passe ainsi la sagesse de l'homme

And as for myself, brethren, when I came to you, it was not with surpassing power of eloquence or earthly wisdom that I came, announcing to you that which God had commanded me to bear witness to. For I determined to be utterly ignorant, when among you, of everything except of Jesus Christ, and of Him as having been crucified. And so far as I myself was concerned, I came to you in conscious feebleness and in fear and in deep anxiety. And my language and the Message that I proclaimed were not adorned with persuasive words of earthly wisdom, but depended upon truths which the Spirit taught and mightily carried home; so that your trust might rest not on the wisdom of man but on the power of God. Yet when we are among mature believers we do speak words of wisdom; a wisdom not belonging, however, to the present age nor to the leaders of the present age who are soon to pass away. But in dealing with truths hitherto kept secret we speak of God's wisdom--that hidden wisdom which, before the world began, God pre-destined, so that it should result in glory to us; a wisdom which not one of the leaders of the present age possesses, for if they had possessed it, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory. (1 Corinthians 2:1-8 Weymouth New Testament)

passe ainsi la sagesse de l'homme (french) or thus passes the wisdom of man. in these last days of the elections to pick the next leader of our country- let these verses remind us that the candidate we're angry about or passionate about or unhappy/happy about is mere dust when compared to the wisdom of God. one mortal man cannot at all provide the answers we really need in our lives. as the verse above says- if the leaders of our present age had the wisdom only God possesses they would have thought twice about crucifying Jesus. think for a minute about the ramifications of that statement and let it sink in.
go out and vote but purpose in your heart to lean not on your own understanding or man's but in all your ways trust God's wisdom.

second place

i was watching a re-run episode of "third watch" (a favourite show of mine) on a&e this morning before work and the main story line was that of a new paramedic trying to learn how other paramedics, policemen and firemen were able to posess compassion for others. what got me thinking was when the new paramedic's mentor looked at him (fed up with his insistent questions on how he could be compassionate) and said (and i paraphrase here): "you wanna know how to have compassion? look at you- you've used the word "me" 6 times in the last 5 seconds! try putting yourself second for awhile and see what happens. it's not about you. stop making being compassionate about you!"
if you don't think God uses tv to get a point across, you're mistaken. very mistaken. it really isn't about me and thats something biblical to read into.
browsing the latest headlines on wired.com today, i ran into an article about a facebook movement in cairo, egypt. did you know that it's illegal to hold a meeting of more than 5 people without a permit in egypt? i sure didn't. this year, a regular guy with a wife and child named ahmed maher didn't view this as an obstacle in his web based protest of his nation's opressive government. he facing arrest and worse, he started a movement called "april 6th youth" that at one time had up to and over 40,000 online supporters. arrested and beaten at least 2 times he still is fighting for an end to the injustice in his land. this article ( found at http://www.wired.com/techbiz/startups/magazine/16-11/ff_facebookegypt?currentPage=1 ) only served to play into today's theme: it's not about me.
my pastor, pastor ken hitte, is preaching from ephesians this month and he suggested we read the second chapter this week. guess what verse i found? ephesians 2:8-10. "for by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. which God has prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them."
think about it. what paul is saying here is that there are two distinct "works" here. what we do on our own and what God has planned for us to do. our works will not do any good for us! the works that we do through God have been planned and purposed before we were even born. how much is it not about me? My own works will not get me into heaven- only what i do through God's will. and the things i do through God are not for me or about me because i am His workmanship already created to worship. love and serve Him. as his workmanship it should be second nature to put myself second and God in first place in my life. with all these reminders i've run into today, im going to say that second place isn't a bad place to be. besides, i have a pregnant wife so im already learning another side to the meaning of "second place"! but that's for another post...

ultrasounds

this is an excerpt from my musings on my website (www.contimedia.us/music). this last tuesday, my wife and i went for her first ultrasound and this is what i wrote down the moment i got home...

