Today

I've always been convinced that truth is truth, no matter who is speaking it. Romans 1:20 tells us that God created the universe, and has put His signature on everything. C. S. Lewis took note of this in Mere Christianity, stating that there is a certain consistency to the moral obligations of the world's religions. That's why I love finding fragments of divine Truth in the secular world.

Jason Fried of 37signals recently posted about how 37signals plans for the future. Put simply, they don't. They focus on the reality of where they are today. They "[f]ocus on the things that won’t change."

Here's a company that gets Matthew 6:34. I won't pretend that the 37signals founders had some deep, spiritual epiphany that led to their corporate philosophy (maybe they did, I don't know). But they get something that we don't. They noticed a truth that God built into the fabric of the universe. The same thing that Jesus tells us about in Matthew 6: "Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

What if we as Christians took the same attitude toward living our lives as they take to running their company?

Let's put aside our plans and programs. Let's stop fretting about how we are going to do this or that. Let's stop spending every dollar we get before we get it. Let's stop spending every breathe we get before we wake up in the morning.

Instead, focus on what doesn't change. Focus on Jesus. Focus on God's glory. Focus on lifting up Christ.

Stand where you are today. Focus on Jesus. Take a step. Do the same thing tomorrow. And the day after that. And the day after that. Don't try to map out the path between you and Jesus. Don't plan the waypoints between here and Him. God's got the map; He's got the plans. Plans "to give you a future and a hope."

Press on. Day by day.

--

I cannot close this post out without a warning. Do not read Matthew 6:34 in isolation; out of context. Read the whole chapter. Read all of Matthew. Heck, read the whole Bible :-) This is not a command to empty your 401k and start living la vida loca. This is a command to change your focus.

God commands us to be prudent, to invest our time and money wisely. But more than that, He commands us not to worry about it.

Kids

Sean Carter knows how powerful a child's prayer can be. BTW - PRAISE GOD FOR LILLIE!!!

I have two boys (one is almost four; the other is about three months old), and I can soooo relate to Sean's posts about Lillie. I cannot wait for the day that I'm singing and high-fiving about my kids' salvation. I'm like many Christian parents; walking the tightrope of raising kids up in the way of the Lord, and allowing them to find their own way.

Last night, at prayer time, my oldest said he wanted to pray for his boo-boo (a scratch on his leg from a few days ago). We've always had a hard time getting him to pray on his own, so I didn't expect him to pray on his own. I said "Prayer hands; repeat after me."

Well, off he went:

Dear God,
Thank you for boo-boos, and making them better. Thank you for healing it up. Watch over me tonight, and keep me safe, so I don't get more boo-boos. Amen

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Negative

Betsy Childs recently wrote that virtue is not simply the absence of vice, but is "a vivid and separate thing".

This is an amazingly simple yet profound fact. It is not enough to avoid impure thoughts, but we must fill ourselves up with whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable.

I was immediately reminded of a story in Luke 11. An unclean spirit was cast out of a man. It later returns to find "the house swept and put in order." It then goes out and gets seven other spirits to possess the man together.

It is not enough to empty ourselves of evil. In fact, I would say that's not even the first step. We have to fill ourselves up with The Way, The Truth and The Life. We have to fill ourselves up with Jesus, and God's Holy Spirit. Only then will evil be driven from our hearts.

You won't be able to clean up your own heart. Evil will find its way back, and things will be even worse. Run to Jesus now, before it's too late. Let Him fill you up, and make no room for anything less.

Err

Interesting quote from Paul Graham:

[E]rring on the side of conservatism is still erring.

Something to think about.

Rabbit

How similar you are to the Velveteen Rabbit.

You were once dead and lifeless, living amongst the toys in the nursery. The clockwork toys thought themselves to be Real, but they were not. Not really.

Then the Boy chooses to Love you, and you choose to Love him in return. From the world's perspective you get shabby. Your eyes fall out; your seams rips; your fur fades. Love is like that; it's hard on you; it wears you down.

But it is so worth it, you don't notice. You don't care. Without even knowing it, you have become Real! You are still shabby and worn (getting more so every day), but to the Boy you are Real. And that's all that matters. You Love the Boy; going wherever he may go. Loving him as best you can.

In the end you face the fire. But because the Boy Loved you, and you Loved him in return, you are saved from the fire. The same magic that made you Real to the Boy has now made you Real to everyone. You've been freed from the sawdust filled body you once had!

Get Real!

Gödel

I've been somewhat hesitant about posting this topic. This is just an idea that's been rolling around in my head for several months. It's gotten to the point that I think I have to post about this just to get it out of my head and move on!

Douglas Hofstadter's book Gödel, Escher, Bach contains an interesting statement based on Gödel's incompleteness theorems: "In short, Gödel showed that provability is a weaker notion than truth, no matter what axiomatic system is involved." In plain[er] English, in any formal system there exist truths that are unprovable.

I'm sure Dr. Hofstadter will be appalled by my lack of understanding of his book, the parallels that I make to his statements, and links to a Wikipedia article that "kind of depresses [him]". But I'm not about to let that stop me :-)

Reading the statement of incompleteness gave me sort of a thrill. There are few things in science that match the rigor and thoroughness of a formal system. And yet, they are fundamentally incomplete.

I had a stunning epiphany about this: the idea of mystery is so deep that it's ingrained into the fabric of the Universe! It's the way everything is designed; you cannot escape it. No matter how tall we may try to build our modern tower of Babel, there will always be a Heaven above it. There will always be something beyond our grasp.

We are not built to know everything, we are designed to learn. There's always some new truth out there waiting to be discovered.

Trust

How often we focus on the wrong thing. We focus on the doing and the going. But is that really what God wants us to do?

Anyone can go and do. Anyone can help rebuild impoverished neighborhoods. Anyone can give money. Anyone can work hard to make the world a better place.

But we are not called to simply make the world a better place.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
-- 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

It is our call to allow God to change the world. We get so focused on the material actions we forget our responsibilities.

Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
-- Mark 12:29-31

What we so often forget is that it is God who does His good work through us. We are supposed to focus on Him - worship Him, lift Him up, tell the world about Him. He'll take care of the rest.

If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
-- John 14:15

The most amazing thing is - we will continue to go and do. We will feed the hungry; we will clothe the naked; we will care for the fatherless and the widow. But even more than that - we will bring them life.