tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75379727940091198602024-02-07T19:26:48.643-08:00As I See itSam Scottihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713276210374956046noreply@blogger.comBlogger96125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537972794009119860.post-36675390469072059852012-04-03T20:39:00.002-07:002012-04-03T20:39:58.598-07:00When a Tree Falls<p style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><a href="http://samscotti.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/cherry-blossom-tree.jpg" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><img class=" wp-image alignleft" src="http://samscotti.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/cherry-blossom-tree.jpg?w=540" alt="Image" width="324" height="259" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; cursor: default; float: left; " /></a><span >On Monday, my neighbor across the street cut down the 20’ foot tree that was in his front yard. I’m not sure what type of tree it was, but I do remember over 15 years ago when it was planted by the previous home owners and only 7 feet tall.</span></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span >One day before the young sapling went up I was talking with the husband. The couple had been struggling financially and he landed a job as a bouncer at a nearby strip club. He opened up and told me that his wife didn’t like him working there. I told him that it was a normal thing for a wife not to be thrilled with their husband working around a bunch of naked women. I suggested for his marriages sake to find another place to work, which he did. That’s when the small tree went up as a symbol of their new love and commitment to each other.</span></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span >I’m not sure why or how things fell apart after that, but they did. They divorced, lost the house and like so many today, their kids found themselves in a divided home. As the tree fell I couldn’t help but remember them. I remembered their struggles, their hope, the kids and the loss.</span></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span >On another note; a close friend of mine lost her father tonight, or as she wrote in her text, “My daddy is gone.” His health had been failing and today the battle ended and he fought no more. I have found that no matter how much time you have to prepare yourself or see the inevitable on the horizon for something like this, there is just no stopping the hurt, sorrow or loss.</span></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span >David wrote in Psalm 56</span></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span >You keep track of all my sorrows.<br />You have collected all my tears in your bottle.<br />You have recorded each one in your book.</span></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span >I hope some comfort can be found in the knowledge that God not only sees, but cares. That no matter who we are, where we are, or what happens, that someone is there to remember when a tree falls.</span></p>Sam Scottihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713276210374956046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537972794009119860.post-83896336356792289662012-03-29T13:57:00.002-07:002012-03-29T13:57:46.720-07:00A Jesus That Looks Like Me<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://samscotti.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/img_00931.jpg"><img class=" wp-image aligncenter" src="http://samscotti.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/img_00931.jpg?w=1014" alt="Image" width="426" height="319" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; cursor: default; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; " /></a></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span >On my recent trip to Haiti there was a large mural on the wall of a religious school that had a painting of Jesus with black skin. That may be surprising to some, but is it really any different than the European Jesus with white skin or even the hippie Jesus popular back in the 70’s? Let’s face it; few of our renderings represent a man born to a Jewish woman in the first century.</span></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span >I understand the reasons we envision Jesus appearance to be like ours, it’s because we want someone we can relate to, but I think sometimes we go further and try to make Jesus relate to us. So now he not only comes with our color skin, he also comes with our bias. He condemns those involved in sins we have no struggles with, but turns a compassionate eye on the ones we do. And though I believe there are clearly things that are right and wrong, true justice can only be administered by one who has all the facts, and usually we don’t.</span></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span >Honestly, I believe Jesus is a lot less what we’d like him to be and a lot more what we need him to be. He is more accepting of people than we are, after all, he was known as a friend of sinners (how many churches still have that reputation?), but at the same time he effectively challenged people like Zacchaeus (a thief) to change and better himself as a human being. He seems to extend more grace than we do (the women caught in adultery), but has no problem delivering clear justice. He knows when we need to be encouraged and when we need to be confronted. In the end, he is someone who can actually help us and see above our ignorance and prejudice.</span></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span >Through the years I have come to recognize that there are things in me I have no power to fix, but I also realize, neither can a Jesus that looks like me.</span></p>Sam Scottihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713276210374956046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537972794009119860.post-17733845718103080462011-05-18T19:04:00.000-07:002011-05-18T19:06:02.267-07:00Make Big the Little I Do<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyusvFvYuGwyoJK1aw54DKdqySj8UcOqM9kcqpmqk2-bgPK_c5yg7A1_tE5PYjDwKbTNZr90HvxyZJCEdJwkCGdNELOAx2RJOrnnDGE42X4Zkp9623g4pBH66uaER40nJHefo-Qz45hAVs/s1600/grieving-angel-statue.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyusvFvYuGwyoJK1aw54DKdqySj8UcOqM9kcqpmqk2-bgPK_c5yg7A1_tE5PYjDwKbTNZr90HvxyZJCEdJwkCGdNELOAx2RJOrnnDGE42X4Zkp9623g4pBH66uaER40nJHefo-Qz45hAVs/s200/grieving-angel-statue.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5608242623766467010" /></a><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in;padding:0in">A few years ago</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 4.5pt;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:none windowtext 0in; padding:0in"> I received a phone call asking if I could visit a young girl (13) who was in the hospital with cancer. The call came from the girl’s grandmother who also shared that the girl’s mom didn't care much for her "religious ways" and there could be some opposition to my visit if the mom is there. </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:4.5pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:4.5pt;border:none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt:none windowtext 0in;padding:0in">It can be awkward visiting someone who’s in a serious condition, especially if you don’t know them. You are stepping into one of the deepest and most emotional times in their life which is an honor if you’re invited, but if you’re not, well, then you really don’t want to be there either.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:4.5pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:4.5pt;border:none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt:none windowtext 0in;padding:0in">Corinne and I made it to Loma Linda Hospital the next day and found the young girl in her room alone and quite sleepy due to all the meds. Her hair had fallen out from the Chemo treatments and I remember being struck that she looked much older than she really was. I explained who I was and that her grandmother had asked me to visit, hoping to make our being there a little more comfortable. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in;padding:0in">S</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:4.5pt; border:none windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:none windowtext 0in;padding:0in">he seemed very tired and didn’t say much. I shared simply that God loved her, and wanted to be part of this difficult time in her life. I encouraged her to talk to the Lord about all she was thinking and feeling. We prayed and I left a card with my phone number and told her that she or her mom could call me anytime. </span><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:none windowtext 0in; padding:0in">T</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:4.5pt;border:none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt:none windowtext 0in;padding:0in">he next morning, Corinne and I left the country and took a team to Wales for two weeks. When I returned, I called the hospital only to find that she had been released and I had no further information regarding her.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:4.5pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:4.5pt;border:none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt:none windowtext 0in;padding:0in">Months later, the grandmother came to the office and told Mary, the receptionist, that her granddaughter had passed away. She wanted to personally say “thanks” and said that her granddaughter told her that our visit meant so much to her. When Mary told me this, it struck me hard; I had no idea that our time there meant anything to her at all. Was I so busy and distracted that I didn’t sense what was going on? For goodness sake - she was only 13 years old! What did I expect?</span> <span style="mso-bidi-font-size:4.5pt;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in;padding:0in">I went into my office, closed the door, and cried. If the little time I spent meant so much, why didn’t I spend more time with her? I failed to see the the privilege I had to represent Jesus to a precious 13 year old girl, who had become much older than she really was.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:4.5pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";border:none windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:none windowtext 0in; padding:0in;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">God help me not to miss that again and please take the little I do and make it of lasting value.