Gift 28 – To Join the Conversation

Posted on August 22, 2014 by BryantRuss under Posts

Turn on the T.V., open your computer, or visit your local…pretty much anywhere there’s people, and it won’t take you long to find conversations unfolding about controversial topics.

“What do you think about immigration?” Or, “What’s your view on homosexuality?”

These conversations in particular (among others) are in the spotlight almost daily—and everyone seems to have an opinion. But before you jump into the dialog, I want to suggest 9 requirements that must be true before you speak, or rather, 9 red flags: sure signs that you are not ready to join the conversation.

1. If you’re joining a discussion out of a motivation to “win,” then you’re not ready to be a part of the conversation.

2. If all your thoughts can be summarized in 140 characters or fewer, you’re probably not ready to be a part of the conversation.

3. If you’re comfortable hearing only one side of the argument, you’re not ready to be a part of the conversation.

4. If you think you have an easy or simple solution to a complex issue, you’re not ready to be a part of the conversation.

5. If you are quick to speak but slow to listen, then you’re not ready to be a part of the conversation (James 1).

6. If you haven’t yet considered whether your opinion could possibly be wrong, you’re not ready to be a part of the conversation.

7. If your heart is not burdened to the point of sacrificial action on behalf of those to whom the “issue” relates, then you’re not ready to be a part of the conversation.

8. If you haven’t yet empathized with multiple perspectives on a given issue, or put yourself in the opposing “side’s” shoes, you’re not ready to be a part of the conversation.

9. If you don’t yet have love for your enemies or you haven’t yet taken the time to pray for those of an opposing viewpoint—and not just for them to change their minds—then you’re not ready to be a part of the conversation (Matt. 5).

If after satisfying all 9 requirements you still hold the same perspective, great. Wonderful. To be clear, my intention isn’t necessarily to change your beliefs or opinions by considering these warnings; rather, to ensure that any conviction you might have is rooted in compassion (John 8:1-11). It is important to remember that you can have a “correct opinion” or a “right stance,” but without the humble posture of a servant you will be wrong every time. Christ emptied himself and came to his enemies as a servant (Phil. 2, Rom. 5); do not think you are above doing the same.

Do I have thoughts on immigration policy or on the topic of homosexuality? Yes, I do. Are my beliefs simple enough to boil down to a mere “for” or “against,” or a slogan on a bumper sticker? I’m afraid not.

The homosexuality debate suddenly becomes just a little more complex when you’re sitting across from a mother whose son took his own life after begging God for years to change the way he feels. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the words of a woman I once met: “One night it was raining and I couldn’t find him [her son] anywhere. Finally I found him laying in the soccer field behind our house, sobbing uncontrollably because he felt stuck and didn’t know what to do.”

Immigration becomes more than an “issue” when you consider what kind of conditions could make a mother so desperate that she would send her child a thousand miles on the top of a truck, or across a dangerous desert, just to find a new place to live.

And while many have pointed out that the emotional appeal of an issue doesn’t dictate whether something is right or wrong, the human element can, and must, influence our posture as we seek and teach Truth, knowing that human beings are involved. It might not always change what we believe, but it has to change how we think about and treat people. If these conversations truly are attempts to get closer to the Truth, then we would do well to remember that Truth is a person, a being. When Jesus said, “I am the Truth,” he made it relational; he made it personal.

We live in a broken place, and everyone hurts. Things have gotten messy on political levels, social levels, and personal levels, and we’re sitting in the middle of it. We are all called to repent. We are all in need of grace. No one is completely right except Christ, and his company cannot be joined without great humility and grace. Hurting human beings are involved on every side of every issue, which means there is no room for cruelty, thoughtlessness, carelessness, or pride in the conversation. On the contrary, these discussions need to be guided by the Holy Spirit, and so must be founded in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control (Gal. 5).

