randalevan's blog

never thought i was like judas

Yesterday morning Jim Lin (*one of the leaders in our church) did a teaching on Judas. The thing that stood out to me was the fact that Judas was one of the closest friends of Jesus and yet it appears that none of the other disciples saw him as any different than themselves.  They ate together, worked together, went on road trips together, experienced both wonderful and terrible things together...and yet, when Jesus told them during the Last Supper that one of them would betray him, they all didn't point their finger at Judas and say, "Behold, the man!"  Instead, when Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me", this is what happened: "Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, "Am I the one, Lord?" (Matthew 26:21 & 22)

Michael Jackson, American Tragedy

 

Michael Jackson died yesterday.  Some people cried.  Others were in shock...he was only 50 years' old and about to make one, final comeback.  (*Is it ever "final" for someone who has become addicted to fame? Think Brent Fabre, Lance Armstrong... I guess he had multiple millions of dollars of debt and needed to do something about it.) A lot of people laughed, considering him a freak.  I am sad.  I have looked at Michael Jackson's life from afar for the past 15 years or so, shocked by the child abuse accusations and the grotesque effects of dozens of unnecessary plastic surgeries. (*Who are the doctors, any way, who lack the personal and professional integrity to tell someone like Jackson "no"? Should we look at those physicians and say, "You are more freakish than Michael!")

 

I read an article that a friend posted on Facebook this morning.  I will quote it here.  (*Below the quote find a link for the entire article.)

What keeps us from believing?

I've been reading the Gospel of John and thinking about the miracles that Jesus did.  Take a moment with me to imagine if the things that Jesus did were done for you or for someone you love….

•    You run out of wine at a party and Jesus comes to the rescue, turning water into the best vintage you have ever tasted.

•    Your son has a terrible fever.  The doctors can't bring it down.  If his temperature doesn't go down soon your son will die.  You beg Jesus to come and heal your son.  And he does.

•    You are paralyzed, Jesus tells you to walk, and much to your surprise...you can!

•    You’re hungry (*you and thousands of others, too), so he takes the lunch of a boy, gives thanks, distributes the bread and fish, and everyone has enough to eat.  In fact, there are leftovers.

Nathan's Graduation

Just made a new album from Nathan's Graduation.  (*If you scroll down the blog, it is the second from the last photo album on the right-hand side.) We had a wonderful time together as a family - both the Chase's and Lennox's - celebrating Nathan's great accomplishment!

Yeah, I'm a Tim Keller Fan!

A friend of mine, Meg Venables, knows I like a lot of what Pastor Tim Keller has to say.  So, when she saw that the recent edition of Christianity Today had an article about him and his work in NYC, she put the magazine on my desk.  Well, I read the article this morning while sipping a cappuccino at RedRock and really liked it.  Here's a link if you want to check it out:  http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/june/15.20.html.

Three Recent Conversations

I had a few conversations recently that had a big impact on me.  (*I did a teaching at the church I am part of about a month ago on these three conversations.  If you want to listen to it, go to www.vcfp.org, click on "Sermons", then go to the May 10th, 2009 teaching entitled "My Sheep Know My Voice", and then click on "download". Hope you find it helpful.)

Each of the conversations were about God and what people think He is saying to us.  The first was with a friend from Spain.  He was telling me how the problem with Christians is they just aren't committed enough.  Sadly, this belief in many Christian leaders I know is the hidden message in almost everything they say, especially from the pulpit.  So, regardless of the topic being taught, congregants get a steady diet of shame dished-out each Sunday.  (*Gee, I wonder why churches are so small in Spain?) The message beneath the message is that God is disappointed in us.  We don't do enough for Him.  We don't go to enough meetings for Him.  Don't give enough of our time, talents, and treasure to Him. "I'm so disappointed in you" is the message God wants delivered to His people.  Hmmm.  That makes me want to cry...

The second conversation was thanks to a friend from the Palo Alto Vineyard. 

Spain Photos

Check out my latest photo album: Spain April 2009, for a handful of photos from our recent trip! (*You have to go all the way to the bottom of the blog on the right-hand side.)

Back from Spain

Just got back from Spain late Monday night.  It was a great trip overall, spending time in the Boston area on the way to Europe followed by visits to both Barcelona and Valencia.

While I hope to be able to post some photos soon (*my friends took pictures and I am looking to "borrow" some of them), let me give you a quick summary of my time in Spain.  It began in Barcelona, where I spent the weekend with my good friends, Marc & Christine.  They pastor one of the Vineyard churches in "la ciudad condal".  We enjoyed several meals together, one of them a fantastic feast of "dorada" (*a white fish that I am not sure how to translate...those of you who have a Spanish/English dictionary can check it out and tell me!) with their children, Marc's mom and his sister.  Their eldest daughter, Anais, together with her husband Jose Luis, was also there.  They have a 3-year old son, and are now the proud parents of twin baby girls.

After an enjoyable weekend with the Perez family, I took the train to Valencia - which is about a 3-hour trip.

the essence of sin

"The essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man.  Man asserts himself against God and puts himself where only God deserves to be; God sacrifices himself for man and puts himself where only man deserves to be.  Man claims prerogatives that belong to God alone; God accepts penalties which belong to man alone.

As we stand before the cross, we begin to gain a clear view of both God and ourselves, especially in relation to each other.  Instead of inflicting upon us the judgment we deserved, God in Christ endured it in our place." (John Stott in Bread & Wine, page 217.)

the vices we all share

It's easy to throw the first stone at Judas...or Pilate...or Caiaphas.  But, maybe we have more in common with them than we would like to believe.  Let me share some quotes from a book I read this morning.