Jesus Camp -- the Movie

Once again, I shouldn't be writing, I should be sleeping, but I just finished watching, "Jesus Camp" directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady. It's a documentary about the "growing force of evangelicals in America." It follows four children going to a Pentecostal children's summer camp ("Kid's on Fire") where they learn how to be soldiers for Jesus and "take back" the country for the Lord.

I wanted to cry throughout the film.

How close is Missouri to Ohio? I want to find those kids and talk to them about God's Word.

I saw people carrying AROUND their Bibles, but I never saw anyone open their Bibles, ever.
That is my MAINest issue. The myriad other things that were theologically incorrect could be discussed if they were as passionate for the ACTUAL words of the Lord as they are for the reclaiming of the United States.

I found it so interesting to notice (similarities):
--Most all of them were homeschooled.

--They watched an "Answers in Genesis" movie.

--They wanted lost people to come to know the Lord.

--They love Jesus and they want to serve Him with their whole lives,

***but everything they know is a parroting of what they have heard from someone else.

Are we doing this in our church?

They were praying over the government and smashing the "devil entangled" government (represented as ceramic coffee mugs) with hammers to represent that the Lord will break the evil government and smash it down.

***But are they teaching their children how the government works? Are they teaching their children how to form an argument? Are they teaching their children wise rhetoric?

(Do I know wise rhetoric and how to form logical arguments?!)

Are we?

All four children that were followed were presented as intelligent and precious children. That's why I wanted to cry for them. They do not know the truth. They feel the "truth", but they do not know the actual Truth. They know emotions, but they do not know the facts.

Towards the end of the documentary the families took a trip to WA D.C. to pray over the area, to stand up for pro-life, and to evangelize. This one VERY zealous and passionate (loving, joyful, cute, articulate) girl crossed the street with her friends to ask some men if they knew where they were going when they died. They replied that they were going to heaven. She answered, "Are you sure?" (She didn't believe they were yet saved -- I may have agreed with her.)
"Yes," they said in absolute seriousness.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."
"Oh, okay. Good bye!"
Why wasn't she prepared with other questions? (She had just been pumped with ammo at camp.) They are pumping her with so much OTHER information.

What questions DO we need to ask?

How are you saved? How do you know you are saved? (Does she know?)

How many of these children will rebel against this version of Christianity? How many will continue to be deceived?

The documentary showed another family studying why global warming is false. The arguments were horribly constructed! The mother and son then began to dialogue about global warming and its foolishnesses candidly. (Oh no.) There was no foundation to their "reasonings".

"It's just wrong because it is and God is right. Amen."

The son then turned the conversation to evolution and why that's wrong. The mother's reasoning was terrible. What will happen when this boy has real questions and wants some real, hardcore answers? Evolution is not for idiots! They are foolish and rebelling against God, but they aren't dumb.

What does this mean? How should I reflect and react?
--Know what you believe and why.
What happened to studying (AND USING!!!) apologetics?!! I studied that SO much in high school. Where has it gone? I have been listening to some R.C. Sproul lectures concerning points of apologizing. I need more. That well has gone pretty dry from lack of use.

I had a student who said his dad got angry and wouldn't let him ask questions about Christianity. Why? Probably because this dad doesn't have an answer. (True, the stories of seven year olds can be stretched.) And yet, if seven-year-olds are not even satisfied with, "just have faith" or "because the Bible says so" (all valid), how will adults react? Do we know our stuff or don't we? Can we provide a reason for the hope that is within us or not? Are we living it out in daily life for all to see or are we hypocrites?

Pray for those guys! Pray that they would be DRAWN to STUDY and KNOW the TRUTH of His Word; that they would not take their own understandings, but would FULLY lean upon God's Word and would be reading it and studying it for themselves. I do pray that one girl and one boy would not rebel because of frustration of not living up to the standard. For the other boy and girl, pray they would not continue to be deceived by the craftiness of this emotional high. Pray for the children's pastor as well -- that she would be convicted by the true Holy Spirit and would submit to His Word.

