Fug-ge-da-bo-dit

In his letter to the church at Philippi the Apostle Paul writes:

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus

Philippians 3:12-14

One thing that strikes me is what Paul’s realness in this confession. Paul “gets” something and strives toward one thing I often fall short of. Forgetting the past and moving on! I never claim to be a Curt Henning (that’s Mr. Perfect for those non wrestling fans out there.), I often will be the first one to admit that I have faults and screw up on things from time to time – you just don’t hear about them. I have a hard time forgetting about them.

Probably one of the hardest things to do after one stumbles in their relationship with God is to get back on the horse. Pick yourself up out of the muck and mire you’ve gotten yourself into, and keep on trucking. Sometimes this is easy for me to do. But there are other times I wallow for a day or two, throw myself a pity party and just sulk. It’s not that I don’t know that once God forgives me, my dirty past is now water under the bridge. It’s just one of those times I wish we had no memory.

With that said, I’m left wondering a few things. Why is it so hard to ask God to forgive you, then as a New Yorker might say – Fug-ge-da-bo-dit? Sunday afternoon, I attended an H2O session at Erik and Bonnie’s place. During the session Kyle, the guy on the video, mentioned how the church is supposed to be like a stream of clean water. Everyone is invited to come and drink from this stream. But because of its marred past, this pure stream has become polluted. I wonder if our ability to Fug-ge-da-bo-dit and keep on going, adds to the bad rep the church has built up over the years.

Thoughts comments or suggestions anyone?

Dirty Laundry

Hand washing dirty laundry is not an easy task. In some countries people carry their laundry down to the river and spend most of the day getting their clothes clean. For those of us who have the luxury of washing machines, this might be tough to imagine. But for a moment, I want you to imagine what it would be like if you did have to take your clothes to a river each day. Sifting through your dirty laundry you find the sweaty t-shirt you wore on a hot summer day. Thinking it should be easy; you decide to clean that one first. Having success you gain some confidence and decide to tackle your pair of khakis. The ones with that spaghetti stain after the waiter dropped the plate at last night’s dinner date.

Grabbing them from your laundry basket you squirt on some liquid soap and start rubbing them together. It works! The little bits of onion that have glued themselves to the fabric are now coming off. All that’s left is the red stain left by the tomato sauce. With some enthusiasm you keep on rubbing. A couple minutes pass and all it’s doing is making the spaghetti stain bigger. Being persistent you grab your grandmother’s old washboard hoping it will help. Ten minutes pass and all that remains of last night’s spaghetti stain is a weird color scheme of pink and beige on the thigh of your light brown khakis. Now frustrated, you bring out your instant stain remover; soak them in some water and hang to dry; vowing never to do that again. There’s a great parallel with this story in the psalms I want to share with you today.

The psalms are a collection of prayers by God’s people alive during the time of the Old Testament. Some psalms are written as praise to God – either for his awesomeness, or for interceding at the right time. Some of these prayers are God’s people in their rawest moments venting out their frustrations and revealing their brute honesty. Then there are psalms written after God has exposed a person’s sin, leaving them feeling guilty, bearing the stains that sin leaves behind. And they long to be clean. The scripture used today comes from one of those psalms.

Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean,

scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life.

Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,

set these once-broken bones to dancing.

Don't look too close for blemishes,

give me a clean bill of health.

God, make a fresh start in me,

shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.

Don't throw me out with the trash,

or fail to breathe holiness in me.

Bring me back from gray exile,

put a fresh wind in my sails!

Give me a job teaching rebels your ways

so the lost can find their way home.

Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,

and I'll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.

Unbutton my lips, dear God;

I'll let loose with your praise.

Psalm 51:7-15

(The Message)

Israel’s King David wrote this psalm shortly after the Lord exposed him as an adulterer who got Bathsheba pregnant. He attempted to cover it up, and then created a conspiracy to have her husband killed (2 Samuel 11). After being confronted about his conspiracy he writes psalm 51 as a prayer of repentance for sleeping with Bathsheba.

When reading this psalm it’s clear to see that David longs to be forgiven and to be free from the consequences of his actions (2 Sam 12:13-14). His longing to be clean can again be seen in David’s request to be scrubbed clean and not thrown out with the trash. When David asks God to scrub him clean, the actual word he uses suggests that David needed to vomit out of his body whatever sin was dwelling within him that was displeasing to God. David’s hope is that his life will be transformed, and he will teach people about God’s ways instead of breaking God’s law.

