ok, so it's not anywhere near my 25th birthday yet, but it sounded good in the title line...
yeah, so i was reflecting on my life this morning (at 3:52 a.m.) and i saw a pattern emerge. a pattern that i don't really think i like and one that i don't want the next quarter century to be filled with.
it's easy to write of missed chances, bad choices and wrong roads taken (two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and i- i took the one most traveled by...), well for me it is, i guess. it's easy to talk of them and reminice (yeah, so i spelt it wrong, who cares?) on how i felt when those choices were made and sometimes it's a tough pill to swallow to see how those decisions have affected who i am today.
what makes us better is when we acknowledge our errors, get back up off the ground, brush ourselves off and move on. i am as close to being who i was yesterday as i am to who i was 5 years ago.
all i know is that what i'm doing right now, this taking care of business, is what it will take to cool the burning bridges, to cover the closed doors and to pave the way for better decisions.
i know this too... i know that where i am is not where i want to be. i know that where i plan to be soon is not my final destination and what i am doing is not what i want to do with my life.
i know this as well... i know that, like simon birch, God has a plan for me, and that even if it means i die early (actually, it would be right on time), then i will have done something for Him. some how, in some way or another, my life will touch others. and it will be greater than it has already. these hands belong to david joseph huffman, and one day they will touch millions. these feet belong to david joseph huffman, and one day they will walk in nations. these lips belong to david joseph huffman, and one day they will speak to a generation.
yes, my name is david joseph huffman, and i've filled a quarter century with mistakes. but the next few years don't belong to me, they belong to God and are for Him to write the story.
two roads diverge in a yellow wood, and i- i choose the one God travels by.
[for the world-wide renown of His sovereign glory...]
07 September 2005
03 September 2005
[reflections on katrina: was katrina God's judgement?]
two days ago i received an email from a friend regarding hurricane katrina. this friend had forwarded an email list from an organization claiming to speak for God.
the gist of the list was that because the city of new orleans openly celebrated it's sin and welcomed homosexuality in particular (mardi gras, girls gone wild videos and abortion clinics all get honorable mentions), God chose to decimate it. then, in one final attempt to solidify that this storm was, indeed, an act of judgement, the author leaves the reader with these words from matthew 5:45- [God] sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
my problem with this "judgement" logic is simply this: God is not random. God does not dispense wrath at random. biblically, all judgements have been preceded by prophetic warnings. God has always given people a warning and a way out.
God told abraham in genesis that He was about to destroy sodom and gomorrah. He sent two angels to rescue lot and his family so that the city could be destroyed. when those who heard the warnings laughed or didn't repent, they were destroyed. God even promised abraham that, if even ten righteous people could be found there, then sodom and gomorrah would not be destroyed.
in exodus, at the foot of sinai, israel was full of sin. God's anger burned within Him and He told moses that He would simply destroy israel and begin again. moses' intercession was enough to save his people.
and finally, just to show that i didn't pick out two random references to build my platform on: when God sent jonah to ninevah, He did it to warn the people of the impending judgement, to give them an opportunity to repent and change their ways.
now tell me, or show me, who was giving the specific warning? who did God use to warn the people of new orleans and how specific were they about His message? if katrina was God's judgement, and the people were warned, where were the intercessors praying for restoration?
i don't believe katrina was a judgement. i believe what God says about storms and disease in amos chapter 4. He did it to draw us to Him. He is showing us that He has the real power and that we are so dependent on our labels of independence that we are slaves to our egos.
yes, we need to repent as a nation. yes, we need to relearn how to approach the Holy One. but katrina is not a judgement. katrina was created to cause us to reflect on how we are living our lives, what we can do to change our lives and how we can live our lives for the glory of God.
katrina was a wake-up call, not a farewell speech.
[for the world-wide renown of His sovreign glory...]
the gist of the list was that because the city of new orleans openly celebrated it's sin and welcomed homosexuality in particular (mardi gras, girls gone wild videos and abortion clinics all get honorable mentions), God chose to decimate it. then, in one final attempt to solidify that this storm was, indeed, an act of judgement, the author leaves the reader with these words from matthew 5:45- [God] sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
my problem with this "judgement" logic is simply this: God is not random. God does not dispense wrath at random. biblically, all judgements have been preceded by prophetic warnings. God has always given people a warning and a way out.