All opinions, judgments, or decisions from the Church relating to homosexuality must come from Christ’s own Body lying in the grass next to the young man sobbing in the rain. Every opinion, judgment, or decision from any other place will most certainly be the wrong one. And all opinions, judgments, or decisions regarding immigration must come from Christ’s own Body—the ultimate refugee—who knows what it is to be mocked, protested against, rejected, spat upon, and exiled to a cross. Every opinion, judgment, or decision from any other place will most certainly be the wrong one. Yes, we will talk, and we will debate, and we will go to the Bible, but our stance must become and remain prostrate.

And after prayerfully concluding on what is permissible and what isn’t, what is pursuable and what isn’t, what is acceptable and what isn’t, we must never forget that it is the duty of the Church to shoulder the load, whatever it may be, alongside those who are called to walk with Christ (Matt. 23). So if you’re not ready to carry another’s burden, you’re most certainly not ready to join the conversation.

Love,
Dad

Gift 27 – Now Go

Posted on August 5, 2014 by BryantRuss under Posts, Uncategorized

When you love someone, you start to care about the things they care about. As I grow in love for my wife I learn to see from her perspective, value the things she values, and even love the things she loves.

The same is true for those who love God. As our love grows, our hearts are shaped to be like His as we see Him revealed in Scripture. In time we begin to celebrate good things like victory over addiction, unity in the Church family, and the healing of damaged relationships. We also begin to grieve injustice on a personal (addiction, bitterness, jealousy), communal (gossip, bullying, exclusion), and societal (homelessness, sex-trafficking, extreme poverty) level. And as our love grows we are called to act on these things that break God’s heart.

Do you remember the story of Moses and the burning bush? God reveals His plan to rescue Hebrew slaves, and I imagine Moses is ecstatic…at first.

God: I have seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out and I am concerned for their suffering…

Moses: Yes!

God: So I have come down to rescue them from the hands of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land…

Moses: Alright! That’s great!

God: I will bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land flowing with milk and honey…

Moses: This is terrific news!

God: So now, go. I am sending you.

Moses: Wait…what? You’re joking, right? I thought you were going to do it?!

God: I am going to do it. Now go, I am sending you.

See, when our hearts break for the things that break God’s heart, we’re not just meant to cry, or even just to pray, but to go—because God is going to act, and He is sending us. True purpose begins when we ask the question, “What do you care about, God?” and then act.

God said of the shepherd boy David, “I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.” I wonder how long it took God to find a person, just one person, who cared so deeply about God’s heart that he was willing to do?

Daughter, my prayer for you, for us, is that we would join with Samuel in asking, “speak LORD, your servant is listening,” Isaiah in offering, “Here am I! Send me!” and most of all, with Jesus as he offered himself lovingly and submissively to the Father, “Not my will, but Your’s be done.”

There is much to be done. In our homes, our communities, our world. Our God is looking for men and women willing to join Him in caring and acting on His heart.

Jesus tells a story about a landowner looking for workers for his vineyard. He goes into the marketplace and finds people standing around twiddling their thumbs. “Why are you standing around not doing anything?” he asks. “Sir, no one has hired us,” they respond. The landowner replies, “Well then come work for me!”

In a culture starving for purpose and significance, people standing around not doing anything, hear the invitation of our dangerous Friend and Lord who calls us to follow him into the dead places of the world where he will bring life. He still has a plan to free slaves. Now go, he is sending you.

Gift 26 – There is a River

Posted on August 2, 2014 by BryantRuss under Posts, Uncategorized

In one of the most underrated Biblical texts, the prophet Ezekiel sees a vision of water coming from the temple in Jerusalem, the place where God lives. The small stream flows east, and as it travels becomes wider and wider, deeper and deeper. Ezekiel walks in the current until it becomes too deep, when “the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in—a river that no one could cross.” As the river continues to flow east, fruit bearing trees spring up on either side because of the fresh, life-giving properties of the water.

Ezekiel watches in amazement as the torrent floods into the most unlikely of places: the Dead Sea. Because of its high salt content, the Dead Sea is notoriously barren (I mean it’s called the Dead Sea after all). No fish. No life. Not even seaweed.

