Human/Spiritual Narrative

I have quite a few thoughts running through my head at the moment.  Last night Paula and I were invited to share our Human and Spiritual Narrative yesterday at an apologetic class.  We were thrilled to be asked and yet we felt a spiritual fear and trembling!  I say spiritual because we take this stuff seriously.  When called to teach, there is a higher level of accountability and I believe this to be even greater when we mix a human narrative in that is charged with emotions.

Stepping back and evaluating how we did, I think it went well.  We had good responses and great questions were asked. 

What I took away as the presenter was the fact that there is still so many people longing to hear a perspective that is not culturally or worldly based.  We have seeped our responses to the topic of homosexuality out of the human narrative's that we hear all around us.  We are almost too scared to speak something different than just acceptance in fear of being lambasted with hate-filled responses.  How we respond is crucial and important to the culture around us and I believe what is even more important is the see the spiritual narrative at work. 

I felt like the Holy Spirit gave me a greater revelation of the Trinity.  Prior to presenting I kept hearing the verse, "I came not to abolish the law but to full-fill it."  I thought of Jesus, coming to earth, a fulfillment of God dwelling among His people.  Here we see Jesus, not a separate person but one united fully with God and the Holy Spirit.  We also see the Holy Spirit not a separate entity from Jesus and God but united in FULL relationship with God and Jesus.  Jesus can't go against God's created intent because He would be going against himself and the same goes with God and the Holy Spirit.  I don't think I'm wrong when it comes to this idea that the Trinity is in full relationship with one another. 

When we read people say...Well, Jesus didn't say anything about homosexuality"...we have to remind ourselves that he did.  When God spoke things into being, created and ordered the world, He spoke very clearly on the created intent for humankind...and Jesus can't speak against that and the view that his silence spoke acceptance is a far cry from the truth.

We can't have one part of the Trinity and reject the other parts. 

I also felt a deep realization that we are all called to live in the garden.  Not getting back to Eden, but rather the one garden that I think if we really delved into it, we'd run screaming out!  It's Gethsemane.  A deep concept in this place is the idea that we too are called to come to this place and wrestle...and fight our humanity.  I see Jesus in the wrestle with his own human body..."take this cup from me..."  and coming out at the end... "Not my will but yours be done!"

How many of us live in this place?  When we proclaim to someone who is in the LGBT community to lay everything down to follow God and the magnitude of what that looks like to them, or to anyone who is walking in sin.  Anything that we hold up in front of us declaring "THIS IS IMMOVABLE, UNCHANGEABLE, OFF LIMITS, SECURITY, IDENTITY!" is an IDOL!  God smashes idols.  Jesus upturned tables, the Holy Spirit brings conviction!  I used the analogy of retirement savings.  How many of us would give up our entitlement of our retirement savings?  How many of us would dare sell our home and give to the poor?  How many of us would give up our best...rather than our hand me downs?  And yet...is this not what Jesus intends?  Hard?  Maybe you yell back "Kenny, I worked hard all my life.  I saved that money.  I was faithful in giving."  SO?  Who gave you breath?  Hear me now...it is isn't wrong to be faithful in our finances...and I believe we are definitely called to that place of faithfulness.  But, when we hold it as our own...when we say...This is off limits to God's direction, when we hold it as security and our identity...have we sinned?  Have we placed it higher than God's ability to provide?  I share this analogy because it makes us uncomfortable and maybe it gives us a picture of the magnitude of anyone who has had to give up everything...to become undone in every part of ones life.  To cry out in anguish when the intensity of the struggle was so enormous. When we ask someone to give up everything...are we ready to do the same?

Can we see that in every part of our life, there is a spiritual narrative being written and we are being beckoned to sit in it, listen to it, understand it and follow it!   

Roof issues...stepping out!

I have been quite lax in my writing this year and as I look back, I see a lot of factors that kept me from putting thought down on this blog. 

We have battled through some tough things this year, but we have also seen God move and direct our steps in incredible ways.

This fall, we uncovered some issues with our roof which could have paralyzed us in fear.  Yet we know God is faithful and so we trust him to provide all that we need.  It is a need not a want that propelled us to pray about doing a gofundme campaign.  There is always a part of us that fears the word 'neediness!' but we come back to realizing that we should not be ashamed of being in need.  God even says, you have not because you have not asked.  So we have been taking steps to tell of our need and to seek God.  No matter what God is our supply and we trust Him.

There are other things that are percolating in us that we are beginning to pray about.  Exciting things of faith!  We can't wait to tell you all about it!

Here is our fund...Much love from all three of us!