5 Things I Dig About Jesus

I am honored to have been tagged by Alyce and Bryan and these are the rules as they were written:
1. Those tagged will share 5 things they dig about Jesus.
2. Those tagged will tag 5 other bloggers.
3. Those tagged will provide a link in the comment section so that others can read them.

Here are the 5 things I most dig about Jesus:

1. I dig the way He blows my mind. "'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him'- but God has revealed it to us by His Spirit" (1 Cor 2:9-10). Jesus expands my mind and inspires my imagination.

2. The way He created a natural world so accommodating, even while fallen. While natural disasters and wildlife aggression are always a risk, they are for now anomalies. Not only is nature beautiful to behold, but we even make sport of it, sailing frisbees and kites on His wind, surfing and swimming in the therapeutic salt water of His oceans, climbing rocks and snowboarding mountains and hiking forests. "Worship Him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water" (Rev 14:7)

3. I dig the way He makes Holy God my friend. Almighty Yahweh, who said "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live" (Exodus 33:20), was also "pleased to have all His fullness dwell in (Jesus), and through Him reconcile to Himself all things" (Colossians 1:19-20). Jesus our mediator brings us into the presence of God, and calls us His friend (John 15).

4. The way He makes us a family. I enjoy crossing paths with otherwise random strangers to discover they are my brother or sister in His kingdom. We are unified by a common focus and mission in Him. We are a kind of free-floating community of love when at our best, frequently unwittingly appointed to encourage or exhort one another at just the right time, according to His purposes. To have opportunity to fellowship with some of His most divinely inspired has been an adventure for me. "But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin" (1 John 1:7)

5. I dig the way Jesus is making me better. "No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning" (1 John 3:6). I'm excited about that.


All my friends have been tagged except Mervey. I am tagging Mervey.

Moving and God's Will

We found a house we liked. We had good feelings about it. I sought the Lord's will, asking Him that if the house was for us, it would fall into place for us, as did our last house which has been such a blessing to us for five years. We put our house up for sale and it sold the next day, for what we'd always hoped and expected to trade for it, and so we were able to buy the place we'd found. Three weeks later we're all moved in. How beautiful it is to "be able to test and approve what God's will is- His good, pleasing and perfect will" (Romans 12:2). What simplicity and freedom there is in Jesus Christ to have the Holy Spirit light up the single path that our Father would have us to take. And to experience beyond this that truly God has "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11), is inexplicable joy. That the Creator of the Universe would involve Himself with me leaves me no room for pride. It makes me want to cry out as Peter did, "Go away from me Lord; I am a sinful man!" (Luke 5:8), at the same time clinging to Him, begging Him not to go. The house is squarish, three little bedrooms all on one side, a screened in deck, and a big open space that will be party central. I've been skateboarding through it. It's not unlike the simple designs I'd been sketching on my graph paper.

Skating and Universal Salvation

Gilbert and I changed out some storefront glass and made lots of money. The best part was that the storefront was for lease, so inside was just a huge open space. Even the floor was stripped bare. I came prepared with my skateboard. It was premium. I manualed the length of the store.

I candidly expressed some universalist inklings at a home bible study. No one kicked me out. I think most related to my struggles. If universalism would have any substantial argument, surely it would appeal to the New Testament, to the atoning death of Jesus Christ. The result of that "one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men," (Rom 5:18). Patronizing talk of "whatever feels right for you" seems a feeble attempt to dismiss an impossibly difficult question. Karma would have us recycled here forever. Allah promises a fire, an "evil resting place" for wrongdoers (Koran 18:29). The mosaic law would have had me stoned multiple times by now. The cross is my only chance. It's anyone's only chance. So I begin to wonder just how big God's grace in Jesus Christ is. Will it cover our denominational differences? Major ecclesiastical differences? Those who've never heard the story of Jesus? Those who doubt? Those who reject him vehemently and condemn His people's attempts to share His truth with others? For now, I trust only God to judge others, and not even to judge myself apart from the Holy Spirit and the scriptures. Maybe that's the only answer.