</span>Sam Scottihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713276210374956046noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537972794009119860.post-55891935742462980452011-04-27T22:46:00.000-07:002011-04-27T22:52:51.920-07:00SWAY<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzShwPitsftjP1cjOQTtsgPseTd3eU-eiYbvyBCQipNR34bEwFbE02Lkdyhvgtb59MQGHU0bl1-Ql8yspb-CDa_d3keTikl1Fr0aZNRhfp4AcILJg2hpkK82yFmXoL0GdireNsxxt5qZmg/s1600/sway.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzShwPitsftjP1cjOQTtsgPseTd3eU-eiYbvyBCQipNR34bEwFbE02Lkdyhvgtb59MQGHU0bl1-Ql8yspb-CDa_d3keTikl1Fr0aZNRhfp4AcILJg2hpkK82yFmXoL0GdireNsxxt5qZmg/s200/sway.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600507999193794370" /></a><br />I recently read a book entitled, ‘SWAY - THE IRRESISTIBLE PULL OF IRRATIONAL BEHAVIOR’, and it lived up to its title as it told story after story of senseless behavior and why it takes place. I found the stories and research very compelling. Why pilots with perfect records would make obvious and fatal mistakes, or how students’ opinions could drastically be swayed by a single word. The studies were astonishing and very illuminating. <br />Here’s an abbreviated example from the chapter, ‘Compensation and Cocaine’:<br />At the University of Zurich, research was done as to how the people in a local town in Switzerland would respond to having radioactive waste stored near their community. The people were informed that the federal parliament had selected their town as one of the best places to store these contaminants. When they took a vote at a town hall meeting, 50.8 percent felt a national responsibility to accept the facility, the other half of the group opposed to having the waste stored nearby. This other half represented a significant problem, so the government tried to win over some of the townspeople by compensating them with money ($6,500. a year per family), but when money was introduced into the proposal the percentage dropped from 50.8 in favor to 24.6 in favor! How could offering people more produce less? <br />The book goes into detail as to why this happens and illustrates how our brains process things. Basically, it’s as if we have two “engines” running in our brains that can’t operate simultaneously and that run on separate fuels. When one is engaged, (the pursuit of money for example) it closes the door to the other (national pride, love, and loyalty) and vice versa. It brought to mind Jesus’ words: You can’t serve God and money, that you will hate one and love the other. The studies also showed how we respond the same way with other things besides money; like drugs, gambling, and sex. I was reminded of the many people I’ve known who said they loved their family, only to destroy what they love by engaging in these very activities. And when asked why they would do such things, can give no sensible answer for their behavior.<br />Anyway, it’s a short read (fewer than 200 pages) and story after story kept me intrigued.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sway-Irresistible-Pull-Irrational-Behavior/dp/0385530609/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1303968574&sr=8-3"></a>Sam Scottihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713276210374956046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537972794009119860.post-2124921608098018602011-04-15T14:08:00.001-07:002011-04-15T15:05:28.870-07:00God Bless the Ninja<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgebHOvfcbdzV8DD6aAbM8cC1pS7BBpo0WYHbE0qTfm0X9Ex_okgXJz18zw1FmMd6MspDsYddSSx3x4E_jI8nGhaoFM05zS8TXoe2AUy6FUHZ-5Sz_zHaD-mw-2ArxjuDPEByWnuIKz1PBF/s1600/lil%2527+ninja.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgebHOvfcbdzV8DD6aAbM8cC1pS7BBpo0WYHbE0qTfm0X9Ex_okgXJz18zw1FmMd6MspDsYddSSx3x4E_jI8nGhaoFM05zS8TXoe2AUy6FUHZ-5Sz_zHaD-mw-2ArxjuDPEByWnuIKz1PBF/s200/lil%2527+ninja.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5595920679966832098" border="0" /></a>Years ago when I was starting out in youth ministry, I received a call from one of my high school students saying he wanted to meet with me because he had just run away from home. I remember hanging up the phone (before cell phones) and excitedly thinking, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">“This is it! This is youth ministry!”</b> On my way down to meet with Mark, I nervously rehearsed in my mind all the scenarios I could think of, as well as what I might say and asked God to give me some divine answer that could help rescue this young man. <p class="MsoNormal">I found Mark there in the 7/11 parking lot and began talking to him. I asked him some of the questions I’d been rehearsing in my mind earlier. “Why did you run away? Where are you going to live?” He told me that he wasn’t getting along with his parents and felt they were being unreasonable (common stuff I thought), and then he dropped the bomb. He said that he planned to go to Japan so he could become a “Ninja”, that’s right, a Ninja! I thought to myself again, yet differently: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">“This is it? This is youth ministry?”</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">As I stood dumbfounded with my mouth open like a Venus Flytrap, I wondered, “What am I supposed to say to this?” Part of me was angry and thinking, ‘I drove here for this?’ Another part of me wanted to laugh and say, “You go, young grasshopper.” But I really did want to help and eventually swayed him to go back home and to school (not Ninja school).</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Since then I’ve found myself fondly remembering, and even longing for, that innocent yet naïve conversation, but unfortunately things don’t always go that way. Instead there have been the conversations in a psych ward with a 15 year old girl who had a complete emotional, nervous, and psychological break down; with a 17 year old young man living on the streets addicted to drugs and alcohol; with a 16 year old girl, pregnant, scared and alone; with those who have contemplated suicide, attempted suicide, and with the families of those who have committed suicide.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">I don’t remember the exact words I shared with Mark, but I do remember the sentiment. It was that God understands right where you are, your frustrations and fears as well as your passions and dreams. Pour your heart out to Him, for He understands, cares and will guide you through this.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";font-size:12.0pt;" >I really am thankful for my talk with Mark and for the lesson learned that has served me well over the years.</span>Sam Scottihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713276210374956046noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537972794009119860.post-11172139094264117162011-04-07T02:15:00.000-07:002011-04-07T02:30:51.494-07:00Filling in the Blanks<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHokh9FDRTlqUBqSZ3cvbwiodcT9tF7gplPK0-6jxt6OxcKKlUKEZ-4qxQmuZlnFBiHhQ4lbQVY4fHWA5qI84XYV64BJgHyzlZG4zk_V5rbiBmqKyno3NRVY1FmVV-XcfmDRAZQfxxlBAi/s1600/blank+form.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHokh9FDRTlqUBqSZ3cvbwiodcT9tF7gplPK0-6jxt6OxcKKlUKEZ-4qxQmuZlnFBiHhQ4lbQVY4fHWA5qI84XYV64BJgHyzlZG4zk_V5rbiBmqKyno3NRVY1FmVV-XcfmDRAZQfxxlBAi/s200/blank+form.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592768246622421634" /></a><p class="MsoNoteLevel2" style="margin-left:0in;text-indent:0in"><span class="Apple-style-span">The other night a friend and I visited a small artistic community out in L.A. I have wanted to go out there ever since I read a book “Untamed”, written by Alan and Deb Hirsch, who are part of this community. Of course it figures that the night we went, they were doing things differently than usual (that always happens when I go someplace new), but in spite of that I was still able to get a good picture of what they are about. Even though the evening was unlike anything I’ve attended before, I had a great time and found the people engaging, unique, and disarmingly real.</span></p> <p class="MsoNoteLevel2" style="margin-left:0in;text-indent:0in"><span class="Apple-style-span">I know my opinion going there was swayed (in a positive way) because of how much I liked the book, and that got me thinking about how big a role our prejudices play when we encounter something new. </span></p> <p class="MsoNoteLevel2" style="margin-left:0in;text-indent:0in"><span class="Apple-style-span">We have a habit of making quick assessments based on the little we hear, see, or know. This happened to Jesus when the religious leaders saw the prostitute crying at his feet, or him eating with “sinners”. What they saw only affirmed what they already believed about him. And what they believed was wrong.</span></p> <p class="MsoNoteLevel2" style="margin-left:0in;text-indent:0in"><span class="Apple-style-span">This happens to us as well. Some after reading about this group I mentioned visiting may assume because I used the words artistic and unique that they are unorthodox in their beliefs. Others are reading this and wondering, “When did you even talk about their beliefs?” I didn’t. Some of you thought fondly of them simply because I used the words artistic and real. But WE ALL key on things or words that have certain meanings to us and file the rest under the labels we make.</span></p> <span class="apple-style-span"><span>The problem with labeling people is that it prevents you from seeing what's clearly before your face; all you're seeing now is the label and instead of allowing the truth to fill in the details, you fill in the blanks with what you already believe, even if what you believe is wrong. </span></span><!--EndFragment-->Sam Scottihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713276210374956046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537972794009119860.post-76897118700127240312011-03-30T22:33:00.000-07:002011-03-30T22:34:31.822-07:00Paralyzed<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_M1CxENWVJerOBitomtwgF4H1EPyB-Dp6Uum42GkgDDAKHpOh6ZifRM4msyI0PkUaoR-NWBG5fYDFWZGF77vgB7Yjmh8vlst6G6-3gKZabuL3XYIruZrdkQo_qxMaRk9YKTZ-CqQyhkad/s1600/Hosp+bed.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 249px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_M1CxENWVJerOBitomtwgF4H1EPyB-Dp6Uum42GkgDDAKHpOh6ZifRM4msyI0PkUaoR-NWBG5fYDFWZGF77vgB7Yjmh8vlst6G6-3gKZabuL3XYIruZrdkQo_qxMaRk9YKTZ-CqQyhkad/s320/Hosp+bed.