Barnabas Piper's Blog, page 69

New Happy Rant: Online Dating, Good Movies, and Acting Careers

In this episode of The Happy Rant Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas hit the following topics:

Online dating, finding that perfect someone, and whether “Happy Rant Listener” is the perfect dating profile
Movies we’ve seen lately and our opinions of them
Great acting careers and *not* great acting careers

[image error]Big thank you to our sponsor this week – Renae and Kevin Adelsberger. Renae has written a wonderful Bible study on the book of James – A Study of James: Mature in Every Way. You can download it entirely for free and Renae has also recorded a 15-episode podcast to walk students and leaders through each lesson. Check it out today!

Be sure to visit our website to get fresh roasted coffee from Lagares Roasters, order your Happy Rant swag from Missional Wear, and order your tickets for our next LIVE event – Together for the Rant – to be held in April.

To listen you can:

Subscribe in iTunes.
Listen on Google Play
Listen on Stitcher.
Leave us a rating in iTunes (it only takes 1 click and it really helps us).
Listen using the player below.

Episode #174

70 x 7

Forgiveness is hard. To willingly and willfully give up your claim on another person because of a wrong done by them is trying.

One of the most famous and most quoted passages on forgiveness is Matthew 18:21 & 22 where Peter asks if he must forgive someone who sins against him even as much as seven times and Jesus gives the famous response: “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.”

The obvious and correct interpretation of this passage is that there must be immense forgiveness for wrongs committed against us, many times more than our human nature is comfortable with. We are to be rich in grace toward those who wrong us over and over again and thus forgive them over and over again for their various offenses. For, if we have been forgiven thousands of times over for our wrong doings by Christ, how can we not also forgive others?

But there is a second interpretation, complimentary to the first, which I think is also true and equally as important. And that is this: we are to forgive the wrong doer seventy times seven for the same singlesin against us.

When someone hurts us deeply it is not as simple as to forgive them and be done with it. It’s not that simple because the hurt runs deep and keeps hurting days, months, years after the initial offense. It’s not that easy because certain words, places, circumstances, or conversations remind us of the hurt over and over again. And it’s not that simple because we’re sinners. When we forgive, it is eroded by our own heart’s bitterness and undermined by our own self-righteousness. It is forgotten in fits of self-pity or anger. Our forgiveness is not a finished or eternal offering.

So we must forgive that single person for that single hurt not just once, or seven times, but seventy times seven. Every time we face those certain words, places, circumstances, or conversations that bring the hurt back we must choose to forgive again.

This kind of forgiveness is, in my experience, the hardest to do, and that’s because the kinds of offenses that require it are the most hurtful. It’s one thing to forgive a brash, loud-mouthed co-worker over and over again because they manage to be offensive with every other sentence. It’s another thing entirely to forgive, daily, the spouse or parent or friend who has undermined your credibility or betrayed your trust. But it is good.

Seventy times seven means far more, but never less, than forgive each time you are wronged. It means forgive offenses to completion even if that means a daily, or even hourly, decision to let the debt go.

This post was originally published in 2012 at this site.

3 Things I like this Week – December 7

Each week I share three things I like – It could be a book, a movie, a podcast, an album, a photo, an article, a restaurant, a food item, a beverage, or anything else I simply enjoy and think you might too. You can find a whole pile of things, especially books, I like and recommend HERE.

1. Mahalia Jackson Singing “O Holy Night”

Some songs aren’t meant to be crooned, jazzed, rocked, or popped. Some songs just need to be sung. This is one of them and this is the best rendition. Jackson makes sure you know good and well that night was holy.

 

2. Twizzlers

[image error]There are some in this world who think “Twizzlers vs. Red Vines” is a debate. It’s a debate in the same way that “good vs. evil” is a debate – sure, there are people on both sides, but I mean, come on. Red Vines taste like kids cherry Robitussin. Twizzlers are the nectar of the gods in chewable form (and low fat too!). They are first ballot candy hall of fame inductees. Go get some twizzlers and make yourself happy.

3. Audible

[image error]I love to read, but there are piles of books each year I don’t have time to read. This is especially true of biographies and history books because they tend to be looooooooong. The last couple years, though, I’ve found that listening to them is fantastic, and I use Audible to do so. Listening to books means I can “read” during my commute, while traveling, while working out, or doing work around my home. Audible has monthly membership plans with either one or two credits for books at a flat rate. Members get discounts on other purchases as well or you can just buy audio books at full price when it suits you without a membership. You can check it out at no risk too – a 30-day free trial with a couple free books included (that you get to keep even if you cancel the membership).

