I Dare...

I know that I don't have the right to ask in light of the fact that I've been given much, everything in fact, but I stand here boldly and I do...dare to ask.
I ask that I may be this man that You hold out before me. That this is the last time I trade in Your forever for my right now. I want to be used by You to do the impossible. I want to toss mountains in the sea and usher in the very Kingdom of Heaven. I want to shake the dead of this generation awake from their sleep, give life to these concrete statues who have somehow tricked themselves into thinking that this is as good as it gets. I want my life to speak louder and more often than my words. I want to live and I want things to change because of it. Most importantly, I want my motive, my inspiration, my purpose to be You. An encounter with me would be devestatingly You. That I would be a foggy memory, a "scratch your head moment", but that You would be painfully real. That my life would scream You and hush me. I'm far to small to live a life for, but You...You are everything. I'm tired of copping out, giving in, and falling short. I need You, I want You. In then end I stand here before my God, asking. I do not ask because I deserve. Honestly, I can only stand here because of what You have done for me, but...I do dare, I dare to ask, ask to be what You have been forever asking me to be. I dare to dream, dream what You have been forever dreaming of me. I dare to live how You have been forever daring me to live.

Lean Wit It

Alright, so the title is lame, but it might make sense in a few minutes. I have some confessing to do. I wore Hammer pants. It's true. I also had "race tracks" shaved into the side of my head while sporting the infamous rat tail. I donned the slap bracelet, rocked the pumps, and there was even a time when you could find a Don Corlione (how do you spell that?) resting on my head. I guess I'm what you might call a poser. I have a tendency to get caught up in the latest fad. In fact I just ordered this sweet hat from Urban Outfitters...no joke. I find it funny how we can convince ourselves that what we're into will always be "cool." This is what I have to do to stay up with the times, and then a little time passes and we're hiding pictures, giving away clothes, and practically laughing at ourselves on "I Love the 80's."
I guess this post is inspired by people who look at Christianity as nothing more than a fad, or my favorite...a crutch. A few thoughts... I guess first of all, fads are temporary, they fade away, become dusty memories. The world is still living in the aftermath of Acts chapter 2. What twelve men did 2,000 years ago is the complete opposite of a distant memory, it is the present reality. In two thousand years nothing has stopped the church, not even itself. Yes, we've made mistakes, lots of them, horrible ones, but the church never fades. Jesus told Peter that He was going to build His church on Him...ouch...and not even the gates of hell would be able to stand against it. Jesus' words stand tall. Not Nero, not the entire Roman Empire, not fallen Christian leaders, not John Lennon, not Nieche, not Hitler...NOTHING has or will stop the church. It's far from a fad...it will always be here.
Some people think that God is just the product of the human imagination, we need to understand things and so we make up this idea of God to explain what we can't. A crutch if you will. I don't quite see how the human need for the concept of God disproves His existence. Think about it, you can find this need in ever culture, at any time, and in any place, did they all get together and decide that God was the correct answer to thier questions? I think not. They fact that people have a need for a God doesn't disprove Him. Its like a tree's need for sunlight. It will twist and bend itself, grow in quite peculiar directions so that it can compete with the other plant life around it for sunlight. Now if a tree were to ignore this need for sunlight the chances of it surviving are not good.
Crutch...I understand what you're trying to say, but you need something bigger, a crutch falls awfully short. Jesus offers us much more than a crutch, an aid...He offers us... everything. He is how things are. I have to admit, its cute...crutch, but you have no idea. He doesn't just offer a clever way of thinking or solutions to the worlds problems. In the words of Rob Bell, Jesus shows us reality at it most raw. It's how things are supposed to be. A crutch? Tiny Tim could manage to get around without one, he could crawl if necessary. Breathing would be impossible without Jesus "holding all things together" (Colossians 1) I'm ok with that, I'm ok with needing Jesus, in fact I desperately need Jesus.