But something extraordinary happens when the river from the temple crashes into the lifeless seawater. “When it empties into the sea, the salty water becomes fresh. Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live” (Ezk. 47:8-9).

What does this all mean? It’s important to know that visions, like poems from high school English class, can have multiple layers of meaning and often use pictures and places as symbols. And while I do not want to be disingenuous to the original context and meaning of Ezekiel’s vision—a message of hope and life for a captive Israel—this particular revelation is a testament not just to what God would do with his captive people, but what he has been doing all along: bringing life to dead places. This is God’s specialty.

In the very beginning God burst into the chaotic emptiness with a declaration of life—“Let there be light!” he said to the void, and there was light. All throughout the Hebrew Scriptures God rushes into dead places—the barrenness of Abraham and Sarah, the brokenness of Jacob and his family, the suffering enslavement of thousands in Egypt, the hopelessness of a people carried off to Babylon, the frustration of rebuilding a city that has been destroyed—and every time He brings life into a seemingly hopeless situation. And of course, in the gospels God plunges once more into the depths of the grave, the ultimate “dead place”, only to arise victorious over death itself.

But guess what—God’s not done. He is still charging into the dead places of the world: places of despair and deprivation; injustice and pain; dead cities and nations, dead communities and relationships, dead homes and dead hearts. And he is still bringing life. This is the mission of God.

To restore,

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ to revive,

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ to refresh,

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ to renew.

The only thing left to uncover from Ezekiel’s vision is what exactly does the water represent? Some have argued that the river is a picture of God’s people, called to join in mission of the Lord. Others suggest that the life-giving tide represents God’s own Spirit overflowing the temple walls and going out into the world. But which is it?

The answer—Yes.

You are invited to join the people of God, filled with the spirit of God, to carry out the mission of God in bringing life to dead places. There is no higher calling than to join this rumble and flow of the thundering river of life.

More to come on what this looks like…

Gift 25 – Saved FOR Something

Posted on August 1, 2014 by BryantRuss under Posts

A Wasted Resurrection

I asked a teenage Christian what it means to follow Jesus. He said, “Well, I don’t really know, I guess you’re supposed to try to get better grades after becoming a Christian.”

…Oh. So Jesus’ life death and resurrection—the gospel—all of it was about making us new and alive in Christ so that we could get A’s and B’s instead of C’s and D’s. I get it.

The sad part is that if you were to ask around this young man’s answer probably wouldn’t be all that unique. Ask, “What are Christian’s called to do after accepting Jesus?” and you’ll probably get lots of blank stares. Umm…Go to church? Swear less? Be nice and stuff?

While we have focused loads of time, energy, and resources in the past hundred years or so on “getting people saved” we have collectively ignored anything that might come next. Looking at western Christianity one might get the impression that all Jesus wanted was a wedding. But reading God’s Word I am convinced that Jesus is not interested in a wedding unless it is the beginning of a marriage.

Put simply, we have not only been saved from something, but saved for something.

Can you imagine if Lazarus, after being raised from the dead, had gone back into his house to sit around and watch T.V.? What if he only made himself comfortable while waiting to die (again) and go to heaven? Wouldn’t this be a wasted resurrection?

This is us! Don’t we know that we have been made a new creation—that the old life is gone and a new life has come (2 Cor. 5)? Don’t we realize that we have been raised with Christ (Col. 3)? Do we really believe that out of great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Jesus (Eph. 2)? Have we forgotten that our baptism was a picture of being dead and buried, then being raised from the dead so that we may live a new life (Rom. 6)?

What do you think this new life is for? To get better grades, or as a resurrected people to follow our resurrected Lord into all the dead places of the world bringing life where despair has reigned for so long?

Jesus tells a story about a landowner who is in desperate need of workers for his vineyard. The man goes into the marketplace where he finds people standing around doing nothing. “Come work for me!” the man says to the purposeless crowd, “I’ve got lots to do!”

This is good news: we have been invited to join with God in what He is doing in the world. Which leads us to the question, “What is God doing in the world?”