He Reads Truth: The Law of Love

I have the privilege of contributing to He Reads Truth, a website of whose purpose is “To help men become who we were made to be, by doing what we were made to do, by the power and provision that God has given us to do it, for the glory of Jesus Christ.” They do this by providing scripture reading plans accompanied by reflections that can be accessed for free online or purchased as print books. For those of you looking to engage scripture in a fresh way – either because you are dried up or have been away from it, these studies/plans will refresh your soul and engage your mind.

What follows is one of the pieces I wrote for the plan on Romans. You can find the full plan HERE.

Romans 14:13-23, 1 Corinthians 8:8-13, Ephesians 4:25-32, Ephesians 5:1-2

Remember when you first got your driver’s license? All that freedom, all that road, all that speed. You could go anywhere and do anything—except break curfew or give rides to other teens or to girls or speed or run red lights or take long road trips. Freedom has its limits, at least it ought to, especially to protect the less mature.

In Romans 14 we see a scenario in which freedom and limits are again in tension. Now that the Old Testament laws of cleanliness and purification were in the past, it meant that any food or drink was pure, so people were digging in. But this caused issues for other believers still more closely connected to the old ways. Their consciences were pricked by this new freedom—it felt wrong to eat or drink these new things, or even be in proximity to them.

So on one side we have people exercising their freedom in Christ. On the other side we have people abiding by their consciences. Both good things, but in tension.

Paul brings the tension back to the heart. He points out that food and drink are not the issue. The issue is love. People on one side were prioritizing their freedom above the hearts of fellow believers and causing them to struggle. He points out that, clean or not, if food or drink is seen as questionable by someone, then for that person to consume it would be sin. The liberated person should set aside their freedom temporarily in order to show love.

The church is a body and a family. When one part works in conflict with another, it breaks down. One person’s freedom in Christ cannot be a license to push another person into conflict with their conscience. All actions, attitudes, and convictions in the church must be done and held in such a way as to build up and support. They must pursue love.

The self-sacrifice of setting aside liberties is an indication of spiritual maturity. It shows that love for brothers and sisters is of greater value than one’s own freedom or pleasure.

Believers are no longer under the old law, but neither can we grab our freedoms and revel in them for our own happiness at the expense of others. We are free because of God’s profound love and grace through Jesus, so love and grace and Christlikeness must be the marks of our freedom.

Sometimes we will revel and eat or drink to our great pleasure. Other times we will sacrifice our freedoms for the sake of our brothers and sisters who have yet to discover the guilt-free freedom of Jesus. This is true maturity proven by love.

New Happy Rant: Royal Family Obsession, Pastor Plagiarism, and More

In this episode of The Happy Rant Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas fix some problems, discuss others, and dream big.

What would we change about the Thanksgiving holiday if we could (aside from the menu, obviously)?
What’s with people’s obsession with the British royal family and their marital or baby status?
If we could be prince how would we roll?
Why do pastors plagiarize sermons?

[image error]Big thank you to our sponsor this week – Renae and Kevin Adelsberger. Renae has written a wonderful Bible study on the book of James – A Study of James: Mature in Every Way. You can download it entirely for free and Renae has also recorded a 15-episode podcast to walk students and leaders through each lesson. Check it out today!

Be sure to visit our website to get fresh roasted coffee from Lagares Roasters, order your Happy Rant swag from Missional Wear, and order your tickets for our next LIVE event – Together for the Rant – to be held in April.

To listen you can:

Subscribe in iTunes.
Listen on Google Play
Listen on Stitcher.
Leave us a rating in iTunes (it only takes 1 click and it really helps us).
Listen using the player below.

Episode #173

3 Things I like This Week – November 30

Each week I share three things I like – It could be a book, a movie, a podcast, an album, a photo, an article, a restaurant, a food item, a beverage, or anything else I simply enjoy and think you might too. You can find a whole pile of things, especially books, I like and recommend HERE.

