"God can you hear me . . ."

I've been writing more lyrics lately, which is good because I went through a bit of a drought there. Now if only I could actually will myself to pick up the guitar and put them to something. Or find my keyboard I'm pretty sure I gave away. Having that would be a help.

I should really be in bed. Getting up at 7 for 6 Flags is gonna kick my butt. I feel so old sometimes. I didn't use to need this much sleep did I?

I got to thinking today, with good reason, about whether or not new readers, who seem to keep cropping up, will fully understand certain things I write. Ideally everyone who starts reading the blog should go back and start from the beginning, there's a lot contained there. While some of the elements have played out now, some things have lasting significance, sometimes in ways I don't even mention (props to anybody who can come up with one). The particular element I was thinking of was my mention of the dreams. The spiritual importance, or lack thereof, of dreams has been a concept in this blog almost since the beginning, but without knowing that, some people could just find mention of the dreams . . . odd at best. I was wondering if there was anything I could do to counter this, and I thought perhaps linking to relevant posts, or using the tagging system I did at the start might help. Any thoughts?

BTW, I've never gotten far into that book I started reading on spirituality and dreams.

Today I was thinking more about my second post last night, partially in response to a discussion I had with a friend this morning. While writing last night, I really just kind of flowed from all the things I wanted to say in a message/sermon. And in the end there was one essential element missing. I didn't fully discuss the subject of need. I'm not necessarily pointing this out as a bad thing, I'm simply . . . making the point. That an essential element to the topic of grace is the fact of need. We screwed up. We all chose hell. We have all needed to be rescued. Now there is certainly a lot more to say on this topic, I really just wanted to point out that I was aware of it, and you should be as well.

My talk this morning also involved some back and forth about whether or not appealing is even a good strategy in regards to witnessing. The question is whether or not it is right (not good) to make any attempts at a softer presentation to spread the gospel. The opposing reasoning is indeed sound.

Consider: Jesus was perfect. He was sinless. He was unbelievably likable and good with people, so much so that He could call someone out for their sin, and have them thank Him lovingly. And yet He was killed, for rightly saying He was the Messiah. By the very people who were expecting Him.

And I found myself wondering today, as a result of my talk, why should we expect any different. Now I don't believe this means we shouldn't reach out. It doesn't mean we should abandon culturally relevent presentation. But it does beg the question, is there ever a reason to "hide" or "sugar coat" certain elements of the truth, in order to get someone to listen to another part? When I put it like that, the answer seems obvious, but its not. We obviously can't expect everyone to listen to the truth, even if we get them to hear it. Jesus said people would hate us on account of Him. And we have to be uprgith in regards to the truth, we can't budge because the truth isn't up to us. Its not ours to change. So where is the intersection? And what does this look like practically? Does it even matter, or is it something that only serves as a comfort?

There's obviously an example, which is Christ. Our model for everything. The idea in which our very name is found. Christian. "Little Christ" "Christ Ones" That is what we strive for, and this is no different.

But for some reason, that answer doesn't feel complete, and perhaps it isn't. Maybe their is no magical formula, but rather knowledge of the quesiton itself settles it. "As long as you remember the interplay of those forces, you'll be fine."

Alright . . . so who's gonna hook me up on a date? And do I even want to go?

I'm going to bed, my brain makes me tired.