Star Wars

…and he (Jesus) began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
Luke 4:21 NIV

I love the fact that though the bible is made up of so many different books that it still tells one story. It is powerful when you begin to get a sense of the big picture historical drama that unfolds throughout the whole. I know lots of people, however, who try to pick up a bible, start at the first page of Genesis and try to read the whole thing only to get bogged down, discouraged and eventually abort the mission. May I humbly suggest a Star Wars approach (and I promise that this will be the only Star Wars reference in this seriesJ).
The first Star Wars movie in the first Trilogy was released in 1976, but it was actually episode IV. The first half of the story was not released until years later in the form of another Trilogy of movies. Most people who have seen the “pre-quel” movies agree that they are far easier to follow, understand and interpret if you already know the second half of the story. When you know the end, it helps as you navigate the beginning.
Reading through the bible can be similar. I would suggest beginning in the New Testament with the gospels. Focus on the central figure of Jesus and the climax of His cross and resurrection. Follow that with the rest of the New Testament to find out how those events are interpreted and how they impact the world. This will be invaluable information to guide your reading as you go back to the very beginning and work your way back through. Don’t neglect this part however, because it is extremely important. After all, even Jesus understood and interpreted his life and mission in terms of how it fulfilled what was written in the Law and Prophets – the Old Testament.

Jacks

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
- 2 Peter 3:9 NIV

The game of jacks is a bit of a rescue mission. In one variation of the game, you bounce the ball and during its hang time you attempt to grab as many of the jacks off the playing surface as possible before the ball bounces again and you have to catch it. In many ways this parallels one of the significant roles of the church (and by that I mean people who follow Jesus!).
Jesus descended to earth, endured the cross on our behalf, was resurrected and then ascended to heaven. He also left us the promise that he would return one day at which point He will establish His Kingdom in its fullness. As scripture tells us, though it has been about two thousand years, Jesus is not slow in keeping His promise, nor has he forgotten, but rather He waits patiently for all those who will come to repentance. We then live in this interim period, and Jesus has chosen His church to be His representative. We are the primary means by which Jesus intends to share the gospel with the world enacting His rescue mission and ensuring that many more might have the opportunity to respond to His gift of grace and enjoy eternity with Him in His Kingdom.

Rubik's Cube

…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
- Romans 3:23-24 NIV

My experience with a Rubik’s Cube goes something like this: Took it out of the wrapper, made one twist, started a journey towards total and utter confusion and mess from which there was no turning back. Try as I might, I could never solve the puzzle on my own, but rather continually dug a deeper and deeper pit.
My experience reminds me of the Gospel, the good news that we have in Jesus. It first starts with the bad news, the problem…the mess. The first few chapters in Genesis go something like this; God makes the world, God makes people, they mess it up badly. They disobey God thus allowing sin into the world, affecting all of humanity and, in fact, all of creation. Sin created a gulf between God and human kind, brought about death, and allowed for the mess in this world. The rest of the bible, however, tells the story of the mission that God began to provide a way out for the people that he loved, culminating in the cross and resurrection of Jesus. Through Jesus’ death on our behalf there is hope that our right relationship with God can be re-established lasting unto eternity and that eventually when He returns all things will be made right.

Silly Puty III

We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.
- 2 Corinthians 5:20 NIV

Silly Putty was invented in 1943 as Japan was invading rubber producing countries leading American industry to set out to find a synthetic rubber replacement. Although the putty was sent to engineers worldwide, no-one could find a practical purpose for it. It took until 1949 for a toy store owner to see it from a completely different point of view and thus see a unique purpose for the bouncing putty. She included it in her catalogue and it was an instant hit. In 2000 Silly Putty made its way into the Smithsonian Institute. Not bad for a product that no one could find a purpose for! It got me thinking about how we see ourselves and our purpose. Everybody wants to feel that their life has purpose. All so often we define ourselves by what we do for a living, who we know, what we look like, what we wear etc. These things can be so fleeting. A true, lasting identity is found by virtue of our lasting relationship with the eternal High King of Heaven. When we dare to define ourselves by this different standard we can also find a powerful sense of purpose for our life here and now. Jesus chooses to leave us in this world as His representatives to those around us. No matter where we are or what we a doing, we are Christ’s ambassadors, sharing His love and His message of hope to the world. What a purpose there is to be found, when we recognize our true identity in Christ.

