Passions of the heart - The Good and the Bad of it

Post 7 of 100 for 2013

A friend of mine recently posted on FB that one has to follow the passions of their heart.  I found that I was split thinking about this.  If I were sick I would want a healthcare provider who was passionate about curing my illness but I sure wouldn't want to run in to a Jihadist who was passionate about killing non-muslims.

To be passionate about things means to have a fire in your heart for them.  I think there are three shapes such passions can take.
1.  They can be God birthed and intended to bring God's greatness and his love into the world in greater measure
2.  They can be from Satan and they are fueled by hate, greed or lust.
3.  They are of our flesh and for whatever reason we have a great interest in some topic, person or activity and we are therefore willing to give as much of our time to it as possible.

I am reminded of the Apostle Paul's discussion on gifts of the spirit in the 12-14th chapters of 1 Corinthians. In the middle of his discussion, he brings about the revelation that if we do or seek anything except as motivated by agape love (the love that proceeds from the Godhead) then it is pretty much pointless.  If we are passionate about serving God or loving people then its pretty obvious that its from God.  Take Mother Teresa - she had a great passion for loving and caring for the lowest of the low in Indian culture; lepers.

I am convinced that all true God birthed passions revolve around agape love --  A love that transcends cultural dictates and human desires.   God birthed passions involve doing things that demonstrate God's love for people, our love for God and our love for others.

I think that hate based passions are pretty abhorrent to most of us in the west that have been influenced by Judeo-Christian culture.  Jesus says that anyone who hates their neighbor is guilty of murder.  Hate is a murderous mentality.  Hate desires the worst for someone else.  Hate rejoices in the downfall of our adversaries.  Hate is something that is discouraged even in the OT.  We are warned not to rejoice when our adversaries fall.  The only thing that we are really encouraged to passionately hate is sin, yet still we are called to love sinners.

Greed and lust however seem to be encouraged more and more in our society.  I have seen a news report that claimed that greed is good for America. Clearly after the crash I don't think we can argue that anymore.  Greed plaid a big part in the world economic collapse.

Pornography is one of that fastest growing items on the internet.   Some people seem neutral about it, as if there is nothing bad about it.  There are some studies that have suggested that as many as 50% of missionaries are addicted to pornography.  One of my mentors defined lust as desire out of control.  If there is anything in our lives where desire for anything is control where it becomes obsession, I think it wise to reevaluate our pursuit of it.

The third item, passions birthed in our flesh or our psyche, I think are a lot of the time-wasters in life.  On one side one's passion for aviation or RPGs or Star Wars or Star Trek, doesn't necessarily add any true value to life. Yet I know that God can even turn defeat into a blessing.  God can use our interests in sports, or automobiles or just about anything else as a way to build relationships with others.  Jesus came to give life and to give it to the full.

There is part of me tempted to say that anything that is not God focused as being worthless, but God ordains governments, He creates beauty and he gave us a brain capable of seemingly infinite capacity for creativity and reasoning. So I am not ready to throw out the baby with the bathwater.   I am a pastor and teacher by calling, but I enjoy a bit of science fiction and drama.  I especially enjoy  books, TV shows and movies which wrestle with both social and religious issues.  I believe as a pastor and teacher that I must find imaginative ways to reach people who have interests outside of mine with the truth of the Gospel.

So in the end I must conclude that all passions based in agape love are to be fully embraced, all based upon hate, greed or lust must be spurned and that we must invite God into our passions which which are neither of the previous two.   We are reminded in the NT that God causes all things to work for the good of those called by God and who love God.  May your passions be fanned into a form that will glorify God and will enable you to love others as He has loved you.

Blessings,
Alan

God Sightings Part 2

Post  6 of 100 for 2013

This is one of those blogs you start and then get sidetracked from.  I am going to try to pick-up where the last God Sightings Part 1 left off.
Context - we were on a trip to Poland (Warsaw) to get new visas.  We went by bus and marshrutka not knowing exactly how this was going to work out.

