Money, Money, Mo—ney
Last night I was at a Holiday dinner for my day job. The company was great, the food was great, and it was all around just a good time. The President of the company got up to make a speech about how well we did considering the condition of the economy. The good news is we’re getting bonuses and we were all given a gift card to a fairly nice restaurant. I’m not knockin’ it. I’m thankful for this.
What occurred to me during this dinner is that all these people are living for the next paycheck, raise, and bonus. Most of them make a pretty good living but it’s never enough! My question is, how do I bring the hope of Jesus into my workplace? How do I show them that there is hope beyond living, working, then dying? Do you live for the money? Is it your idol? Do you worship it more than Jesus?
Where do you place your hope? Be honest now.
Sometime’s It’s Lonely
There are many things that make me angry. I won’t list them all because that will probably make you angry. Some of my anger is righteous, the rest of it….not so much. Lately, within this past year, I’ve wondered if my opinion matters at all. You see, I tend to look at life through a spiritual lens most of the time. This isn’t the best thing all of the time because sometimes you have to think about life logically. Right? I’m not sure. As someone who claims to follow Jesus I am of the opinion that all of my life should be lived through the lens of my Savior. Why is this such a bad thing? It isn’t. Especially when it comes to making big decisions.
I, James Romanowski, am a simple man. I have simple thoughts and tend to make things too spiritual. Or do I? The thought has always crossed my mind that maybe I have more wisdom than others because I am so simple. However, smart people should be given credit as well for they have much to offer. Every Sunday the smart, simple, and odd people come to worship Jesus with me. For this I am grateful. What angers me is when I see no expression in some faces. Maybe I shouldn’t be angry about this. But sometimes I feel alone.
Sometimes I feel like bowing, dancing, or lifting my hands in the air. I don’t know what keeps us from experiencing all the freedom that Christ has to offer. For me, I’ve been so concerned about what others think about me that I abstain from doing those things because that’s not the “church style.” People will think I’m crazy than leave the church. Maybe one day I will not care about the crowd. Maybe one day I will be overcome with so much thankfulness, joy, and gratitude for what God has done in me, that I will burst out into those things we call “charismatic.” This is only what the crazies do right? No, I’m afraid not. You could use a little more dancing in your life anyhow.
It’s the song of the beautiful…
Jesus loves me.
It’s only the middle of the week and it’s been a whirlwind for me. It seemed as if the walls were caving in around me. Okay maybe not that bad. Still it’s been one of those weeks when I question everything I’m living for. I’ve been asking God if I’m in the right place. Should I be doing something else? What is my purpose? These are typical questions that I’m sure you have.
Tonight after band practice for the Vision Trust BBQ this weekend I was playing the album from Christy Nockels. I’ve listened to this record several times but didn’t pay much attention to all of its content. The song that was playing was “Song of the Beautiful.” I just stood for a minute and listened to the chorus:
“It’s the song of the beautiful, Jesus Loves Me…
It’s the song of the beautiful, Jesus Saved Me…
The song of the redeemed, the echoes of those made free,
It’s the song of the beautiful, Jesus Loves Me”
I couldn’t help but embrace those words, Jesus loves me. Suddenly all my doubts and fears and ambitions didn’t mean anything compared to that phrase.
Maybe you just need to hear those words…..Jesus loves me.
Why YOU should help orphans!
I know you don’t need another cause to support, right? Honestly though getting on board with causes seems like the latest wave of fads. Don’t get me wrong there are great causes out there. Then there are the causes that just sell tshirts and mugs and you really don’t know where the money is going. If you’re tired of these types of organizations let me suggest one that is actually doing something.
Those who know me are aware that I just don’t jump on any bandwagon when it comes along. I used to be that way but now it’s more about what can I do for others. Vision Trust International is an organization that helps educate, feed, and clothe the neediest children in the world. Out of the money you give to them 86% of it goes to the child. You might say, “Well why isn’t all the money going to the children?” Someone has got to get paid to organize this venture . Matt Storer heads this organization and his passion is contagious. I hope it spreads to you.
Imagine living without a father or mother. Maybe you were an orphan yourself. Now picture yourself in an impoverished country without hope for the future. You aren’t able to get an education and your dreams are practically nonexistent. Help Vision Trust meet a goal of raising $50,000 on June 20th. Also, donate your Facebook status to VisionTrust for a period of 48 hours between today and June 20th. Put this in your status: “Help the neediest children in the world on June 20th: http://www.visiontrust.org/bbq/”
If you can’t afford to financially support orphans I understand. But at least sacrifice your Facebook status. Lord knows no one wants to hear about what you did today….other than how you helped orphans!
