Tuesdays with Morris

The first two weeks of October, I’ll be preaching a series called “Upside-Down & Inside-Out”. The first week will focus on the upside-down part, and we’ll follow up with the inside-out part the next week.

As I’ve been working on the “Upside-Down” message, I’m struck by the way God turns our world, our lives, our expectations, our agendas, and our priorities upside-down. Jesus came into the world and turned some of our core-values upside down. Here are some of the things that we find in the Scriptures that turn this worlds priorities upside down:

- Weakness is strength
- Giving is receiving
- Dying is living
- Losing is finding
- Poor is rich
- Last is first
- Serving is ruling

These are just a few of the things that seem opposite of the ideals and values of our consumer-driven, prosperity-focused society. It seems clear that what’s important in the worlds view isn’t too important to Jesus…Maybe that’s why some have such a hard time grasping His teachings. We want to hear that if we follow Jesus, our lives will be in order and every thing will work out the way we want it…all our worries and struggles will fall away…and of course, we’ll all become millionaires.

For me, it seems to be more true that Jesus wants to take our plans, our agendas and turn them upside-down. The process of turning things upside-down realigns our priorities and requires us to depend and focus on Jesus. If we buy into this worlds plans and agendas, we’ll be tricked into believing we can do it all on our own. Jesus wants to turn you upside-down.

So, that first week, we’ll be focusing on how Jesus wants to turn our lives upside-down.

Do you have any experiences where Jesus has turned your life upside-down? What happened as a result? I’d love for you to share your stories with me (if you comment via this site, please mention whether or not you want me to publish your comment).

The following week, we’ll be talking about how after our lives are turned upside-down, we need to live from the inside-out…

And, yes, Jack Johnson will be utilized during the upside-down message.

This morning, I’m sitting around in our back room with the patio doors open and I’m simply listening…

It’s a calming activity. Though I live in town, the sounds I hear make me feel like I’m out in the country…birds, crickets, the occasional dog barking. Do I really live two blocks from one of the busiest streets in Muncie?

I’m also reminded of the need to listen. So often I fill my day with noise…music, busyness, and other activities. I need to slow down and take the time to listen.

Okay, so many of you know I am sort of a closet John Reuben fan. I think his videos are pretty funny (the one with duck-duck-goose and the one with the cheerleader audition would be my favorites). So, here’s a little something for you:

One of my passions is cooking. I love to be alone in the kitchen preparing meals - experimenting with ingredients, wandering away from recipes in order to create something new, putting together something that will satisfy those that will consume it - it’s a beautiful experience. And, there’s also something oddly spiritual about cooking. I don’t know if it’s the solitude, the creative process, or simply working with fresh and natural products to provide strength and nourishment, but every time I really cook, I come away from the experience feeling close to the Creator.

In my years of cooking, there is one chef that stands out as my favorite…Jamie Oliver. I love his cooking shows (Naked Chef, Oliver’s Twist, Jamie’s Kitchen, etc)! I love his recipes! I am encouraged and amazed by his passion and enthusiasm for cooking (it reminds me of my need to be passionate and enthusiastic for my craft). I mean, he’s a drummer…so how could you go wrong? Almost every time we have people over for dinner, I prepare some meal that was, at the very least, inspired by Jamie Oliver.

So, last night, Emily comes home from a shopping trip with a wonderful surprise…Jamie Oliver’s cookbook “Jamie’s Italy.” We watched the program “Jamie’s Great Escape” on the travel channel. It’s the trip that inspired the cookbook. The whole time we watched the series, I longed to have the cookbook. Well, last night I recieved the cookbook. After Sammy went to bed, I spent about an hour thumbing through the book. During her afternoon nap, I’ll probably work back through the book…marking the recipes that I’d like to take a shot at.

The real beauty here is having a wife that knows my passions and desires and took time and resources to provide a bit of joy into my life. Of course, she brings joy into my life simply by being my love and friend. But, the cookbook sure is nice!

So, give me a call, come on over, and enjoy some tasty food!

I’m currently reading a book called “Provocative Grace: The Challenge in Jesus’ Words” by Robert Corin Morris. The book doesn’t exactly hit any thing ground-breaking. However, it does serve as a great reminder to live out grace…in our interactions with all of God’s creation. The author calls us to love the good in all things.

For some of us, it’s easy to love the good in certain things or people. For some, it’s easy to love the good in nature, art, literature. For some, it’s easy to love the good in certain groups of people. But, it seems like in terms of Jesus’ call, we’re to love the good in all things.

As Christians, we’re known for loving the good in some things. We love people…unless, of course, they happen to be gay, pro-choice, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, etc. We love nature…unless, of course, it stands in the way of making lots of money (through industrialized developments). We love music…unless, of course, it was performed by people that don’t believe what we believe. We love art…unless, of course, it doesn’t have some sort of obvious religious theme. The list could go on and on.

But, we’re called to love the good…period.

Morris writes, “God dwells at the heart of everything in the world. It became clear for the first time that I could love God as beauty through all that is beautiful. Putting God’s priorities first means loving the good in everyone we meet and everything we see and handle…” He then tells the story of Helen…a real tree-hugger: “Helen is part of a growing company of witnesses who provoke us to think harder about the right use of land as we heedlessly ‘develop’ the earth in destructive ways ruled by our immediate cravings for convenience and comfort rather than the good of whole regions and biospheres. She owes allegience to something and Someone greater than the marketplace of the government. For her, the trees of the forest are more than raw fodder for human purposes. They are creatures of God, vital parts of the well-being of her region, neighbors to be treated with respect.”

Are we able to recognize the beauty, the good, in all things? If we are unable to recognize the beauty and good in all things will we truly be able to join in praise with all of creation?

“Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the skies. Praise him high above the earth. Praise him, all you angels. Praise him, all you armies of heaven. Praise him, sun and moon. Praise him, al you shining stars. Praise him, highest heavens and you waters above the sky. Let them praise the Lord, because they were created by his command. He put them in place forever and ever; he made a law that will never change. Praise the Lord from the earth, you large sea animals and all the oceans, lightning and hail, snow and mist, and stormy winds that obey him, mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all cattle, crawling animals and birds, kings of the earth and all nations, princes and all rulers of the earth, young men and women, old people and children.” (Psalm 148:1-12)