So... after we grabbed a taxi and it took us to the required bank we went in to make a deposit in the Ukrainian Embassy's account.  But it turned out we didn't have enough cash with us.  Their was a bank fee that we hadn't accounted for.  I thought no big deal I'll just saunter over to the nearest ATM and get some more money.  Well, there was no ATM at this bank and so they told me to go to the ATM around the corner - 20 minutes later I found the ATM. Of course, whole time I was looking for this silly ATM, my wife was waiting for me wondering where I was.  I got enough money in PLZs (Polish Zloties) to make sure we could pay the bank fee,  a taxi back to the embassy and pay for our bus trip home.  I found out later I was fortunate that put the wrong debit card into the ATM, as it would have resulted in an overdraft.

 Finally, I got back to my wife with the money, paid the fee and made the deposit to pay for our visa's.  We had released the taxi and so now we had to figure out how to get back to the embassy. We had a pass for use on all public transportation but I really had no idea where we were in respect to the embassy. My phone didn't work in Poland, so I couldn't use my Google maps function.  But the Lord had someone waiting for us.  A Ukrainian gentleman recognized us from the embassy and offered us a ride while we were trying to figure out which public transportation we would take.  When we got back to the embassy they had our visa's ready for us.  We were out the door before 11:00 am local time.  We walked back toward the central train station, stopping for lunch along the way at a KFC :).  Ordering was an interesting experience.  The girl at the register didn't speak English or Russian and I don't speak Polish, but it turned out the manager spoke English.  We took our time enjoying lunch.  Strangely the Polish KFC's had no breast meat, only legs and wings.

After lunch I took a few photos, then we took a trolley back to the central train station.  I couldn't figure out were to buy tickets for a bus back to Kyiv.  I looked around and finally found someone I could talk to.  I found out that we needed to go to the International Central Bus Station.  I'm pretty sure now, that that would have been the final destination of our bus from Lutsk'.  Well, being the guy that I am and hating to ask for directions, we started checking out all the bus stops around the train station.  Finally I saw something in Polish that seemed like it might be where we wanted to go.  Polish is a Slavic language that uses the Latin alphabet.  I saw something that looked like the anglicized version of the Russian word for international (Mezhnarodni). After a short wait our bus came along.

 One of the nice things about Polish buses (and Hungarian for that matter) is that they have a display which shows your location among all the stops which lights up for each of the stops.  We managed to make it to the International Bus Station without too much trouble (we did get out one stop too soon), at some time after 1:00 in the afternoon.  It turns out we had just missed the bus to Kyiv (Kiev spelled Kijow in Polish) and the bus to Lutsk', but there was a bus to L'viv (another major city in western Ukraine).  So I bought our tickets and we waited for our bus.  We didn't know what to expect as far as the quality of buses went.  AnnMarie was praying that we could get in one of those huge deluxe doubledecker buses that we had seen on the road instead of the rough-riding bus we rode from Lutsk' to Poland.

Well AnnMarie got her wish we got this big, gold colored doubledecker bus.  It looked beautiful, the seats were comfortable, but the a/c didn't work.  It turned out that our bus was a huge solar oven.  But as tired as we were, it didn't really matter.  I am reminded of the saying, "Be careful of what you wish for - you may get it." In addition to being hot, the bus kept breaking down;  I think it was the heat. It appeared that the engine kept suffering from vapor lock.  Things at the border (which once again was late at night) went smoothly this time with our new visa's.  And eventually we arrived in Lviv - pronounced Lveev in Russian or Lvove in Ukrainian.

We arrived at one of Lviv's 7 train stations.  When I asked around where we could find a marshroutka (minibus) back to Kyiv, we were told there were none.  I was dumb struck.  I suppose I could have tried to get a train ticket back, but for some reason I had my heart set on something with rubber wheels to get us back to Kyiv.  A taxi driver told me that we needed to go to the central bus station and he would be glad to take us there for a mere 80 Hrn (about $10).  That may not sound like much to your westerners, but to someone use to paying 2 Hrn (about 25 cents) for most transportation with in a city, it was very extravagant. I think he was trying to take advantage of our lostness and our obvious American accent.  So I did something very uncharacteristic, I followed a hunch and a group of people I saw moving towards what appeared to be a bus stop where lots of different marshroutekas were stopping.

