Advertising and Me...

Have you ever noticed how many advertising slogans appeal directly to your selfish nature? How many of these have you heard? Admittedly, I went back a few years on some of these, so some of them you kids may have never heard, but I bet your parents have. Listen to some of these.

“You deserve a break today?”
“Have it your way!”
“Calgon, take me away!”
“Carnival’s got the fun!”

Or what about Candy--

Two For Me! None for you- Twix
Snickers satisfies you.
Nobody better lay a finger on my Butterfinger!
Give me a break! Give me a break! Break me off a piece of that Kit Kat bar!

How about Cereal?
Gotta have my pops!
I'm Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs
Nobody can say no to the honey nut Os in Honey Nut Cheerios

Soft drinks
Live on the Coke side of Life.
Make 7-Up Yours!
It Gives You Wings-Red Bull
All the sugar, and twice the caffeine- Jolt Cola

Even the military has gotten into the act.
An ARMY of one? Who ever heard of such a thing? Think about that—an army of one is going to get trounced every time by an army of thousands.

We could go on and on, but you get the picture. Society has not only accepted our selfishness, they have embraced it. Even going so far as one Reebok ad that almost mimics God’s very title. When Moses asked God at the burning bush, “Who should I say is sending me?” God simply responded, “I AM”. That’s His title. I AM. I always have been, I always will be. I am. Reebok’s take off ad simply stated at the end: I am what I am.

We are steeped in selfishness from birth. As a matter of fact, the only thing that a parent can truly pass on to their child with certainty, is a selfish, sinful nature.

We grow up in it and continue to nurse and protect our sinful natures. Even when we find out that we should share, we do so grudgingly. And even when we think we are not, we continually have an ongoing conversation in our heads about what other people are thinking about us. Don’t believe me? Answer this question.

What happens when you are walking by yourself and you accidentally trip on a crack in the sidewalk? That’s right—you instantly look around to see who saw you.


Advice columnist Ann Landers, once quipped: “At age 20 we worry about what others think of us. At 40 we don't care what they think of us. At 60 we discover they haven't been thinking of us at all.” 

Why is that? Because they’ve really only been thinking about themselves the whole time. It’s been said that the smallest package in the world is a person wrapped up in himself.

So where do we find relief from our selfish focus? The place that it has been found all along. In worship...or ascribing worth to...our Creator. And then serving our fellow man out of love for our God. King Me is really under-rated.

The Reason for Hope...

Anthony de Mello in his book The Heart of the Enlightened, page 19 writes:
Once upon a time in a concentration camp there lived a prisoner who, even though he was under sentence of execution, was fearless and free. One day he was seen in the middle of the prison square playing his guitar. A large crowd gathered to listen, for under the spell of his music, they became as fearless as he. When the prison authorities saw this, they forbade the man to play.
But the next day there he was again, singing and playing on his guitar with a larger crowd around him. The guards angrily dragged him away and had his fingers chopped off.

Next day he was back again, singing and making what music he could with his bleeding fingers. This time the crowds were cheering. The guards dragged him away again and smashed his guitar.

The following day he was singing with all his heart. What a song! So pure and uplifting! The crowd joined in, and while the singing lasted, their hearts became as pure as his and their spirits were invincible. So angry were the guards this time that they had his tongue torn out. A hush descended on the camp, a something that was deathless.

To the astonishment of everyone, he was back in his place the next day swaying and dancing to a silent music that no one but he could hear. And soon everyone was holding hands and dancing around this bleeding, broken figure in the center while the guards stood rooted to the ground in wonder.

Two thousand years ago, thinking to silence hope, the devil looked at the Singer of life and love said, “Destroy this One, and we destroy any hope that humanity ever thought of having!” And he did his best. Satan used one of Jesus’ friends to betray Him. The mob took Him. They spit on Him; pulled out His beard, beat Him until He was almost dead. Then forced Him to carry his cross up a rugged hill, and there, they crucified Him.

“That should do it!” Satan beamed. And for a while, it looked like it would work. The disciple’s world caved in. They locked themselves into a room for fear of the Jews. It was as if a hush descended on the camp, a something that was deathless.

All seemed bleak. Hopeless. Dark. But then someone found the crack in the concrete. A small hole with a single blade of grass hope. “Hey, I wonder if it’s really true?” “What’s that?” “Well, you know, what He said about the third day.”

It seemed hopeless to all, but to the astonishment of everyone, on the third day, Jesus was back in His spot once again singing hope.

Be Amazed...Again...(For the very first time)

Exhibit B in our journey this week on learning to be amazed once again.