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590113221210216514" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; "><p>When I was 5 or 6, one of the neighborhood kids had a pair of boxing gloves so of course we had to try them out. My problem was that most of the kids were older and I soon found myself pinned by a kid twice my size punching me in the head (yeah, that’s how we boxed in Pico Rivera). As a result, I was hospitalized, almost paralyzed, and in traction for 3 days with a dislocated neck.</p><p>Recently I’ve felt paralyzed trying to write. It’s like I’ve been punched and left in traction because of some hard things happening to family and close friends. It’s hard not to let emotions completely control your thoughts and with me these thoughts would surface every time I would begin to write and no matter what the subject was, my emotions would begin to poison everything that I wrote. It was like I was writing <em>at</em> someone instead of to or for them.</p><p>People don’t respond well to you blasting their issues (I don’t). But people also have a hard time letting go of the issues and problems they see (I do). Wanting to fix the issues is part of what motivates us to make a difference in the world as well as in the people we know and love, but we need to remember that the goal is not to win the argument, but the heart, and we’re not going to win the heart by arguing!</p><p>Sometimes you have to care enough to speak to the issues and sometimes, like the prodigal son, you have to care enough to let people go and pray that someday they will see their issues. How do you know when to do which? It’s not always clear, but you can’t live paralyzed. Sometimes you just have to tenderly move forward living in the tension of them both.</p></span>Sam Scottihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713276210374956046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537972794009119860.post-78041257081682400182010-11-23T11:20:00.001-08:002010-11-23T16:43:46.611-08:00Two Sides to the Same Coin<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbv8CEJz0whiu9k8cXW6L7ucidB9YX32GyUBl4B-mWX4GzFAczsGDphg1p2HHMfVQnAP-KrdRiKgaMPyiW1udGqUmpL3q1XSRaevMICpJwCdqa1QYqpJfVwQ_ElOTiE5K_yUI21HqhgWxZ/s1600/spinning+coin.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbv8CEJz0whiu9k8cXW6L7ucidB9YX32GyUBl4B-mWX4GzFAczsGDphg1p2HHMfVQnAP-KrdRiKgaMPyiW1udGqUmpL3q1XSRaevMICpJwCdqa1QYqpJfVwQ_ElOTiE5K_yUI21HqhgWxZ/s320/spinning+coin.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542827420547086962" /></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">We recently started meeting on Thursday nights at our new space and the Crave documentary was a perfect way to start us out, clarifying the direction we are moving at Genesis.</span><div><span style="font-size: 12pt; "></span><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span><div><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">In the documentary we saw the importance of how le</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">ading </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">a person to faith in Christ may begin first with simply joining them in their journey even as Jesus, unknown to the disciples at the time, joined them on the road to Emmaus. They soon found themselves in a</span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"> conversation with God, not even aware that God Himself was the One initiating that conversation.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">It seems that many who follow Christ have embraced a certain method of communicating their faith that is often detached, judgmental, and really very different from what we rea</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">d or see in Jesus himself and maybe instead of trying to win a debate and prove God to someone, we can hope to guide them to a place where they might meet and encounter God themselves.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Sunday morning was the flipside of Thursday’s coin as we are going through 1 Corinthians. It’s quite a contrast to go from journeying with people to find faith to disciplining someone in their faith; difficult unless you realize that the latter is dealing with family, which brings a whole new and complicated dimension to the situation.</p> <span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">It’s a hard sell in today’s society to see that the way we live affects those around us and when we think of a faith community it is usually more like an organization or club we attend than a family to whom we belong. And though we may romanticize the idea that when one person suffers we all suffer, we are not so quick to embrace the alternative that if we screw up, it screws everyone u</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">p, but that is exactly why Paul deals so strongly with the Corinthians; because we are not just a social gathering, we are f</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">amily and what we do really affects those around us.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">So Paul deals with serious moral issues and we have to ask ourselves how do we deal with these situations if we really are family? If a child gets hooked on drugs, does that affect the rest of the family? If a dad logs on to porn instead of showing affection to his wife and loving her, does that affect the rest of the family? If a wife flirts with another man and tries to seduce him, does that affect the rest of the family? Of course it does.</p> <span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">Our purpose is not to hunt down all the problems and condemn those who struggle or fall. Our desire is to live in relationship and when these kinds of issues show up, we</span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">, in humility, recognize how essential these people are and treat them as more important than ourselves. We do everything </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">we can to strengthen and restore them, because they are our </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">brothers, our daughters. This is exactly what Christ has done for us. He adopted us, made us family and relentlessly works in our lives for good.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">So on one side of the coin we journey with a person to find faith </p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">And on the other side we struggle with our family through faith.</p></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtLlfDFDvB40L5P9v3XSVpeMjmUwsxbJFZj_12xwba-baeANaYiB2ckIyiCYRRH8LdPL9EHocDqJTgSM4VfIdwKLjKim-OH6QUfvwK5MuGg9y3Ikz1Rr7pCRZsZTDOV44gPWgljZIp7hWt/s320/friends-walking-together.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 227px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542828509241761234" /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNzlRgk4Mc8tb-SRxqajUYA05dQ1EyUruF9FII3BzBRGm_COKKZWF9KrSaZgDJXHewMmmgs9YGWivqrDgj0vburzmCt0sS0Fx9vTzObpO4PPhCw3yiSxynSKli-82DdhkhHwT9WJVoFMIm/s320/Support.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 274px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542828186455325826" /><div style="text-align: center;">Two sides of the same coin.</div><div><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><br /></span></span></div></div>Sam Scottihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713276210374956046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537972794009119860.post-17234128391154007562010-11-21T13:48:00.001-08:002010-11-21T14:07:38.148-08:00I Can't Walk Away<div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><b>This is dedicated to those I love who are hurting and making dangerous choices.</b></span></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBvaOTasMBh8-MY_UxbAU9kbfaYkYi62tKgpMZ8w-VreKSx_MzUvpEtMaS6HKH-gizpqupue5tVIA9_ZpQY7LavS_3qr2uYJRJUXQLH3rtbrYk1aq7n76NQm3w5D8h6xsyuLUYO6LcdCYt/s1600/sorrow+1.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 206px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBvaOTasMBh8-MY_UxbAU9kbfaYkYi62tKgpMZ8w-VreKSx_MzUvpEtMaS6HKH-gizpqupue5tVIA9_ZpQY7LavS_3qr2uYJRJUXQLH3rtbrYk1aq7n76NQm3w5D8h6xsyuLUYO6LcdCYt/s320/sorrow+1.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542123585815988226" /></a><div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><b>I Can't Walk Away</b></u></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><b><br /></b></u></div><div style="text-align: center;">I'm sorry I don't know how,</div><div style="text-align: center;">to move on like I don't care.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Dismiss the signs all around you,</div><div style="text-align: center;">pretend not to see what's there</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I'm sorry I don't know how,</div><div style="text-align: center;">to close my eyes, while you live this lie.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Ignore the danger I see you in,</div><div style="text-align: center;">and then wait till you break, till you cry.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Can I walk away?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I'm sorry I don't know how,</div><div style="text-align: center;">to let go of what matters the most.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Of you and your wellbeing</div><div style="text-align: center;">to live like you're just a ghost.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I'm sorry I don't know how,</div><div style="text-align: center;">to wash my hands of you and be done.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Though before me are two choices,</div><div style="text-align: center;">inside me, there's only one.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I can't walk away.</div><span class="Apple-style-span"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBvaOTasMBh8-MY_UxbAU9kbfaYkYi62tKgpMZ8w-VreKSx_MzUvpEtMaS6HKH-gizpqupue5tVIA9_ZpQY7LavS_3qr2uYJRJUXQLH3rtbrYk1aq7n76NQm3w5D8h6xsyuLUYO6LcdCYt/s1600/sorrow+1.JPG"></a></span><div style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font: normal normal normal 13px/19px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; padding-top: 0.6em; padding-right: 0.6em; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0.6em; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "></p><p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "></p></div></div>Sam Scottihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713276210374956046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537972794009119860.post-73185187619158777252010-11-16T20:51:00.001-08:002010-11-16T21:06:01.046-08:00Perspective<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span">It seems I can never sleep on planes no matter how late it is or how long the flight, partly because the seats are so uncomfortable (at least in coach) and partly because there’s just too much going on in my head to be able to sleep.