PRAISE the Lord that WE have access to biblical and expositional teaching. Praise the Lord that He would give us the grace of this gift -- that we would have access to His Word and that we would be studiers of His Word. (ARE we studiers of His Word? Are we ready to meet those who have attended a "Jesus Camp" with GRACE, LOVE, KINDNESS, GENTLENESS, and truth? Not bashing them upside the heads, but dialoguing with them because we care for the health of their souls?!)

Whew! Look out mid-west -- here we come.

KNOW THE TRUTH!

BUILD RELATIONSHIPS!

SPEAK and LIVE THE GOSPEL!

Pray then ACT!

Where is our PASSION for the Truth?

Mad Facts from the Cheese Wrapper of a Laughing Cow

I found these in my closet while packing and organizing. I kept them to share them. I must now toss them, so I will share them. Do enjoy.
(Does this promote the Gospel? har har)

Louis XIV was the owner of 413 beds!
Something that weighs 100 pounds on Earth would weigh just 38 pounds on Mars.
Cleopatra was Greek, not Egyptian.
Coffee beans aren’t really beans; they are fruit pits.
“O” is the oldest letter of the alphabet.
In America, the average wedding costs $15,000 to $20,000 and includes about 188 guests.
In an emergency the liquid inside young coco______ can substitute for blood plasma (does anyone know? The wrapper ripped, so I don’t know.)
There are more homeless cats per square mile in Rome than in any other city around the world.

Babies dream before they are born.

A microwaved baseball will fly faster than a frozen baseball.
In Iceland, tipping at a restaurant is considered an insult.
The maximum weight of a golf ball is 1.62oz.

Butter is one of the world’s oldest foods.
The first illustrated book for children was published in Germany in 1658.
In 1951, the first credit card was issued.

Evangelism: Clarifying Experiences

I did say it briefly, “we MUST know right theology and doctrine.”

I don’t want to sound as if I am discrediting biblical knowledge, doctrine, or theology; not at all. I love all those guys!!!

At present, I am a certified seller of Cutco knives. Who cares about (supposed) experiences various people have had with the knives (even if they have cut all their pennies, sliced smooshy tomoatos into paper-thin slices, and fit the form of their hand with great comfort?)

If they are not (truly) made with high carbon stainless steel, nickel-silver rivets, if they don’t have full-tang, and are not actually made in the factory in Olean, New York, what does the “experience” matter? It is not backed with truth. The experiences are not valid and will soon be discredited. You’ll get these knives and soon discover you were swindled.

We must know the facts about who Jesus is. We must know the facts of life. We must know what we believe and why. We must know theology and doctrine and why we believe. But what does it matter if we aren’t dedicated to these things? If we don’t live it? (James)
And, in the opposite viewpoint: what do these experiences matter if we don’t have theology and right doctrine to credit the righteous testimonies and discredit the false testimonies? (It all comes to vanity – a chasing after the religious winds.)

We have to be the “full meal deal”. We can’t just have experience – that can be too subjective.
We can’t just have a head full of knowledge – that puffs us up.
We can’t just serve – many good, unsaved people serve others.

We must have a relationship with our God that we can RELATE to others and SPEAK about with others.
We must have a love for His Word that infuses our minds, hearts, and actions with His Truth. (It is the TRUTH that saves us – not the telling of the experiences.)
We must have a heart to serve others because this is how we show love.

TRUTH, relationships, experiences.
PRAY then ACT.

I can relate it to my classroom:
If I want to teach something to my students, I first need to earn their trust and love. They need to know that I teach them because I care for them. (This starts the first moment they enter my classroom in September and develops in various ways through the school year.)
I then need to capture their attention. How can I do this? Through cool stories and/or quick projects that they can interact with and experience for themselves; this will heighten their curiosity and their desire to actually listen while I teach. Through the grace of the Lord, they will then want to discover for themselves. Once they know I love them, once they hear my testimony of how I love this stuff, I then begin the lesson – and they listen and learn – through the grace and guidance of Jesus. (Only through the working and the power of the Holy Spirit can the dead man raise to life!)