i can’t think of anything to compare with seeing my child for the first time. according to the measurements- it could fit right into my palm with plenty of room to spare. being able to watch it move around and suck on its thumb, seeing its backbone and brain and belly… its tiny hands and feet… i am beside myself. i cant tell you how proud i am of my wife for taking on the journey of childbirth. our lives have changed forever! never before have i had as deep of a sense in God’s design and purpose as when i looked at the tiny human thriving inside my wife. i don't think i have the right words to describe how i feel... it was beautiful and awesome all at once.

uncomfortably content

"I know both how to live in humble circumstances and how to live amid abundance. I am fully initiated into all the mysteries both of fulness and of hunger, of abundance and of want. I have strength for anything through Him who gives me power." philippians 4:12-13 (weymouth new testament)

i just found out that a $2,200 bill my wife and i would owe in february is being covered. this is welcome news. we're expecting our first child in april and i am beside myself with the sheer excitement of being responsible for the life of a child brimming full of God's purpose. but not so much with the monetary requirement thereof.
the economy is a black hole as we all know and despite everything i do to not worry about it, i am still uncomfortable and worried about it. yet, last night i was struggling with feeling content. why would i do that? why struggle with feeling content? simple. it goes against all this worry i have for everything going on around me.
being the good husband- i tell my wife: "don't worry about paying that" or "God knows and we'll be fine". easy words to say. not so easy words to actually believe. last night- struggling with actually believing that "God knows and we'll be fine" and my inecessant worry reached a pinnacle: i can be uncomfortably content.
i can be uncomfortable with the unstable world around me but i don't have to worry. i can be content with what i have (see my previous blog: a love of money). i can be content with where i am and with my circumstances. as paul says in the above scripture (and i paraphrase): "i have learned the secret of being content in every situation. i can do everything through him that gives me strength."
no matter if im living paycheck to paycheck or living off of a lottery winning (caffeine rarely works does not endorse gambling!) God gives me the strength to be content. i just have to learn to do everything through Him and not through my worry. after all- faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. why worry about what i can't see or control when God offers me the strength to conquer whatever lies ahead through my contenment in His purpose? there isn't a logical reason this side of sanity to do so!
as evidenced today- God is taking care of what i can't take care of and working everything out for His purpose. the next time i tell my wife "it's going to be okay, God's got this" i will make the greatest effort to put my faith and not my worry behind those words. i will be uncomfortably content.

a love of money

i normally don't write about political or economic situations here, but i feel compelled to express what's spinning through my head as we watch wall st., the government and the world deal with the current economic "crisis".
i'm not going to discuss or outline what's going on but rather there's a point i want to drive at.
"Your life should be free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for He Himself has said, I will never leave you or forsake you. 6 Therefore, we may boldly say:
The Lord is my helper;
I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
7 Remember your leaders who have spoken God's word to you. As you carefully observe the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." (Hebrews 13:5-8 HCSB)
what we are witnessing is a perverse love of money showing it's true colours on a grand scale. i'm not saying that i have never loved money or what it could bring me, but i do know that God has instructed me to be free of the love of money. and now more than ever, i intend to do so.

fear is the absence of faith. because God has said that He will never leave me, i can boldly state that I will not be afraid. then why do i currently find myself fearful and doubting? because i'm not free from the love of money.
the stock market is crashing. banks are collapsing. my tax dollars are going to help people that probably dont need my help. bills are due. i have a kid on the way. gas costs way too much. nothing is free anymore. etc...
where is this fear coming from? a love of money. we love money to much to give up worrying about it. we fear what could happen if we dont have it. we hold dear every bit of it we have and burn in jealousy at the bit of it we don't have.
i find it hard to be content with what i have. i have a good car but it could be a better car. i have a nice apartment but it's no 3 bed 2 bath house. i have a good job but its a lousy job. what fuels my desire to be discontent? money. for, in order to upgrade all i have, i would need more money.
God says be free of the love of that discontent. be content with what i have. why? He will never leave me alone. That's why i can say that He is my help; i am not afraid. what can man do to me? after all, if He can clothe the grass that is cut and thrown away; and feed the birds of the air, He can most certainly provide for me.
if i'm sitting here, becoming more worried by every new thing that happens in the stock market or the way things go at work or all the bills and things that need to be paid- then it's up to me to free myself from the love of my discontent. The Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid, for faith is the absence of fear.