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp4fYZS8epL3bQrDGb6TOmxhWZhRYt3pjgXGVDmdg_8LWVe6Ipiu2NpHJcHXPu6q1wQ3tmCSMVOB-XTfaGb-CkyjFmFbRDTrOk_p99QqY6Ut3ZEP6YTqSvlOPlWq4JqyhR-VuahbRv_b8Z/s320/nightclouds.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540377911575751586" /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span">That was the case during our recent red eye flight to New York and though it was late and I was tired, I found myself listening to music on my ipod and staring out the window into the dark, until out the window in the distance something caught my attention. I didn't know what it was at first and seriously thought I was over-exhausted and seeing things, but it happened again and then kept happening. I finally realized that what I was seeing was lightning from above the clouds instead of from below them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span">From above, there were no jagged bolts reaching for the ground, just explosions of brilliant light echoing like fire throughout the clouds. It was incredible. They were huge and they were even a bit terrifying.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><span class="Apple-style-span"> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span">I began thinking about how our perspective plays such an important role in the outcome of what we do. How some are able to go through intense difficulties and become stronger because of them, while others go through identical struggles and crumble under the pressure. How one person sees the challenge to overcome and the other is overcome by the challenge. I wondered how God’s perspective looks compared to ours. I imagined how different everything must appear, how prayer looks like incense rising up to God’s throne, how Jesus saw Satan fall like lightning from the sky as his disciples went out and did the things that Jesus himself had been doing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><span class="Apple-style-span"> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span">I wondered how would our lives change if we could recognize the reality of heavenly things compared to the illusions of this world. How would things change if we had those eyes to see? I think the view would be incredible, huge and maybe even a bit terrifying.</span></span><o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment-->Sam Scottihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713276210374956046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537972794009119860.post-22758298096741810162010-11-15T16:02:00.000-08:002010-11-15T16:05:24.096-08:00My Heart Breaks<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPB1i-NpZ2r6BkVQUhJhFXZNH0UVDYEgAnGMfO9wn8D-e_HSVHyngzIaGiWrlZBXAwBl__BXVqa2E1iARlbG1YDlu2DpEKW7Qz5GoKphJ9YLWiLPS_4QNIBvtaF-v89ukXTbiR6F9c-Y5U/s1600/Bird+shadows.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 220px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPB1i-NpZ2r6BkVQUhJhFXZNH0UVDYEgAnGMfO9wn8D-e_HSVHyngzIaGiWrlZBXAwBl__BXVqa2E1iARlbG1YDlu2DpEKW7Qz5GoKphJ9YLWiLPS_4QNIBvtaF-v89ukXTbiR6F9c-Y5U/s400/Bird+shadows.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539931454762368802" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Sometimes I get lost in darkness</div><div style="text-align: center;">Sometimes my heart breaks</div><div style="text-align: center;">Sometimes my eyes swell shut</div><div style="text-align: center;">with pain I just can't take</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">When will the light return?</div><div style="text-align: center;">When will my heart mend?</div><div style="text-align: center;">When will my eyes open,</div><div style="text-align: center;">and I see you again.</div>Sam Scottihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713276210374956046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537972794009119860.post-52841897253933956012010-11-02T12:00:00.000-07:002010-11-02T12:11:02.583-07:00A Hole in our Thinking<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWJOIn1lBy2vRUOo0PdeZUxSMbvNuh_9X3Vy0gEQaVA1wrULFj5vBTZkvZOuDZg4WWIuIL_lRSpKXleAwff6yaemAnVCBC6RW28YUdOpCVN4TqhkR6Ge1rMQ9JyV6Tp2VOWsY-y2HUYue6/s1600/scales-of-justice-statue.jpeg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 217px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWJOIn1lBy2vRUOo0PdeZUxSMbvNuh_9X3Vy0gEQaVA1wrULFj5vBTZkvZOuDZg4WWIuIL_lRSpKXleAwff6yaemAnVCBC6RW28YUdOpCVN4TqhkR6Ge1rMQ9JyV6Tp2VOWsY-y2HUYue6/s320/scales-of-justice-statue.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535029704544744738" /></a>I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. - 1 Cor. 4:3,4<br /><br /><br />When my kids were young, but old enough to be left alone, we at times would come home to some great surprises, like a hole in the wall. As the interrogation process took place, asking who did this and how did it happen, often times there was no answer; silent solidarity. No one knew or saw anything, which meant that either we had a stranger hiding somewhere in the house, some poltergeist action going on, or one or more of our kids were lying. And we actually hoped it was the latter.<div><br />After the questioning (which brought no confession) there might be a sentiment sounding something like this, “God knows who did this” at which point you could feel the sigh of relief in each of the kids and I could almost hear them saying, “Good! As long as you don’t know, we really don’t care if God knows or not.” If we are being honest with ourselves we will admit that we too think this same way at times and the reality of what we feel and actually care of God is sobering.<br /><br />Paul speaks of three judgments in this passage of 1 Corinthians: judgment by people, ourselves, and from God. He says that he doesn’t care what people think of him (which is usually the opposite for for us). He figures that if he is doing what is right then who cares what others think. He then says he doesn’t even judge himself and though his conscience is clear, that doesn’t mean he’s innocent. Let’s face it; we all tend to paint ourselves in the best light. We justify what we do so even though we may feel good about ourselves, that doesn’t make us innocent because of how skewed we are. He concludes with the most important judgment: God’s.<br /><br />It is absolutely startling to me how the most important judgment has the least influence on our lives while the least important occupies our greatest concern. We care so much what others think and give such little regard to what God thinks.<br /><br />What would our lives look like if we really cared more of what God thought than what people thought? What if we didn’t feel the need to justify our actions, but believed that should really be left up to God? I think the holes in our lives, like the hole in my wall, could be fixed a lot quicker.</div>Sam Scottihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713276210374956046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537972794009119860.post-60773052315999844592010-10-21T11:49:00.000-07:002010-10-21T11:51:02.385-07:00Need a Little Change?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpon9ZfxJrH7yuKUCUvhZ-nH0sKJvcKp1hbTJdgYdTG3-_wkfoaRB-DlrmjFiI8PhSVsZRPf1wzrHSiHTy_UcFY_XKxan9kZRHiHKUp2jim7j3EU1vGcrgdrAXu1ieYDrU6YBdli2zKCjZ/s1600/spare_change.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 275px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpon9ZfxJrH7yuKUCUvhZ-nH0sKJvcKp1hbTJdgYdTG3-_wkfoaRB-DlrmjFiI8PhSVsZRPf1wzrHSiHTy_UcFY_XKxan9kZRHiHKUp2jim7j3EU1vGcrgdrAXu1ieYDrU6YBdli2zKCjZ/s320/spare_change.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530573777367301346" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; "><p>There is a scripture in 1 Samuel 10:9 that fills my mind with wonder. It says, “As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart…” Just like that!! Saul’s heart is changed.</p><p>I can’t tell you how many times I have labored and tried to change someone’s heart regarding something, from my children to friends making bad choices to myself. How many times have I researched, debated, laid out an iron clad case that will “fix” the situation, only to have all my work, thoughts, and efforts gently set on a shelf and be of no use at all? It’s crystal clear to me that though I may be able to inform or influence someone, I can’t change anyone, but I always seem to try anyway. I guess that’s part of the reason that I find that scripture so fascinating. God can actually change, transform, a person.</p><p>Paul presented this idea to the followers of Christ in Corinth. He asks them in chapter 3, why some say they follow Paul and others that they follow Apollos? If you do that aren’t you acting like mere men? In other words, you’re not following God who can bring true change, you’re following men who can only give you information or status. As great a man as Paul was and as dynamic a man as Apollos appears to have been, they are mere men in service to the Lord.</p><p>Paul then gives an illustration of fields growing crops as to what part he plays as a servant in the bigger work of God. Men can plant the seeds and water the ground, but they can’t make the crop grow. They don’t make the seed die in the ground or absorb the nutrients from the soil. They don’t provide the rain to get the water or the sun and all it produces with its light, heat and vitamins. That is exclusively the work of God.</p><p>I really should write this down and try to remember it so that the next time I try to make someone change, I can step out of the way, and not frustrate myself or them (oh how I’ve frustrated some people) and leave that work to God.</p><p>I may be able to plant a thought or some perspectives in someone’s mind, but ultimately it’s God who brings salvation and transformation and only God who can change a person’s heart.</p><p>Is there anyone out there besides me that needs a little change?</p><p>I understand God is giving it, freely</p></span>Sam Scottihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713276210374956046noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537972794009119860.post-10010223270487910882010-10-01T01:53:00.000-07:002010-10-01T01:54:29.607-07:00Wrestling (revised and reposted)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijHbsOcmJGHexHtf9mCGfuj7Z9oGxtQnK2z81oN6dfDE-x3oQ1RzWbZKsotkPNQY8mwixbduHy0BcjRB_0FPo9W82D-A7a9T1WiteCeCib8auA_OfcQfcGkyu2qWIcNybeDQsTha_CMPrb/s1600/wrestle2.