Jocelyn D Davis

Cyclones, Islands and Sink Holes.

My sister and I stood in front of the television with mouths gapping last night as we watched the footage of the sinkhole in Texas. I have had a live feed of news running through my brain since the beginning of the campaign trail, but with these major international crises arising lately it hasn't been all political talk surfacing in our family.

Jared and I live in an environmentally intelligent community along with Kellie and Rob and their three little ones. The community is called Harmony. It is a relatively new experience in my life to be so aware of the environmental impact we have as we make choices about weather to recycle or curb-side our garbage etc... Now that my environmental impact radar is on full alert I seem to be filtering all other effects of our living on this planet through a green lens.

Recently, we watched a program about the man-made island of Dubai. They are really cool looking ariel shots of this island that looks like a palm tree, but to think that messing with the ocean floor elevation isn't going to have some environmental impact that effects dear ole' mother earth is unintelligent. Just think about it. The tide of the ocean is effected by the moon. The wind over the ocean is effected by the temperature of the water. The tick tick tick of the daily movements of our earth are all connected and related. We've got big time investors dredging up tons of sand, mounding it up, packing it together and building houses and tropical vacation memories on it and in turn we've got major sink holes and cyclones coming off the ocean and slamming into the lives of 100,000 people who may not have them anymore.

We have got to start fleshing out the consequences of our decisions before we build multi-million dollar land masses and before we decide to let the trash man dump all our plastic bottles, aluminum cans, glass and cardboard into a hole in the earth.

***this is merely a theory and a source of brainstorm for those of us who are beginning to care about our footprint on the earth, I am not a geologist or an oceanographer and have done little research on these statements of radical consequence. My heart goes out to Myanmar and the people who live near that sinkhole in TX, as for the people sipping on pina~ coladas on the island of Dubai right now....cheers.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." --Matthew 7:25-27

Redeeming Moments.

Everywhere I go, every message I hear, in everything I read I am finding a theme. I am beginning to believe that God is speaking a particular message to the generations. Right now the theme of redemption is resounding at every corner I turn. Have you heard it too?

I like the idea that God is doing the same thing everywhere. God is seeking to redeem everything. EVERYTHING. Every person, every messed up situation, every broken family, every cyclone or hurricane destroyed environment, every destitute child, every tongue and tribe and nation.

I cried last night harder than I have cried for awhile, and although I dislike overwhelming emotion it was a moment of discovery for me. I am trying to flesh out this idea of redemption in my own life.

To say God is bringing about redemption in the world is one thing, but to actually live in the redeeming is hard work. First, because we have to choose to welcome it; which is a hard thing to do because our lives don't exactly make room for it. Second, we have to take a deeper look at ourselves and see the weaknesses we have; and no one really likes asking the mirror, "...who is the fairest of all?", because we know the rough truth.

Another aspect of these redeeming moments is that they aren't available at our convenience and if we are not careful we could miss them. I've seen a few near misses lately with people I love, and I have seen a few completely miss their redeeming moment.

In this discovery process I am uncovering God's heart for the church to be a conduit of redeeming moments, to help people see them when they come up in their relationships, to help people navigate their way through these redeeming moments. What a glorious thing to be a part of in another person's life. Could there be anything more exciting than seeing them come out on the other side?

ONE WAY

I suppose Bob Roberts was trying to be a little cheeky with an auditorium full of church planters when he made reference to the current status of cool haircuts that are blazing the trail in the post-Christian era on the heads of church planters everywhere. He beckoned the question, "How do we transform communities and ultimately the world?" It was an incredible session of mind-blowing ideas that he precluded with the statement, "I am about to do what you should never do." He was referring to the fact that he was going to speak on something fresh that he had not gone on public record saying, yet. In this unexpectedly eye-opening time with Bob Roberts my spirit of hope was refreshed for the nations! How often can a person say that?

Basically, he unraveled five specific characteristics of the Christian faith that set it apart from the plethora of choices on the religious shelf. It may sound basic to those of us who have always thought that OUR religion is the best religion, but for those in our culture who doubt and question the ONE WAY of religion, his message was refreshing and hope-filled!

COVENANT>CROSS>COMMISSION>COMMUNITY>CONNECTEDNESS

The implications for these characteristics are endless, although the major cause of my overwhelming sense of hope for the nations came in the form of a seemingly compromising concept.

"Christianity was a fulfillment of Judaism; the first 320 years Christianity was a Jewish movement, thank God for the Jews! It will conclude as a Muslim movement because the gatekeepers of Islam will open the gate to Christianity."

Jesus and his disciples infiltrated the Jewish gatekeepers when He first broke on the scene, and now once again as the religious movement of Islam gains followers Jesus and his disciples will seek to collide with the gatekeepers of Islam to bring about transformation in the world.

Throughout the National New Church Conference the same theme reappeared consecutively. The world is ready for a different kind of disciple. As Alan Hirsch put it, " we all need to focus on becoming little Jesus'."

The completion of Bob Roberts initial statement will stay with me, "If we are not transforming the world than we are just standing there with a can of hairspray in our hands."

