Even nature sings

This world is messed up in magnitude, but there is a more amazing God who has invited us to know him, linking arms with us that we might be amplifiers for the beauty of Jesus to all peoples.

He is not only a global God — he’s a galatic God. He is bigger than anything we can imagine. We don’t have a clue, really, about who we are dealing with. The universe was one of God’s thoughts.

These are some of the thoughts that Pastor Louie Giglio shared  at the Desiring God 2011 National Conference.   His text was from Psalm 148: 1 – 5

Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts!
Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!
Let them praise the name of the LORD! For he commanded and they were created.

In the message he helps up to remember that God tends to direct our attention to things greater than us to lead us to worship. We don’t understand the expanse of the worship that constantly surrounds the throne of God.  I hope that is short clip from his message will help you to realize the heavens are already doing what God is calling us to do everyday. Enjoy!

(View the complete message here)

Checkmate: Same-Sex Marriage Advocates Now in the Game

Since the endorsement by our President of same-sex marriage I have heard some of the most frustrating, and mind numbing arguments.  Honestly, between this issue and the attachment parenting article in Time Magazine, I’ve almost completely checked out of social media.  Everyone has an opinion and wants to make sure that it is not only heard but known to be right though most of them (on both sides) are unintelligible.  This changed a few days ago when I was redirected to yet another article concerning this subject.  This article [finally] looks at this from a unique perspective and shines a light that will [hopefully] get both sides of this debate thinking.

Many are debating the moral and social obligations of the Black church in the wake of President Obama’s recent endorsement of same-sex marriage. The details of what should be the appropriate reaction of the media-crafted monolithic “Black-church vote” are being hotly debated, and well they should be; this is good political discourse. However the limited focus of these debates seems to ignore a much larger picture.

Many wonder about the timing of this announcement. Some have pointed out that it was all too conveniently issued on the eve of Obama’s $40,000 per plate re-election fundraiser among the super rich who might favor such a move.I believe this timing touches on the fringes of the picture we see, yet to gain better perspective we must first reflect on the 2008 election. In the months following Barack Obama’s announcement of his candidacy, Hillary Clinton – with the anointing of the Democratic establishment – was well on her way to being “in it to win it.”

Then we saw a great reversal at the Iowa caucuses, transforming Obama from a Black candidate driven by politics to a mainstream candidate driven by a movement. This caused a convergence of multitude paradigm-shifting factors, resulting in a tipping point. Even African American Democrats who favored Hilary experienced this paradigm shift – a shift that was completed with the South Carolina primary. The rest is history.

A cultural movement will always trump politics when they go head to head; this is culture vs. politics. The “marriage equality” advocates seem to have learned this lesson, but those who advocate for traditional marriage are, like a needle on a record, stuck in the groove of an ineffectual political approach.

With Obama’s recent endorsement as we approach the 2012 election, it seems that the order of the day will be politics vs. politics. This time, there is no euphoric movement on the horizon. In this light we can understand Obama’s pronouncement as a matter of political calculation.

I am mystified by the shocked reactions emerging from various quarters, since as early as 1996 Barack Obamais documented as stating,

“I favor legalizing same-sex marriages, and would fight efforts to prohibit such marriages.”

As the dates add up, his talk of “evolving” now seems a ruse.

Without a movement to ride, perhaps Obama felt the need to assemble a winning coalition. He took for granted the Black vote, in spite of their traditional opposition to same-sex marriage. Given the alternatives, perhaps he reasoned that Black folks would “get over it” and still choose him. After all, why buy the cow if you can get the milk for free? Likewise, he counts on the liberal/left vote. It seems to me that this well-timed endorsement of same-sex marriage was aimed at shoring up the enthusiastic support of the LGBT community, with its considerable wealth and clout – a community that was beginning to show signs of antipathy towards him.

In my perspective, same-sex marriage is not the ultimate issue. What disturbs me more is that today’s politicians and judicial activists presume that they can redefine stabilizing institutions that have survived for millennia merely for the sake of short-term gain. Their hubris is rooted in the notion that they are wiser than all the generations that have preceded us. It is this calculated approach that will “fundamentally transform” this nation from a government of laws into a government of men. In such a society, power is applied according to the impulses of flawed leadership. The winds may blow in your favor today, but tomorrow they may tragically reverse, with no recourse.

If our institutions can be redefined at whim for political gain, it makes us all – Black, White, gay, straight, liberal, conservative, or what have you – into pawns in a game in which there are no rules.

You wanted equality, same-sex advocates? Congratulations. You are now a vulnerable piece on the chessboard – just like the rest of us.

I would love your thoughts…

Dr. Carl Ellis Jr. is a cultural analyst, theological anthropologist, minister, husband, father, son and world traveler.  If you would like to read more from him please checkout his blog at http://drcarlellisjr.blogspot.com/

So you want to live together before marriage?

Over the last few years I have had the distinct privilege of performing multiple weddings, but before that process begins I ask the each couple does some “pre-marital” sessions with me to prepare them for what lies ahead.  Between my pre-marital sessions and working in a “secular” workplace (though I do not believe there is a divide between sacred and secular, but I digress) I find that both “Christians” and non- Christians are moving in for a myriad of reasons.

• Financial/ our current economy
• Sexual (though unstated if you are “Christian”)
• Simple try out (i.e. test drive marriage  before purchase) and many more.

