not a break, a pause

don't worry.

your computer is not broken.  in fact, lifelikejesus is not broken either.
whenever an amateur blogger goes on any sort of hiatus they tend to try and explain it somehow.  they make up an excuse like, "oh i just got so busy." or something.  we here at lifelikejesus, however, are not amateurs...

we paused for reflection.

every so often you need to stop and smell the digital roses, right?  so we did.

now we're done.  we're done smelling roses, I mean.  not done with lifelikejesus.


I know that might be what you would expect from lifelikejesus.  sudden death, right?


you would think we had done this before or something... ha.

but during this time of rest and reflection, I kind started thinking about that whole moral flexibility thing.  then I was taking a class on the kingdom of god- how jesus talks about it- and something started to come together.  it is not yet fully formed, but here's a piece- most of it is ripped off.  if you want to know my sources, i would be happy to share.

we are trees.  we can be good or bad.  that depends on the kind of fruit we produce.  in order to produce good fruit, we have to take care of our hearts and motives.  when our hearts are right, we produce good fruit or the right kind of fruit.  when our hearts are not right, we produce bad fruit.  so what is good or morally right?  take care of your heart and the overflow of your heart will be good fruit.

that's too simple.  it might not even be right all the way.  but that is what I am working on right now.

and that is what this is.  sometimes life is inconsistent, that is ok.  sometimes this blog reflects life's randomness.  but the reason it is here is to keep myself and anyone else who wants to join in reading it and scripture, thinking about these things through the paradigm of everyday existence.  what is it like to produce good fruit in a messed up world?

God, help me produce good fruit.

amen.

The Divine In The Ordinary (Bird Chaser)

this is my youngest son Archer.

I had no idea, but he really likes to chase birds.

We were downtown at the fountain a few days ago and he went ballistic over these birds. It was pretty fascinating to watch as these birds, who have become overly used to people, were not phased at all by the giant toddler chasing them in a horror movie like fashion. they always kept a few feet ahead of him, but never flew off, never left, just sort of stuck around.

i dont know if i have expressed this, but the bird is my spirit animal. that is totally self diagnosed, yet true. i secretly love to watch birds and i feel like i see God in them often.

so if this bird were God, which seems likely that he would take the form of a pigeon, which is just one step ahead of a seagull, which is one step ahead of a rat, then what did i see from this scene?
this is sort of a metaphor for mine and God's dance through life. i  know he has never left me, and i have never stopped seeing him. i have always seen him, right there, right in front of me. and perhaps, he wants me to stand still and admire, observe, watch, think, ponder, talk.... but i am like a clumsy child who has just learned to walk and keep running towards him stumbling around and he has to keep creating new paths and new ways to see him. in the end, it can be quite exhausting, but i am still excited that i got to chase a bird.

"dear God, thanks for always staying right there with me, even when i probably annoy the hell out of you sometimes."

The Divine In The Ordinary (Vintage Cool Chair)

So, this is going to sound weird. nonetheless, its true. God sat down in this chair next to me today on a friends porch. which sort of makes sense, if God was going to come sit next to me, it would be in this cool aged modern chair. 

i am having an off day. there is something hanging over my head and if you know me at all, thats not good. i like to deal with responsibility immediately, i hate having things loom. however, sometimes you dont get that choice. 

i had to journey over to the other side of town today and wait for a long time. i decided to pass the time across the street on a friends porch. i sat in a chair and then i felt like talking to God. to unload a lot of crap on him. it was much easier to do this if he were sitting next to me as oppose to speaking to the dark clouds in the sky. so i talked to him in this chair. it was nice. it was so nice i wanted to steal the chair and bring it home in hopes that God would often come to visit in this chair. 

i bet its real similar to Jesus coming to sit with the woman at the well to talk to her. or maybe when he came to Zacchaeus' house. better yet, how about this scene from John 21:

Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.”
 Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.


its nice to know that God comes to just sit with us sometimes. does this ever happen to anyone else? 

The Divine In The Ordinary (leaf bug)

something in this picture doesnt belong. no its not the big gross foot. no its not the weird ball-like growth at the end of my foot either. its the leaf-bug. i know i know. with modern technology i should be able to look up what kind of bug this really is and right the technical term. but i dont do that. i do know though, from my many trips to the Cincinnati Zoo that this is a but that hangs near leaves and bushes and such and its natural build makes him blend in with his surroundings. to help hide him from predators.

the only problem is, it doesnt quite help him that much when he lands on skin, in particular, feet.

i sat there staring at him and i found the divine in the ordinary. i thought about how great this bug is. i thought about how my first instinct may have been to smack him and possibly kill him, or in the very least to shoo him away. i didnt. i just watched him and thought about how much he didnt belong there.

i have never felt like that. i have always felt like i belong. i think i am supposed to feel like i dont belong, like there is something bigger or better, or different (because most heroes of the story seem to feel that way, ask Charlie Bucket). but i dont. i feel like i fit here, in my life, in this world. and that, is a comforting feeling.

however, sometimes....i feel like i should be a leaf bug on skin sometimes. i feel like i should stick out more sometimes...i maybe should be places i dont really fit in. i guess some would say step out of a "comfort zone". i think God calls us to that quite often.