More to come soon…

Gift 24 – Second Chances

Posted on July 3, 2014 by BryantRuss under Posts, Uncategorized

Son,

A few weeks ago your mom and I had several couples over for dinner. We got talking about proposal stories and ended up going around the table, each couple sharing the story of their engagement.

I was hoping the conversation would change before it got to us because my proposal to Amanda wasn’t anything special. To be honest, it was completely lame. I’m not saying that proposals need to be grandiose complete with hot air balloon rides to Paris or anything, but I really didn’t do anything to make her special or even appreciated.

When the conversation came to me I said, “Um, well, I pretty much just asked.”

“You didn’t do anything? Like did you even take Amanda out for dinner, or give her flowers or something?” a friend questioned. “Nope. Just asked,” I said a little bit embarrassed. The awkwardness passed, though as the evening went on an idea began growing in my mind: who says you can’t propose a second time?

Last week we celebrated our second anniversary, and I’m pleased to say I had the chance to re-propose to the woman I love (I’m also pleased to say that she said yes :)). This time I made sure to show her how thankful I am to have her in my life.

Here’s the point, son. It is all too easy to become comfortable and complacent in the relationships that matter most in life. I’m talking about one-word responses, thoughtless gifts given only because of a holiday, and even just monotone conversations that become the norm. If you’re not careful, your relationship with family and friends will become crusty like food forgotten in the back of the refrigerator.

To quote the great philosopher Taylor Swift, “Life makes love work hard.” Though I hate to say it, Taylor’s right. Life happens, and loved ones can get pushed to the backseat pretty quickly. A little thoughtfulness, creativity, and surprise can go a long way in keeping relationships healthy. When I become robotic as a husband, son, or friend, I’ll often be gently shaken back to attentiveness by one of many kindhearted friends in my life who live what I’m talking about. One friend and colleague writes an encouraging note to someone just about every single day. He’s been doing this for over 8 years!

Right now is a good time to do something out of the ordinary to show appreciation for someone in your life. So think, then do. Right now. Go out of your way to make a friend’s day, or take a second chance to repair something you should have done right the first time. Just remember, son, you only get one opportunity to re-propose, so make it special.

Gift 23 – Prayer (III)

Posted on June 26, 2014 by BryantRuss under Posts, Uncategorized

“Is there any chance I could direct an orchestra piece for the Fall Concert?”
“Do you think I might be able to get my picture taken in the front seat of your police car, officer?”
“Would it be okay if I marched with the band for a parade?”
“Can I ride on the Zamboni between periods of the hockey game?”

Son,

You might be wondering how I got to do the things shown in the pictures above. Well, believe it or not, all I did was ask. Yep…that was it.

If you look up everything that Jesus says about prayer in the Bible, you might be surprised to find (like I was) that he so often focuses on asking from God.

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you fathers, if your son asks fora fish, will give him a snake instead?Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!

Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

Or what about the second half of the famous prayer that Jesus taught his disciples:

Give us today our daily bread / Forgive our debts, as we forgive our debtors / Lead us not into temptation / Deliver us from the evil one.

So much asking!

At first, all this asking might make a person a little uncomfortable. We’ve all been told that God isn’t some divine Santa Claus who exists to satisfy our desires, so what’s going on? A few things to notice…

First of all, if you are someone who loves and follows Jesus, your desires will be increasingly shaped by God’s heart. Put bluntly: a maturing Christian isn’t asking God for a pony. James writes, “You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” A good question to ask is, “Is my life about God’s kingdom or my own?” That will help determine whether your prayers are about God’s kingdom or your own. The more you are shaped by the revelation of God’s Heart in your life (through God’s Word, the Holy Spirit, the Church), the more you will care like God’s heart cares. As this happens, God says ask away! Asking becomes powerful when the heart of Christ is alive in the body of Christ.