TRUTH, relationships, experiences – PRAY then ACT.

Evangelism and Experiences

How is one a witness in court? How can one give their “testimony” of a product?

You have to have seen, touched, heard, been around the situation and/or the product.

That is called an EXPERIENCE.

A witness gives testimony of what they have experienced. A witness is worthy if they have truly experienced the situation and/or the product and speak true words about their experience.

Jesus, the Word, became FLESH and DWELT among us.
John (the baptizer) came to bear witness about the light. He knew the light through the revelation and selection of God.

John the disciple/apostle/elder bore witness of the Word made flesh and His glory in order that we may know Him who is true, believe in His name, and be given the right to become children of God.

Isn’t that what we are supposed to do through the power of the Holy Spirit? (As did those guys.)

We are Christ’s BODY. Now that He has returned to His Father – we are His witnesses on the earth. We move through Him, to Him, and because of Him so that others can see His glory full of grace and truth.

Hallelujah!

The Word was not always abstract. The Word was not only unseen. The Word came and DWELT AMONG us!! The Word created us to need experiences! The Word has said to TASTE and SEE that He is good.
“That which is from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life – the life that was made MANIFEST, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us … so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.”

The Christian life is an experience of the Holy Spirit working in and through us to change us and mold us into the image of the Son. We are testimonies to His faithfulness, His patience, His kindness, His goodness, His gentleness, His love, His strength, His creativity, His power, His security, His care, His wonder, His mysteriousness, His trustworthiness, His sacrifice, His servanthood.

Do we know these for ourselves?
Have we experienced these things in our relationship with Him?
Can we articulate the experience of our relationship with Him to others who have yet to know?
Are we in the practice of these things?

This is a tweak in my understanding and I know that I am not in the practice of such things. I don’t know how well I can articulate the recent workings of the Holy Spirit in my life because they are often quiet and unseen. Maybe I just don’t taste and see often enough. Maybe I stay within the realms of my power too much.

It’s such a tweak because I have focused on the “main points of the Gospel” and “theological accuracy” and the practiced questions, “do you know where you are going when you die?” I do practice telling my salvation testimony, but what about the testimony of my sanctification?

Relationships and experience.

These are so important. They do NOT care how much you know (and we MUST know right theology and doctrine – they are intertwined with our testimonies) until they know how much you CARE.

Let me not be filled with EMPTY WORDS, but truth-filled ACTIONS.

I have a new motto for my life, a friendly reminder, “PRAY then ACT.”
Charles Spurgeon (I think) said, “PRAY as if it all depends on God; WORK as if it all depends on you.”
The paradox of God’s will and our responsibility; PRAY then ACT.

Evangelism and Relationships

I got this letter in the mail awhile ago and am now taking the time to read it. It helps to answer my question and I am glad I read it.

It comes from “Gospel for Asia,” a ministry that seeks sponsorship for missionaries in India and other Asian countries so that the native peoples can go out and minister and evangelize because they already know the culture, language, lifestyle, and are willing and ready to die for their people.

Anyways, here is the monthly letter I just received,

“How do you tell people who worship nature – and have no idea about life after death—about living forever with Jesus? How do you teach families about God’s purity when they live in a primitive farm village and have no understanding of cleanliness or hygiene?

How do you communicate biblical truths with those who can’t read or write? And how do you share the riches of the Gospel with people who are so poor that they can’t even afford clothes for their children or rice for their meager meals?

…Before [Susil, a new national missionary] ever talked about Jesus, Susil took the *TIME* to visit every home in the village. He didn’t start by “pushing” his faith; rather, he simply got to know the people. He listened to them and learned from them about their culture, their way of life and their religious practices.

…Then he slowly began to teach the villagers about the importance of cleanliness. He even took the children to the river for baths and washed and cut their unkempt hair. When he heard of those who had nothing to eat, he lovingly brought packages of rice to their homes.