1. Fire Stick

[image error]Sadly, this is not an actual stick that spits fire, which would be awesome. But it’s good for a variety of other reasons. At full price they’re $40, which is about what it costs to to go to a movie with one other person, and you can stream everything Amazon has to offer. You can rent movies, listen to music, watch youtube, subscribe to any of the channels Amazon offers (HBO, Showtime, etc.), and use any of the various apps for viewing (Netflix, Hulu, Sling, NBA, MLB, etc). Amazon Prime members can access all the exclusive content easily through this as well. I watch probably 75% of all movies and sports by streaming through my Fire Stick.

2. Uncivil

[image error]Ta-Nehisi Coates has encouraged Americans to “be less stupid about the Civil War,” and this podcast is a great baby step in that direction. WHat we learned in school was far from the whole story and was occasionally outright false. This podcast explores untold stories, myths, and misconceptions about the civil war and does so with strong story telling and engaging interviews. Gimlet Media puts out amazing podcast after amazing podcast and Uncivil is the latest.

3. Once an Eagle by Anton Myrer

[image error]I heard General Stanley McChrystal recommend this book on a podcast, and he described as one of the best explanations and descriptions of soldiering he knew of. Well then. I listened to it on Audible, and loved it. It is truly a brilliant book. It’s one of the most enlightening, honest, complex looks into soldiering I’ve ever read. No wonder General McChrystal gave it such high praise. It is as dense as it is long, but it doesn’t bog down. Over and over it reveals layers to the lives and struggles and mindsets of the American military family. And it is literary craftsmanship at its finest too.

The Best Quotes From “From Weakness To Strength”

[image error]After a while books about the practice of leadership become rote and redundant. They offer semantic gymnastics on the same old principles and practices. What we don’t have is enough books speaking to the character of leaders. Scott Sauls’ book, From Weakness to Strength is just such a book, and is rich. He writes with clarity and transparency from a place of experience. He is not coming to the reader as a leadership expert but as a fellow leader. And this work is profoundly Christ-centered. I highly recommend From Weakness to Strength to any leader, especially those in the local church. Here my favorite quotes from this excellent book.

“The leaders God chooses are often more broken than strong . . . more damaged than whole . . . more troubled than secure.” – Joni Eareckson Tada (Foreword)

“Until leaders have suffered, and have learned to steward their pain, they don’t really have much to offer.” – Scotty Smith (Reflection)

“It is impossible for God to shortchange any of His children.”

“Genuinely good endeavors like comedy and ministry (or the arts, or business, or entrepreneurialism, or parenting, or healthcare, or education, or government, or what have you) become broken endeavors when we start depending on them to satisfy our thirst for love, esteem, applause, and approval in ways that only Jesus can.”

“What’s on the inside – whatever has always been there – will come out under pressure.”

“When God gives us success for a time, when he chooses to put the wind at our backs – by all means we should enjoy the experience. But we musn’t hang our hats on it . . . because earthly success, in all its forms, comes to us as a gift from God and is also fleeting.”

“Forgetting the privileges of leadership, we come to view ourselves as victims instead of servants, as above the law instead of living under it like everyone else, as being entitled instead of being grateful recipients of an undeserved grace.”

“Though the spirit is willing, our flesh is weak. Let’s never get past our need for Jesus to carry us.”

“If you are not a pastor, I beg you to remove your pastor from the pedestal where you and others may have been tempted to place him.”

“When we fight back – instead of seeking to defuse the situation by not responding or by answering gently – we condition ourselves to reject all criticism, even the kind that is fair. We do this to our own peril.”

“Sin is absurd and futile, especially for Christians who are aware of the love and redeeming grace of God through Jesus.”

“To sin against the law of God is to sin against the love of God.”

“Our character must matter more to us than our reputation.”

“Those who resist criticism, especially fair criticism, show themselves to be unhealthy people. Unhealthy people, when criticized, tend to spin, manipulate, and regroup. True leaders, on the other hand, confess and repent.”

“It is not our repentance that leads to his kindness but his kindness that leads to our repentance. Reverse the order of this and you lose Christianity. Reverse the order of this and you lose Jesus.”

“The underlying cause of envy is pride, along with its close cousin, the rival spirit.”

“You are also a lot like the people you envy: Their grass never looks as green to them as it does to you.”

“There are few things like the presence of God that remind me that I am not yet what I am meant to be; that I fall short of the mark; that I am more small than I am significant; that, one hundred years from now, my name will be forgotten by the weary world in which I now live.”

“Our hearts are going to be insecure until they find their security in God.”

