Storm Steps

Anyone need any refreshments? Cause we are about to take an exit ramp on our little road trip:

I have a friend who is going through a rough time right now. Well, actually they have been going through a rough time for quite some time and thought that they had finally started to see sun-rays breaking through the cloud cover, instead though what was breaking through moments ago disappeared as a new influx of storm clouds swooped in. My friend doesn't know where the sun went, or why it went, or if or when it will ever come back. I understand what this friend is going through better than I would like to admit, I've been there before, stuck in the place when you thought you were on your way out. Since I've been there before I want to offer a little advice to my friend and to other friends, lovers, acquaintances and strangers who might be going through the same or similar thing.

1) Don't give up hope, no matter how hopeless it may seem, the same wind that brought the storm in WILL send the storm out. I know, I know, believe me I know, it may not feel like it will, but it will. There will be a day, and its probably coming sooner than you think, where you will look back on the storm, and look back on the eye of the storm that you thought was the end, and look back on the actual end and think, damn, I'm all right.

2) Focus on this moment, this breath, focusing on only this moment will be the most difficult thing you can learn to do, it may also be the single most useful thing you could do. If you act like you've always acted, the same things will happen, act differently, change your focus, narrow it, right now you are seeing things you can't understand, can't fix, and possible can't even handle, stop looking at it. If you can master only looking where you can and should look, amazing things will start to happen.

3) Once you focus on this moment, begin to focus on the next, the next moment, the next breath, the next step, you don't need to know the final destination, you can't anyway, the final destination ends up changing a million times every hour, all you need to know is the next step, as Martin Luther King Jr. would say, that is faith. And in every facet of life faith is important, and I mean that independent of your views on God, every person has faith, some in a higher power, some in the sun rising, some in themselves, some in mathematics or scientific proofs, but we all have faith and more importantly we all need to have faith, I would argue that we were made that way by God, but you can just say evolution created a need for faith in the hairless monkeys if you prefer.

4) Find someone to talk to, to let it out, be that a person, God, or even yourself, and keep looking if the person you find doesn't show you grace, grace is of utmost importance in the storm, because you're going to make some mistakes, and some of those mistakes will seem like the right thing to do in the moment, forgive yourself, but get rid of anyone who is not forgiving you.

5) Breathe. Just breathe. In every moment breathe. This is you breathing. This is you still breathing. Repeat that as much as you need to, let it become a mantra that is automatic. Breathing will calm you down when angry. Breathing will lift you up when down. Breathing brings you life and energy. Rob Bell, a guy who was officially paid as a pastor and is not any longer, says that the literal word for God is actually the sound of breathing. Rob says that when we are born, the first thing we do is say the name of God, and we die when we can no longer say God's name. There is something strong and comforting in that idea, so remind yourself that you are breathing, if you would like remind yourself that you are constantly saying the name of God. As long as breath is coming into and out of your lungs there is still a chance that things might change, and in truth that chance is 100%, change is constant and if you are waiting for something to change, just give it a little time my friend, it will.

Peace and Love,
Kenny

Let's get back on the road, shall we?

Road Trippin' with the Doctor - Part 1: Temptations [Luke 4:1-13]

You might have noted that the title of this particular post is Part 1. This is because as I was looking at Luke 4 I realized that I had absolutely no desire to cover everything inside it in one post. I felt this way because I didn't want to have to cherry pick one thing and leave a whole lot out, nor did I want to write one really long post, so these next 3, or perhaps even 4, posts will all cover Luke 4. To that end, we begin in the desert.

And why wouldn't we? John has recently been in the desert. Further back the Israelites were also in a desert, in a time before God allowed them to enter into the land that was prepared for them. I tend to think that Jesus was also about to enter into a land that had been prepared for him. I do not know what made the 1st Century world the best place for Messiah to enter into the drama that is life on earth, but it obviously did its job since we sit here, 2000 years later and we are still talking about Jesus, perhaps more so now than we ever have. But let's get back to the desert.

Jesus was baptized in the Jordan by John and then Luke says that he was filled with the Holy Spirit and that the Spirit is what led Jesus away from the cities and towns and crowds and religious elite and everyone that would soon want a piece of him and into the wilderness, into the desert. Luke says that the Spirit led him around the desert and that the devil, Satan, Lucifer, punk, whatever you want to call him would tempt Jesus. Toward the end of his 40 days without food in the desert the devil once again comes and tempts Jesus. The devil starts with the base need of the moment and tells Jesus to command the stones to become bread. Next the devil offers Jesus power over all the kingdoms of the earth. Finally the devil suggests that Jesus should jump from the pinnacle of the temple to have the angels catch him.

I want you to take a second and think about these specific temptations, base needs, power, and protection. First off I want you to think about what these temptations would look like in your life, what is THE base need you want in your life, where or when is it that you would like power in your life, what is it that you would like protection from? 

Ok, now that you've thought about these temptations in your life, think about them in Jesus's life. Think about how over and over again throughout the gospels where Jesus's life would have been easier had he had his base need met, had he taken power, and had he been protected. Let's start at the end.

Imagine how things would have been different if Jesus called on the angels to take him down from the cross? Imagine the songs you wouldn't be singing on Sunday mornings, imagine the cross that isn't hanging from your neck or on a wall in your house, imagine what Jesus would mean to you if he hadn't sacrificed himself. The devil asks Jesus to jump and Jesus says that you shouldn't test God, in essence Jesus says don't test God, trust God. Jesus asks for the cup to be taken, but he accepts it when it isn't. 

Now, imagine if Jesus had been the Messiah that all the people had been expecting. Imagine if Jesus had come riding on a horse and kicking Rome's ass. Imagine how strong you might think Jesus was, how powerful you might say he was, and how scared of Jesus you would probably be. By allowing people to make up their own minds, both for and against him, Jesus shows us a whole different kind of power. He shows us a power where obedience is not forced, where love is not coerced, where peace is actually peace and not just the cessation of hostility. The devil offers that which is not his to give and Jesus says if it means not treating God like God I don't need it.

Finally, THE base need, imagine if Jesus choose the easy way in each situation. Imagine if Jesus had just been a vending machine God, dispensing everything that both he needed and everyone else needed. Imagine how cheap blessings would be, imagine how cheap goodness would be. The devil offers Jesus a chance to get fed and Jesus tells him that food is only one aspect of what we need and without the spiritual aspect the physical will soon pass away.

Well, there's part 1, next in Luke 4, Jesus's Mission Statement

Peace and Love,

Kenny