And when it was time for the villagers to work in their fields, Susil went out and worked alongside them. Then, when they stopped to rest, he began to tell them the Good News about Jesus.

Very soon, the villagers told Susil, ‘We want to believe in this Jesus that you believe in.’

That’s when the young missionary started a daily prayer time in the shade of a tree. Day after day, more people came and began to hear and believe the Word of God. It was not long before seven people received Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and another thirty soon after that!

What made the Gospel so real to these villagers? More than anything else, it was Susil’s genuine love and his servant lifestyle that caused people to believe in what he said.

People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

We know a lot at our church.

Are we dedicated (fully living) to the amazing amount of Biblical truth we know?
Are we willing to sacrifice our time?
Are we willing to serve in order to meet the needs of people who do/will hate us? (Who may never repay us in time and service?)
Are we willing to go to work with non-believers or must we only be surrounded by believers? (I have heard SO MANY people complain about working with non-believers. Why?)

Relationships and experience.

This only answers HALF my question: relationships.
What about the “experience”?

Evangelism and HOW?

I hate writing about evangelism and not doing as much as I could about it. But the question of “how” keeps popping into my mind. Just do it, is the answer. Last night, Mr. Weinberg just went out and did it. He asked and spoke with a student at One28. Exciting!! (Let’s all go out and follow his example.)
Go till those souls!!!
Anyways, I have been looking at Acts to answer my question. So many people were coming to the Lord! That may have been a unique time in the salvation plan of the Lord, and yet, our call is still the same: GO OUT.
SO!
While I am reading Acts I am asking, how did the people evangelize? How were they in the world, but not of the world? How did they tell people about Jesus? How big of a part did evangelism play in the lives of the early followers of Jesus?

My dad is always quoting this verse and I think it does play a rather large role in the attitudes and actions of the Church alive at that time. Acts 2:42, “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and the prayers.”
DEVOTED.
That word is packed with implications. I asked Katherine what “devoted” meant (in her perspective) and she was quite succinct (surprise!!), “fully committed”.
Hmmm…
Fully committed to the teaching. (questioning, checking, applying, discussing the Word and sermons)
Fully committed to the fellowship. (sharpening one another, ministering to one another, loving one another)
Fully committed to the breaking of bread. (Acts 20:7 – This is the BEST – they all gather to break the bread, Paul talks way into the night, a kid falls asleep because all is so warm, he falls out of the building. hahaha Only funny because “Paul” brought him back from the dead. People even fell asleep while PAUL was speaking!! hahahaha Late night, warm room; it’s gonna happen.)
Fully committed to prayer. (reliance on God, concern for His kingdom, waiting for His direction and leading)

What else? How did these devotions then direct their lives?

To love God and to love others.

They were already out and active in their communities. They were participants with each other and this was seen by the non-believers in the city.
These Jesus followers were giving up all for one another and the non-believers saw this and knew it was different.
(Is this possible now? Not fully, actually. I don’t know that we should all go and live in one parking lot together. I do think that was unique for the Church at that time. I think persecution even changed that way of living a bit because it scattered the people. BUT! We must still DEVOTE ourselves to SERVING one another if we want to bring others to Christ.)

Okay, so they were actually DEVOTED/fully committed/giving their all to something.
They were loving God and one another. “They will know you are My disciples because of your love for one another.”
They were participants in their community through living together and because they were showing themselves to be different.

You also see them out their preaching from the rooftops and the street corners.
Can we do this now in the United States?

Have you seen the men with the boards tied to themselves; telling us the end is nigh and will bring judgment?
I saw those guys in England. I thought they were cute old men, but I didn’t really want to be associated with them. I think I may have even chuckled at their efforts. I know I turned my head in slight embarrassment.

This has brought me to realize that we DO have to be aware of our culture, to some degree. In the early Church times, men preaching in the streets was more than an acceptable practice; it was a form of entertainment and regular teaching. Not so today. People want to know things through relationships and experience.

Relationships and experience.

Does this mean we can only share the Gospel after we have known someone for a long time?
No. (We can still evangelize on the streets.)