Prayer changes the pray-er. Praying can actually wake up our desires and can be a catalyst for action. Those who don’t care don’t ask. And those who care, ask, and care more with each asking. Perhaps Jesus’ consistent invitations to ask are his pleadings with us to care and to act! Pray for your enemy and you may start caring about reconciliation. Pray for the hungry and you may start caring that they have food to eat. Pray for your wife and you may be moved to be a source of joy and encouragement for her. In this mysterious way God often answers our prayers through the praying, because prayer is not only a reflection of your heart but also a directing of it. As Eugene Peterson says, “We become what we are called to be by praying.”

Maybe the most important thing to realize is that the asking kind of prayer is an act of trust, dependence, and worship. No one who is self-sufficient or self-reliant asks for anything, but the person who knows the good character of God relies on him like the branches of a fruit tree depend upon the trunk—and so they ask. Making requests in prayer is acknowledging God’s generosity, God’s unlimited abundance, God’s ability to provide, and God’s loving heart towards his children. The heart that does not ask does not yet know God as He wants to be known.

Son, I am convinced that God actually wants his people to ask more than we do, not less. Though it was uncomfortable at first, I’ve gotten in the habit of making requests to God on a regular basis. Just as I was surprised by what came of asking a police officer to sit in his car, or asking to march with the marching band, I’ve also been astonished by all that comes from making requests in prayer.

So ask already!

Here are some suggestions:

– For eyes to see and ears to hear.

– For opportunities to serve (the funny thing is, asking this will makes you aware of all the opportunities to serve that have always been around you).

– For joy and compassion.

– For wisdom and wonder.

– That God’s Word would become a delight, like the author of Psalm 119.

– For encouragement and strength for struggling friends and family.

– Good things for your enemies.

– Hope for young people wrestling depression.

– For a tight reign on your tongue (words are powerful!).

Gift 22 – Prayer (II)

Posted on June 18, 2014 by BryantRuss under Posts

Child,

While I don’t have any magical prayer advice (as I said in the previous post), allow me to share some useful practices that have helped shape my attentiveness towards God:

Praying the Psalms. Sometimes I just don’t know what to say to God. Reading the prayers of psalmists who lived thousands of years ago can be a surprisingly meaningful way of waking up my heart and offering words when I didn’t think there is anything to say. The biblical psalms have a way of taking me by the hand and leading me to paths of repentance, praise, thanksgiving, and even lament. Check out this article for more reasons to pray the Psalms: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/october/35.88.html?paging=off

Go for a walk. I have ADXD (the Xtreme version of ADD). This means that prayer can be a real challenge if I’m sitting still with hands folded and eyes closed. A few years ago I discovered that praying while walking allowed me to focus my heart and mind in a way I was never able to do while sitting inside. This is now one of my favorite things to do. Being outdoors, away from controllable conditions and eight-foot ceilings, reminds me that I am less significant (in a good way) than I often imagine when surrounded by hundreds of gadgets and systems in place to make me comfortable. On windy days it is as though God’s wild Spirit is walking by my side, listening and speaking like an intimate companion.

Pray the names of God. As the revelation of God unfolds in His Word, God is given countless names that point to various aspects of His divine character. He revealed Himself to Abraham as the God who Provides, to the people of Israel as the God who Heals, and to David as a Shepherd, a Fortress, and a Light. Using different names in prayer directs us to God’s past faithfulness and reminds us just what kind of God we’re praying to.

Write your prayers in a journal. I think this prayer-practice has been more transformative than any other in my life. Writing prayers down forces you to actually think about what you’re saying. While I often absentmindedly pray things like, “Thank you for this day” with my mouth, filtering words through a pen reduces and refines my chatter into genuine prayer. And just like a family photo album can be a fun and important method of recording life with loved ones, having a prayer journal allows you to look back and see your relationship with God mature through times of celebration, struggle, and change.

I’m a little hesitant to put excerpts from my prayer journals in this post since Jesus talks about praying alone in a closet (and the Internet isn’t exactly a private place). Still, these examples offer a picture of the way God has used journaling to deepen our relationship and to draw me to Him in all times and circumstances. I hope it is helpful…

How good it is to come to you with a tangled heart and to tell you everything, not stopping till I’m completely laid bare before You. Here is where you break through the mess and finally speak to me. There is nothing more lovely than hearing Your voice and talking with you honestly and opening—even about my jumbled soul. You still the storm with Your mighty voice, “Trust, son. Trust.”