VisionTrust Family BBQ & Benefit
June 20th, 2009 4:00 to 7:00 PM
Coffman Park, Dublin OH
Donation suggestions:
$45 family / $10 single
E-mail BBQ@VisionTrust.org to RSVP today
Why art is a catalyst to God’s heart.
Tonight I went to an art gallery to view the work of a woman who goes to my church. She has an incredible
Found-Object Art by Molly Tanner
eye for detail and is truly passionate about her skill. She creates figurines out of found-objects. It’s really a sight to behold. Last week, this woman and her friends created a space for Terra Nova to pray during our 40 Hour prayer weekend.
We were given a space in downtown Delaware during the annual arts festival. The front room was an art installation (gallery) and the back room was a place for people to pray. Many of the people at Terra Nova signed up to pray for a one hour slot. Believe me when I say that many people thought this was a crazy idea. Some thought that there was going to be a solitary chair in a dark room. My how they were wrong.
Graffiti Wall, Cross, and Communion table
As you can see in this picture the space created was more than a chair in a dark room. It was a place to connect with God through reading the Bible, praying, writing scripture and thoughts on the graffiti wall, pinning burdens to the cross, and taking communion. I cannot remember a time where I engaged God like I did in this room.
The act of writing, pinning, and taking communion allowed me to connect with God and my community at Terra Nova. Through art I was able to communicate in a way that was new.
God created us. He created us to create. Through art, music, and other mediums of the like, He shows an image of Himself. Through His creation He reveals the glory of Himself. Painters, sculptors, musicians, found-object artists, graphic designers, poets and more create to express what’s burning in their souls or just to create. The viewers and listeners digest these art forms and take different meanings from them. That’s the beauty of artistry. It can mean so much to so many different people.
I stole this quote from my friends Facebook status: “…maybe we’ve learned that art isn’t something you do. Maybe it’s not even something you create. Maybe our best definition of art is that it cannot be defined, only pursued with wonder.” – Jeremy Wright, lower case people
How true is this statement of God? Maybe our best definition of God is that he cannot be defined, only pursued with wonder. Maybe God is found in the angst and tension of art. Whether the artist is a follower of Jesus or not makes no difference. God’s glory can be seen in all things, you just have to look for it.
Do you have a heart?
This evening I received somewhat of a disturbing email from a friend of mine. It made me more angry than anything else. It’s nothing she did but it was how my fellow “Christian brothers and sisters” responded to her. At this point in her life she’s not sure if there is a God. But somehow after emailing her maybe she has a little more hope. I won’t go into detail about her story but I want to use this as a platform.
This platform has no other agenda than to follow Jesus. There are many of us who think we can speak for God. Apparently some of us speak for God without ever reading the Bible. It’s funny how that works (notice the unrelenting sarcasm). There are a few things I’m tired of hearing about. The first being the fact that many Christians tell people they’re going to hell and burning forever. That’s really effective isn’t it? Heck, lets not show them grace and mercy like we were shown. I remember a passage in scripture that says, drum roll please….“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:17). My that’s interesting.
You know what? I’m going to stop here. I just realized I’m not loving my brothers and sisters in Christ. But let the record show that maybe the sheep should stop taking word for word what their told, and get back into God’s word. Please spare us from the heartache you bring with your lack of love. Love God, love people.
This week I will be praying at the 40 hour prayer room in Delaware, OH. You should check out the art. Then you should pray for those who don’t have a personal, intimate, relationship with Jesus. They need to see the hope we have. Start today. More prayer, more of God’s word, more intimacy. People we need to know his voice!
For the few who are asking
I often wonder what type of person I would be had I not been raised in a Christian home. Would I be a drug dealer, a serial rapist, a serial killer, or a woman beater? What would my worldview look like? Would I be a liberal or an extreme postmodern emergent Jesus following hippie? I’m not quite sure. It’s difficult for me to look at anything objectively because of what I was raised to believe. Don’t get me wrong, my faith in Jesus is still alive and kicking. I just have to wonder about certain things.
Last week President Obama made his trip to Europe. He shook hands with our country’s enemies and apologized for how “naughty” the U.S. has been. I’ve heard many lash out against the President. I can understand to a point. However, if I allow my faith to inform my decisions and how I approach situations maybe I should look at this differently.
