Misuderstanding

My friend, Song, posted several weeks ago song lyrics on her page that moved her.
My wife, Lora, posted song lyrics just a couple of days ago that expresses her.

So I thought I'd post lyrics to one of my favorite songs--mainly because looking back over the last couple of years of my life it has become the theme song of my journey. I have struggled to say properly how to do ministry, life, things in countless talks and conversations. I've always been quick to point out how not to do something, while not so quick to point out my support to the person. I feel the last couple of years of my life were just on big debate.
A nuisance. A heartache. A misunderstanding.


So here we are in this same old spot
Knowing something needs to happen but our mouths are locked
Tongue tied closed tight sealed shut...yup,
I tried hard but it just wouldn’t come up
It’s on the tip of my tongue it’s in the front of my mind
Yet the words were still so hard to find
Finally the reality of things to come pushed me to the edge
I jumped off the cliff into the abyss as I said

I’m not trying to be a nuisance, I just think we can do better than this
that was simply my two cents, you can.... you can, take it or leave it

The conversation lingered on and on and
Before I knew it night had turned to dawn and
Were we searching for the truth in all of it
Or are we debating just to win the argument
Cuz none of us want to hear about where we go wrong
This song could easily be from me to you or me to (Vince)
Cuz I have the potential to be the guiltiest
My greatest strength is also my strongest weakness

Let’s think about this path that we’re taking
Let’s think about this future we’re creating
Let’s think about this life that is fading
Think about it, come on think about it now
Let’s think about this time that we’re spending
Investing in monetary things that are ending
Let’s think about it and let’s think together
And let’s think about what we can do to make it better.....

I’m not trying to be a nuisance, I just think we can do better than this
that was simply my two cents, you can..... you can, take it or leave it.

(Artist: John Reuben, Album: The Boy VS The Cynic, Song: Nuisance)

How does Jesus think?

One of my favorite books is Think Like Jesus by George Barna.
If you like numbers and surveys, then you definitely want to pick this up.

You may remember some time ago the WWJD (what would Jesus do?) movement came out and hit the ground running. Every Christian I knew had either a shirt or a hat or a bracelet with those four magical letters on them.

WWJD

Youth pastoring at the time I noticed something unbelievable. Teens would put on the WWJD gear and all the sudden start making really good choices, treating others in love, disciplining each other in the ways of God. "To good to be true," you say.....well ,yes, it was. None of that happened. In fact it was quickly replaced with the "Live Strong" Lance Armstrong movement.

But something did happen.

For a brief moment in time, WWJD did cause (at least the teens I saw) some to stop and pause for a second and sincerely ask, just for a second, what would Jesus do?

Being able to stop and hit pause is very important.

In his book, Think Like Jesus, George Barna points out the differences and similarities between three types of people. They are; The Christian with a Biblical Worldview, The Christian without a Biblical Worldview and The Lost (people who do not profess Jesus as Lord)
By definition, Biblical Worldview simply means looking at the Bible and living by the principles found in it. It's much like the "Benjamin Franklin glasses" in the movie "National Treasure"--you know, look through one series of lenses and see one thing, put another lens on and see something totally different while looking at the same thing.
Now hang with me, don't glaze over....I've got to explain so you know where I'm going.

Each group of people were asked a series of questions that reflected three areas. They were:
1.) Behavior-last 7 days. (things like; volunteer time to help the needy, smoked, viewed porn, prayed for the President)
2.) Religious activity-last 7 days. (things like; read the Bible, participated in a small group meeting, attended a church service, volunteering at church, etc.)
3.) Religious beliefs (things like, while on Earth Jesus didn't sin, the Bible is totally accurate, the Bible condemns homosexuality, the devil is real and not just a symbol of evil, etc)

Without going over every stat, let me give you the gist of the research.
Out of 30 questions between those three categories, Christians without a Biblical Worldview consistently (24 out of 30 questions) sided with the "Lost" person. In other words there was little difference in the way someone who didn't know Jesus as their Lord thought and someone who confessed Jesus as their Lord.

I bring this up because here in just a couple of days we will elect a new President. I've been shocked to find out how many people who are Christians are casting their support for someone who goes against so much of God's Word. I'm not at all questioning their salvation, that's not my point. I'm just sending out these thoughts to hopefully cause all of us to stop and hit pause for a moment.

Stop and hit pause.

What guides your view? TV? Talk radio? Internet? Gas prices? Economic issues? War?
We all have a worldview, a set of lenses that we look through and decide how to act or what to do. "What would Jesus do?" is a nice thought, but it doesn't address the issue of "why" he would do it. "How does Jesus think?" is best found out by looking at things through a Biblical lens.