Thank you for wise people like C.S. Lewis who stretch the boundaries of our minds in what it means to love You. I am reading The Great Divorce and learning lots.

God, my humanity has been reduced to efficiency. The heart you gave me to be a temple I have turned into a factory. Make my heart softer and gentler. Let it always be found at Your feet. Keep me from becoming wise in my own eyes or anything stupid like that. I am in the middle of this process of being made new, somewhere between grape-flavored water and watered down wine. For some reason I thought this happened instantly.

Ahhhhhh! I am full to the brim with praises to You. Tonight I got to experience the answer to 8 years of praying. My dear friend came over and shared what You’ve been doing in his life lately. All I can say is PRAISE YOU! PRAISE YOU! PRAISE YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Thank You for this story You are telling!

Lord, life is bigger than I thought. I do not know the way to go. I feel so sure about one path one instant and then 20 seconds later another path seems like the right one. I am so confused, God! Ahh, being a person is so multifaceted! It’s too much sometimes. Tell me You love me, that ever applicable truth.

Confront me, Almighty God. Confront me with your Word, your Truth, your Spirit. Confront my ways, confront my sin, confront my attitudes, confront my choices, confront my feeble beliefs, confront my idols, confront my small ideas of you. Confront me so that I cay come back under your headship and authority.

God, sometimes I love your Word so much, like a person clinging to a photograph of a separated loved one, or like the way I’ve saved my dad’s voice on my phone so I can hear it whenever I want. That’s the way I love your Words. Sometimes I long to stand before you like one of the children from the Narnia books, to stand in your great shadow waiting—excited and afraid to hear your voice! But other times I don’t really care. In these times it’s like I’m numb to your Words, or just plain tired of having a relationship with a God who isn’t here in person to look at and talk to. I guess it’s like any other relationship; there will be ups and downs, highs and lows, mountains and valleys. Give me a strong heart that can hope past times of tastelessness, like the tree Jeremiah talks about: “It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

Gift 21 – Prayer (I)

Posted on June 17, 2014 by BryantRuss under Posts, Uncategorized

“Sometimes I wonder if God is secretly thinking, ‘Dear Child, you are welcome for this day and I already blessed the food. Can we talk about something else now?'” – Anonymous

I once saw a skit that followed a day in the life of a young Christian. Throughout the day—when he got out of bed, before meals, before bed, etc.—the man got on his knees to pray. Every time this happened Jesus would enter and stand next to the young man, eager and excited to talk. But the kneeling man never noticed Jesus standing right next to him. Why not? He was too busy praying, parroting words and phrases that had long since lost their meaning. Jesus tried getting the Christian’s attention and faithfully appeared each time the man knelt to pray, but they never really connected or even truly communicated.

Is this prayer? I think many people would guiltily agree that this pretty much sums up what prayer looks like in their actual lives. We know prayer is meant to be wonderful, powerful, and transformative, but there is a massive divide between theory and practice. Imagine being married but only ever communicating with your spouse via text. There would be little life in the relationship because all interactions would be limited, simple, one-dimensional, peripheral, and brief. This is a picture of the sad reality many Christians experience (or don’t) when it comes to communicating with God. Thinking back on my own prayer journey you would have thought I was an auctioneer the way I “talked” to God:

Dear God thank you for this day please keep grandma and grandpa safe as they fly to Florida and bless this food to my body in Jesus’ name amen.

But son, I want you to know there is so much more.

To be honest, I don’t really have any awesome advice to get you from point A to B in what might be called your “prayer life”. I don’t have 5 simple steps to achieving deeper communication with God or 10 helpful hints to get you praying like Mother Teresa. Because really, there is no such thing as “improving your prayer life” apart from cultivating and nurturing a dynamic relationship with God. Like all other relationships, the depth and tone of conversation is merely a reflection of the relationship itself. Listen in on a conversation between teenagers on a first date—the communication will probably be forced and awkward because the relationship is just beginning.

