I was listening to a praise and worship song last night and it got me thinking.  The song talked about how in the presence of God the mountains melt and the earth trembles. "Fire goes before Him and consumes His foes on everyside.  The earth sees and trembles.  The mountains melt like wax. All people will see His glory."  While the speaker says these things to a background of music, the crowd begins to cheer and shout and goes wild.

Pretty typical and uplifting stuff.  If I had been there with the music swelling and the man calling out that stuff, I might have gotten caught up in the cheering too.  But then it struck me.  That's the reaction to some powerful words in a nice concert with musical backing.  What would be actually like to stand in the actual presence of Almighty God while the earth trembled, mountains melted and foes were consumed?  Would I or you be standing there cheering and clapping?

Consider those who have had a taste, just a taste mind you, of God's true presence and glory.

Judges 13:22 NAS So Manoah said to his wife, "We will surely die, for we have seen God."

Isaiah 6:5 KJV Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.

Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever." And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, "We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign. "And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth." And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm. (Revelation 11:15-19 NAS)

My point is that I think we sometimes tame God a bit and forget what a fearsome thing it will be.  Yes, we will live in His presence forever and praise Him, but I think that first look, if it comes at His return with His shaking of the earth, is going to instill in us more than applause and cheering.  I think we will be shaken to our core and overcome by His greatness.  When it comes to worship songs, I think "I Can Only Imagine" captures the thought well.  "Surrounded by your glory, what will my heart feel?  Will I dance for you, Jesus?  Or in awe of you be still?  Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall?  Will I sing Hallelujah?  Will I be able to speak at all?

Perhaps we will cheer on that day.  We can't imagine what it will be like to stand before the true and the living God.  My guess is awe and wonder and falling on our faces.

Once again the tabs on my browser are piling up.  I keep stuff open until I share it, blog it, or whatever.  Time to close a few by dropping them on here.  You might enjoy these little snippets.  Some have a bit of a medical theme.

"Don't you make my brown eye's blue."  Or maybe you can.  http://bodyodd.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/03/8618610-company-claims-it-can-zap-brown-eyes-blue-really

You've heard of the man in the mirror.  How about the man in the ultrasound.  http://bodyodd.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/03/8619724-face-of-pain-mans-image-seen-in-ultrasound

Starve a Fever?  How about just tolerating it?  http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/03/8615179-sick-feverish-suffer-through-it-to-get-well-faster-docs-say

When a Tree falls in the woods.  Awesome video of a giant Sequoia falling.  http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/article/20111004/NEWS01/110040305/Sequoias-fall-unexplained

SuperNova Mystery solved.  http://news.discovery.com/space/ancient-supernova-mystery-solved-111025.html

First a quick note.  Nothing in this blog post is intended to make any political statement.  It is to make a statement about leadership in general and church leadership in particular.

Chris Matthews, a liberal commentator, is a student of JFK.  In the latest issue of TIME Magazine, he spells out what he feels Obama could learn from JFK about leadership.  Whether you agree with him or not about what Obama is like or what Obama needs, there are some neat thoughts here that I think resonate with Biblical truth.

Here's the first one.  "It's easy to spot the leader.  He's the one who deserves to take the lead, because he's the one who takes the heat."  This quote was under the heading "Take Responsibility."  Too many pastors and leaders, even fathers and husbands, when confronted with failure, point the finger.  Sometimes there is fault elsewhere to point at, but shifting blame misses the point.  Jesus/God was not at all to blame for the problem of sin yet on the cross He took 100% responsibility.  How often do you see the pastor of a church that is struggling recite all the forces that are to blame?  Leadership, especially Biblical leadership, is about taking responsibility no matter who is to blame.

Here's another quote: “Obama doesn’t ask us to follow him,” Matthews said. “He asks us to watch him, ‘Look how smart I am.’ That’s not a winning way to be a leader. You have to ask. You have to be humble.”  Again, I am not commenting on whether Matthews is right in his assesment of Obama, but either way his point is valid for Pastors/Leaders.  Humility.  Jesus said whoever wants to lead should be the servant of all.  Jesus demonstrated this approach to leadership in the washing of the disciples feet.  Too often church  leaders become church lords.  Too often the people play into that by elevating and venerating their leaders into lords.  There is supposed to be spiritual authority and submission in the church, but that is to be rooted in the humility and servanthood of the leader, not the humility and servanthood of the followers.  (Well, them to0, but as they follow those traits in the leader.)

