vischer

I've been reminded so much recently of easy it can be to lose sight of God.

Satan is so tricky.

I never go to convocation at SAU. I'm usually subbing. When I'm not, I forget about regular campus happenings such as convo. I should have today as well. I was tired from my morning reading and hours of sitting in the library. Leaving for a walk, I noticed the poster for today. Starting in 8 minutes...

Phil Vischer spoke today. You may recognize him as the founder of Big Idea Productions and the voice of half of its characters, notably Bob the Tomato.

Sure, he was entertaining, even singing the intro to "His Cheeseburger," my all-time favorite. But what got me hooked was his message: college dropout < creating Big Idea < Veggie Tales success! < MORE success < ego < slight loss of focus < bankruptcy* < wondering where God went. We don't often see the ego come in. Phil didn't. He was reminded but thought his ministry exempted him a bit. He admitted today that God wasn't always his only focus and that he needed to learn tough lessons about success and focus. His final advice to was to make God our absolute priority and to have his dreams be our dreams.

I'm not successful in a worldly sense. I'm in debt and working on a Master's degree, having never held a full-time job. But that's just it. I thought I deserved a job, a girl, success. When those didn't just happen like they were supposed to, I became discouraged. But that's just it, I was wrong. We deserve nothing. We live in a sinful world where we continually lose focus. A few years ago, I lost sight of God completely and was admittedly deist. Thankfully, I never stopped searching. Looking back, it's clear that my ego and love of self were too much for God and me to be in a relationship. So, he took a break. He's back now, especially since I'm now daily recommitting to him as never before. Because I know I deserve nothing. I have no plan now. No concrete dreams. A few ideas. But more than ever before, I just want to do whatever God wants.

God needs to be our priority over all else. Thanks, Phil Vischer. For the reminder. And for being so genuine.

* You can read what happened to Big Idea here.

nicodemus, my homeboy...

Thanks to the Gladding's back at UCA, I discovered memverse.com, a great tool for memorizing Scripture. I've been spending about twenty minutes there each morning and it's been fantastic for my devotional life.

One passage I've been memorizing is John 3:1-21. I memorized it back in high school for my senior Bible class taught by Mark Janke. I chose it by accident, thinking I had written down John 1. But I didn't and Janke encouraged me to stick with the passage because he said it it one of the most clear presentations of the gospel message. I agree and am glad I stuck with it.  Anyways, I thought I would relearn this important passage of Scripture...

I've been spending each day with this passage for the past ten day. It was starting to get boring (just shows I was reading it wrong), but this morning I read it from my Bible slowly, without focusing on memorization, and it came alive.

I think that Nicodemus is one of the most relatable of Biblical individuals to modern-day Christians. Here, we have a sincere leader of the Jews recognizing Jesus' obvious call and God's presence within (v. 2). He's a Pharisee, so he's obviously a recognized scholar. He craves knowledge. He wants to know more about this special individual sent to earth. However, his colleagues despise and fear Jesus and he himself is leery to commit to someone preaching such blasphemy (Jesus had just talked of temple destruction and a quick rebuilding project - 2:19). So, he comes by night.

Jesus realizes Nicodemus' intentions, that he wants to know without action, without belief. Nicodemus begins the discussion but Jesus immediately takes control, saying we must all be born again, "from above" (v. 3). Because once we submit to God, He will change us, and guide us in a way as unseen as the wind (v. 8). Again, Jesus points out that Nicodemus wants to simply know more about Jesus and not submit, so he asks Nicodemus "how can you believe if I tell you about earthly things" (v. 12)? He continues (and I summarize) that only the Son of Man has been to heaven and He is here to save the world, to save all who believe. Don't be the version of yourself unwilling to believe so that you might be lost. Avoid judgment, come into the light, "so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God" (v. 21).

God wants our submission. He wants to change us, to make us the best possible versions of ourselves. We need to crave more than knowledge. Too often, I have found myself like Nicodemus, coming to God alone by night wanting to know more about God and unwilling to truly let God guide me. That's been getting better, but it requires active submission. From me. From you. From our church. From all of us.

Nicodemus' story doesn't end here. He's mentioned again in John 7:50 encouraging the Pharisees to publicly question Jesus through a hearing rather than a private arrest. And in John 19:38-40, he and Joseph of Arimathea  helped with the burial of Jesus. I wish there was more, a detailed biography perhaps. But I'm glad that Nicodemus' story doesn't end there. He chose to continue learning about Jesus and show Him respect. I hope the belief came and suspect it did. That's a direction I want to continue relating. Nicodemus, my homeboy...

protests over the anti-islam film

Is the world really this pathetic? Apparently so. If you don't believe me, check out this article from BBC America.

Muslims blaming the U.S. for a private film made apparently blaspheming Muhammad. Meanwhile, countless episodes of Family Guy and South Park mock Jesus Christ. Did I like that? No. Do you see me warning my own country, threatening lives? No.

Are human lives worth such petty conflicts? We’ll never agree. Christianity vs. Islam vs. Atheism vs. the countless other religions. Democrats vs. Republicans and their neverending corporate-driven hypocritical feuds.

But this is ridiculous. Pacificism is a far greater rallying cry. So many Muslims and Christians cherish our God-ordained love and peace. While we should never support films that give way to such hatred, our response from one religion to the other, from one political party to the other, should be emblazoned with love and peace.

I think God would find that response much less pathetic.