I was concerned about asking people, because I have encountered some western Ukrainians whose attitude when it comes to language is "I am Ukrainian, I am not Russian, why would I speak Russian?"  But since my limited language skills where in Russian, I didn't have much recourse but to ask and inquire in Russian or English.  So I boldly walked to the nearest line of people and inquired in Russian if they knew which marshrouteka went to the Central Bus Station.  Someone told me the number and gestured off to his right.  I saw people moving in that direction and we followed.  This led to a parking lot where there were a couple of marshroutekas waiting but none of them were the one we needed. So we waited.

After some time of not seeing our marshrouteka come along I moved towards the road  to see what was going on there.  Shortly I saw our marshrouteka on the opposite side of the road.  For some reason I had in in my head that the marshrouteka would be on our side of the road headed the other way.  So we waited some more.  After seeing three marshroutekas headed the other way with none coming our way, I concluded I had been wrong.  We crossed the street and waited for the next one while trying to avoid being run over by the trolleys that were running on that side of the street.

We got on the next marshrouteka and squeezed in to the aisle.  I thought it would be easy to spot the bus station and we would be able to get out without problem.  It was hot, most of the windows were closed - a normal ride on Ukrainian public transportation.  The driver was not announcing stops but I was still confident I would know when to get off the marshrouteka.

Lviv reminded me of San Francisco will the hills and winding roads.  I really had no idea where we were.  The Spirit must have attuned my ears because I heard someone say "Centralni avtovokzal" so I cried out we need to get off and we pressed our way to the rear exit.  When we got out, I looked around and there was no bus station to be seen.  I said a quick prayer under my breath, spotted an alley way and said, "It must be through there."  My impression was right.  In short order I purchased our tickets and we proceeded to wait.  It was maybe 9:00 am and our bus didn't leave until after noon.  All the bus stands were clearly marked as to which city they went to.  So we station ourselves in front of the one marked Kyiv.  I left AnnMarie there and when and foraged for a bite to eat.

Finally the time of our departure approached, but the bus parked by the sign marked Kyiv was clearly marked for some other city.  Finally, a bit nervous about missing our bus I when back to the ticket office to inquire where we were to meet our bus.  The woman said something unintelligible waved her hand indicating somewhere outside.

So then I walked up and asked a driver of one of the buses waiting in front of us if the bus to Kyiv departed from there.  I am not sure what he said but he motioned for us to follow him.  He took us out into the middle of the parking lot.  He then went over inquired of a woman in a booth near the entrance to the parking lot, came back to us and said in English, that our bus hadn't come yet but we should wait for it right there in the middle of the parking lot.  It came along about 5 minutes later.

I was expecting an express bus to Kyiv, but this was the milk run.  It was going to stop at ever little town between Lviv and Kyiv.  The a/c didn't work on this bus either so it was going to be a long hot trip but God's grace was with us.  All the stops allowed me to get out stretch my legs and get something to drink to keep us hydrated in the heat. We finally arrived in Kyiv in evening sometime near 7:00.  The bus driver announced that we were stopping at Zhetomer metro stop.  We decided to get off, as I expected it to be quicker than waiting until we got off at either the central train station or wherever the bus's final stop was.  We were home within an hour.

It had been a long trip.  We had managed to sleep two nights on buses and had been places we had never been to before and it was great.  Through all the trials and difficulties I could not escape the sense that God's hand was on us the whole trip.  Even when we face difficulties at the boarder and sweltering temperatures on our bus rides, we had God's peace and we knew that we would make it through.  This was truly a remarkable trip for me, because  I have never been the adventurer.  I usually prefer to go with someone who knows the lay of the land and the pitfalls to be avoided.  I truly believe God taught me just how faithful He is on that trip.  He showed me that there was nothing I could not face with him.  The unknown no longer holds me at bay.  I am now more willing to follow wherever the Spirit leads.


