Tim Turner

When I watched this video I was left with an insane desire to lace up some boots(timberlands of course), and climb a mountain. I had a huge adrenaline surge that left my heart rate going up, and my breathing slightly accelerated. It was such an irrational feeling, but I didn’t care. In the end all I wanted was adventure. Why does a minute long advertisement leave me feeling like my life is empty? It only took a short time to realize the answer seems obnoxiously simple. I’m sitting in a jail cell with the door open, and I’m too afraid to leave it.The only thing is, its not just me.

Life was never meant to be misery. I honestly do not believe God was looking forward to caffinated society, and corporate ladders when He made everything. God put in us a desire to create and explore, and yet we seem to ignore it. We make environments for ourselves where we simply live inside the box, and think inside the box. Why? Its safer in the box.

Which brings me back to what I said. Before Christ, there is only slavery to sin. Chains that cannot be broken by the strength of mankind. A taint so dark we cannot wash it out. A plague our medicine cannot cure, that always ends in death. Like I said, though, that was before Christ. We have hope. We have peace. we have freedom…but where is it? Its out the door of my cell, and I’m too afraid to go outside.

John 8:34-36

34Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

I am free, but deep down inside I’m content to live life going through the motions, because I don’t know what God will ask me to do. The fear, I think, is in a lot of us. If I give it to God, if I really let go I might end up in Africa, or in a village of lepers, or on the streets. If we just go through the motions we can act like we don’t sense that there is a deeper adventure to life waiting for us. We can act like we don’t here the whisper of God in our minds telling us to get out of the box and do something amazing. We can live life a little less dangerously.

There is another verse that seems to go really well with this one:

John 10:10

10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

In 07 a gallup poll concluded that 77% of Americans hate their job(source). Its no wonder the number of people considered depressed seems to keep rising every year. We spend temendous amounts of our time at our jobs. Time we spend so that we can make money, pay bills, blow the rest on whatever(or blow it all and not pay the bills like so many), rinse, and repeat. That doesn’t sound very full.

Having a job isn’t evil, but letting it rule your life is. When was the last time we walked outside and appreciated the sunset? Have we stopped to see the leave changing, or the clouds in the sky? When did church buildings become another standard cookie cutter facility and not an great arcitectural testament to God? Why don’t we create with the skills we have? Where is the art?

Life to the full is something so far beyond what most of us live today. Life to the full is embracing the adventure that life holds, including all of the danger accociated with it.

I’m not particularly old, however I’ve lived long enough to know a few things. I do know with a certainty that resonates through my being, that life will never be as full as it will be when living for God. So often we’re terrified by what God might call us to do, but for those few that embrace it, they find that His calling is something so full they can’t contain it within themselves. They simply must share it with everyone around them. We’ve all met that person. They’re like some elusive rare creature. To see a person who is full of life is unfortunately a rare event, but when you meet that person they share their fullness with the ones they see. All people have the ability to live life to the fullest, but it will come down to a choice that will lead them in places they never imagined, so they are afraid.

If you are empty, He can make you full. It doesn’t get much simpler than that.

The shackles are off. Stand up, walk out of the cell, and live your life to the fullest.

Definition Administration - 6
Definition Discernment - 16
Definition Evangelism - 11
Definition Exhortation - 14
Definition Faith - 7
Definition Giving - 2
Definition Ministering - 16
Definition Knowledge - 14
Definition Mercy - 18
Definition Pastor - 17
Definition Teaching - 15
Definition Wisdom - 17

I think God is rather hilarious at times. That is the 2nd spiritual gifts test I’ve taken in two days, and both times they came out basically the same. Mercy, Teching, Wisdom–from everything I can tell those are the skills God gave me to use. So, now I have to ask myself…what do I do with it? For quite a while now I’ve been ignoring God, basically as much as possible. I knew when I decided to enter into the ministry that while God does let some people sit back and be content with their simple life, I was never intended to be one. It would be so nice to relax and live life as an average joe, but my soul keeps stirring.  Today I realized why I can’t settle. Its simple realy, its the desire to create.

God, being the Creator, made all of us in His image. I think a lot of times we turn things around, and make our characteristics His. The problem with that thinking is that we are flawed, He is not. One thing mankind must do, no matter how much we may resist it, is to create. We must make something, its built into all of us. The most common form is for us to create art or music. Its not limited to that, however, we can create love, peace, and joy as well. One thing I really and truly love to do, is to create something that inspires someone. A lot of times that puts me into the roll of untrained-struggling-to-be-creative graphic designer. The thing is though, it makes me incredibly happy, regardless of how unsatisfied I am with my own creativity. I feel so great about it, because something inside of me knows that I simply have to create something. Look at humanity’s past. You can learn quite a lot about a culture simply from the art they create. Look at how inspiring architecture has been.  The universe itself is a mighty piece of art. Science is necessary, because we feel a need to understand the infinite potential of the world God created for us. Nothing about this is really new, though, but it got me thinking about my own creations today.