So let’s look at what Jesus says in Matthew 5:43-48 (NIV)
“43″You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[a] and hate your enemy.’ 44But I tell you: Love your enemies[b] and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
If I say that I believe in Jesus and that I follow him what does this last passage mean. What do you mean Jesus? Do I have to love terrorists who flew two planes into the World Trade Center? Must our country make amends with dictators who mean us harm? The questions go on. Would Jesus respond yes to these questions? I’m trying not to respond to these questions as a right wing conservative white Republican. I’m trying to think of my response as one who is in love with Jesus and everything that He is.
My life is not defined by politics or hot issues, it’s defined by Jesus Christ, who gave himself up for me. I’m not any better than the next guy. The late Rich Mullins was once told, “But God loves you!” Rich replied, “so what God loves everyone!”
Jesus leveled the playing field when he died on the cross. He died for terrorists, politicians, women pregnant out of wedlock, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Sarah Palin, John McCain, Muslims, Buddhists, Catholics, (your religion here), serial killers, rapists, Republicans, Democrats, independents, homosexuals, Vegans, Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden, and (insert your name here). Yep, he died for the entire world to know what true love was. Pretty amazing I know.
Stop living like you’re the only one Jesus died for. Love God, and love people. This is the greatest commandment. Can you believe that?
Hope: I’ll take a pint of that!
President Obama promised tonight that we would pull out of this recession. That’s cool! But what if we don’t? I can only imagine the chaos that would ensue. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not like those other Christians who bash President Obama. He’s not even the purpose of this blog entry. So what is the purpose?
Hope.
Not campaign hope, or financial hope, but real hope. You know, the kind of hope that makes you feel like waking up every morning with the biggest grin. That’s more like it!
Rewind.
Daniel 3:16-18 (NIV)
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
So what do you think about this little passage of scripture? It’s interesting isn’t it? Shadrach, Meshach and Abednegos’ hope was placed in God. That’s why they could say, “even if he (God) does not (save us), we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Hmm. Okay.
How amazing is this? No matter what, they weren’t going to bow down.
So let’s fast forward to 2009. Right now our country is in a recession. I know this isn’t a news flash but it’s our reality. So if God, or the stimulus package, does not rescue us how will we respond? Is God still faithful if he doesn’t come through? Could losing everything be good for us? Imagine for a minute if you lost your possessions. What would be important to you? What if your family or friends were tossed out into the streets. You might say “that would never happen.” But what if it did? What if your security blanket of wealth was ripped out from underneath you? Where is your hope now?
If God does save you, will you still bow before the Almighty Dollar? Probably.
Didn’t you get the memo?
Recently, I was perusing Facebook status updates. I came across one that said “…..is waiting for HIS glory to fill the earth. Are you for real? Did you seriously just write that? How could you not see God’s glory on earth right at this moment? Let me tell you a few places where I see God’s glory manifested here and now.
First of all let’s just begin at God’s creation. The changing of seasons is amazing in and of itself. How does everything die in the winter and then come back to life again in the spring? How does this happen? Isn’t that God’s glory being revealed? Take for example the birth of babies. I’ve never had or made a kid before, but from what I hear it’s quite astonishing. Actually, I did watch a show on the Discovery Channel about birth…in 4D!!! It was unbelievable. Certain things have to happen in order to conceive a child. I don’t know all of the ways, but again it’s God’s glory!
Oh, and let’s not forget the ENTIRE EARTH! The only place where life can exist. If the earth is just one degree off its axis we’re toast. So what of this phenomenon? Who keeps the earth from being demolished? Hmmm…is this evidence of God’s glory? Notice the terrible sarcasm in this entire post. I apologize for this. However as a lead worshiper at my church I find that I need to emphasize God’s glory to my peeps (ghetto for people).
I used to be one of those people who was looking around praying for God’s glory to fill the earth. The whole time I was missing the point. His glory is HERE AND NOW! It’s present in our interaction with friends, family, and acquaintances. It’s found in the ideas of so many different people, that God created.
My sincere hope is that in 2009 you open your eyes to the glory of God that is present when you wake up and breathe, when you play with your children, nieces, and nephews, when you take hikes, and every other activity. God’s glory is always available for us to see. Sometimes we just don’t open our eyes.
Stop acting like your blind.
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