In these sessions we talk about the Biblical perspective of cohabitation, and (not surprisingly) I see and  hear that sliding into cohabitation is more normal than not.  Whatever the reasons there has been a substantial increase on cohabitation according to a recent New York Times article,

Cohabitation in the United States has increased by more than 1,500 percent in the past half century. In 1960, about 450,000 unmarried couples lived together. Now the number is more than 7.5 million. The majority of young adults in their 20s will live with a romantic partner at least once, and more than half of all marriages will be preceded by cohabitation. (emphasis added)

The article goes on to state that,

 …nearly half of 20-somethings agreed with the statement, “You would only marry someone if he or she agreed to live together with you first, so that you could find out whether you really get along.” About two-thirds said they believed that moving in together before marriage was a good way to avoid divorce.

But that belief is contradicted by experience. Couples who cohabit before marriage tend to be less satisfied with their marriages — and more likely to divorce — than couples who do not. These negative outcomes are called the cohabitation effect.

I have to admit, it is a little frustrating that we as pastors are constantly derided for giving people “antiquated” information about sex, relationships, and life in general all because our source of truth happens to be the Bible.  Yet, once again God turns out to be smarter than all of us, imagine that.  As a society our thoughts on certain subjects, especially revolving around sex, are “evolving” but Biblical truth does not.  Continually, as research and science are compiled the findings come back around to agreeing with those time honored truths.

I do not exactly know where you stand on this subject, obviously I have my opinions tempered by the truth of the Bible.  I will admit that amongst the pressures of todays society it is not easy  adhere to Biblical truth but an infinite God instructed us for His glory and our joy versus finite man coming up with our “truth” and eventually coming to His conclusions.

I would love to know your thoughts below.

Read the complete NY Times article here.

The stare down

I took little man to his crib the other night and but before I put him down I decided to spend a few minutes with him just rocking him and praying over him.  I honestly could not repeat the prayer but I soon found myself staring into a pair of big brown eyes.

To be honest I was lost in that moment. He didn’t look away, he didn’t even blink, he just stared right at me and I my heart melted right there. There is NOTHING that pleases a father more than when he has the undivided attention of his child.  In those few moments I felt SO connected with him.

Walking out of his room up the steps I felt the Lord whisper to me, “Hey, that is what I want with you! Not some ritual, but an intimate connection.”

From time to time I get caught up in “having a quiet time” just to say I had one? Sure, a verse or two will stand out to me but if I am not careful I will forget that my time with God is not about a spiritual to do list, it is about a connection a connection that I need and God wants.

God doesn’t want our lip service He wants our undivided attention.  Let’s be honest this is SO hard in today’s society.  Everything competes with our time with Him, especially technology. I just know that what I experienced with my son was real, and it is being used in my life to show me that I need to take my walk with Him to the next level!

In Luke 5:16 the Bible says that Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed, [rough] translation, He got alone and locked  eyes with the Father! We see this again in Mark 1:35 and the direct result was direction and power.  Even in His darkest hour (cf. Matthew 26:36-45) we see Him praying one of the most unselfish ever recorded in history. Translation, when we  lock eyes with the Father there is nothing that we are not willing to do for Him!

My prayer lately has been that I will have my eyes locked, focused on Him! It blows my mind that He wants that and I know I need it! I never want to merely offer God lip service, He knows my heart. My desire is to lock eyes with Him and then to do whatever He asks.

How about you?

may his days be few

I don’t talk a lot about politics on my blog or in my life.  Honestly, I am not a fan of either political party, they both seriously get on my nerves whenever I think about them.  Please don’t get me wrong, just because I don’t talk about it doesn’t mean I don’t care about politics.  I just choose not to obsess over it, especially in this phase our nations history because I believe there are much more pressing things to deal with.

Politics is important to me because it involves policies and policies, ultimately, impact people. We have no choice: we must be engaged in our civic responsibilities and affairs.

Let me be clear, I am a staunch independent, I have voted on both sides of the aisle.  When it comes to political parties I try to urge people to not be fooled, swayed and seduced by the powers to be.  That being said I was reminded of a conversation I had with a friend over coffee a few months back.  As we sat across from each other he was telling me of his upcoming missions trip to a undisclosed place we began to talk about things that we were praying for in our lives and how we could be praying for each other.  He revealed that he was recently struggling with the dialogue of Christians towards our president.  He asked me this question:

I wonder what would happen if we prayed for the President just as much as we complain and blame him for all our problems?

This conversation was months ago but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.  I honestly can not fathom the burden and weight of his job and the ‘calling’ of the Presidency. In many ways, we ought to commend the courage of all those who step into leadership – on any level – including but not limited to the highest level.  We can criticize all we want about our current presidential candidates, but we must acknowledge them for their courage to be in such vulnerable positions.

You see, it doesn’t matter what your political leanings, affiliations, and affections may be. I’m always amazed by those who would quote 1 Timothy 2:1-4 as an encouragement to pray for our leaders but we hesitate when it’s someone we disagree with and instead start quoting Psalm 109:8

“May his days be few; and let another take his office.” 

(Side note: I honestly might scream the next time I see this out of context bumper sticker in reference to our president, but I digress.)

Here is what I know, President Barack Obama is:

• a husband
• a daddy
• our President
• proclaimed Christian (only God knows his heart)
• a representative of a people group (African Americans)
• [arguably] the most influential and powerful man on earth
• a human

You may agree or disagree with his policies and/or decisions.  You may be a Republican,  Democrat, Tea Party or Coffee Party, but it doesn’t matter.  The next time you find yourself complaining about him or preparing to slam a policy please lift a prayer for him.  His marriage, his daughters, family, strength, conviction, courage, wisdom, safety, and peace.