Today is Good Friday. 

I think the biggest irony is that it’s called Good Friday.  After all, this marks the anniversary of the death of my Lord and Savior, Jesus the Messiah, on a roman cross.

How can we look at what occurred that day and call it “good”.  It’s hard to do.  We call this past week “Holy Week”, when you look back at the events how can you call what occurred “holy”?  It’s hard to do.

However, when you pier behind the veil at what was really going on it makes a lot of sense.  From Jesus entering Jerusalem to the resurrection, there was something more going on than the obvious.

When Jesus was before Pilot, Pilot initially found him not guilty.  He could have subverted the plan of God by releasing Jesus right then and there (not that it would have taken God off the plan, but it would have happened later.)  However, to save his neck and to put the release of Jesus on the people, and to wash his hands of the whole thing, he invoked the tradition of releasing one prisoner with a full pardon for the Passover.

He took Jesus and Barabbas (believe it or not, Flavius Josephus, the great Hebrew historian, says that Barabbas’ first name was also Jesus.) and brought them to the people.  He expected the people would select Jesus, the Christ to let go, considering that Barabbas was a murderer.  However, the people, the mob decided to release Barabbas.

Jesus took a merciless beating at the hands of the guards.  He had the crown of thorns pressed on his head, he was whipped with the scourge.  The scourge was known as a “Cat o’ Nine Tails” for a reason.  It was a pole, 3’ or so long with 9 leather straps attached to it.  Within the leather straps were placed fragmented bone and rock every couple of inches apart.  The straps where longer than the pole that they were attached.  He took 39 lashes.  you take those 39 strikes and he was hit 351 times.  Each one the bone and stone would sink into the flesh like a hook and tear away skin, muscle and sinew.

After the beating Jesus hardly looked human.  He had been punched and kicked in the face, so he was swollen and bleeding.  His back had been scourged and looked more like hamburger than flesh and bone.  They then took his cross and placed it on his shoulders, those same shoulders that had just been whipped by the scourge.

The greatest show of love, ever, happened a short time later when he arrived at Golgotha, the hill of the skull.  As he hung there on the cross, he said, “Forgive them Father, they know not what they do."  He forgave everyone involved for killing him.

Upon Jesus’ death the veil in the temple, that separated the Most Holy Place from the Holy of Holies was torn from top to bottom.  This wasn’t a curtain that was easily rent, it was several inches thick and very big.  The earth shook and the sun was blotted out. 

Three days later the pinnacle of history took place, Jesus was resurrected from the dead.  Why can we call today “Good Friday” and this week “Holy Week”?  It’s because Jesus rose from the dead and remained for the next 40 days and was seen by many, many people.  He then ascended into heaven.

Jesus died for my sins, to take my place on that cross.  He rose so that he could take His place in the heavens and so that we could gain the opportunity to gain intimacy with our creator.

Today, the laws of Sin and Death have been defeated and cast down for those who gain relationship with Christ.  I encourage you, to seek out a ministry this weekend and get to know the one who died for you.  He was a king and he laid his life down for you.

I’ve been evaluating the church as late.  Not my specific church, the church as a whole.  I’ve come to the conclusion that we’ve misunderstood a particular scripture.

John 17:14-16  I have given them your word, and the world has hated them, because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.  15 I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but that you keep them safe from the evil one.  16 They do not belong to the world just as I do not belong to the world.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard ministers or other Christians say, “We’re in the world, not of the world, so though we live here we can’t interact with the world or they may contaminate us.”  Or some other ridiculous version of that.

I’m here to say, emphatically, that is wrong!

Let me ask a few questions:

Did Jesus shy away from the world? NO!  Wasn’t his first miracle at a wedding, didn’t he turn the water into wine?  And don’t try to tell me it was grape juice, I think the master of the feast would have known the difference, and he said it was the good stuff.  Matthew was a tax collector, a word in those times synonymous with sinner and he became a disciple.  According to the Pharisees, Jesus, himself, could have been considered a sinner, didn’t he heal on the Sabbath day? 