Silly Putty II

All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
- 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV

Did you know that Silly Putty is a “solid liquid”? That it stretches without breaking, yet it can be "snapped off" cleanly, floats in certain shapes, yet sinks in others? If you slam it with a hammer, it keeps it shape, yet push with light, even pressure and it flattens with ease. It is seemingly full of contradictions! With a thorough understanding of chemistry and physics, however, there are explanations as to how these contradictions can be true.
Studying the bible is a bit the same. Often people claim that scripture is full of contradictions and can’t be trusted. I have found, however, the more I study the more explanations I find. I have also found that studying about an eternal God, who created the universe, and stands outside of time and space is humbling. My limited, finite perspective may have something to do with my perception. I don’t know enough physics to properly explain why light is both wave and particle. I don’t know enough chemistry to properly explain why Silly Putty is both liquid and solid. This doesn’t change that fact that all these statements are true. I may not be able to properly explain how the bible can both speak of human free will and God’s sovereignty, but again it does not make the statements any less true. Let me simply encourage you to investigate scripture for yourself, and see what you can learn!

Silly Putty

But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
- Psalm 1:2 NIV

One thing about Silly Putty that stands out in my mind is when I used to flatten it out and press it up against a page in a comic book. The image of whatever you pressed it up against would transfer onto the Silly Putty. I thought this was so cool. It got me thinking about the time that I spend reading scripture. I hope that as I read, I am learning more about who God is, about God’s heart and about what it means to live like Jesus. My hope is that the more time I spend reading about, and hearing from God through is Word, that my life may begin to reflect what I am reading. In the case of the Silly Putty it was just ink transfer from the comic or newsprint and it would disappear and wipe away as easily as it appeared. As I read through scripture, spend time in prayer and worship I pray for a deeper transformation that begins on the inside and results in a life that more and more reflects the life and heart of Jesus.

Sea Monkeys

“…but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
- John 4:14 NIV

Does anybody remember these weird pets that were sold on the back of comics? They are a unique type of brine shrimp that live in suspended animation in tiny eggs. They are delivered to you in a pouch and instantly hatch when water is added. I can’t help but think of Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. Like the Sea Monkeys come to life when water is added, we too are offered the gift of a new life, an eternal life, from Jesus. John 7:37 reminds us that Jesus offers an invitation, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink…” and a promise that “Whoever believes in me…streams of living water will flow from within him.” Jesus is the source and the gift of living water is the Holy Spirit that lives within each believer. There is a promise for all those who put their trust in Christ that they will have a new life that will last unto eternity. More than just a promise for the future however, there is a dynamic experience of a Spirit filled and Spirit led life for the present that truly transforms our existence.
Consider Jesus’ invitation to come and drink and dare to dream about what life outside the egg might be like!

Barrel of Monkeys II

"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message…”

- John 17:20 NIV

Barrel of Monkeys not only reminds me to bend down and give a hand up, but I also love the image of the ever lengthening chain of monkeys.
It reminds me of the above quoted verse from John 17. As Jesus approaches the end of His earthly life he spends time in prayer. He spends time first praying for Himself, then for His disciples and then in verse 20 He prays for those who will believe in Him through the disciple’s message. There is a chain that Jesus recognizes. It starts with himself, extends to His disciples with whom He shared the good news and continues on to those with whom the disciples shared. I believe that we who believe in Jesus are also a part of the chain and have the responsibility to reach out to others with the good news of Jesus that they too might join the chain and in turn continue to reach out.

Barrel of Monkeys I

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
- Ephesians 2:10 NIV

The whole point of Barrel of Monkeys is to use one monkey to reach down and give another monkey a hand up. What an image for the Christian life. It is true that doing good works is not the way we get to heaven. A powerful Christian teaching is that it is not what we do, but rather what Jesus did on our behalf through which we have access to eternal life. It is through God’s grace alone. But doing good works should be a part of our life. We are not saved by good works, but for good works. God has plans and purposes for our lives that he has prepared for us to do in order to impact this world for the sake of the Kingdom.
When we look at the life and ministry of Jesus it is full of examples of Jesus meeting the needs of those around Him. He met physical, emotional and spiritual needs. As His representatives working in the world, do our lives reflect His? How is it that we might be seeing and meeting needs around us; physical, emotional and spiritual? Who around us could use a hand up?