Photo's of our Trip to Poland

Post Script:
Its 2016 and I have gone back and read this again.  I cannot but wonder what some of you think.  Maybe it doesn't seem remarkable to you, but to me, it was amazing.  I was never and adventurous soul.  When I was in the Navy I always let other people lead me to the cool spots for liberty.  May be you will just see it as me finally growing up.   But I saw it as me allow Jesus on the throne of my heart and letting him handle things the occurred.
I was a worrier, the son of a worrier.  Sometimes it wasn't obvious, but it was ever present in my life.  This makes me think maybe I should retell the story of our first trip to Hungary, because I was completely freaked out about going to somewhere I had never been to, where the people spoke a language unlike anything I had heard and about which I know absolutely nothing.
For me the "God Sightings" were in those moments when I over came my fears and let God show me the way.
Thanks for reading

Wrong Expectations (Post 5 of 100 for 2013)

I am taking a little side trip today.  I actually have more than one idea for blogs today, strangely enough.  But I was struck by how our expectations can set us up for either a fall or for blessings.  Our expectations really seem to come out of our world view.  In the West, especially the US, we seem to have this expectation that life is going to be easy for us.  Even our president seems to think that life should be safe, and all of us should be able to have affordable healthcare.  In fact some seem to think that our government's job is to prevent anything bad from happening, to make sure we have a home and that we feel good about ourselves.

My main point though is that by having expectations that we will get what we think we need or what we want, or that we should get what we want, or that we are some how deserving of these things sets us up for disappointment, delusion or possibly a sense of entitlement.  The truth is that there is no guarantee that we will get anything in this life.  Jesus did however say that we should expect difficulties in this life.

When we think somehow that we are deserving of good things, or the things we want, we set ourselves up to be disappointed and/or depressed.  The major part of the world suffers all kinds of problems; famine, brutal attacks by thugs and brigands, lives without many creature comforts at all.  These people don't necessarily enjoy such lives, but they accept that is part of their lot.  All they can do is work to make what little corner they have better.  They realize that there are many things out of their control.  They can only control those things that are in front of them.  They make the best with what they have.

But there are some in the west who get this and I think This Video really says it better than I can - Enjoy!

The Purpose of Life Part I (Blog #3 of 100)

On New Year's Day I wrote an article on making and keeping goals/resolutions.  However I think making goals and resolutions without understanding who you are and why you are here is well, a bit pointless.  It's only when we understand our purpose in life that we can begin to set goals for our selves that are purposeful or useful.  Too often we look at other people, they appear successful and we think we are missing something and if we could just set a few goals for ourselves then we too could be "successful" But even as I write these words, I realize how big of a topic I am trying to feed you.  I will likely have to break this up into a series of articles.  But as always with all of my writings, take them with a grain of salt.  Be a good Berean ; don't swallow it whole.  Chew on it a bit and compare it to scripture and pray over it.  I don't claim to be the fount of all knowledge, but I do believe I have been given insight into a variety of topics and I want to share what I have learned and what I am learning with you.

What makes us human

Even as I have being chewing on this myself and thinking what I might say and how it might be said, a number of ideas have occurred to me.  Different people have different ideas about what makes us human.  Some evolutionary psychologists see us merely as a highly "evolved" animal, but still that is what they say we are; an animal with an apposing thumb and self-awareness.  In this theory of humans we are merely slaves to needs of our self-serving mitochondria which are programmed by our DNA.  There is no mind; only the brain. Our highly "evolved" brain allows us to be very adaptable and thus set us up to be the dominant species on the planet.  I don't subscribe to such a belief but I will not cast this out completely.  We do have a very developed brain; One might even say that it is well designed.  (Note: my primary thrust it not do argue against evolution, however I do not subscribe to the idea that somehow we are all evolving into something better or more adapted from the primordial slime). I will however suggest that we as humans can live at different levels or in various aspects/forms of human existence.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs seems to identify or suggest that there are different level's of human existence.  I cannot say that I fully understand or agree with Maslow's theory, but I believe he has identified something that tells us that every person is both influenced by the world around them as well as their own basic physical, emotional and intellectual needs.  I might add that we humans who are spiritual creatures have the ability to transcend our basic human needs.  I firmly believe that, in part, understanding our purpose allows us to transcend our limited existence.  Unlike Maslow who based his observations upon the "top 1%" of humanity, I would say that my theories apply to the greater human experience.  One thing I think cripples our understanding is our limited thinking.  Most westerners tend to see things through the eyes of the west.  My experience is a bit more expansive in that I have visited countries in Asia and Africa and studied (not professionally but more as a student of human behavior - a people watcher) how people behave.  I am not a trained psychologist or sociologist  but I think I am observant enough to understand what I am seeing.