Did the apostles shy away from the world?  NO!  Peter went to everyone, even, ugh, a gentile home and shared Christ with them.  Paul even took it further, going to almost the whole known world at the time and sharing the love of Christ.

Anyway, to be in the world, and not of the world doesn’t mean that we need to be separate from the people of the world.  It means that we need to be involved in the world, but not fall into the sin that they participate in.

Is it possible to enter a night club and not fall into the temptation that is there?  Yes!  Is it possible to enter a bar and not get drunk?  Yes!  Is it possible that there are a large number of people who need to know Christ that go to the places that Christians don’t want to go to? Yes!

We need to get out of our comfort zone.  It’s time to drop the Christian-eese and start being Christ-like, after all, that is what Christian means, to be a little Christ.  We need to forget the little slogans we learn in the church when we exit the door.  Some of them are nice and may help you, but if you walk up to someone who doesn’t know Christ and say, “Would you like to fellowship after …”  How many people would know that you meant to hang out.

It’s OK to speak that way around people who understand you, but you are not sharing Christ with those who already know him, you share Christ with the ones who don’t know him.  When you speak to people with Christian dialect you push them away.  The will reject you because they don’t understand you.

Let’s get to the point where we can speak to people on their level and not expect them to raise (or lower) to ours.  Can we relate to people without alienating them?  Can we be real and honest with the lost?  Is it possible for us to break down our walls and show them that we hurt and we bleed the same as they do?  Can we do it without passing judgment on them?

We can do that.  When we start doing it we will become agents of change in the world.  This next generation is not like the last, the way to reach them is going to be different.  We must not be afraid to build relationships with them.  We will have to get our hands dirty, so to speak, to see this generation know Christ. 

The 3 minute sales pitch of yesterday is done.  It’s not going to work in the microwave generation.  If we want them to have staying power, we’ve got to show them that we have staying power.  We need to have that relationship with them, so they can see us struggle and not give up, to not give in.

In conclusion, we need to learn new techniques to reach new people.  We need to relate to people, not just preach to them.  In the true meaning of St. Francis’ words, “Preach the gospel always, if necessary, use words.”  I know it’s a paraphrase, but it’s the gist.

When I asked BookSneaze.com to review this book it was a mistake.  I had thought it said, The Gospel According to THE Lost, which I thought was a great concept on how to reach The Lost with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Perhaps it is a book that needs written, perhaps I should right it…

Anyway, when I received the book I was a little disappointed.   I am not a fan of the Lost TV show and it took me a while to get into the book.  However, my disappointment dissolved away as I started to read. 

Ultimately, this book is not about the TV show, it tackles a much deeper question, using the TV show as its platform.  The true topic is how Christians interact with the culture.  I’m a firm believer in being a relevant Christian.  I believe that being in the world, but not of the world doesn’t mean that you disconnect yourself from the culture, but you live within the culture with the goal of reaching people within the culture.

Chris Seay takes on a similar tone as he takes the characters from the show (which I assume are accurate caricatures, as I don’t watch the show) and places them in Biblical stories.  This is a tool that I like, it exposes scriptural principals in an indirect, but relevant way, to people who are fans of the show.

While I can’t give this book 5 stars on the fact that I had to read it on limited knowledge of the subject matter, I can give it a solid 4 stars on the writing and the way Mr. Seay interwove modern culture with classic principals.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

One of my pet peeves is the fact that Christians, and people in general, put labels on everything.

It can’t be music performed by a Christian, it’s Christian Music.

It can’t be radio, with a Christian commentator or MC, it’s Christian Radio.

It can’t be a book written by a Christian, it’s a Christian Book, sold at a Christian Bookstore.

Don’t get me wrong, I love music performed by Christians.  I love me some books written by Christian (shout out to Ted Dekker!).

What I’ve noticed happens when you start to label things as “Christian” is a state of sterilization.  The artist can longer write a gritty song that would reach the heart of the lost, they have to sterilize it to be palatable to the market, lest they be labeled a heretic and pushed out of the church.

