Thursday Top 10!

Today...Top 10 reasons to be a Laker fan, in no particular order!

1. Despite Kobe's past , personal deficiencies, the Lakers employ arguable the best player in the world.
2. Arguably the greatest coach in the history of the NBA
3. Staples Center
4. Jack 
5. Derek Fisher
6. A consistent pursuit to win, year in and year out.
7. 15 NBA championships
8. Jerry West...I know he is no longer with the team, but he will always be a Laker.
9. The Sky Hook
10. Shannon Brown's filthy sick hops!

Her's hoping for a 16th championship.  Go Lakers!

Jesus in an SUV!

The other day, Aidan(my 5 year old) looks at my wife and makes the following statement.

You know, I think, when Jesus comes back, he's gonna come back in a bright blue SUV with big tires and 20 lights...some in the back, some in the front and some on top...that way everyone will see him and no one misses him.

At first we just thought this was a cute little thing that our kid just said, but the more I have given thought to it, the more profound it has become. Nobody would ever miss a bright blue SUV with big tires and lots of lights right?  Well, I'm not sure how Jesus will be returning exactly, other than what I know from reading scripture, but I think maybe Aidan was on to something.  Maybe we are the SUV.  Weird, right?


I have been hearing people for a while talking about how "over" Christianity they are, how Christians are hypocrites and nothing more, and how they aren't really like Jesus at all.  Somehow I think this has become both an excuse and a cop out.  People who know about Jesus but aren't sure, aren't interested, or are dealing with some past hurt or frustration, find this an easy excuse to justify not giving Jesus a real shot.  After all, why would you trust something or someone whose representation is inconsistent and hypocritical?  For "seasoned" Christians, this has become a cop out for not wanting to be the SUV.  We don't want to be overly noticed, found out, judged, or hated.  Mostly we tend to say that we are just trying to be more like Jesus and all He did was love people, so we're going to just love and not make any waves, not talk about our own sin or mistakes, and not make anyone feel bad or tell them they are doing wrong stuff, because we just want to love.


Maybe we are supposed to be the SUV!


Could the SUV described above, ever go around unnoticed or fail to make a statement when driving down the street?  No way!  We are called to be noticed.  Jesus did love people, but he NEVER patted people on the head and ignored their sin, nor did he ever fail to teach truth when in a large group of people.  He was always teaching, instructing, pointing out sin, and loving the whole time, and we are called to do the same.  I love the story in John about Jesus meeting the woman at the well.

So Jesus left the Judean countryside and went back to Galilee. To get there, he had to pass through Samaria. He came into Sychar, a Samaritan village that bordered the field Jacob had given his son Joseph. Jacob's well was still there. Jesus, worn out by the trip, sat down at the well. It was noon.
 A woman, a Samaritan, came to draw water. Jesus said, "Would you give me a drink of water?" (His disciples had gone to the village to buy food for lunch.)
 The Samaritan woman, taken aback, asked, "How come you, a Jew, are asking me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?" (Jews in those days wouldn't be caught dead talking to Samaritans.)
 Jesus answered, "If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh, living water."
 The woman said, "Sir, you don't even have a bucket to draw with, and this well is deep. So how are you going to get this 'living water'? Are you a better man than our ancestor Jacob, who dug this well and drank from it, he and his sons and livestock, and passed it down to us?"
 Jesus said, "Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst—not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life."
 The woman said, "Sir, give me this water so I won't ever get thirsty, won't ever have to come back to this well again!"
 He said, "Go call your husband and then come back."
 "I have no husband," she said.
   "That's nicely put: 'I have no husband.' You've had five husbands, and the man you're living with now isn't even your husband. You spoke the truth there, sure enough."
 "Oh, so you're a prophet! Well, tell me this: Our ancestors worshiped God at this mountain, but you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place for worship, right?"
 "Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you Samaritans will worship the Father neither here at this mountain nor there in Jerusalem. You worship guessing in the dark; we Jews worship in the clear light of day. God's way of salvation is made available through the Jews. But the time is coming—it has, in fact, come—when what you're called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter.
 "It's who you are and the way you live that count before God.

Jesus, totally called her on her sin, but my feeling is that she left feeling more loved than ever before.  I know this, because the rest of the passage goes on to talk about her going back and telling everyone about Jesus and sent them to go experience Him for themselves.  The really cool thing is that his disciples and other onlookers were shocked that he would even talk to this woman, and He didn't care.  He loved her. 


Now don't get me wrong, I'm not on some spiritual trip.  I know I'm no good at what I am saying, but I am saying it in hope that I can start.  I make mistakes, I sin, and worst of all I am a hypocrite.  I pass up opportunities all the time to both share and to be Jesus to others.  I want to be better though, I want to be more like Jesus, I want to be the SUV.