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijHbsOcmJGHexHtf9mCGfuj7Z9oGxtQnK2z81oN6dfDE-x3oQ1RzWbZKsotkPNQY8mwixbduHy0BcjRB_0FPo9W82D-A7a9T1WiteCeCib8auA_OfcQfcGkyu2qWIcNybeDQsTha_CMPrb/s320/wrestle2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522998350536142386" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; "><p>One of the more difficult lessons I am learning in life is that you can't give up! You can't stop trying to move your life forward. It doesn't matter if you’re tired, fed up, angry, bewildered, overwhelmed, you still have to push ahead and try to do what is right. You just can’t say “to hell with it”, throw your arms up and quit. I think Paul had this in mind when he wrote not to lose heart in doing what is right.</p><p>The thought of wrestling came into my mind the other day after dealing with a situation that ended after 4:00 a.m. and totally drained the life out of me. I thought about that intriguing passage in Genesis, where Jacob’s walk was marked for the rest of his life after he wrestled with God all night. I wondered, what would have happened had he quit and let go without holding on for his blessing? There is another account where Daniel is praying and waiting for 21 days without food for an answer from God. He waits as someone (or something) is hindering the answer from reaching him that entire time. The answer finally came on that 21st day, but what if he had given up and stopped just one day earlier?</p><p>Like these stories, my 4-hour wrestling match also ended well, but the thought terrifies me, ‘What could have happened had I quit?’ And God help me, I almost did several times. It makes me wonder how many times have I given up just short of the blessing, just before the answer or breakthrough?</p><p>So to the mom overwhelmed with worry over her children, or the couple struggling to hold on to each other, the dad who’s in way over his head at work or anyone who finds himself praying and waiting for help, Jesus said, “Don’t stop asking, don’t stop knocking, and don’t stop seeking, because everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”</p><p>When? Maybe on the 21<span mce_name="sup" mce_style="vertical-align: super;" class="Apple-style-span" style="vertical-align: super; ">st</span> day or maybe in the morning. The question really isn’t when, the question is, can you afford to quit too soon and miss it?</p></span>Sam Scottihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713276210374956046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537972794009119860.post-40980448632847273132010-09-27T12:33:00.000-07:002010-09-27T12:37:54.115-07:00Pastors Are People Too – Part 2<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRsPJnYMNcsTudLt49v49l0FiXQzO9q9fRu9yT1VPyMLO6H9GW5b-3B_Qgdl5jW-9U24yPF-dsgz0v4cm6C-kkU-91nag6donByumIpaigcZYAZnu1KDSwYiyRi0YcrJLR7MBEUfPlLufQ/s1600/super+pastor.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 198px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRsPJnYMNcsTudLt49v49l0FiXQzO9q9fRu9yT1VPyMLO6H9GW5b-3B_Qgdl5jW-9U24yPF-dsgz0v4cm6C-kkU-91nag6donByumIpaigcZYAZnu1KDSwYiyRi0YcrJLR7MBEUfPlLufQ/s200/super+pastor.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521679224082992562" /></a><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Jesus was asked once by someone to intervene so they could get their portion of their father’s estate. Jesus responded, “Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?” Jesus went on to talk about greed, which appears the core of this man's request, but I was wondering, what if pastors followed Jesus lead when asked questions like this? Or like, “can you tell my wife to be more submissive? Should I marry this person or invest my money here?” Is it really a pastor’s job </p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">to “decide such things as that?” It’s one thing to ask advice or prayer for important things in our lives, but it's another to expect a pastor to take the responsibility for our decisions and unfortunately some have that expectation. </p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">The book of Acts gives an account of a problem where there was contention among some of the Grecian women who felt they were being mistreated. As this issue was brought to the disciples to “fix it”, instead of taking on this responsibility they delegated it and told them to pick out the right people who would handle the situation and take care of this important money matter themselves. </p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">Not only can people expect too much from what pastors are supposed do at times, they also can expect too much of how they are supposed to behave. If you doubt this, just talk to any pastor’s kid.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">I recently drove next to someone I knew from a local church who didn’t notice me because he was into his music. When he then saw me, he rolled down the window and apologized f</p><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKC1AlS5q0H7cUWR8rcZhKtEOpwyDsT5hNWFp4anCkPwfAR_Sf_5y-_TX-35SXjrNf-UP7wqeExMC4XIwZFAM2ankfl4N6uHkN7dzqRKKHkzcR8ygAOURIUV9h5lux5L8OqTqSEYfKb59_/s200/car-radio.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521679769798936738" /><p class="MsoNoSpacing">or his music being loud and quickly made clear, “It’s Christian music of course”, as if being a pastor made me the spiritual music police or something. And now what would he think if he found out that I (a pastor) at that time was actually listening to Smashing Pumpkins on KROQ? It’s because of these kinds of pressures that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">some</i> pastors live undercover with the concerts they go to, movies they watch, or TV programs they like because of what people will think or say.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">Pastors (overseers) as Paul told Timothy ARE supposed to live lives above reproach (exercise self-control, not be heavy drinkers or violent, to be gentle, not quarrelsome, and not love money), but I think we’ve expounded this to mean much more than what Paul mentions. This scrutinized expectation only feeds an artificial spirituality, which is hypocritical and based on perceptions rather than actual conditions of heart and life. </p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">God has shown us what is good and what He requires of us, to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with Him (Micah 6:8). Pastors aren’t supposed to know everything or live to anyone other than Jesus’ expectations, but then isn’t that true for all of us who follow Christ? </p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">After all, pastors are people too.</p>Sam Scottihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713276210374956046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537972794009119860.post-74509257346368543512010-09-07T21:54:00.000-07:002010-09-08T12:33:52.572-07:00Pastors are People Too ~ Part 1<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT0G-WR8TAQOdDjloxf2prp7Jzk5cnJz0ik1eiRDJAL0X0feq3lIH-bGSAmPwLDts0Lw68BAe-PXODkXG-ztktCuK8kOlxIo8wZ5hyphenhyphenQD7Tva7_NTOR3wC4-F4F0o-WoXYEbnZKglwc5XvM/s1600/Dirty+hands.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT0G-WR8TAQOdDjloxf2prp7Jzk5cnJz0ik1eiRDJAL0X0feq3lIH-bGSAmPwLDts0Lw68BAe-PXODkXG-ztktCuK8kOlxIo8wZ5hyphenhyphenQD7Tva7_NTOR3wC4-F4F0o-WoXYEbnZKglwc5XvM/s200/Dirty+hands.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514401976761813042" /></a><p class="MsoNormal">The meaning of my title is two-fold. First, is to be careful not to elevate pastors to an unhealthy status and second, is that we don’t have an unhealthy expectation of those in that position.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u><o:p><span style="text-decoration:none"> </span></o:p></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u>An Unhealthy Status<o:p></o:p></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">‘Pastor’ is synonymous with ‘spiritual shepherd’ and Jesus modeled what this is to look like. He taught His disciples that if they wanted to be great in the kingdom of heaven, then they must become the servant of all, and that those who sought to be first would actually be last. He gave a powerful example of this when He knelt down and washed their feet. Even though He was their Lord, He took the role of a slave and told them that they should follow His example.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Jesus’ example of what a leader looks like needs to be put side-by-side with pastors today. Are they serving or being served? Do they think their position sets them above others or do they think others more important than themselves? Though none of us compare well to Jesus’ example, He remains our model and goal. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Many, wanting to respect this position, feel that a pastor's role is off-limits to criticism, citing Paul’s letter to Timothy “not to rebuke an elder man harshly” and David saying that he would not bring an accusation against God’s anointed (King Saul) even though he (Saul) was behaving rather badly. But the Scriptures still bring to light Saul's actions and Paul himself wrote to the Galatians of how he publicly confronted Peter, telling him he was clearly wrong, hypocritical, and showing partiality. So either Paul doesn’t understand what he wrote, or we don’t. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I am not writing this to ridicule pastors and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a respectful teacher/laity relationship as long as it doesn’t cross over into a spiritual hierarchy where a person is thought right or better just because of their title. The truth is, there is no such thing as ordained and not ordained Christians in scripture, but there is a priesthood of all believers. God does not have favorites and no position affords freedom from responsibility, especially spiritual teachers as James 3:1 points out. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The biggest danger I believe in all this is not just thinking too much of pastors, but expecting too little from ourselves. They hear from God, we listen to them, they go on mission trips, study the Scriptures, do the work of God and we become spectators who resign from the responsibility of being an active part in what Paul illustrates as the body of Christ where every member contributes. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";font-size:12.0pt;">1 Cor. 14:26 says “Well, my brothers and sisters, let’s summarize. When you meet together, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in tongues, and another will interpret what is said. But everything that is done must strengthen all of you.” (NLT) <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This passage affirms that when we meet together there is something to be gained from a variety of people, and pastors are people too.</span>Sam Scottihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713276210374956046noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537972794009119860.post-29335681250571478792010-08-26T14:02:00.001-07:002010-08-26T14:16:32.448-07:00Who Cares? - Jonah Part 4<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmi-Htx4URa76VJdNuCinArwcWGrt_yxRuvH3EBVo65Y2_09hXp1GvPBiTukbmddvmLWp5Vt4-QLHrO9-zGxGmVHw-8_BKSa0dY6cbwxhIrzR0U5-Yzq-xoCSizD9CsLxVEBC5V3BeeCtT/s1600/child-band-aid-lg.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 156px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmi-Htx4URa76VJdNuCinArwcWGrt_yxRuvH3EBVo65Y2_09hXp1GvPBiTukbmddvmLWp5Vt4-QLHrO9-zGxGmVHw-8_BKSa0dY6cbwxhIrzR0U5-Yzq-xoCSizD9CsLxVEBC5V3BeeCtT/s200/child-band-aid-lg.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509827044902087234" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(238, 238, 238); line-height: 21px; font-family:'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><p style="margin-top: 10px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#999999;">I used to have this cool ceramic bowl. It was blue on the outside, white on the inside, and the perfect size for a bowl of cereal. I had that bowl since I was a kid and then one fateful day it fell off the counter and was gone forever. I still get bummed when I think about losing that bowl. It’s funny some of the things that we care about and sad some of the things we don’t and in this final chapter of Jonah we get a picture of what Jonah, “the prophet”, and God care about.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 10px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#999999;">Over the years in my conversations with people, I often hear something to the effect of, “I can’t believe in God because there is too much evil in the world.” And there seems to be a consensus that God doesn’t care as much as we do about the injustices of the world, that we’re the ones who are compassionate and forgiving, that we are the ones who are merciful and God is just concerned with judging, but that’s not what we see in the final scene of Jonah.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 10px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#999999;">Up to this point, we don’t know why Jonah was running from Nineveh and when he finally tells us, it’s a bit surprising, especially from a prophet as we see that Jonah ran away because he knew that the Lord was gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now there’s nothing wrong with a God like that unless you don’t like the people God is showing this mercy to, which is exactly the case with Jonah and is often the case with us. Our moral compass conveniently points to our prejudice.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 10px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#999999;">If you think I’m exaggerating, ask a group of high school students if they saw a stranger and their dog drowning and could only save one, which would they save? The overwhelming response in my experience has been to save their beloved pet that makes them happy rather than the stranger, a fellow human made in God’s image.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 10px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#999999;">When someone tells me that they can’t believe in God because there’s too much evil in the world I usually answer them, “Okay, you win there is no God. Now who do we blame for the evil in the world?” You see, God was just an excuse to shift the blame off us. The truth is we’re the ones, like Jonah, who have a problem with prejudice. We’re the ones, like the Ninevites, who mistreat one another. We, like Jonah, grieve more over a plant that dies, or a ceramic bowl that breaks, than for those who are lost and cannot tell their right hand from their left. We are the ones who don’t like to forgive those who have hurt us and want to see judgment for those we dislike and we, like Jonah, are able to close our eyes and ignore the fate of 120,000 people in Nineveh, or Haiti.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 10px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#999999;">So, who really cares? …God does.</span></p></span>Sam Scottihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713276210374956046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537972794009119860.post-52235037134022564642010-08-09T21:21:00.000-07:002010-08-09T21:47:08.916-07:00When Kings Bow Down - Jonah Pt. 3<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc_KgJz39_eGLaxLwZZ-RYjcqgzNFv9R9NmAhc5_LLxD36pIwbw9AoTD9WHnmima4Qai-8PiqVli1wu8PwwXzjq7VfDJ1-ZUjO_GHuteMKfhYlxu3bTN3LYSMjmuzF1StCvv8ueXTubRe-/s1600/crown.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc_KgJz39_eGLaxLwZZ-RYjcqgzNFv9R9NmAhc5_LLxD36pIwbw9AoTD9WHnmima4Qai-8PiqVli1wu8PwwXzjq7VfDJ1-ZUjO_GHuteMKfhYlxu3bTN3LYSMjmuzF1StCvv8ueXTubRe-/s320/crown.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503632549417251314" /></a><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Years ago when I worked at a music store, a young kid came in who looked like he was on the edge of being homeless. He picked up a used Les Paul Custom that was selling for $800. and played it for a while, said thanks, put it back and headed for the door. I didn’t think to pursue things with him because I figured he couldn’t afford it. But before he left, the owner of the store asked if he wanted to buy the guitar. He told the owner, yeah, but didn’t have enough money (as I thought). The owner then asked him how much he had. I was shocked when he said he only had $750 bucks. The owner said that he would be willing to sell the guitar to him for that price and then the kid proceeded to pull hundred dollar bills out of each of his pockets, a couple hundred from the front left, three more from the right and a few bills from the back and before my very eyes there lay $750 dollars on the counter.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I didn’t expect that.</span><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlbn3xkIozHc3ZJ3ydoTZL0JaGdjo2GUwQnMoyiQRLGCdCd-6R4S5w5GV4-gXvVZjPLpbJdnjXC-4dE7t0LS0o942qs3PEWd2qcYFFblNAhmBJRBywvkIAvzFF4szSl6OLCnt6d2Orglva/s200/LesPaul.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 145px; height: 200px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503633814702898210" /><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Chapter 3 of Jonah is also not what you might expect; Jonah walks through that great city of Nineveh (a 3 day trek) with a simple and clear warning of God’s judgment and an entire city of people, who are thought to be far from God, unexpectedly change their hearts. Even the king puts aside his royal robe, comes down from his throne and bows down in the dirt with the rest of the people asking God for mercy.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Imagine how easy it would have been for the king of Nineveh not to join the rest of the people. We all seem to have a tendency to see ourselves above circumstances. That is why we are so offended by some things we see in others, such as gossip, but are blind to acknowledge it in ourselves. </span>How much more if we were actually king?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> For change to take place in our lives, we need to be more like the king of Nineveh, willing to step down from our throne that says I am above, put off the robe that says it doesn’t apply to me and in the dirt of humanity admit we need help.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:Calibri;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Unexpected things can happen when kings bow down.</span></span>Sam Scottihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713276210374956046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537972794009119860.post-87523025632552773022010-08-03T19:26:00.001-07:002010-08-03T19:27:05.952-07:00Awakening - Jonah Part Two<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho79NsS-7k71vlpmnwytY-3YIwKo2dq26bcDoj0qj6cj1H1GxUnf3Si2MQD3JFu675-MwwdSwRY1cN6ue6WxjdfnFtU7AVK3T8BPgRhjcGVE4B0Hklf5ts9_Kt9E8D1h0xNITNe4LySYqZ/s1600/compass3.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho79NsS-7k71vlpmnwytY-3YIwKo2dq26bcDoj0qj6cj1H1GxUnf3Si2MQD3JFu675-MwwdSwRY1cN6ue6WxjdfnFtU7AVK3T8BPgRhjcGVE4B0Hklf5ts9_Kt9E8D1h0xNITNe4LySYqZ/s320/compass3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501375464331677074" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; "><p>Before Jonah finds himself inside a whale, we see a disconnected attitude in him. He doesn’t care that God told him to go to Nineveh… he’s sleeping while the storm threatens the lives of everyone on the ship and he seems emotionless when being thrown into the sea to his supposed death. Strangely enough, it takes three days in that dark, damp place of despair before he has an awakening and cries out in prayer to the LORD (I recommend starting sooner). I find this same pattern at times in our lives; detachment, denial, and despair that provoke the perception that we really need to call out to God for help.</p><p>Our perspective plays a big part in the directions we move forward. For example: if you were at a restaurant waiting to meet your date for dinner and after 45 minutes they were still a no show, you would have to come to some understanding and your perspective plays a big part on what that is. If you think (perceive) she stood you up, you might be angry. If you thought she was in an accident, you may be worried. If you thought she was working overtime to buy you a car, you might be grateful (naïve, but grateful) or maybe you wanted to break up with her and now you have a reason, and so you feel relieved. Your perception will ultimately affect your direction. It’s hard to imagine, but in Jonah’s case being vomited out of a whale was actually perceived that things were looking up.