Everyone that wants to follow God faces an internal war. This internal tug of war is a struggle with our human nature that seeks to satisfy our most sinful impulses and desires. Greed, jealousy, racism, sexism, violence, sexual exploitation, and chauvinism are all examples of the impulses we struggle with when it comes to pleasing the Lord. These are also areas in our lives the devil tries to use to pull us away from God.

The bible tells us to resist the devil and he will leave us be (James 4:7). But how does someone do that? I have spent the last few weeks wrestling with this issue in an attempt to provide an answer, and I’m still left wondering. Perhaps you can provide one that applies to your own “stain of sin”. With that said, let me provide you with the following scripture verses to stimulate your thinking:

Eph 4:17-24
Eph 6:10-18

if you have any thoughts or comments regarding this, please feel free to share, Tim bits

Sometimer's

This week has been a challenging week for me. I experienced a desire to be selfish. To do what I want while throwing all caution to the wind not caring about the consequences or ramifications of my actions. There were times I struggled to do what pleases God, but there’s an odd thing about these selfish desires … I felt a pull toward them like a magnet to a chalk board. I don’t know why I act that way but I’m sure the foursome of Skillet feels the same way as they write:

Sometimes I don't try

To make you happy

I don't know why I do the things I do to you but

Sometimes I don't wanna be better

Sometimes I can't be put back together

Sometimes I find it hard to believe

There's someone else who could be

Just as messed up as me

Sometimes I can't hide

The demons that I face

Sometimes don't deny

I'm sometimes sinner sometimes saint

Sometimes I don't wanna be better

Sometimes I can't be put back together

Sometimes I find it hard to believe

There's someone else who could be

Just as messed up as me

I find comfort in the confession of the Apostle Paul as he shares his struggles to remain a committed Christian, the struggles of the Israeli’s in Judges and 1 & 2 Kings, for it means I'm not the sole person wrestling with this. Still I struggle with why there’s this tug toward sin. I mean the bible says that Christ overcomes the power of sin doesn’t it? I suppose next time I’m tempted to “go astray” I could take Jesus advice to Peter and pray. I have a problem with that though. It’s easier said then done! My heart races, I feel a sense of pressure, and an intense weight sometimes falls on my shoulders. My mind goes topsy turvy and I go back and forth with thoughts of:

*** I could give in to my urges because {insert reason here}, but I really shouldn't because {insert opposing reason here} ***

Am I on to something here, or am I up Schmidt creek without a paddle? MEH! Whatever! I don’t know what I’m saying… It’s late, and I think I really should head to bed before I spin circles around my own thoughts? *** thinks to himself*** "hey! Is that a RAT?

AAAAHHH!!!!!! Rats drive me crazy! Crazy? I was crazy once there were rats there. Rats drive me crazy! Crazy? I was crazy once there were rats there. Rats drive me crazy! Crazy? Ooops I think its too late for that lol! good night yall!

wrestling WITH God

When someone has an encounter with Jesus, they can't help but change their ways. For some it’s a dramatic and instantaneous experience (see Paul's encounter ). Then there are others, like Peter who struggle to give up their ways and wrestle with what is acceptable behavior as a Christian (for examples, click here and here ).

When I had my encounter with Jesus and began changing my ways, one of the things I always get asked about is my fanaticism toward wrestling. I realize it’s fake and staged to the nth degree, and there are times I get frustrated and critique how blatantly fake it is, but I still watch it.

"But how can you watch something that doesn’t glorify God Tim?
"Watching wrestling is a sin"
"Those who watch wrestling are going to hell"
"Wrestling is a dirty business that God wants no part of"

I will admit some of the content on those wrestling shows don’t glorify God, and maybe if there is any godly content in any of it, it pokes fun or mocks God at best. But to come out and say watching wrestling = sin, could be a tad extreme.


The Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase, runs his own ministry
Vickie Guerrero, said Jesus was her Lord and Savior at Eddie Guerrero's hall of fame ceremony
Rey Mysterio has a tattoo that professes the closeness he shares with Jesus
The Legion of Doom AKA The Road Warriors are Christians
Listen as Shawn Micheals shares his encounter with Jesus (part 1 part 2)

and last but not least one of God's angels has a wrestling match with Jacob who he later names Israel.

with that said, whats the beef against watching wrestling and professing a devotion to Jesus?