This means that prayer is more than folding your hands and closing your eyes before you eat; it is an awareness that the place where you’re standing is holy ground and you had better take off your sandals, it is an attentiveness to the fellowship of the Spirit even on a mundane Tuesday, it is a responsiveness to the company of the Living God who seeks to take up residence in your everyday life, it is what Brother Lawrence called “The practice the presence of God.” Walking this path is like walking in the very heart of God.

And yes, son, like all other Christian practices prayer often requires discipline before it becomes delight, but you must know that the heart of prayer is accepting Christ’s own blood as the invitation to enter the sacred fellowship of the Trinity, the Holy Wellspring of Joy and Life from which Creation sprang into existence. When you understand the gravity of this gift you may very well only be able to pray, “Dear God!” But when you say those two little words, and mean them both with all your heart, you will have learned what it means to pray.

Gift 20 – The Truth about Fiction

Posted on May 26, 2014 by BryantRuss under Posts, Uncategorized

Believe it or not, this lit. enthusiast, English major, and all around word-lover used to utterly detest reading.

In middle school I somehow almost always coincidentally chose books to “read” that had been made into movies. The teacher would see the title I’d picked and say, “I think that story was made into a movie a few years ago. You might enjoy watching it when you’ve finished the book.”

“Oh Really?” I would say, “I didn’t know that. I’ll have to see if I can rent it when I’m done reading.” I knew this was a dishonest practice, but I had no other way of passing the monthly Accelerated Reader tests.

But everything changed when I checked out The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the school library. It was the natural choice since I’d already seen the movie adaptation at my grandparent’s house, though when a friend told me about a few variances, I decided to skim the first few pages just to cover my bases.

Then it happened: I went to Oz. I didn’t mean to, but I ended up getting hooked and actually finished the book (“It was kinda like watching a movie in my head,” I told my flabbergasted friends). I found out that L. Frank Baum had actually written 13 other Oz adventures, so I bought and read them all.

This was just the beginning of my love for fiction, and for reading in general. Over ten years later, I am convinced that books such as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz impact young people in countless positive ways and contribute to a person’s sense of creativity, wonder, and depth. Every once and a while I meet a fiction critic who doesn’t have time to waste on “silly stories that aren’t even true”, and while I have about a hundred reasons why reading fiction is an unequivocally good and wholesome activity, I want to share just one with you now:

The very best fictional stories are true. Really.

You see, there is a difference between something that is truthful and something that is factual. Many Eastern cultures have historically appreciated this difference when it comes to storytelling. Take, for example, the story of the Boy Who Cried Wolf. A westerner will tell you that the story is not true. Why not? Because it didn’t really happen. But tell the same story to someone from a story-centric society and they’ll likely tell you that it is in fact true. Why? Because it is true, isn’t it? The deterioration of one’s integrity is very serious business. Every time you break your word the value of your word decreases. Or, as Aesop famously said, “Nobody believes a liar…even when he is telling the truth!” These things are true, making the Boy Who Cried Wolf a story that tells truth, though not necessarily through fact. This is an exceptionally significant distinction to make, and is, in my opinion, the very best reason to read fiction.

Books such as the Harry Potter series, The Lord of the Rings, and The Chronicles of Narnia are stories that tell the truth. Friendship is more valuable than power. There is more to people than mere appearances. Humility and self-sacrifice is greater than superiority and self-importance. Things are not the most important things. Courage in the face of overwhelming odds does make a difference. Love is stronger than death. The light does shine in the darkness and the darkness will never overcome it.