Does this mean we can only share the Gospel through amazing experiences involving wondrous technology and charismatic [meaning lively and… (haha – pun) sprirted] speakers?
No.

What does it mean?

It means we need to be loving God and loving others.
It means we need to DEDICATE ourselves to the Church (not just ACTIVITIES), but loving one another by serving one another, and to PRAYER.
It means we need to be OUT in our communities.

Am I willing to take the TIME to go out into the community to find and develop those relationships? Am I willing to take the quick opportunities that come in the community without the building of a relationship?

HOW DO I GO INTO THE COMMUNITY?!

You already ARE in a community. (This is SO HARD for me to remember and realize!!)

Wherever you are is your community.

That could be at a Christian school (with saved and unsaved students and parents). That could be at a Bible-preaching church (with unsaved youth and adults). That could be at the corner tattoo parlor where you work 9am to 5pm and see lots of unique people. That could be in your home where your children see you, where the dishwasher repair man sees you, where the grocery store cashier sees you and your children, where your neighbors see you, and they all want to know what’s going on.

Do you have something to share with these people, no matter your situation?

Relationships and experience.

1st Corinthians 7:17 “Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him and to which God has called him. “
1st Corinthians 7:20-21 “Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. Were you a slave when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.)”
1st Corinthians 7:24 “So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God.”
(This, of course, in the context of marriage, the unmarried, and the widows, life persecution at that time, etc.)

We come back to relationships and experience.

From each of our situations God has uniquely given us ways we can bring a unique perspective on His love and talents for ministering. Our background is another way we are each individually members and yet one Body.

I still haven’t REALLY answered my question.

Cutco and the Church

We need to get EXCITED at church!!

While I would not PREFER to be working at Cutco, that is where the Lord has placed me at this time. I wouldn’t say I am a full participant, but I did go to the conference and guess what? They have a GREAT plan for discipleship!!

I have an “office manager” – I could liken her to a discipler; she shows concern for my work potential in Cutco, calls me to find out how life is going, and wants to help me reach my Cutco goals “as well” as my life goals. She instructs me in the way of Cutco so that I can be profitable out in the field. She gives me a focus (sell knives through relationships) and then sends me out to do just that. She makes herself available at ANY time because she is there to help me through my Cutco problems. (Am I doing that for my small group girls?! And isn’t eternal treasure a bit more important than a paycheck from selling knives?)

Cutco then has different levels of management, etc, etc. This provides various levels of accountability and motivation for the “sales reps” (lay people) as well as the upper level management.

We then have these division conference meetings.
My manager pumped us up for these. She instructed us on what to wear, how to act, what to bring, what to expect, and why we were going. I have likened the diision meetings to our corporate gatherings at church. My manager expressed a LOVE and EXCITEMENT about these meetings. She set an example of behavior and attention while we were there and truly enjoyed herself and told us what SHE had learned from the event.

At the meeting we were unified together. We were reminded of our purpose as Cutco sales reps. We saw that there were others, we were reminded of our goals and duties. We were taught new strategies and ways to sell knives and make relationships with our customers. We were taught how to improve our skills, we were sent out with a motivational speech to reach beyond the standard – to run hard in the race, to set goals and meet them, to make a difference in the world, etc.

Isn’t that what the corporate church meetings are supposed to be? Aren’t we there to minister to one another? To be unified in purpose? To be reminded of Who we are serving and why? Aren’t we there to learn the standard and to be exhorted to follow it with greater zeal?

We didn’t so much go over every jot and tittle in the Cutco handbook – we went over application and refining. It has been in the training with my manager that we have gone over the jots and tittles. In the corporate meeting we were energized to go out. We were reminded of why we had committed to the “cause” (if you will?) of Cutco. It is my manager (in the church comparison – my “discipler”) who is there to take my questions and attend to the details of Cutco.

How is she able to do this?

Because SHE has been trained and continues to be trained and continues to practice her selling techniques.

Again, I say – shouldn’t this be the pattern of the church?!!