Joshua 12

(Note:  NO BLASPHEMY IS INTENDED TO APPEAR IN THIS POST.  IF YOU ARE OFFENDED PLEASE FILE A COMPLAINT IN YOUR PRAYERS TONIGHT.)

Passages like these oft remind me of the verse, "All Scripture is God breathed and is useful..."

Really?  I ask.  This is useful to me in my everyday life?

Um, yeah. (Note:  Italics obviously indicate the Holy Spirit.)

How so, Holy Ghost?

Isn't it obvious?  The Israelites, a rag tag group of desert dwellers, destroyed more than 30 kingdoms with God's help.

So?

Boy you are a dummy. (Note:  This is not an actual transcription of a conversation between me and the Holy Spirit (that would consist of weird groans and translations(Yes, that is a parenthetical statement inside of a parenthetical statement.  What are you gonna do about it?))... it is a dramatization of internal events.  I don't think the Holy Spirit would not talk like that.)  That means that God was true to His promise... that He took care of them through all of those fights... that, because Joshua and his men remained faithful, they were strong and courageous they were able to completely destroy many kings.

So the moral of the story is... trust God and he will help you kill kings?

Am I going to have to flood the earth again?  I really don't want to do that.  I promised I wouldn't.

No, no, no wait, Holy G, I was only joking.  I get it now.  The moral of the story is that God is faithful to His word.  If we remain faithful to Him, even when times get tough, if we fight on His side- we'll win.
____

OK, so that was weird.  Anyway, I always try to let myself skip over passage like this or genealogies when I am reading the Bible.  It seems like these endless lists that we find are rarely useful or explicitly insightful.  There is little application in a list of names.  But today, since I wanted to pull something out, I made myself read it all the way through and when I got to the bottom I was left with the feeling that God accomplished a lot with so little.  He makes good on His word.  I need strength and courage.  I need to devote myself to the Scriptures like the Israelites here and great things will happen by God's Divine hand.

God, again keep me strong and courageous.  Lead me to do what you want me to do.  Amen.

Joshua 11

"Then the land had rest from war."

As I was reading through this chapter, a thought occurred to me.  I read through Joshua another time, awhile ago and was startled by how much God had the Israelites do in the killing department.  Kill these guys.  Kill their horses.  Then go kill some more.

I was flabbergasted.  I guess we just do not understand a God of war like the Israelites did.  I mean, imagine if God told Obama to nuke Britain and take over... that would sound outrageous and crazy... right?  The people who would protest the most (besides the Brits) would be the religious people.  Think of all the innocents... slaughtered.

And yet, through God's righteousness, we must presume that these battles were just and righteous.

It just does not seem to compute.

But then I think back to the flood.  That was definitely a God thing where lots of people died.  Women and children got swept away... How does that fit on the lovey-dovey daddy of modern Christian Theology?

It doesn't, I guess.

SO where does that leave us?

One of the ways my mind tends to think about things like this is a sort of flexible morality. 

I'll name him Charlie Bucket

I know... its a slippery slope to say morality is flexible, but it has to be.  Would it be morally wrong to kill a man if that was the only way to stop him from killing your whole family?  Would it be morally wrong to become angry at someone for stealing your pet monkey?

Or.. would it be morally wrong to drink a beer in front of a known alcoholic?

So is it wrong that all these people had to die in order to give God's chosen people their inheritance?  Apparently not.

I think that after reading the last few chapters, though I was relieved to see the rest from war at the end of this one.  I don't want to think about God killing people right now.

I like to sneak into rooms and open up a can of worms, then leave.  SO... have fun.

God, let my morality and wisdom only come from you. If I let my opinions in on the matter, smack me.  Amen.

The Divine In The Ordinary (bird)

by: Justin Dunn

Intentionality, Intentionality, Intentionality.

How much of a difference that word makes. Especially in the realms of faith and mindfulness of God.