“Paul was persecuted, struck down, beaten, abandoned, and imprisoned as a direct by-product of leading in the name of Christ.”

“Paul and Isaiah both found purpose in work that, to most, would feel like a supreme letdown and failed leadership.”

“Our long term worst-case scenario is resurrection and everlasting life, an eternity of perpetual and unending strength, momentum, and bliss.”

“If Christian leaders and influencers and organizations do fall on hard times, if we lose favor and become a persecuted minority, it might actually mark the beginning of our truest impact.”

“Opposition is our opportunity not only to show the world a different kind of friend but also to show the world a different kind of enemy.”

“The more conservative we are in our belief that every word of scripture is true, the more liberal we will become in how we love every kind of person. To the degree that we understand how loved and forgiven we are, we will be among the least offended and offensive people in the world.”

“It may be that love across line of difference and deep disagreement will be Christians’ best opportunity to live as the aroma of Christ in the world.”

“As Jesus said, our chief purpose is not to defend and protect our own rights, privileges, and comforts. Rather, our chief purpose and mission i to deny ourselves daily, take up a cross, and follow Jesus – even to death if called upon to do so – all the while taking every opportunity to surprise our neighbors, especially those who do not believe as we do, with a life-giving, otherworldly love.”

“Your neighbor, O child of God, is anyone who is near and anyone who has a need.”

“We don’t need to have all the answers. In fact, we shouldn’t presume to provide them to people in the midst of grief. We don’t need to have the perfect passage of scripture ready to read or the right hymn ready to sing. We can be present. We can be quiet. And we can grieve with those who grieve.”

“Sometimes the best, most life-giving way to lead is by suffering well. Sometimes the best, most life-giving way to lead is by refusing to allow death, mourning, crying, or pain, to dictate the story line of our lives and of history.”

New Happy Rant: Thanksgiving with Famous People, Black Friday, and Abuse in The Church

In this episode of The Happy Rant Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas hash out some pressing topics ranging from holiday celebrations to serious church matters.

What three interesting or famous people would you like to have Thanksgiving dinner with?
What item would get you out of bed at midnight to brave the Black Friday Crowds?
Should we be waiting in fear for sexual harassment allegations to be exposed in evangelicalism? What will that look like?

[image error]Big thanks to our sponsor, B&H Publishers and the book Mi Casa Uptown. Pastor and storyteller Rich Perez casts vision for what it might look like to pursue love–love expressed with eyes wide open–in the context of the real world. Because love is not primarily a feeling, an emotion, or a sentiment, Perez challenges readers through a combination of memoir and teaching to take a different path than the momentum that carries the culture we live in. With the flavor of Washington Heights, New York, readers will be transported into Perez’s neighborhood on a journey to learn how to love again. Get yours today.

Be sure to visit our website to get fresh roasted coffee from Lagares Roasters, order your Happy Rant swag from Missional Wear, and order your tickerts for our next LIVE event – Together for the Rant – to be held in April.

To listen you can:

Subscribe in iTunes.
Listen on Google Play
Listen on Stitcher.
Leave us a rating in iTunes (it only takes 1 click and it really helps us).
Listen using the player below.

Episode #172

The 5 Best Toys For Boys

Christmas gift buying season is upon us. What should you buy that boy who already has every video game and iPad and app everything else electronic? Why, you should get him one of these! These are the  best toys from my childhood. They are timeless. There is minimal assembly required and no batteries either. They require the use of hands and minds and imaginations. The lend themselves to creativity and/or exercise and fresh air. They create memories. And without exception they are awesome for parents to do with kids.

(Note: I say “for boys” because I was a boy and loved them as a boy. I don’t have any experience as a girl, but as a father of daughters I can definitively say that girls will love most of these as well.]) 

1. The Bucket of Legos

[image error]Want your child to be developmentally stunted? Get them one of those over priced sets with precise instructions to create the Millennium Falcon. Just kidding, that won’t stunt them (at least not as much as a first person shooter game). But the bucket of legos is the absolute best. It is a world of possibilities. It is a Millennium Falcon and a castle and a house and a pirate ship and city and the O.K. Corral.

