah, lets just say that I’m a slow learner in some areas. And here’s the kicker:

Let’s face it. We all are. Self absorbed and unwilling to give total control of our lives to the one who designed and created us. Unwilling to give total control of our lives to the one who relinquished all control of his own life for our sake on the cross.

Now, if you ask me, that would logically be the best place to put the control of your life--in the hands of the one who made it. But do we take the hint? No! Stupid, stupid us. I think it becomes most painful when you are praying for something to happen, and then as time progresses and you move on in life, you realize that the place God has you going with that particular thing isn’t going to be where you had hoped. Or when it starts to look like its not going to pan out the way we want it to, we run away or say “God I want control now”, only to find ourselves stuck in a ditch less than a mile down the road. So I sit here now, quite upset about the fact that I cant seem to get it all through my thick skull...

            Like I said, it’s never easy. It’s a constant struggle; a constant battle. But it can be won day-by-day, hour by hour, minute by minute, if we are willing to allow God to have control of our lives whenever we face something that we don’t know how to handle.

But we can't just give him control of part of our lives. We need to give control of everything. That’s the point where it becomes the biggest struggle for most people. The thing is, we have it too good here in North America to even begin to understand what “Surrender” really means.

Do we really understand the depth of what it means? Do we grasp the intricacies of what it means to desperately throw ourselves at the feet of Christ in total surrender, knowing that we can’t ever do it on our own? Do we understand what it means to have nothing but Jesus Christ left, and to surrender the “nothing” that we have in order to gain everything?

God wants everything we are. And he deserves it all. We need to mean what we say when we stand in church singing “I surrender all”. And then we have to keep our word. No going back on it, not re-nagging on it.

We need to give the throne in our lives to God for good, and keep on being filled to that we have the strength to say no and die to ourselves, offer ourselves as living sacrifices, and give God the control once more. It’s a cycle; a process; an ongoing thing. And here’s the ironic part—it’s only through total surrender to Christ that we finally find who we truly are.

Lets strive to live every moment of our lives as a living sacrifice.
 

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