In the system of Cutco, you only get promotions as you meet the money standards.
Don’t we have standards in the church? Was not Stephen only chosen to serve the tables because he had proven himself to be full of wisdom and of the Holy Spirit? What are the standards for elders? Are we holding to these standards? Why not? Do we CONTINUE to TRAIN those who are in leadership? Why not?

Are those in positions of leadership even able to answer those questions of details?
(I am in a position of leadership: am I able to answer those questions of details in theology and doctrine? Why or why not? Who has trained me in a discipleship relationship? Who IS training me?)

Are we EXCITED to go to our corporate meetings?
Are we EXCITED when we are AT our corporate meetings?
Why or why not?

Are pastors EXCITED to preach?
Are they motivating us to go out and work with zeal and righteousness?
Are we hearing the Truth of the word and how to apply it and live it out?
Are we actually applying and living out these truths?

I have some quotes from (I think) Art Azurdia who spoke at the Shepherd’s Conference this year. Yes, I listened to some of the sermons from the SHEPHERD’S conference. Yes, I even chose to listen to the one about how to PREACH…something about preaching with passion…???:

“Preaching is theology coming from a man who is on fire.”
Preach as a “dying man as though NEVER preaching again.”
“Preach with conviction. Commit to one sermon at a time.”
“Preach toward a verdict: ‘so that’.”
“We don’t expect them to change.” (Expect them to change.)
“Preach with urgency – their last, your last, judgment.”

I jotted these quotes down on a scrap of paper as I was working in my classroom and listening to the sermon. If it was Mr. Azurdia speaking, I love him. I heard him at Master’s once. WOW! He was talking about running the race with endurance. I was on the edge of my seat, literally. During his preaching he said, “Are you ready? Are you going to stand up and GO?!” And I almost stood up and went because I was so engaged with the truth he was preaching.

It’s okay to show passion in church. It’s okay to worship with energy and emotion. It’s okay to cry and clap and shout your praise to the Lord. It’s even okay to dance.
It’s okay for pastors to walk around, to shout, to wave their arms, to wipe sweat from their brows, and to hold themselves back from the tears they are about to shed. That is love for the truth pouring out from their souls. That is the “proof in the pudding.”
Excitement, in itself, is not the “poison” that makes a church “seeker-friendly.” It’s the motivation for the excitement that can be the posion. It’s the origin for the excitement that can contaminate it. But that is no reason to stop it. That’s only another reason to gird our loins and fight for truth (good works -- with ZEAL).

Besides, if the people at Cutco can be that excited about their knives, where is the Church’s excitement for eternity and for their loving Savior?!

Let's get excited.

Lessons from Charles Lindberg

All right, all right…while the chili is simmering and my thoughts are bubbling, I will express to you what we can learn from Charles Lindberg as demonstrated in “The Spirit of St. Louis” as played by James Stewart.

Here are my three points:
Discipline
DETERMINATION
Dying

There you go.
All this is exemplified in “The Spirit of St. Louis” in the character of Charles Lindberg as portrayed through the acting traits of the beloved and spirituous Jimmy Stewart. (Who I would marry…along with Jim Elliot…if they were both alive and unmarried.) Anyways, back to my points:

Discipline
--He did what was NEEDED not (necessarily) what he WANTED. He was in control of his appetites and they were focused on one goal: beating the flying record.

Determination
--He acted. He did NOT put off until tomorrow what should have been done today; he did his duties right away. He acted on his plan. His discipline provided the schedule (structure, plan) while his determination provided the act of actually putting it all together.

Dying
--He was so focused, so one-minded, so DETERMINED to finish the race (literally) that he was willing to die for this cause. He was going to die trying. He didn’t want to have worked so hard for so long to give up without risking all for the glory of the prize.

Does this sound familiar? Does this sound like something we should be doing?

But, do I even have enough discipline to make a plan?
Do I have ANY determination to keep to my plan?
Am I willing to sacrifice all of me in order to obtain the prize and follow the plan with determination?

