We Don't Understand Time

  In 2007 I took a trip to Rome and Athens as my college graduation present. While I could go on and on about how awesome the whole experience was I am continually brought back to one particular conversation. While we were taking a tour of the Coliseum and the ruins of the Roman Forum our tour guide was discussing the advanced ages of the columns and buildings we were passing. We were walking along a road of what appeared to be black gravel and someone asked her "How about this road? How old is it?"

    "Oh not very old."  she remarked. "It was probably built during the Middle Ages."  Saying I was shocked would have been a gross understatement. In my American mind 200 years ago was really old. Yet this road was a mere 700 to 900 years old.When compared to the other buildings in Rome though, which were built sometime around first century AD, I guess 700 years isn't that old compared to 2000. Europe has such a history that American's can barely comprehend because we can not think like that. If you were to tell a European about that really old mansion built in the 1700's they would probably laugh at you.  What made the point sink in all the more was our next stop, Athens. The guide at the Parthenon told us that construction of this most famous tourist destination in the city was  during the 440s and 430s BC. That is over 2400 years ago!

Then, think about this. The Great Pyramids in Egypt were built sometime around 2470 BC....that makes a grand total of 4,482 years ago (give or take). Cleopatra who lived in the first century BC was closer to our time period than she was to when the Great Pyramids were built. The way we talk about Julius Caesar, Cleopatra and Alexander the Great was somewhat comparable to how a Greek in the first century BC would have talked about Ancient Egypt.  

Now back to the initial point. We do not understand time here in America.  Here's an example for you. The people who lived in the time of Jesus or the apostles did not feel like they were living in this newly created world where everything was new and exciting. They felt like we do, that history was all around them and they could look both into the immediate past and the far distant past to learn about their world, just like we can today.

                                            Introduction of the Hero

     When I was a kid I used to play this game on my Nintendo. It was called Dragon Warrior and you played as a dragon slayer whose goal was to save the world. The really cool part was that while there were classes(professions) in the game like Soldier, Merchant, Pilgrim, Fighter etc... your character was called "The Hero." What made a Hero? He was the guy with the most courage, he had the ability of rallying others to his cause, he got the best gear, and he was the guy who took a bad situation and saved the day despite the problems.

      Today we live in a peaceful society, we don't fight battles or have monsters lurking in the night...well usually. We are focused on work and education. What is the first thing people always ask? "What do you do for a living"? or "Oh your in school? What is your major?" Somewhere along the way we have lost the desire to continue to improve ourselves, to learn, and to grow. Men are not taught how to be a man, how to behave. Women are not taught how to pass their skills on to the next generation and be an excellent lady the way it is described in Proverbs 31. We have more television shows than we can imagine, and the ability to gain more information from one newspaper than people 100 years ago could have received in their whole lives, yet there is still a huge need to teach people how to live in a morally upstanding way.

      With this as our background I am introducing The Hero. The Hero does not begin his journey as one, in fact he is very average and anyone can be a hero.

      All generations of mankind have had their heroes. These are people that outshine their contemporaries because of their braveness and willingness to act when no one else will. It is not special powers or supernatural giftings that make a hero, but a will power that they can achieve their goals and a sense of morality stronger than their comfort zone.

      I am not suggesting I am a hero or am trying to become one, I am simply saying that we as a culture do not act like what we do in life is really that important. Is living your whole life for a paycheck really worth living for? Is getting to watch TV or throw parties on the weekend worth wasting 5 days at work on? The hero mentality begins with a burning desire to do more in our lives than run-of-the-mill. My thought is this......if I am not actively trying to do something that has long term consequences then I am wasting my time and inevitably my life. That is one thing I am not prepared to do.

                                         The Reverse Primary Strategy  

     Most people have strong opinions about politics. That is why the phrase "Don't talk about politics and religion" exists. Here in America most of us are divided somewhere along the conservative/liberal line, but more people are closer to a moderate position than a Communist (far left) or Anarchist (far right) position.  While I admit to leaning more to the conservative side I have no intentions of debating who is right in this blog entry. The objective today is to discuss the Republican Presidential Primary and what I find is a very likely strategy that is being used by Mitt Romney.

    Common wisdom is that when you run in a Presidential Primary you play to your base, in this case you speak and act strongly conservative. However, when the General Election rolls around it requires a candidate to get as close to the middle as possible to draw the Independent vote to your side. There are people that make lots of money in politics telling candidates how to draw that so needed independent crowd. The problem however, seems to be two fold. First, Primary voters have tended to pick moderate candidates such as John McCain and Bob Dole( who both got beat in the general elections despite their appeal to the independents) Second, playing to the center does not seem to work that well. 

   Should you go back in history to 1980 and 1984 you will see that Ronald Reagan absolutely crushed his opponents in both elections by running not as a moderate, but as a conservative. He even won most states that normally have nothing to do with Republicans. The strategy of appealing to the center as a Republican seems to fail miserably in the general election despite all of the talk about it being necessary.  

    The Republican Primary of 2008 was a contest with the 2 main players being John McCain and Mitt Romney. Romney at the time was the conservative candidate but got stomped by McCain with the help of the media and the split vote of several conservatives all running.  If you look back at the different state primaries and add up all the votes for conservative candidates versus moderate candidates the conservatives usually won. There was just more conservatives. This is where my theory comes in. Romney is no doubt a smart guy, every business he touches makes lots of money.  I can't help but think he looked at 2008 and told himself he couldn't win the primary running as a conservative. However, if he could win the primary as a moderate and THEN switch to a conservative stance during the General Election, he could use the Reagan based model and possibly propel himself into the presidency. This idea seems far better than a moderate candidate running.  I cannot verify he will do this, I just think this is the ticket to success. We shall see!