There is great and nourishing magic in stories that tell the truth—even when the stories aren’t comprised of facts. It is worth noting that Jesus himself dealt almost exclusively in fiction to communicate truth to his audiences (Matt. 13:34). “There was a man who had two sons. The younger son came to his father and demanded his share of the inheritance…” “Suppose one of you has 100 sheep and one of them runs away…” “There was a woman with ten silver coins…” “A wealthy man was preparing a great feast…”

Clearly there is more to fiction than meets the eye. In fact, In Mark 4 Jesus explains to his disciples that the very reason he speaks in story is so that only few will understand. It is as though his stories are invitations beckoning the true in heart to follow where he leads. Because Jesus, in his unexpected, seemingly foolish, upside down way of doing things still leads to a cross, and it will be those whose eyes have been shaped by the truth found in fiction who will be the first to recognize and believe that the gardener outside the tomb is really the resurrected Son of God.

The Name (by Kevin Witte)

Posted on May 19, 2014 by BryantRuss under Guest Writers

Kevin Witte is a dear friend and colleague. He has been a blessing to me and many others with his wisdom, kindness, Christlike example, and in his willingness to go to VIPets to buy a Tarantula as a prank/gift for one of Holland Christian’s beloved student-teachers. But for real…he did that.

Dear Son,

It is a gift to be writing to you today.

I want you to know that there’s power in a name. You represent something big. That’s a name you can possess. If you are to follow the Dangerous One, let me tell you about the most powerful name there is.

There was once a young man who had gotten himself into some trouble. He was a remarkable young man. In fact, his name means “drawn out.” Without being drawn out, he would have died. The ruler over his people had decided to kill everyone who was like him, but this young man survived as a baby because he was drawn out of the water by the ruler’s daughter. The trouble came when he was older and saw one of the ruler’s men beating a member of his people. In frustration and anger and desperation, this young man attacked and killed the ruler’s man.

The young man fled to the desert to tend sheep and make a living for himself away from the palace life of his adopted family and the slave lives of his original family. But God had chosen him. And God would soon reveal Himself to the young man in a significant way.

As the young man walked one day, he noticed a bush that was on fire but not burning up. He walked toward the bush, and he heard his name, “Moses, Moses.” The bush knew his name! That should not happen. But in using his name, identity was being shared. Moses realized that God inhabited the bush. The ground was holy because God was there. No sandals. Hidden face. There was something different about this moment in time, something set apart.

God gave his plan for Moses in the next few moments of exchange. God’s vision was to save his people, and he was going to use Moses to do it. Moses asked a question that any one of us would have wonder: “Who am I that I should go?” But that’s the thing. Moses’s power and authority would not matter. God’s power and authority would.

And then the next obvious question: “When I go and do this, what shall I tell the people about who sent me?” And the bush said, “יהוה”

The name. The Name. Lots of people in the Bible had important names up to this point. Adam means ground or dust. Eve means living. Abraham means father of many. Israel means struggles with God. But we’ve never known God to have this Name until he reveals it to Moses through the bush. The name is Yahweh, I AM. I AM WHO I AM. I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE. It’s God’s Name that he revealed to Moses and he now reveals to us.

It seems ludicrous even now as I write to you. We know the NAME of the God of the universe. He cares enough about you and me to introduce himself to us, to let us know part of his identity. And there’s power in the Name. God has a Name, a Reputation, to uphold. He has a reputation of love, of power, of authority. He has integrity, because he always has and always will keep his promises.

When Jesus came to this world to be God in the flesh, God gave him a specific name. He called him יֵשׁוּעַ, Jesus. It means Yahweh saves. It is so true to his identity, so true to the actions that he took for Moses and has always taken for his people.

Living under that Name gives us the audacity to claim those promises and live in love. We follow Jesus because he is the Name in flesh-form. Everything that Jesus did makes personal for us the very identity of God. Jesus is God Himself.

Be assured, son, that this same God, Yahweh, calls to you to follow him. How will he reveal himself to you? How will he reveal himself to the world through you? What new name will he give you? Those who will follow this God understand that it is not always easy, but Yahweh is faithful. He is who he is, and he will be who he will be.

Take this gift of God. You know the name of the God of the Universe. Choose to live into the risks God gives you to take. Be dangerous for Jesus.

In the Name,
Dad