</p><p>When we finally do cry out to God, our prayer is usually for God to give us what we want, to make things the way we want them to be and to give us a life that is comfortable, secure and free from stress or worry (you can probably buy that book at the Christian bookstore). But in Jonah’s prayer while trapped in darkness, he remembers God has been with him and is aware of His presence still. Then even more illuminating and alarming, is the thought of being banished from God’s sight all together.</p><p><span mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">It Could be Worse</span></p><p>What if Jonah got what he wanted? What if he actually made his connecting flight in Tarshish and was able to run away from God? You see, without God the universe is a cold and heartless place. It doesn’t care about Nineveh, Haiti or children used in sex trafficking. Jonah became aware that a life without God is greater to be feared than the depths that he found himself in.</p><p>You would think that a prophet of God should already know this, but the truth is that sometimes it takes the despair of life for us to realize life’s value. It is in that dark place that we realize how much worse things would be if God was not there and those thoughts can keep us from sleep, or awaken us from it.</p></span>Sam Scottihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713276210374956046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537972794009119860.post-72462706528504509712010-07-20T12:18:00.000-07:002010-07-20T12:19:55.896-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgVcNxJF589JENdc4q2kd4YmHHwtHDnvIgUd_SwcPcZErx7yQJK6GtTKmdhgBrZTtZUZjWNag412s7MnnhXJPZ1z9OhKqGpACehhjSBueiol_-YQe7k_YMFGQ3IyRE81ar0KiPb3mb4oDL/s1600/Jonah.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 177px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgVcNxJF589JENdc4q2kd4YmHHwtHDnvIgUd_SwcPcZErx7yQJK6GtTKmdhgBrZTtZUZjWNag412s7MnnhXJPZ1z9OhKqGpACehhjSBueiol_-YQe7k_YMFGQ3IyRE81ar0KiPb3mb4oDL/s320/Jonah.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496070008801675650" /></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">We just began a series on the book of Jonah and I feel this need to win the book back from the Veggie Tale / Sunday school / cartoon-whale frame of mind, because it’s really a powerful book.</span><div><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Running Away<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-ansi-language: EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">The story begins with God telling His spokesman (prophet) Jonah to go to Nineveh, the capitol of Assyria, to announce the coming judgment to the city if they didn’t change their ways, but Jonah runs away! I know it’s easy to look at this and think, “Come on dude, you’re a prophet, get in the game”, but I wonder how often we’ve run away when God asked us to step up to the plate? Maybe it’s to involve ourselves in something out of our comfort zone, or to forgive that friend or family member. Heck, sometimes just crossing the street and extending ourselves to our neighbor is too much work. I think more often it’s the prophet, not pagan, who has the issue with running from God.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-ansi-language: EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">After Jonah boards the ship heading for Tarshish, there is a storm that redirects the next chain of events. We know that God is behind the storm and that mercy is behind God’s motives; mercy for those in Nineveh, for the sailors on the boat, and for Jonah. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-ansi-language: EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">It’s interesting how, because of a severe storm, so many significant things can change for the sailors in such a short time. They move from fearing the storm to fearing the Lord, from crying out to all their gods, to crying out to Yahweh, from asking Jonah to wake up, to asking him what they should do. And once again we see the prophet is asleep while the pagans are in pursuit of the answers</span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-ansi-language: EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-ansi-language: EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">.</span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-ansi-language: EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-ansi-language: EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">The book of Jonah is many things, but I believe at its heart is the invisible hand of God clearly being seen and at work for the benefit of all involved. The love of God is much more dangerous than we think. It is furious and jealous and is willing to risk our physical and material comfort for an eternal and spiritual relationship, which is far better. As Jesus said, “What does it profit if you gain the world, but lose your soul?” <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><b>I wonder how many times in the dark storms of life do we pray for our circumstances to change and it never dawns on us that what needs to change is not our circumstances, but us.</b></span></span></span></span></div>Sam Scottihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713276210374956046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537972794009119860.post-30643968699771850152010-07-13T14:17:00.001-07:002010-07-13T23:12:01.280-07:00<p style="text-align: center;" mce_style="text-align: center;"><a rel="attachment wp-att-316" href="http://samscotti.wordpress.com/2010/07/13/guerillas-of-grace-by-ted-loder/guerrillas-of-grace/" mce_href="http://samscotti.wordpress.com/2010/07/13/guerillas-of-grace-by-ted-loder/guerrillas-of-grace/">PRAYERS FOR THE BATTLE</a></p><p style="text-align: center;" mce_style="text-align: center;"><a rel="attachment wp-att-316" href="http://samscotti.wordpress.com/2010/07/13/guerillas-of-grace-by-ted-loder/guerrillas-of-grace/" mce_href="http://samscotti.wordpress.com/2010/07/13/guerillas-of-grace-by-ted-loder/guerrillas-of-grace/"><img title="Guerrillas of Grace" src="http://samscotti.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/guerrillas-of-grace.jpg?w=94" mce_src="http://samscotti.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/guerrillas-of-grace.jpg?w=94" alt="" height="96" width="94" /></a> <span style="font-size:130%;">H</span>ow shall I pray?</p> <p style="text-align: center;" mce_style="text-align: center;">Are tears prayers, Lord?</p> <p style="text-align: center;" mce_style="text-align: center;">Are screams prayers,</p> <p style="text-align: center;" mce_style="text-align: center;">or groans,</p> <p style="text-align: center;" mce_style="text-align: center;">or sighs,</p> <p style="text-align: center;" mce_style="text-align: center;">or curses?</p> <p style="text-align: center;" mce_style="text-align: center;">Can trembling hands be lifted to you,</p> <p style="text-align: center;" mce_style="text-align: center;">or clenched fists,</p> <p style="text-align: center;" mce_style="text-align: center;">or the cold sweat that trickles down my back</p> <p style="text-align: center;" mce_style="text-align: center;">or the cramps that knot my stomach?</p> <p style="text-align: center;" mce_style="text-align: center;">Will you accept my prayers, Lord,</p> <p style="text-align: center;" mce_style="text-align: center;">my real prayers,</p> <p style="text-align: center;" mce_style="text-align: center;">rooted in the muck and mud and rock of my life,</p> <p style="text-align: center;" mce_style="text-align: center;">and not just the pretty, cut-flower, gracefully arranged</p> <p style="text-align: center;" mce_style="text-align: center;">bouquet of words?</p> <p style="text-align: center;" mce_style="text-align: center;">Will you accept me, Lord,</p> <p style="text-align: center;" mce_style="text-align: center;">as I really am,</p> <p style="text-align: center;" mce_style="text-align: center;">messed up mixture of glory and grime?</p>Sam Scottihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713276210374956046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537972794009119860.post-29473208538010636102010-07-02T15:40:00.000-07:002010-07-02T15:48:33.684-07:00TRIBES<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtlNVdupervjVBdiv_gq5Y0xn81DjOOT7ja4faca718FM3sX_qmHGsf7Mpc-oLshcwPxLYX45GALkCIEnGUMD1OXD3d2mTHglL52_vc5LeCPLKYlJBqHHTKBo3bZECau1Ar_IIFleayCSM/s1600/tribes.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 139px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtlNVdupervjVBdiv_gq5Y0xn81DjOOT7ja4faca718FM3sX_qmHGsf7Mpc-oLshcwPxLYX45GALkCIEnGUMD1OXD3d2mTHglL52_vc5LeCPLKYlJBqHHTKBo3bZECau1Ar_IIFleayCSM/s200/tribes.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489443591917072866" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">I recently finished a book entitled “Tribes” which is about society’s need for leaders and how those leaders assemble, develop, and communicate with a group of people who have a common idea. At first I thought the book was going to be about leading in the business world, but it was far from that and surprised and challenged me in a many ways.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Tribes vs. Crowds</span><br /><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea.</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">A crowd is a tribe without a leader.</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">A crowd is a tribe without communication.</span></li></ul><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">Many groups spend their time trying to gather a bigger crowd, but smart groups assemble a tribe. A crowd can rally around any idea, from moms praying for their kids in school (Moms in Touch) to building homes for those who need assistance, like Habitat for Humanity. The goal is not for the group to just get bigger, but for their idea to move forward. What good would it be if a million people belonged to Habitat for Humanity but not one home was ever built?<br /></span><b><br /></b><div><b>Managers vs. Leaders</b><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">Managers use resources (like people) to maintain the status quo. Leaders, on the other hand, are about creating changes that advance their ideas. If this happens in a faith community the pastor, instead of taking risks that move “the idea” (gospel message), may choose to manage the “crowd” and secure the establishment. Retreats, conferences, and luncheons become maintenance opportunities, self-focused to solidify who they are and what they stand for. Managers sound the trumpet and circle the wagons, leaders the trumpet to advance.