2. The Rawlings Baseball Glove

[image error]It could be an Easton or a Spalding, but for my money Rawlings is the best glove. I still have my Rawlings baseball glove I used in little league and it still works. In fact it works better now than it did then. That’s because baseball gloves age better than fine wine or Sean Connery. If you want to know just how important a baseball glove is to a boy just remember this:

3. The Sketch Pad

[image error]No not the iPad – the sketch pad. One used with pencils or crayons or ink or pastels or whatever. At first the blank pages look boring, but after some clumsy attempts and a little time they begin to look exciting, like possibilities, blanks for the imagination to fill in. And as an added perk it’s about $490 cheaper than an iPad.

4. Zebco 33 Fishing Fishing Pole

[image error]It’s not the best fishing tackle in the world, but it’s the best fishing starter kit. At least it was for me. It reeled in everything from blue gill the size of my thumb to large mouth bass the size of my thigh (and I was a, um, “husky” kid).

5. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Boxed Set

[image error]There are hundreds of stories worth reading, but why settle for anything less than the best? And no, reading them on a kindle isn’t the same. That boy needs the experience of reading by flashlight until 3 AM on school night because he needs to know whether the fellowship survives the Mines of Moria. And he definitely needs to know that Peter Jackson’s version of The Hobbit (all 33 hours of its bloated self) is less than stellar.

BONUS ITEMS
The Harry Potter Series

I know many of you looked at #5 on the list and sneered just a little because, please, that was a baby shower gift for your perfect family. Well then, perfect parent, give your child the other best set of stories ever written. The witchcraft is no more witchy and the good guys are just as noble and good. Your child will be a better friend and a braver soul for having read them. And they’re heaps of fun.

A Barlow Pocket Knife

“But that’s not safe!” you shriek. Nope. Not really. But it’s a good sort of risk and it’s a rite of passage for every little boy. I bought my first one when I was 10 at the Barnesville hardware store in Barnesville, Georgia. I whittled and carved and chopped. I dropped it in a creek. I broke the tip off throwing it at a tree. And I still have it. Every boy needs a good knife and the requisite risks. And this one is a perfect starter knife.

He Reads Truth: The Believers Triumph

I have the privilege of contributing to He Reads Truth, a website of whose purpose is “To help men become who we were made to be, by doing what we were made to do, by the power and provision that God has given us to do it, for the glory of Jesus Christ.” They do this by providing scripture reading plans accompanied by reflections that can be accessed for free online or purchased as print books. For those of you looking to engage scripture in a fresh way – either because you are dried up or have been away from it, these studies/plans will refresh your soul and engage your mind.

What follows is one of the pieces I wrote for the plan on Romans. You can find the full plan HERE.

Romans 8:26-39, Psalm 44:17-22, Philippians 1:6, 2 Thessalonians 2:14

“If God loves me, He will _____.”

What words would you use to fill in that blank? Most often when we answer this question, whether privately in our hearts or more boldly, we limit the love of God. We attach His love to the circumstances or results we want. We draw a straight line between God’s love and our comfort.

Romans 8 paints an altogether different picture of a love so much bigger, richer, deeper, and more complete than anything we are even capable of imagining. It isn’t a contingent love or one designed to dole out creature comforts. It cannot be cheapened by our color-by-number effort to depict it. Romans 8 is a masterpiece of God’s love, which is intended for our good.

In Jesus we live loved. We breathe love and exist each moment ensconced in it. No one can condemn us. No one can judge us. No enemy can assail us. Yes, we will be condemned, judged, and assailed in this world, but no one can remove us from Christ’s love. Our own fears and insecurities, even our own death, cannot remove us from the love of God.

This profound love of God was ours before we were conscious of it, and will be ours for all eternity to the fullness of our joy and glorification. God promised to complete the good work He started in us (Philippians 1:6), and He will—through the transformative power of His love.

When Romans 8:28 says “ all things work together for good, ” this is what it means: not that every painful or confusing moment will pay out in happiness, but that God ’ s love will not fail. We will reap its benefits throughout infinite time.

In this single passage we see the fullness of God—Father, Son, and Spirit—offer the fullness of His love to those who believe. The Spirit intercedes on our behalf when we lack the words or ability. The Son sacrifices Himself as the means—the access—to this rich love. The Father is the ordainer, author, and giver of the eternal plan of love. And we are part of it, in it for all time.

We may never get what we filled in the blank with above—that thing we attached to God’s love, that trite and limiting expected sign of His goodness. Instead we will be more than conquerors in eternal glory, no matter what we face in this temporal life.