This would cause a great upset in the world and would be the cause of much pain and sorrow because of the required sacrifice. And yet, how full would the joy be on the day we see Him face to face and know Him as He truly is and are fully finished and conformed to HIS IMAGE?!

I think the joy would be rather full if I would be:
disciplined with determination while willing to die.

Even Cricket Feces Stench

Few people have the marvelous privilege of dwelling so intimately with crickets as to be able to smell their fecal matter. I have been given that privilege through the honor of caring for leopard geckos.
Leopard geckos eat crickets. In order to make the eating of the crickets nutritionally profitable, you must keep the crickets and feed them for no shorter than 24-hours. During this time and as the time extends, some of the crickets die. This may occur because you yourself have squashed the cricket while moving the bag and/or cage; this death may occur because the poor cricket’s card was called, or this death may have taken place because the other crickets attacked and killed the cricket in order to eat it.
Lest you think otherwise, crickets’ captive lives are not pleasant. Body pieces fall off quite easily, they do like to eat one another, and they rarely chirp in my captivity.

But to the point of this blog post, their poop STINKS!

I would never have imagined this to be possible. Now that I have spent some time interacting with these creatures I have come to the conclusion that they are one of the vilest creatures I have ever kept near my being. (I do have experience in housing animals: mice, rats, hamsters, fish, goats, dogs, cats, and a horse, thus I have the authority to reach this conclusion.) None have ever been so gross!

In order to feed the crickets to your geckos you must remove the lid off the cricket cage and (somehow) remove the crickets from their cage and place them in the cage of the gecko. Disgusting! As you are doing this, you become aware of the smell, you begin to wonder how anything so miniscule could actually create such a scent. You then realize that you might have skin-to-cricket contact. This is ENTIRELY unacceptable. If they smell so horribly, what diseases might they be able to transmit? You begin to forget that you ever tried catching these as a child and that you were never afraid of them when you were a child. Things have changed. You have come to know the crickets as they truly are: disgusting, foraging, beasts. NO touching is acceptable and their demise by gecko is absolutely appropriate. They must die. As you remove some crickets from their home cage and put them in their death cage (inhabited by the geckos) you feel a sense of delight. The crickets will meet their rightful end. As you release the crickets into the cage and witness their painful demise, you hope the geckos don’t become sick after crushing and digesting the dirty insects.

All of that to say:

How incredible is the Lord’s interaction(s) with us!

If my cursed nostrils are disturbed by the imperfections of the crickets, how much more is the holy God disturbed by the aroma of my vile, abominable, dirty as filthy rags, sin?!
When I smell them, I am disgusted and do not want to touch them. I do not want to put even my hands in their “world,” but what has the great God of the UNIVERSE done for us? Can it be that He has gone further than to “remove the lid from our cage” in order to pry us out? Can it be that He chose to remove Himself from His glory and enter the stench of our world?!! How incredible!

I think of my interaction with the vile crickets, I covered my fingers so they would not have to touch the disgusting creatures. Did God the Son do any of that? Did He come to the earth wearing a protective garment? Did He tell everyone to keep their distance because His kingdom is the heavenly and eternal kingdom? Did He declare His holiness and demand that none enter His presence? Not in the least, not as our Savior. Instead, He took the FORM of a vile creature so far below His presence (bond servant) and emptied Himself of His glory. He fully entered into our stench to the point that He was crushed under the pungent fumes and actual rags of our filthy iniquities; this holy God chose to love us and bring us to Himself even though our sin disturbs Him to a far greater extent than we can ever understand.

If even my imperfect olfactory system can detect the poop smell of the crickets, how much more must the holy nostrils of the perfect Creator be disturbed by the sins of my soul?
AND YET! He would enter into our habitat in order to demonstrate His own love toward us and would give up His life for us that we might be called the sons of God! Joint Heirs with Christ! No longer are we the vile creatures, but He has transformed us and brought us into a new and living hope. We are now a sweet and pleasing aroma to Him as we are conformed to the image of His Son and become His righteousness in Christ.

May we forsake our stink and live for Him alone.

Hallelujah!
Amen.