What do you think a different kind of disciple looks like? What are the implications for you personally?

Living a Redemptive Life

I've never been particularly interested in the Catholic religion. I have rejected it from a very simplistic standpoint of not understanding it; and finding that most Catholics don't really understand it themselves. I would rather spend my time trying to understand God than sifting through a stack of sins, confessions, and penitence that one MUST do to keep their head above water (or fire) in the Catholic genre of living.

As I am sure you have heard, the stack of sins that are mortal has just gotten seven layers deeper and I find myself floored; albeit a little disgusted. As if, human beings aren't drowning in a sea of sins as it is, this prophet of God (Pope Benedict) has brought light to more reasons to feel guilty, ashamed, and called to action. As my initial response and emotion simmered down a little I realized that although on the one hand I hate that another yoke of interpretation has been thrown around the necks of Catholics, on the other hand I see a call for REDEMPTION, a call for better things, a call to focus on the noble and the beautiful and to lay aside the greed of the modern generations.

New Seven Mortal Sins

Environmental pollution
Genetic manipulation
Accumulating excessive wealth
Inflicting poverty
Drug trafficking and consumption
Morally debatable experiments
Violation of fundamental rights of human nature

The previous seven deadly sins are generally known as:
Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, and Pride.

Many of these newly stated sins are derived from Greed. America as a leading Nation of the world is sick with greed; consuming more of the resources of this world than what the small percentage of citizens need.
All of the "new sins" are related to social issues and have a greater impact on the landscape of our world than the more "personal" sins of the initial "sin list."

Although I do not personally subscribe to a Catholic life, I must state that I believe Pope Benedict to be a modern day prophet who is enlightening people to the need for social change and is calling people back into a REDEMPTIVE WAY of LIVING that takes inventory of the impact of our decisions on the world.

A thought-provoking question:
"What do you seek?"

"Without the closure of a resurrection, we would be presented with the unnerving QUESTION as to whether our love of Christ is really a love of ourselves, for it is at the foot of the cross that one may truly consider embracing Christianity without the comfort of thinking that such a giving of one's life is also a means of gaining it back (if one gives in order to receive, one does not really give at all but rather engages in an economic exchange.) This provides the means of testing whether our faith is a gift by which we offer ourselves freely rather than an economy by which we negotiate a return."
--Peter Rollins, How (Not) To Speak of God, 78

Defining Ourselves...

It's a lifelong journey to, if at all, arrive at the place where we 'know thyself.' Perhaps to actually 'know thyself' is to finally arrive at a place where we 'know God;' which is an impossible task to bring to completion. It is a conundrum that I cannot wrap my mind around that we might finally arrive at the finish line of knowledge. So why seek it? Why seek self-awareness at all? Why not get lost in the culture and suppress any knowledge we have at all of ourselves?

I sense that in our American ways this may be some of the source of our depression and anxiety, that the little we know of ourselves we literally depress because we do not have the tools with which to cope with the questions that this knowledge ascertains. Our culture, mainly our education system, has done us a disservice. It has not prepared us to live in the vacuum of doubt and unknowing. It has sought over the history of our lives to explain everything away. This major pitfall shows itself in our society most in the numbing transition from high school to college...where the student finds herself staring down a professor who has spent his life work explaining down to a science a certain aspect of life, and no one can doubt or question otherwise without fear of a failing grade.

We are a people-pleasing society that breeds an answer for everything, even if we can poke holes in it. It's still an explanation and we find rest in that. It is a rare person who is willing to beckon the question and take the risk. So in our search or suppression (whichever road we choose) for the knowledge of ourselves or of God we should try to be okay with the doubts and the non-answers so as not to drive ourselves crazy or worse depressed.

Know Thyself

by Alexander Pope

Know then thyself, presume not God to scan;
The proper study of mankind is Man.
Placed on this isthmus of a middle state,
A being darkly wise and rudely great:
With too much knowledge for the Sceptic side,
With too much weakness for the Stoic's pride,
He hangs between; in doubt to act or rest,
In doubt to deem himself a God or Beast,
In doubt his mind or body to prefer;
Born but to die, and reasoning but to err;
Alike in ignorance, his reason such
Whether he thinks too little or too much:
Chaos of thought and passion, all confused;
Still by himself abused, or disabused;
Created half to rise and half to fall;
Great lord of all things, yet a prey to all;
Sole judge of truth, in endless error hurled:
The glory, jest, and riddle of the world!

The Waiting.

The Dark Sky Festival happened last night in Harmony, which is kind of funny considering it was the cloudiest night I've seen in awhile. You can't see anything through a telescope when the sky is cloudy because the clouds cover it all up. I kinda felt sorry for the astronomers who had transported their expensive equipment just to get a thrill from kids who have never stuck their eye in a telescope eye piece; nothing but clouds and giggles.

The heavens do proclaim the glory of the Lord, but what if you can't see the heavens. What if your life is just cloudy with the business of life; going here and there; working a job you almost totally hate if it wasn't for the nice paycheck, a few cool people, and the hand of your boss that pats your back once in a blue moon (no pun.)