God told abraham in genesis that He was about to destroy sodom and gomorrah. He sent two angels to rescue lot and his family so that the city could be destroyed. when those who heard the warnings laughed or didn't repent, they were destroyed. God even promised abraham that, if even ten righteous people could be found there, then sodom and gomorrah would not be destroyed.
in exodus, at the foot of sinai, israel was full of sin. God's anger burned within Him and He told moses that He would simply destroy israel and begin again. moses' intercession was enough to save his people.
and finally, just to show that i didn't pick out two random references to build my platform on: when God sent jonah to ninevah, He did it to warn the people of the impending judgement, to give them an opportunity to repent and change their ways.
now tell me, or show me, who was giving the specific warning? who did God use to warn the people of new orleans and how specific were they about His message? if katrina was God's judgement, and the people were warned, where were the intercessors praying for restoration?
i don't believe katrina was a judgement. i believe what God says about storms and disease in amos chapter 4. He did it to draw us to Him. He is showing us that He has the real power and that we are so dependent on our labels of independence that we are slaves to our egos.
yes, we need to repent as a nation. yes, we need to relearn how to approach the Holy One. but katrina is not a judgement. katrina was created to cause us to reflect on how we are living our lives, what we can do to change our lives and how we can live our lives for the glory of God.
katrina was a wake-up call, not a farewell speech.
[for the world-wide renown of His sovreign glory...]
01 September 2005
adventures in divine discontentedness
that's right, the title is not a mistake. we're all looking for that one thing that can make a us content. the beauty of God's design for discontentment is that is draws the seeker to Him. sure, we sometimes step away, or our eyes catch something pretty or flashy.
while other people tout God as being the answer to our divine discontedness, i believe it goes beyond that. i am restless and discontent, yet i "worship" God. now why on earth did i just put worship in quotes? because i am about to re-define worship. worship is both a noun and a verb. it is our fault that worship is considered a noun (person, place, thing or idea). we define our meetings by calling them "worship" services. there are two types of verbs (uh-oh! a grammar lesson!) there are action verbs (think about things that you can do all around a room- run, jump, laugh...) and then there are being verbs (think exist).
can you worship around the room? of course. does worship define our services? not as much as it should.
i truly think emerson was inspired by God when he penned the words, i see young men, my townsmen, whose misfortune it is to have inherited farms, houses, cattle, and farming tools; for these are more easily acquired then got rid of. better if they had been born in a field and suckled by a wolf, that they might have seen with clearer eyes what field they were called to labor in.
while emerson was referring to men who were working in fields while having the dreams and, in some cases, the skills to be working a different job; his statement translates so easily into the spiritual world.
while other christian leaders have written books about divine discontentment in reference to God being the only One who can make us content, my intent is to show that unless we become the christians we are supposed to be, we will still be discontent.
the beauty of discontent is that it pushes us to find contentedness. it doesn't allow us to settle. it drives us onward in our journey.
i see my friends, my collegues, my fellow christians, whose misfortune it is to have inherited hopelessness, taken jobs and careers, and purchased toys that break; for these are more easily got than got rid of. better they had begun humble in the beginning, that they might have seen with clearer eyes what field they were called to labor in.
while other people tout God as being the answer to our divine discontedness, i believe it goes beyond that. i am restless and discontent, yet i "worship" God. now why on earth did i just put worship in quotes? because i am about to re-define worship. worship is both a noun and a verb. it is our fault that worship is considered a noun (person, place, thing or idea). we define our meetings by calling them "worship" services. there are two types of verbs (uh-oh! a grammar lesson!) there are action verbs (think about things that you can do all around a room- run, jump, laugh...) and then there are being verbs (think exist).
can you worship around the room? of course. does worship define our services? not as much as it should.
i truly think emerson was inspired by God when he penned the words, i see young men, my townsmen, whose misfortune it is to have inherited farms, houses, cattle, and farming tools; for these are more easily acquired then got rid of. better if they had been born in a field and suckled by a wolf, that they might have seen with clearer eyes what field they were called to labor in.
while emerson was referring to men who were working in fields while having the dreams and, in some cases, the skills to be working a different job; his statement translates so easily into the spiritual world.
while other christian leaders have written books about divine discontentment in reference to God being the only One who can make us content, my intent is to show that unless we become the christians we are supposed to be, we will still be discontent.
the beauty of discontent is that it pushes us to find contentedness. it doesn't allow us to settle. it drives us onward in our journey.
i see my friends, my collegues, my fellow christians, whose misfortune it is to have inherited hopelessness, taken jobs and careers, and purchased toys that break; for these are more easily got than got rid of. better they had begun humble in the beginning, that they might have seen with clearer eyes what field they were called to labor in.
deitrich bonhoeffer penned the words: time lost is time when we have not lived a full human life, time unenriched by experience, creative endeavor, enjoyment and suffering.
[for the world-wide renown of His sovereign glory...]
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