Even my favorite author, though Ted is much grittier than most Christian authors, pulls back on what he could have written so that it will sit well enough with the church.  He pushes the envelope, which is why I love his work, but if he pushed it a little more, could he gain the wider audience of the lost?

If the boundaries are pushed, could we break through the barrier that holds the church back and actually bring revival to the land? 

Truthfully, I believe the labels are a symptom of the greater problem that afflicts the church.  The problem I see is pride.  Pride has snuck in at some point and causes the church to erect a barrier of labels that separate us from the very people we are to be ministering too.

As a musician, I don’t want to be known as a Christian Singer or Christian Bassist, I want to be known as a singer who loves Christ and wants to use the talents that God has blessed him with to bring praise, honor and glory to the giver of the gift.

If I write a book someday, and I might.  I don’t want it to be labeled a Christian Book.  I want it to be known as a good book written by a man that loves God.

Ultimately, I want to be known as a man of God who uses the artistic and aural gifts that God gave him to created works that were accessible to the believer and the non-believer alike.  I want to be one that breaks down the barrier that man has erected between God and those who need him.

I don’t want to be known as a person in pristine condition than was never soiled by the alien, fatherless or the widow.  I don’t want to be so proud of “my accomplishments” that I lose the true originator of the task. 

I do not want to be a part of any group that shuns a person because they were labeled a sinner.  I cannot be that much of a hypocrite, since I was once one myself.  Yet someone took a chance on me.  They ministered to me while I was still filthy in my sin.  They didn’t care that I stunk.  They didn’t care that I was diseased. They saw someone who needed the Great Physician’s touch to be healed from the unrighteousness that consumed my soul like maggots on week old meat sitting in the burning sun.

Remember, Christ didn’t come for the well, but for the sick.  The healthy don’t need the doctor, but the sick do.  Why do we focus so much on the well when there are a lot of people out there that are lost and are being hounded by the evil one.  Can we regain our compassion for the lost?  Can we forget about ourselves, for once?  Can we focus on the hurting, dying people of this world instead of our own “holiness”.

I believe that our definition of holiness and God’s are completely different.  After all, 1 Samuel 16:7 says (emphasis added): 

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

Lately I’ve been feeling as if I have been flying through a storm cloud. 

You start off smooth sailing, clear skies and calm seas.  Things are going well, all systems check out and the flight seems like it’s going to go without a hitch.  You have your itinerary, flight checklist and the crew is all aboard and competent.  It’s going to be a great trip.

You climb to cruising altitude and get up to speed.  Things are comfortable and you start falling into a state of complacency.  You put the plane on auto-pilot so you can take a nap and get refreshed for when you get to your destination.  As you doze the plane starts to pitch, first left, then right.  Turbulence begins in earnest, waking you from your slumber.  The plane jerks up and down, left and right as you try your best to bring it back onto the right path.  You can only look at the instruments at this point, try as you may your visibility out the window is at zero.  You cry out through the loudspeakers for everyone on the plane with you to buckle-up, it’s going to be a bumpy right.  You don’t know how it’s going to end.  You don’t know where you are, did the storm knock you off course?  Have you dropped to a dangerous altitude?

You fight the plane, trying to keep it together and safe as you try to pull the plane above the storm.  You call on the nearest air traffic towers and you get no response.  This is a serious storm.  Panic rises up in your spirit as you realize that you are now flying alone.  The tower can’t talk to you, you can’t talk to the tower and it looks bleak.

Finally, you realize that you need to check the attitude of plane and though you’ve been pulling up on the stick, the attitude of the plane hasn’t budged.  You wake up the co-pilot (how could he still be sleeping?)  You get him to help you adjust the attitude of the plane by pulling up on his stick.

Slowly, the attitude of the bird begins to rise.  As you rise through the cloud, it gets a little easier to adjust the attitude.  The co-pilot eventually gives you back the control of the plane and goes about fixing some of the other controls on the panel.

All at once you are above the storm and immediately you hear the control tower calling for you.  From the conversation that ensues, you realize that they had beads on you the whole time, the problem wasn’t the link between plane and tower, it was from tower to the plane.  They could hear you, but you couldn’t hear them.