Your name is Jairus. You’ve come a long way to find Jesus. Your only daughter is dying. The doctors have all given up and you’ve taken her home to die. But somehow, you just can’t give up without trying everything. One of your servants has seen Jesus heal and suggests that if you could just find Jesus and have him come, your daughter might not die. You search frantically, from one town to the next. The reports are all the same. “You just missed Him. He was here about 2 days ago and healed most of the people in the town.”

Hope grows stronger, while on the other side of the emotional roller coaster, you become frantic as you realize that you are a few days behind him. You redouble your efforts, trying to reach Him and get Him home before it is too late. Finally, you come racing into a town and discover a large crowd of people gathered around. This must be Jesus. Pushing your way through the crowd, you come face to face with Him. “Master, you must come now!” The urgency is in your voice as you try to get Jesus to follow you back through the crowd. He motions for you to lead and begins to follow. You look back and realize that He has stopped and is asking who touched Him. You turn back to urge Him to hurry when one of your servants rides up to the edge of the crowd on horseback and motions for you.

You can tell by the look on his face that it’s too late. “Don’t trouble the Master any further,” he says, “She’s dead.” Grief wrenches your soul and you slump to the ground. The "if only’s" come. If only you had found Him quicker. If only He had been closer to your home. If only she had held on for a little while longer. If only there were no crowds to slow Him down.”

A hand on your shoulder jars you back to reality. “Don’t worry, just believe.” Jesus helps you to your feet and begins walking towards your town, He and his disciples helping you as you stumble along in a haze of grief. You sleep little that night, and the next day is a blur as you head home. As you come near your house, the mourner’s are there in full force. It really hits home. She’s dead. 

Jesus simply quiets them and says, “Don’t mourn. She’s sleeping.” Laughter meets His statement. How can Jesus mock your pain with such a statement. You enter to find your wife weeping and lying across the bed holding the lifeless form of your daughter. Jesus gently lifts her and you rush to hold her, to hold each other, as Jesus now looks at the little body on the bed.

Gently, yet with authority he says, “Little girl, I say to you arise!” Her eyes flutter open as you heart beats wildly. Your wife screams with joy and leaps toward the bed as your beloved daughter sits up. Suddenly the three of you are laughing, crying, talking, hugging, kissing, and marveling at what just happened. You look again…and He is gone.

Are you amazed yet? Can you just shrug it off with an "I've heard all this before!"? Or is there something, even now, that is begging you to be astounded and astonished at a God who cared so much for you and me that He came and gave us a peek at what God is like. Someone who calls the unloveable. Someone who forgives the hookers... Someone who wants to turn your grief into joy. Look again...for the very first time. And be amazed!

Look Again for the Very First Time

Are you ready for another round of look again...for the very first time? The game where we take a fresh look at some perspective of Jesus life that we may have heard so often that we fail to be amazed by it. Here we go...be amazed...

Your name is Mary. You’re a hooker. A street-walker. A prostitute. Nobody at the church wants you hanging out in front of the entrance, and you assume that if the church people don’t want you, their God doesn’t want you either. You watch from your corner as the people leave the evening service, giving you cold glares as they walk by or drive off. Not a problem for you. You’re not wanting what they have to give anyway. You’re waiting for a certain someone to come out of the church. Here he comes now. One of the Pastoral staff. He shakes hands with the last of the parishioners and watches as they disappear around the corner. He locks the building and then looks your way. You’ve seen that look hundreds of times before. The look of a man hungry with lust. He looks around to make sure that no one is watching and then gives you the signal. You leave your corner and head for your previously arranged meeting place a few blocks away. By the time you get there, he is already inside and waiting. You are barely undressed when the door comes smashing in. It’s the rest of the pastoral team. Grabbing you, dragging you from the bed as you clutch at sheets and try to cover yourself, they half-lift, half-drag you out into the streets.


Your mind is swirling. This is it. This time you lose. Set up by the pastors. You know the rules. You mess around and get caught, you die. You’ve played the odds and this time you lose. You’ve been in and out of a hundred beds, and so you figure it must be your time to go.

Inwardly you cry for a God to save you. But why would He? His people know you’re scum. His word says that an unfaithful woman should be stoned. No. No use crying out to Him. Take the punishment with as much dignity as you can muster. Suddenly you are flung in front of the Teacher, your sheet being ripped away as you hit the dusty street. Curling up you try to cover yourself from all of the laughter and leering eyes as the pastors say, “Teacher, Moses and the law say that we should stone this woman. What do you say?”

You know what any holy man will be forced to say and you brace yourself for the rocks. Abruptly, you realize that all has grown quiet and then you hear the question. “Woman, where are your accusers?” Looking up slowly from your curled up position, you realize no one else is around. It is just you and Jesus. He is taking His outer cloak and covering you. You respond, “I don’t see anyone, Lord.” And then His response takes you totally by surprise, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and leave your life of sin.” You look again. And you see for the very first time that He is smiling.

Go ahead...be amazed!