I have been reading an excellent book called Making A Mess & Meeting God by Mandy Smith. Its main function is to teach people how to be conscience and aware of God all the time, throughout the everyday world.

a great quote: "connecting with God usually involves many words- reading, praying journaling, listening, talking, thinking, singing. Can we add to these the possibility of learning and connecting through holding, shaping, walking, sitting, standing, making, and doing?"

its basically about finding the divine in the ordinary.

i think this is something in which i normally do. i just havent been very intentional about it.
so, on this blog, i am going to try to make this a daily exercise.

i am not a good writer, i actually dont like to write a lot. so, most of my posts will be short, but it will be how i saw the divine in the ordinary that day.  the goal is that i do it enough to where i am constantly seeing God in all the things i do. whether it be washing dishes, playing with my sons, doing art, or watching TV.

as i was thinking today, i thought i may have felt the richness of God as i was sitting outside of Panera, smoking a good pipe with Rookwood tobacco from Strauss tobacco company. also enjoying a cup of coffee. i was amazed at how the tobacco brought out a good bean flavor from the coffee (a coffee that is usually not so tasty). but that wasnt it.

i saw God in this fellow:

he was hoping around my table. i threw him some crumbs from my delicious blueberry scone. i was pretty amazed how he could hear those crumbs falling from a long way away. 

birds may be my spirit animal. i love to watch them and find them fascinating. as this guy hopped around eating my crumbs, i was thinking of God. How amazing he is, how he throws me more than crumbs and i am sure he is fascinated with what i do with them. i would get upset when i threw him some and he didnt come get them, so i would pick them back up and toss them at him again.  until he got them. i am glad God keeps doing that for me to. i miss out on a lot i am sure. 

Joshua 10

This is what I automatically think about when I read this story.

"if Joshua stopped the sun in the sky -- the earth stopped spinning on its axis, continents toppled over one another, mountains flew into space, and the earth, shriveled to a cinder, crashed into the sun. Now, how come they missed that little tidbit of news?"

 Can't help it.  I went to public school and was therefore forced to believe... you should watch movies in class.  Helps pass the time.

Really, though, I am not sure what to do with this passage.  All of a sudden the Lord is fighting for Israel?  He takes a command from a human general?  Not sure that this works...  At least, not in the context of my earlier readings of the scriptures.  So through extensive research/ google search I have found several theories which seek to either discredit the validity of the statement as a mere quotation of uninspired poetry or use this opportunity to expound on how God could use this particular miracle to spit in the eye of the "heathens."  The former could be plausible, though it reeks of "cop-out" to me.  The latter does not address the issue at hand at all.

I guess my gut is telling me that God taking orders from Joshua seems far fetched.  Just because of who I believe God to be.  If I am wrong about this, I will tell you what... I will talk to God and command him to make me right.  Sound good?

So it brings me to this conclusion, Jesus is right.

""If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you." -Luke 17:6

"you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." -Matthew 17:20

or you can say to the sun, "I want to do some more killing, keep giving me light." -The Gospel of lifelike jesus blog 1:2

It is not that God is taking commands or even fighting FOR Israel, as much as He is fighting and Israel happens to be on His side.  So what to do with verse 14?  I will let Biblical scholars nibble on it and leave their findings in the comment box below.  (I think this reeks of cop-out as well, but I am fine with that).

God, let me never assume that I know who you are or how you operate.  You may have taken a command from Joshua or maybe you didn't.  Either way, I still know that you have taught us to fight on your side and you will win... and that is enough for me.  I am on your side.  Use me as you will and teach me to be bold, courageous, strong.  Amen.

Joshua 9

It seems to me that I am my biggest enemy.  Its not even that I shoot myself in the foot, necessarily, like the Israelites do here.  I am just my own critic, too often. Everything I do goes under the lamp light of self-criticism and self destruction.

"That last blog post got 3 hits in the last 4 days, you must be a terrible blogger!"

It is true.  I am not the most competent, consistent or committed blogger out there.  I think I am coming to fear technology a little too much for that... but this blog does possess value to me in some sense.  IT gets me thinking about scripture in a new and different way.

I feel like, too often, we sit down and aimlessly read through the Bible just hoping to finally finish that book or chapter we are reading so we can say we have read it recently or something.  Like a guy comes up to you and says, "I think that the Old Testament is lamesauce."  You can come back with, "Well, when I was reading Joshua the other day... I thought to myself, the Old Testament is anything but lamesauce."

Other guy:0
You: WON!

Who is super christian who reads his Bible?  That is right.  You are.  Who is lamesauce?  That guy!

That probably makes no sense to anyone but myself and is, hence, another example of how I am not the most competent blogger on the face of the planet.

But the whole point is that this blog has provided me a way to connect Scripture with my life... even if it is through rambling, sometimes nonsensical, reflections on my life and how it pertains to Joshua or Scripture as a whole.

I can only hope that it does the same for you.

And all that to say, I needed to encourage myself today to continue on this little journey through Joshua and invite you to do the same.  Strength, Courage.

God, I do not want to discourage myself.  I do not want to shoot myself in the foot.  I do want to ramble my way through your Scriptures so that I might be able to learn something from your word and maybe show someone else what it means to live a life like jesus...  to become a lifelike jesus.  however disjointed and digressive it is.  Amen.

PS Comments are always welcomed. As are cash gifts.