They begin to tell you how to correct your course, it’s still dark and you’ve lost your bearings, but the tower knows exactly where you are.  They guide you back to familiar territory and you continue your flight to your destination.

Today I feel like I’ve just broken through the storm.  I still don’t know where I am, but I do know where I’m going.  I must trust my control tower, who has never lost sight of me, to guide me there from my current place.

At the end of February, beginning of March, I will be flying down to Sarasota to pray over the city.  I will be walking the streets and talking to people from the area to get a feel about what they are looking for in a church.  I want to know the people before the move so I can pray targeted prayer over the area. 

My current storm revolves around my job situation.  I was put on the bench at the beginning of the year and I’ve yet to score an interview.  They came at me with a possibility today, but it’s in New Jersey.  I don’t want to be one of those guys that travels for 4 days out of a week to return to my family on the weekend.  I want my kids to know me.  I don’t want Rilian to not recognize me in 6 months because he only saw me a couple of days out of a week.  So, I probably won’t entertain that one.

I will say this though.  I will be coming to Sarasota in February.  If I haven’t found anything by the time I get there I’m going to work on getting a position down there.  If that happens I will push my plans forward and start building a ministry down there.

I will get to my destination sooner or later.  My goal right now is to listen to the tower until I get there.

A few months ago I got to preach a message that I had written about here in July.  Well, the message of increasing your need boiled down to this: Give and it will come back to you, in good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over.

Part of this is listening to the Spirit for opportunities to give.

I am a bass player.  I love playing bass.  I love singing as well.  I had an ESP F-204 Bass, that was Gun Metal Blue and beautiful.

Within our worship team I had stepped down from playing bass so that a younger guy could step in and perfect his craft.  He's a better player than I am, he has a gift, I have a skill that I had to work on.  Don't tell him I said that though, it'll go to his head .

A couple of months ago I felt the Holy Spirit speak to me to give him my bass.  I looked at it in one of two ways, and depending on the way things played out, I was going to be happy either way.  The two perspectives were:

1. My time of playing had passed and the Lord had more things for me that holding onto that part of my life would hinder and I needed to give up the bass in order to grab the higher call.
2. I had another bass on the way and it would inspire me to do more with the music and step out of the worship team and do more for God with music.

Well, it turns out #2 is the path on which he was sending me.

I was looking at basses that I was hoping to eventually get.  I believe that when you ask for something of God, be specific.  He'll give you the desires of your heart.  I was hoping that #2 would be the way the Lord was going to go, so I was preparing for it.  I found the bass that I wanted, which was a Schecter Stiletto Elite 5-String Bass that had a Transparent-Red Finish. 

I actually have reasons for wanting this specific bass:

1. I wanted a bass that had a neck-through body, which the Elite has.
2. I wanted a 5 string or 6 string bass.
3. The instrument sounds... of the charts good.
4. It's pretty.

Well, I was hoping to get this guitar at some point, but I knew I wasn't going to buy it.  That was part of the deal when I gave the other bass player the bass.  I, on my own, was not supposed to purchase a new one.  It was going to come from the power of God.

Well, my mom came to me about a month ago and asked me what I wanted for Christmas.  That is a tricky question.  Normally, I just say that I want Best Buy gift cards because what I normally want to get is expensive and I don't want any one person spending the money to get these things for me.  This year was a little different in that I really didn't even want anything from Best Buy.  I only had one want, a new bass, but I had no intention of anyone getting it for me for Christmas, it's too expensive.  So I told my mom that I didn't want anything from her, to get more for my kids, because what I wanted was too expensive.  She pushed me so I finally told her what I wanted a Schecter 5-String bass.  I didn't give her specifics.  I want to stress that, I told her, "Schecter 5-String Bass".

Christmas morning rolls around and she sends Jen out to her van to get my present and she walks in with a gig bag.  When I open it I see a Schecter Stiletto Elite, Diamond Series, 5-String Bass with a Transparent Red finish.  Not only that but there were two tuners, one standard Chromatic and one Chromatic pedal tuner, two chords and a Behringer 120 Watt Ultrabass Amp.  This is the pressed down shaken together and running over part.  I didn't ask for all of the extra things that were given, but they were included.