Are our lives too cloudy to hear the proclamation of heaven? Are we wasting our time looking through the telescope of life just for a few entertaining giggles? What's the use in all the equipment if it isn't set up at just the right time? Those astronomers wait, they wait for the clouds to break and the stars to shine; for the glory of heaven to speak to the wonders that God has marked out for them to marvel.

My husband and I find ourselves in a time of transition and I will admit, frustration. All we are getting is clouds. Here we are waiting. Waiting for what, I have no idea; just waiting. Is there anything that I like about waiting? I can't think of a thing, except the end result. When the clouds finally break and the answer comes as crisp as the clear blue sky, that's when I will know that the waiting is worth it. Until then we look forward to the proclamation of heaven..this is the way to go, this is what you have been waiting for.

"YES!, I can't wait. " Well maybe I can.

A simple truth:

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.

There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.

Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
---Psalm 19:1-4

Dream a little Dream....

It's a "classic" movie starring Corey Feldman, in 1989, "classic" in the sense that it involved two people switching bodies and living out their life. How many movies can you think of that involve this story line? Don't forget another "classic", Freaky Friday..no not the one with Lindsay Lohan, I'm taking Jodie Foster here. Perhaps this is such a popular story line because it's the story of our lives. Wanting to live in someone else's shoes; mistakenly thinking they have it better than us or that they have more opportunity than we do.

From an early age it seems that we get caught up in the fulfillment of other people's dreams, it starts with our parents and continues on with the close relationships in our lives. We need to DREAM A LITTLE DREAM of our own or else we will never be fulfilled in this life.

I recently spent time with a great friend who admits that she needs to find her own dream. She is a people-pleaser to a fault. I love this about her; but I also hate it for her. She is looking for balance and I believe she will find it in the next aspect of her journey as she moves to another state. What will help her discover her dream? I find myself toiling over this question. Lord, give her a dream.

What are you dreaming about? What's your very own dream? Are your days filled with the onslaught of this dream or are you too busy fulfilling someone else's dream? What dream is God speaking to your heart?

Nugget:

Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them," declares the LORD.
-Jeremiah 29:9

Taken For Granted.

I don't think I have anything new to add to all the thoughts out there about avoiding the easy drift into taking PEOPLE in your life for granted, but it is so important that I just want to reiterate the gratefulness we should have for each relationship that we encounter in our life.

I had the opportunity to swing by Panama City Beach, FL this week to introduce my husband to PEOPLE who impacted my life for 3 years. Some might say that 3 years are short, but for me I felt like I was in Indiana for a million years: the main reason being because the depth of the relationships I had were not equal to a 3 year period; on the contrary; so much stronger. You and I are the PEOPLE we are because of the long term AND short term stays of influential hearts and minds that come and mingle with ours.

As we turned the corner into the courtyard the memories flooded back into my mind.I had an amazing rush of eternal significance run through my heart! What an incredible time in my journey! What amazing students are in Indiana! I am so blessed to be a part of their stories; but more importantly I am so grateful to know their stories; to see even if just for an hour and a half their story as it has unfolded this past year.

Who are you particularly grateful for in this life? When is the last time you felt the rush of eternal significance?

A nugget:

The simplicity of life is this:

"...to leave the things of time for those of eternity,
to choose the things of heaven for the goods of earth,
to receive the hundred-fold in place of one,
to possess a blessed and eternal life."
-Clare of Assisi

Rendition: For or Against?

It seems ironic that my family and I sat down to watch the movie “Rendition” on the eve of Easter; otherwise known as Resurrection Sunday. At the very least the movie brought a new knowledge to me that included torture, extraordinary extradition, and the human spirit. At the very most this movie shed light into my heart about the brokenness of our world.

Is the governmental practice of rendition and torture justifiable? Is torture ever justified? Tonight I have deemed myself “for” rendition and torture. But only in the retroactive case that it is three days before Easter. Jesus; as many of the present day prisoners, was sent back and forth from one kingdom to another while the powers that be tried to decide whose job it was to do something with Him. As we all know well, the story ends with an innocent man dying on a cross to free this broken world of brokenness; prisoners and all.

The realizations that came my way, via this movie and my immediate heaping plate of internet research, brought forth a deep desire in me to see this world completely renovated and brought back to its original intended paradise. We are just so far off from the beauty that God intended us to live. God’s main obsession that I must keep at the forefront of my mind as I try with all my might to stay positive in such a depressed world is working toward complete restoration of all things. His heart is to bring wholeness and restoration to all things including: governments, stress-laden workers in far off countries; prisoners in secret places; women who have been torn away from their children by war; men who are trapped by their own guilt; desperate house wives and unborn children.

So there you have it all at once. I am “for” rendition and torture because it is the only moment in history that makes any sense out of all this pain. He has risen! May you have a wholehearted experience of the Easter celebration today; knowing that everything that God did on that cross was worth it.

A quote to ponder:
When the hot word of God is poured over a cold, cold world things break, and it is into this brokenness that we are called…with fire in our bones, to show a frightened world that it is not the heat of the fire we fear, but the chill that lies ahead if the fire goes out.
-Barbara Brown Taylor