                         Spiritual Disciplines Part 2: Hearing the Voice of God

      How does a person go about hearing the voice of God? Does that seem a little old fashioned to think God can speak to us today? Well, if you think that then you have been lied to your whole life. There is in fact 3 ways that God speaks to us. First, there is the Bible (God's ordained words passed down for thousands of years). Second, he often speaks to us through people who speak what he has spoken to their hearts to say. Finally, there is God speaking to our hearts. It is sort of like your conscious, but it is in fact the Lord actually talking to you.

      I know some people think that the Bible is just a dusty old tome with no more wisdom than the Vedas or the Koran, but the reason they feel that way is they can not understand how life can be in a book. When the creator of the universe says something it does not expire. His promises 3, 000 years ago are just as real and binding today as they were then. Hebrews 4:12 says that God's word is alive and powerful. It says the word is sharper than any two-edged sword and can judge the heart and intentions of man. You can read the Bible everyday of your life and still find something new because it is the very thoughts of God and we can never completely grasp the thoughts of the divine. A Christian that forsakes reading his Bible is giving up a tool that lets him know what the voice of God sounds like. If you don't read your Bible and someone comes to you and says this is what God wants and is lying you will not know it. The Bible teaches you what the voice of God sounds like so one someone claims God is saying what he is not saying you will know better.

     Next is other people. Sometimes we are not able to hear the voice of God from the Bible or we just do not want to. This principal is why Christians have to witness their faith rather than just handing someone a Bible and saying "I hope you enjoy this". If you want someone to know something you can't give them a recommended  reading list. You must instead be willing to sell the idea to them. Instead of telling someone who is having a hard life that the Bible says this and this we must say "Let me tell you what the Lord has helped me with" People in general know when you are lying to them and when you are being genuine. We can not expect to be a positive influence for Christ until we are willing to live a lifestyle that matches what we preach.

  Finally the Lord also can speak directly to our hearts.

"For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God". 1 Corinthians 2:10-11

    This verse tells us that God has given those who believe in him the very spirit of Christ so we can understand to some extent the very mind and nature of God. He speaks to our hearts telling us what is right and what is wrong. If your familiar with your Bible he will often recall verses to your mind that you may not have even thought about in a long time. Whatever the case when you learn what truth is no one can take away from you the ability to see what is a lie and what is not. Will you still fail occasionally? Of course! When you know what God's voice sounds like though, you will be able to hold fast to the promises he gives to you even when things are bad. If you are wondering if God gives promises to every Christian, the answer is yes. Just ask him and see for yourself.

                     Spiritual Disciplines Part 1:   Setting Goals

"For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope".  Jeremiah 29:11

     What kind of spiritual goals have you set up for yourself this year? Do you think setting goals is important or is it just something people do when they want to lose weight or start a new business?  I have always been a spur of the moment person and so setting goals is a challenge for me.  I completely understand if you look at goals and think you are wasting your time, but that does not mean I agree with it. I have consciously decided that I need to start setting them, so this is the walk-through of my Alpha attempt at it.

     The first thing I am doing is keeping an "Idea Notepad" where every time I have a new idea, be it good or be it bad; I am writing it down.  When you have a memory like mine it makes me wonder why I never have done it before....maybe I just forgot too.  I have also decided to make writing regularly a major goal. I don't care what topic or what length, I just need to make myself start doing it.  I am inspired by a quote I saw from Epictetus while I was in college. Epictetus was a Stoic philosopher which meant he believed you should not show any emotion over events that happen in this physical world, you should only express major care over the things that were of heavenly value. Here's the quote....

                          "If you wish to be a writer, write."

      How simple and yet profound that is! Can you imagine a world where people just did what they wanted to do? We have jobs to do, bills to pay, mortgage payments to make. How can a person just DECIDE to write and expect things to fall in place. Well, I am not here telling you I intend to be a famous writer next week, but what I am saying is that if I ever do want to have any level of success I need to go ahead and start. That is the lesson of Epictetus, if you want to do something you can't wait around hoping it will happen someday. You have to go ahead and take the leap of faith into that unknown.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where   thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also".   -Matthew 6:19-21

     When we think about setting goals we must also take into account our spirituality. We cannot solely focus on this world and expect to be happy. We should be storing up our treasures in heaven by making sure we live our lives to please God. I challenge you if you are reading this to make it your goal to be a little more intentional with God. Think about the Hebrews of the Old Testament when God would do something for them they would set up monuments to the memory of what God had done. Here is where God showed me the way, here is where he defeated our enemies etc.....

I am not suggesting reading this entry, getting off and immediately changing your life 180 degrees. However, maybe think about being a little more purposeful, to have a little more fervor in whatever you are doing. If it is praying, pray a little longer. If it is reading your Bible, do it a little more. If it is going the extra mile for someone....maybe look into going two.  Just be intentional!

 -Jason


( The idea of Spiritual Disciplines is taken from the Bible Studies we have been doing at mine and my wife's home for a few years now and our current study is material I am writing called "Spiritual Disciplines"   and this blog will be a chronicle of some of my personal feelings and thoughts I have that I didn't get to share in small group, or feel need to be said again.)