It turns out my mom had found this bass on the Pittsburgh Craigs List.  The previous owner lived in a town close to my mom.  They had been in bands a few years ago and had not played in recent times.  With the economy the way it is they needed to dump some of their equipment to make it through the holidays.  After listing it on Craigs list a couple of times and on Ebay, they hadn't been able to sell it, which is a miracle unto itself.  A couple days before Christmas, the couple contacted my mom, said it was still available, set up the deal and met my mom at Wal-mart for the transaction.

Not only was it exactly what I was wanting, it was not intentionally exactly what I wanted.  My mom didn't go to Guitar Center with my exact specifications.  She knew I wanted a Schecter 5-String bass, nothing more, nothing less.  To her, she simply got me the Schecter 5-String bass that was in her price range and available.  What she didn't know, but God did know was that this was the bass that was my heart's desire, right down to the color.

If you ever doubt that God wants to give his children every good thing; never forget that he provides your heart's desire.  When you listen and you follow his bidding, his word will not return void.  It can't.  It is impossible for Him to lie.  If He said it, it will happen.  If there is something specific you are to give up, give it up without doubting.  He has something better in store for you, not just something that you simply want, but he'll give you your heart's desire.  I would have been happy with any 5-String bass, but my heart's desire was exactly the one I received.

Sometimes life throws you a curve ball when you were expecting the fast ball. I was given one of these curve balls yesterday.

I am the Microsoft Practice Director at ConsultUSA in Pittsburgh.  It's a great company and I enjoy working for them.  As part of my job I am to be billable to a client so that there are is a ROI on my work.  I was informed yesterday by the client that I wouldn't be back after the new year.  Now, this doesn't mean I'm now unemployed.  If nothing happens in the next few weeks I'll be put on, what we call in the consulting industry, the bench.  While on the bench I will work toward getting certifications as well as getting off of the bench.  However, there is a good chance that I won't be put on the bench, I may end up going to another client for whom I used to work.

Anyway, I have always enjoyed working for this client.  It's been a lot of fun and I've learned a lot.  I went into my managers office to ask for some time off so I could work for an afternoon at the home office and was informed of the contracts end date.  Now, I have many opinions on the timing, the way it was done and all, but I'm not writing to rant.  I am writing to explain how I am feeling and thinking.

First, what am I feeling?  I feel a little betrayed.  Unfortunately, I didn't see this coming and it's not happening on my terms.  I'm also feeling a little depressed.  I gave much of my life the last 2 years to this company and I am feeling a loss at the prospects of not working here.

Second, I have to keep fighting.  The irony, as well as the saving grace, is that this all happened the day of my annual review with ConsultUSA and I had a great review, from both companies.  So, I know it wasn't because of my work, it was truly a part of the changing of the guard within the client.

The nice thing is, I'm marketable.  My employer looks at me as an A-lister and doesn't feel like I'll hit the bench at all.  Actually, the owner of the company is wondering if we can get me out of the client sooner to get me into the other client that I mentioned earlier.  That's cool.  I know that I'l be able to find something either way.  Whether it's pulling in some favors to open a new client, which I've done before or going to our existing client.

More than anything, I have to look at this as an opportunity.  If I hit the bench there will be time for me to get my certifications, whether it be my Microsoft Certifications or the PMP.  If I move on to another client quickly then there is an opportunity for me to get a pay increase and specifically, and more importantly, to not take the manditory bench salary cap, which would be a sizable hit.

Ultimately, this will be an interesting ride.

Now, All that was said to say this:

Isaiah 54:17 No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their righteousness is from Me," Says the Lord

Ralph de la Vega came to the United States in 1962. He learned early on that obstacles were a part of life. Obstacles Welcome was written in response to the lessons he learned from the time of youth through his ascendancy to the President and CEO of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. The book takes a look at the obstacles that were presented to him and how he addressed each one.