Overall, I enjoyed reading both the online article and the magazine article and thinking about the lessons of leadership that match what the Bible teaches.

Link to online article: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/67185.html

Other Article:  "Five Things JFK Could Teach Obama" by Chris Matthews, TIME Magazine, November 7, 2011.

I am worn out.  But it is a good worn out.  I was disappointed that we had to cancel church today but I was so glad that we got to do the party tonight.  I can't believe how many people were there.  TJ estimated at least 130 showed up for the evening.  Tons of kids, lots of friends.  It was a good night.  Also, there were so many that worked to make it a great night.  I say I am worn out, but there must be many more who are more tired than I am.  All I had to do was help get our three ready and show up, visit, eat, and take pictures.  I did a lot of all three activities!!  :)

It was the visiting that wore me out.  And that is a good wore out.  I am so thankful for the friendship and fellowship that we have.  Even briefly I shared real life with friends from church.  We talked about our weeks, about our lives, about our families.  We shared what we were facing and going through.  We told funny stories and shared real concerns.  That is awesome.

So often people seem to think that you need to maintain some kind of front or "righteous fiction" with other people.  It is so much better to just be real.  I am thankful for a church where we are real.  And I am thankful for the love of tonight.  It is a great place to raise kids and a great place to be an adult.

Ok, so it is almost time for bed.  Tomorrow starts another full week, but it has been a good night.  Thanks to the Lord for a great church family!

We use both the phrase 'tough climb' and 'rough sledding' to indicate working through a challenging part of life.  Those two phrases got me thinking this past week.  I was talking to one of my young adult daughters about marriage and relationships.  I was telling her how, after twelve years, Sarah and I are closer friends with stronger connections and better communication than where we started.  How in twelve years we have had plenty of struggles and conflicts through the normal flow of life and that every one of those struggles and conflicts have brought us closer and into a deeper understanding and communion with each other.  We started well, with good counseling and preparation and with people around us supporting us.  Even with all that going for us, marriage is hard work and having done that hard work, we are far further along than we started.

It is not that way with all marriages, obviously.

That is what brings me to those two phrases.  Both capture the same idea but work off a different word picture.  There are some who expect to get into marriage and go sledding.  They expect to jump in and just sail down.  When they hit obstacles, they are in trouble because that is not how it is supposed to be.  Sledding is supposed to be just a fun trip.  Sledding is supposed to be more fun than work.  Sure, you might need to steer a little, but for the most part you are supposed to sail down the hill having a great time.  Some enter marriage hoping for good sledding.

Others see marriage as a climb.  They are moving upwards towards a summit.  They expect to exert effort each day.  When they hit obstacles, well that was expected and is just part of the experience of climbing.  A good challenging climb actually can be fun in the long haul and makes you a better climber.  You know it is going to be a challenge, but the view keeps getting better as you advance.

I think the second metaphor is the better of the two when it comes to marriage.  We need to see marriage as a climb, filled with hard work and challenges but so very worth it because of what the effort gets you.  In Sarah's & my climb of the last twelve and a half years, we have had many  moments of easy climbing along with plenty of moments of obstacles and tough spots.  We tackled each together, gained experience as well as trust in each other, and these years later the view has only improved.  With each year of climbing with my climbing partner, we become more connected, more intimate, more trusting of each other.  We are inclining not declining.

If you are married or preparing for marriage, which metaphor have you, perhaps unconciously, embraced?  Do you expect easy sledding or a challenging climb?  Will the tough spots be obstacles and interruptions, disrupting the smooth trip you were hoping for, or will they be challenges you are expecting and anticipating, knowing they will strengthen your bond and experience as a climber?  I urge you toward the climb.  I know we are not at the top of our mountain yet, but the view already is amazing and I cannot believe how much deeper, more satisfying and intimate the bond between us has become.  I can say that the honeymoon is long over.  It was wonderful.  Being a newlywed was amazing.  But things are SO MUCH BETTER now!