What if art is not what God intended for me, but to bring about peace in a person’s heart? Its so easy to turn to art as the best way to show our creative desires. Could is be just as creative to listen to a person and give them wisdom? Is creating peace in a heart of chaos a way to make art? Is it possible that when you teach someone a new way to look at God you are creating love? What about listening to another persons cry for help, is that just as creative as the man with a paintbrush? Earlier today I might have said no, but I am certain these things are just as creative. I now realize that the joy I feel when creating art is only a small part of what God actually intends for me to do. While I’m still not certain what I should be doing, I know that I shouldn’t settle for what kind of logos or shirts I can make. What I am to create will likely not be something that can be seen, but something thats inside the hearts of people.

So, next time you look at a painting and have a real appreciation for the talent that God has blessed that person with, will you also look at the works of your own hands, your mouth, or your eyes and see the creativity that comes from them as well?

I haven’t written anything in quite a while. I imagine thats not too good of me, but thats how it goes. I’m still attending the bible study on the early church (most) Tuesdays. So far I have enjoyed the experience quite a lot. Waking up that early in the morning still seems to be a bit of a problem for me, but I honestly get the feeling I’ll never be good at mornings. Its interesting to look at the early church and see the impact they made on the lives of people around them, and to look at our churches now and realize that simply doesn’t happen all too often. Unfortunately it doesn’t happen near as much as people need it to. We have a responsibility to help a dead world find life, and yet we become content with keeping everything to ourselves, and becoming too cold to care about anyone else.

Walls are good for nothing but keeping certain people in, and other people out. Christianity is full of walls. The fact is we will never maintain a real impact on peoples lives until we take these walls down. In the end we spend all of our time explain the wall, we find ourselves coming up with clever new cliches about why we do things the way we do, and no matter how we spin it–its still too complicated for even us.

Life should be simplified, and so should faith. Why is it so much to ask that you simply love a person? I was talking with someone not too long ago about the modern interest in gay people within our culture. I’ve heard people say that if you are gay you cannot be a Christian…I’m certain if you asked the same people if a murder convict could come to Christ in jail that they would say yes. What about the guy who raped a 4 year old girl? If being gay is your only sin, then I’d say your doing better than some and not as good as others. In the end sin is sin, and grace is for everyone. Its that simple. Its hard to hate sin and not hate the person. Its actually much easier to hate the person than to understand they we all carry this sickening disease around. Even now I find myself angry at people, when I should be angry at the sin that makes them blind to love. If I could ask one thing, I’d ask that we learn to turn that anger and hatred to pity and love.

As always I’ve also been considering a lot about how we speak. I said something at one of our Tuesday morning meetings that struck me hard. In the middle of a conversation out of no where I said, “sarcasm is the easiest way to avoid intimacy.” Sarcasm is defined as this:

1. A cutting, often ironic remark intended to wound.
2. A form of wit that is marked by the use of sarcastic language and is intended to make its victim the butt of contempt or ridicule.

The reason this struck me so hard is because when I think about my own speech I really have to stop and wonder how many wounds I leave in people’s hearts all around me each day. Its so easy to reply to things with sarcasm. Sure, we all laugh about it, but no matter how you swing it, most of the time it still hurts even if just a little. Who honestly wants to be the “the butt of contempt or ridicule?” I have a hard time believing that people want to be wounded. Yet we do it anyway. Contempt and arrogance often come out of our mouths, and I think the reason it happens so frequently is because we’re all afraid to let people know whats inside of us. When I look at my own heart I find I’m scared to let someone else in, because I’ve been hurt so much in the past I simply don’t want to risk it happening again. The problem though is the longing that comes from deep within my soul. Longing for both human and spiritual intimacy. So, no matter how hard I try in the end I feel pain, but is it worth it to open up?

The more I think about intimacy and the risks involved I almost want to say its not worth it to be open to the people around you. After all, humans are not perfect and you will get hurt eventually. I think like that, but then one day something will happen that always seems to change my mind. Just a few minutes ago I got on my facebook and found I had a new message. It turns out it was a message from Ryan, simply saying he liked something I designed and gave me a simple good job. When someone intentionally comes to me for a hug, no need to say anything but just a hug. When its raining softly outside the world seems almost quiet and I feel like I can just about hear the voice of God. These are some of the things that make me thing its well worth it to risk enduring the pain to have the reward of intimacy from both people and God. Stop and ask yourself if you think its worth it, if you don’t then I pray God shows you the value of His infinite love.