I went into this book with great expectations. I have many friends who came from Cuba around the same time and I know their stories are intense and many things can be learned from them. Mr. de la Vega’s personal stories are gripping. I wish a larger part of the book were dedicated to the personal sides of the events.

However, much of the book is dedicated to the obstacles thrown at him at his job and as I would expect from an executive, he stated the issue, how it was addressed and the resolution. At times he put in how it affected his life, but not nearly enough. Because of this the book was a slow read. When I had 10 minutes in which I wanted to read, I found myself going to other books. Until I finally put myself to the plow to get through it.

I would have enjoyed the book more if it were told in more of a story form. I’ve read so many business books that grip me because of the way the story flows that I felt dry with this one. If you are a “Just the facts, Ma’am” type of person this may be a very enjoyable book for you, but for me, it just didn’t keep my attention.

I would like to address today a major annoyance in blogging.  I'm talking about you spammers from cash loans, payday loans, discount prescription drugs and the like.

Statement of fact...  I will NEVER approve your comments.  I put the comment feature up for people who genuinely want to discuss the topics.  When I see a name that even looks like spam, I immediately and enthusiastically hit DELETE.  Now I would prefer that you don't use my blog to try and sell your less than ethical *crap*.

Seriously, I'm a web professional in my day job.  I know how the internet works and your trying to improve your placement on search engines by getting as many link backs to your site as possible.  I dig that, I understand.  However, find another fool who will let any comment just pass through.  This will not and will never be me.

So, if you want to engage a conversation with me:

• Don't add your website unless it is relevent to the conversation
• Address the conversation directly.  Mention the topic or something from the post you're commenting on.
• Don't be a critic of my theme, I chose it because I like it.
• I don't use wordpress, I will never use wordpress, so don't try to send me a link to a wordpress theme site.
• Please, for the love of all that is good and holy, pick a pleasant Gravitar.  Some of the ones I've seen are just mean.

I've been quiet on here for a while.  For that I apologize.  It's been kind of intentional, however, I'm going to invoke my right not to explain why.

I've been doing a lot of studying lately, though.  I recently started using a new bible study software package that is just incredible.  I'll do a full review of the package at another time.  I want to make sure that I have a grasp on all it can do before I start talking about it.

My goal with this post is to go over some of the things that I'm studying, not to go in depth of any one of the passages or topics.

My most recent study has been on 1 Timothy.  As I prepare for the Sarasota ministry, I wanted to refresh myself on Pauls admonition to Timothy on how a church is meant to be run.  Let me say, for being an instructional book on how to run something I walk away with a look at a lot of why's.  From the qualities of an elder to fighting the good fight of faith, there are a lot of answers to why these things are needed.

I think I'm going to do a whole study on fighting the good fight of faith in the near future.  Which is in part due to the new software package that I've been using.  One of the nices features of this package is that you can hover over a word in the text on certain version of the bible and it'll pop up the Hebrew/Greek definition from Strongs and show an expository on the passage from, I think, The Matthew Henry Commentaries.  I used to take Fight the good fight of faith at face value, when you fight the fight of faith, fight well.  Well, when I looked at the passage and hovered over the two words fight, I discovered that they were two different words, The first fight, means, well, fight.  The second fight however, means the place in which you fight.  So when you read fight the good fight of faith, you could read it as Fight well in the areana of faith.  Faith is the battlefield in which we fight!  LEt's fight for victory on that battlefield.

Anywho, that was for free.

Some other passages are Mark 4, since that is what we're studying on Sunday mornings.  I've been looking at Romans 8 as well, since it is one of my favorite passages. 

In the near future I'm going to jump into studying the Church of Leodicea from Revelation 3 again.  Now that I have all of these tools at my fingertips I want to re-visit some of my favorite scriptures.

I'm going to delve into Jude, Hebrews and start going through the minor prophets soon as well.

Eventually I'll start putting some of the things I'm learning into the blog, but for now, I just wanted to let everyone know what I'm studying and going to be studying.

So look forward to all that, a book review for Obstacles Welcome and a Software review.  That should put me in a position to be busy for a while.  Now that I've promised it, I must deliver. :)