<br />Managers are also more concerned about controlling the environment than empowering the tribe and are committed to the system or religion of how things are done. Managers raise up assistant managers; leaders empower their tribes to make change. For example, Martin Luther was labeled a heretic when he nailed his 95 Theses on the Wittenberg door, but he didn’t change his faith, he sought to change the environment. He translated the Bible into the people’s language, enabling the “tribe” to further the cause of Christ, not just those who spoke Latin. If you are going to lead, you can’t be afraid to challenge the status quo of the religion to help the idea move forward and you can’t be afraid of empowering their tribe.</span></div><div><br /><b>Risk / Change / Fear</b><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">Risk, change, and overcoming fear are all part of leading; fear you will fail, fear of change, fear that you don’t have what it takes, or fear that the status quo will reject you. A leader needs to push through all of these things because the idea is worth the risk and too important not to move forward.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"><br />To further ideas effectively there needs to be a tribe. A tribe needs to communicate the idea. A tribe needs a leader. Maybe you?</span></div>Sam Scottihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713276210374956046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537972794009119860.post-35481812042607619162010-05-16T16:41:00.000-07:002010-05-16T17:22:31.686-07:00ADVANCE<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dydEBeqpr-BULxcU70uMHpvhJxVg1KDOjqDB5soU1_7GJvutWDGlmQGgJwvdljByrYCD65JQO1qwI6qjp8Hig' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Sam Scottihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713276210374956046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537972794009119860.post-91436492748567151722010-04-19T11:48:00.000-07:002010-04-19T11:58:36.457-07:00Love Something More<div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">“So we cheated and we lied and we tested,<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">And we never failed to fail;</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">It was the easiest thing to do.” (Southern Cross - Stephen Stills)</span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsgT2FM1Ec8gI7yDgBffGx4cZGXdzL_HMO-Q12u0KbKhKkPnH15AgVQG9xGwTjcCf2kW9Sj-ilJyhao5pe5n30wqc7tA2WaTV1ZUejM-xEyeZuJk_eZ9slnsj-SaHlcGiRuo8riYaTt6vA/s1600/stone+heart.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsgT2FM1Ec8gI7yDgBffGx4cZGXdzL_HMO-Q12u0KbKhKkPnH15AgVQG9xGwTjcCf2kW9Sj-ilJyhao5pe5n30wqc7tA2WaTV1ZUejM-xEyeZuJk_eZ9slnsj-SaHlcGiRuo8riYaTt6vA/s320/stone+heart.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461922973243707506" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">W</span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">hy do people do things that they know are wrong? The drug user who abuses knowing it’s going to land her on the streets, in a hospital, or worse. The man having an affair who knows it is destroying his family, but still, he continues the destructive behavior. I think the best way to answer that question is to ask ourselves. Looking back there have been times in my own life where I recognized that my attitude, habits, or behavior was unhealthy and destructive, but I chose to do them anyway. Why? Because I wanted to.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">We just finished going through the book of Joshua (still a favorite) and at the end of this book of promise and conquest, miraculous intervention and tremendous faith, we find Joshua’s final words to the leaders and elders of Israel quite curious. He tells them to choose for themselves this day whom they would serve” with his emphatic, “as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” The elders respond as you might expect, saying that they too would serve LORD, but Joshua responds in a way that strikes back at them saying, “You are not able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God.”</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">Why would he say that?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">T</span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">wice Joshua told the elders to throw away the foreign gods among them, but before that he told them to be careful to love the Lord (23:11), and though the people knew what they should and shouldn’t do, we see within just one generation they end up leaving the LORD and doing whatever was right in their own eyes (Judges). In the end, the people did what they wanted, what they loved and they loved something else more.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">Woody Allen said, after leaving his wife and getting involved with her adopted daughter, “The heart wants what it wants” which brings me to my point: if you know the right thing, but love the wrong thing, you will make the wrong choice. Jesus said in John 3, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” It wasn’t that people couldn’t see the light (what was right), or understand the darkness (what was wrong), they just loved the darkness more.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgge5oqXfHScemhwpUCgTRSYdd7eP2LFKLMpZDecG0rU19UTPp5wGMLXXrqCeIwQtp1CmLPqdwZ24W3cXZD0YtbEYs51Swa3wNi4a1sv1z3MLGbgCFJiUgJaDCKy3V13BWr1BTlioyjHmMf/s1600/break+free.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgge5oqXfHScemhwpUCgTRSYdd7eP2LFKLMpZDecG0rU19UTPp5wGMLXXrqCeIwQtp1CmLPqdwZ24W3cXZD0YtbEYs51Swa3wNi4a1sv1z3MLGbgCFJiUgJaDCKy3V13BWr1BTlioyjHmMf/s320/break+free.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461923328505761890" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">I</span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"> know people don’t usually change until the pain of remaining the same is greater than the pain of the change, but eventually loving the wrong things will leave us broken and disillusioned. At that time I pray we choose to love something else, something better, someone better, the one who first loved us and is jealous for us still. - </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">1 John 4:19</span>Sam Scottihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713276210374956046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537972794009119860.post-13538531865957748572010-04-06T11:24:00.001-07:002010-04-06T11:32:55.093-07:00Ri<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzkRdAE4DJggBG8s1UPddpKAtQSrSTLoG-WTuqnVbA3iJpf5kGxXEhh9pAdK7EJLfjjeCGuqQ4b4ouD3_8-yx-ObXQrGdpTlis9HZMOLUXtgLf8H2IYSADGHhijg1le_X7P6sQT7hneydc/s1600/2+thumbs-up.JPG"><br /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIo8UGXCzhAR6ZBrEF_q1aNE5NCwD0j7rHKcBKCxWFVm2lVcNwzVeKKqFSrBHP6JGzZKXsQXL8hQI4-k0qoR_yux-mZzxA7Cn9eDnPa0KWU_jObbBYMTf143-mX1T__hL8BpgTfBNo_86H/s1600/ri.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIo8UGXCzhAR6ZBrEF_q1aNE5NCwD0j7rHKcBKCxWFVm2lVcNwzVeKKqFSrBHP6JGzZKXsQXL8hQI4-k0qoR_yux-mZzxA7Cn9eDnPa0KWU_jObbBYMTf143-mX1T__hL8BpgTfBNo_86H/s320/ri.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457092334890787474" /></a><br />Have you ever heard or read something and found yourself being encouraged just knowing that there was someone else out there who felt the same way as you? That was the sense I had reading Steve Saccones book “Relational Intelligence”. I have long felt that how we relate with people is an important area that we often overlook and in his book Steve illuminates many ways that we can better ourselves in this area. In fact I thought it so good that I gave a copy to those who are in leadership at Genesis and believe it will help us not only be better leaders, but better people.<br /><br />It bothers me (probably more than it should) how we can be fascinated with the sensational, yet be dysfunctional with the practical. We learn all we can about eschatology (end times stuff), but never think to better our ability to communicate on a deeper level. It’s the typical guy who will talk your ears off about the ‘mark of the beast’, but can’t get a date! Or, the girl who dominates every conversation with all she does for God, but fails to understand why she has so few friends! I have to say that in all my years of counseling, I’ve never had to help a troubled teen or couple in crisis because they didn’t have a clear grasp on the second coming of Jesus, but failure in communication is almost always at the top of the list. Leaders who don’t recognize this often fail to see that the truths they share aren’t received many times because of the tiresome and detached way they are relating those truths.<br /><br />Steve writes about this and says, “When people aren’t engaged in our vision, our movement, or our cause, its easy to think that they lack the ability to remain interested, rather than absorbing the responsibility ourselves to become more interesting persons. If we struggle in our leadership to capture people’s attention and engage their interests, we’re not simply the victims who have fallen prey to the culture of boredom; instead we must allow this reality to motivate us to become more compelling relators.” He then says “We must take responsibility to become the most interesting people we can be to bring that part of us into our relationships.”<br /><br />Jesus is a tremendous example of how to communicate with identification, passion and illustration to those listening (look at the Sermon on the Mount). He never gave off the impression of being too busy or uncaring. Whether it was the Children who came to him, Zacchaeus, the women at the well or so many others? He was the epitome of a relational genius.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I know that some people are good with this area and some not so good, but all of us could use improvement and this book is a great tool to help in that endeavor. It sure helped me. <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzkRdAE4DJggBG8s1UPddpKAtQSrSTLoG-WTuqnVbA3iJpf5kGxXEhh9pAdK7EJLfjjeCGuqQ4b4ouD3_8-yx-ObXQrGdpTlis9HZMOLUXtgLf8H2IYSADGHhijg1le_X7P6sQT7hneydc/s320/2+thumbs-up.JPG" /> </div><div style="text-align: left;">Amazon link: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Relational-Intelligence-Influence-Jossey-Bass-Leadership/dp/047043869X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270575449&sr=8-1">http://www.amazon.com/Relational-Intelligence-Influence-Jossey-Bass-Leadership/dp/047043869X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270575449&sr=8-1</a></div>Sam Scottihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713276210374956046noreply@blogger.com0