I will warn you that my premise for this series of articles will be looking at humans as created objects/organism.  In that creation the Creator had purpose.  My desire is to explore some of the possible purposes and sub-purposes humans might have been created for.  But I also want to examine what we have become.  To that end I want to explore some of the aspects/forms of human existence.

Aspects of Human Existence

I would like to suggest to you that there are at least 5 kinds of or aspects to human existence: The Human Animal; The Human Collector; The Human Intellectual; The Person of Faith and The Human Transcendent.  Each level has a different understanding of what their purpose is.  Each level experiences a certain amount of paradigm blindness, which to say that they have difficulty understanding or accepting views or understanding different from each of their own.  To help define these different aspects I will explore and suggest a number of key elements which will help define each of these aspects.

• How self is viewed
• How others are viewed
• How possessions are viewed
• How the future is viewed
• How knowledge is viewed
• How right and wrong is viewed
• How do they feel "Alive!"
• How do they view threats
• How do they view popular things

In the articles that follow I plan on exploring these aspects/forms of being human:

• The Human Animal (I am what I need or want)
• The Human Collector (I am what I have and do)
• The Human Intellectual (I am what I think or what I know)
• The Person of Faith (I am what I believe)
• The Human Transcendent (I am more that I can think or imagine)

I do not view these aspects or forms as being completely distinct for each other, rather I seem them as modes that we can move in depending upon a great variety of factors.  They are not mutually exclusive and one aspect can overlap with one or more of the others, or I should say that were we are in our life can be at a place where there is blending of these aspects.  I see it as a kind of Venn diagram and where we are in our understanding and life experience locates us with in one or more of these aspects.

I will pick up on this in the next article.

P.S. if you think I missed a number (2 of 100) I have other blogs I post in.  2 of 100 was posted on my Preacher Al's Paradoxes blog

My Goals for this year

I just realized that I had not posted my goals for this year hear on Blogger.  My Facebook friends will already know this.  My goal for this year, in the realm of writing, is to write 100 or more articles on my Preacher Al Blog, and some of my other blogs like Preacher Al's Paradoxes.  I want to accomplish this by Christmas of this year.  Additionally I want to write out at least 6 courses in theology or Bible studies during the same period.

For me this is a bit of a challenge as I was the student who always hated English as a course in High School.  I disliked writing.  I think it was mostly because of lack of personal discipline.  So now I am trying to discipline myself to write every day with a goal in mind.

I truly believed that God has granted me insight in to a number of Biblical, Theological and Life themes.  Actually for me all these concepts blend in my mind.  Its like a Venn Diagram; everything overlaps.  Sometimes our Greek (western) makes us think we need to keep all these things separate.  Its as if we keep all things religious separate from the rest of our lives.  This is double mindedness in my thinking.  I think we need to find a way to make all things spiritual part of our daily life.  So come with me as I explore different aspects of the life of faith.  A life that Christ has give us that we might live it to the full.

Blessings
Alan

Making Resolutions for the New Year (1 of 100)

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On the one hand, I am really not all about making resolutions for the next year. Why should this date of January 1 be the driving force in my life? If I see something in me that needs to be changed, then I should take steps to make the necessary change occur, regardless of the date on the calender. But even having said this, If a new year it was gives you hope for new beginnings, then go for it. But I would like to suggest a few things to help you make changes.

1. Set goals for your self. A goal is that thing you can fix your eyes or your heart on and continually strive towards. Jesus had the cross before him. He set his eyes and heart on it (not just as the cross but as the hope of our salvation) and didn't let anyone or any thing dissuade him from it. I have been taught that goals should have these qualities:

A. They should be doable. Don't set some pie in the sky goal for yourself that you can not achieve. But even so, a goal can be doable while being quite difficult. If you find value in achieving it you will be motivated to complete it.
B. It should be measurable or in other words, you should know when you have accomplished it. If you say I want to be thinner, then you should have some way of knowing you have achieved it. "I want to fit into a such and such size article of clothing."
C. Your goals should be timely. You need a time-frame to see it accomplished within. This could be a date on the calender - "... by Valentine's Day" or it could be a with in a specific time (with in the next 90 days). But whatever goals you are setting for yourself you should be thinking of a time (and place) where you want to see them accomplished
D. I would had a fourth item as a Christian. These goals should not be set merely to please yourself or to fit in better in this world. As Christians our goals should reflect our knowledge of God. They should reflect his love, his mercy, his holiness. I truly believe that our goals should bring us closer in our relationships with God and with others. Not to gain people's acceptance or even feel better about ourselves but to create an environment around us that fosters greater reflection of God at work in our lives.
E. I would also add that our goals should not be presumptive. We should be praying to know God's will in our lives. Sometimes its obvious. If we are using our bodies to do evil, then we need to stop and use them instead to glorify God. But sometimes there are things that seem right to us, but are not God's will for us. A simple way we can do this is to pray "God if it be your will, I am going to do..." At least this way there is a semblance of wanting to do God's will in our lives.

2. Keep these goals before you. It doesn't do any good to make good goals for your self which are doable, measurable and timely if you don't keep them ever present in your mind and life. I would like to suggest the following to help you do that.

A. Post your goals somewhere where you will see them; on the refrigerator, on the mirror or as a reminder that pops up on your computer, smart phone or electronic pad. There are lots of apps and software that can help you with that. I keep by goals before me by having a daily reminder go off on my phone (note: if you fail to act on the reminder it will just become an annoyance in your day - that has been my experience)
B. Break your goals down in to easier bites (sub-goals). There is a saying that goes, "How do you eat and elephant?" The answer, "One bite at a time." Even the most difficult goals can be accomplished when they are broken down in to smaller easier achievable goals. But the rule remains for these smaller goals they must be doable while somewhat challenging, measurable and timely.
C. Memorize them and regularly repeat them to yourself. This way they become part of you and your vision for the future. They are not merely something you do to achieve some end, but rather a pattern of living.
D. Periodically examine your progress on your goals. Find a time that you will remember like the first Monday of the month, that last Friday, or more frequently if you feel the need. An more helpful way is to have an accountability partner. If you have someone you know that you will have to report to you will be more inclined or motivated to make progress. If you can find a group of like minded people you can for a group whose goals will be to help each other achieve their life's goals/purpose.

3. Do not become discouraged when you fail to achieve your goals. When you are attempting something that is challenging chances are that you are going to make mistakes. Change is difficult; it can even be painful. Don't give up when it gets difficult or you fail. Human beings are creatures of habit. When you have a way of life or a pattern of thinking that is deeply ingrained in you, it is not completely unexpected that you might fall back into your old patterns. When this happens just take the following steps.

A. Admit your mistake. In John's first epistle in the first chapter we are told that anyone who thinks they are without sin (perfect) deceives themselves. This scripture doesn't say to beat yourself up or to be angry of discouraged. It merely tells us to "confess" which in this case means to agree with God that we blew it.
B. Accept God's forgiveness. God's grace is not based upon our performance, but it does expect us to return to him and after admitting our failings, to accept his forgiveness. Some say we need to forgive ourselves - if that works for you, you can try that path, but for me, if God has forgiven me through the Blood of Jesus, then how could my forgiveness exceed that?
C. Ask for God's help in faith. God' has your best in mind (not as we might perceive it). So if we are striving to live the life He has ordained for us, then we should expect his help. I have heard it said, that God does not call the equipped (the prepared, good, right), rather He equips (provides for, helps) those He calls (the ones He has foreordained to serve Him).
D. Get up and get going again. Don't let failure stop you from trying again. You may need to evaluate your efforts to see if they are getting the desired results, but then when you do the right thing in God's eyes, you may not see immediate results in your own attitudes or in the reactions of those around you. We are called the race as if to win. We have all seen those athletes who have fallen only to get up and go on to win. Failure only remains failure when you sit down and refuse to get back up. Getting back up is the only way you will achieve your goal after you have stumbled and fallen.

I pray that this year will be a year of successes for you as you strive toward the upward call of Christ in your life.

In Him,
Alan