- How old was the prince when the enchantress cast a spell on him?
- Whatever happened to the enchantress, anyway?
- Did her supervisor file a complaint charging her with entrapment?
- How many years went by before Belle came to the castle?
- Why didn’t Belle ever ask the Beast how he became a beast? I mean, she was a reader and thinker.  Wasn’t she the least bit curious?
- If the spell had not been broken, would  the Beast have lived forever or just a regular human life span?
- Why couldn’t the Beast/prince read?
- Were charges filed in the incident of Gaston’s death?
- What kind of relationship did the Beast have with his new father-in-law, whom he had cruelly imprisoned?

I think we need a prequel.

When Jesus was asked what was the most important commandment, He actually gave two: love God and love people (see Matthew 22:37-40).  He cited Leviticus 19:18, which says to “love your neighbor as yourself.”

Looking at that phrase in its context provides some insight.  Leviticus 19:18 in its entirety says: “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.”

Since we’re coming out of a three-week series on forgiveness at CrossWay, this really jumped out at me.

Sometimes we tend to categorize biblical truths as Old Testament or New Testament, as though they’re not consistent with each other.  The whole concept of forgiving others because God forgives us seems very New Testament.  But it’s right there in Leviticus in the Old Testament!  We’re not to carry grudges or seek revenge.  If we do, we’re not loving our neighbors.  And we’re to practice this kind of love because Jesus Christ is the Lord.

It’s stuff like this that reminds me why I love the Bible… and even more than that, why I love the God of the Bible.

We’re told that Moses carefully and diligently obeyed God and did everything just as he was supposed to.  And then near the end of the book it says: “And so Moses finished the work.”

I love that statement!  Something I pray for is that God would help me to finish the work, to complete the plans and fulfill the purposes for which He created me.  Although I sometimes fear failing to finish the work, a couple passages in the Bible tell us about tools God gives us to help:

Ephesians 2:10: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  I’m not left alone to finish the work.  God prepared these “good works” long before I was even born, and He has “created (me) in Christ Jesus to do” them.  He is shaping my character and He gives me His Spirit so I can finish the work like Moses did.

More specifically, the Bible says in 2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”  God gave us the Bible so we would be not just ready, but “thoroughly equipped” to complete the work He’s called us to.

Maybe this is one of those things that can’t be explained in a way to convey the “a-ha!” moment.  But when I read this morning about how “Moses finished the work,” it hit me what an enormous statement that is.

I think that’s what I want my tombstone to say: “And so Nathan finished the work.”

Lord help me!

(1) Catholics.  A local Catholic Church, Saint John Neumann’s in Ocean Pines, invited me to go to the march with them.  They chartered a bus and let everyone ride free.  I was impressed with that.  I was even more impressed with how warm and welcoming they were.  Usually my experiences with Catholics are with ex-Catholics who have fled from Catholicism, so I didn’t know what to expect.  What I encountered was a group of friendly people who bent over backwards to make me feel at home among them.  Sure, we’ve got some irreconcilable theological differences, but they also showed a genuine interest in Mennonite theology, doctrine, and practice, which I thought was pretty cool.  (Plus it was their bus, so it’s not like I was going to stand up and shout, “Well, actually….”)  It was kind of weird waking up this morning with Hail Marys running through my head like a power ballad leftover from the ’80s, but at least it was educational.

One of the things that really stood out to me was the community on the bus.  People were constantly passing around goodies and sharing everything with one another.  Pretzels, water, Gatorade, homemade cookies, wristbands, fliers, rings, M&Ms (plain and peanut)… it just went on and on.  I’m convinced that if we’d gotten stuck on the side of the road, someone would have opened their bag and pulled out a pot roast.

As much as I enjoyed spending time with the Catholics on the bus, I was absolutely floored when I got to the actually rally and saw an endless sea of Catholics filling the mall between the Capitol and the Washington Monument.  (I don’t know how many people were there; last year’s tally was estimated between 250,000 – 400,000.)  I really didn’t know what to expect, but I guess I thought I’d see a lot more Christian groups other than Catholics.  I’m sure there were Protestants there (like the handful from our bus), but the thousands of signs with church names on them all appeared to be Catholic.  It gave me a deeply disturbing thought: What if the Catholics were not so passionate about this critical issue?  WHERE IS THE REST OF THE CHURCH?????

(2) Old people.  Usually this term is thrown around derisively and dismissively in our society.  I can no longer see it that way.  When I refer to old people, I mean it as a term of respect.  I don’t know how many people were on our bus–I’d estimate maybe 40 or 50.  Three of them were younger than me.  Nearly everyone else was in their 60s or 70s, and there were even several in their 80s.  And these were people who met at 7:00 a.m. to go on a three-hour bus ride, stand outside in 20-degree weather for three hours or so, walk around D.C. in a massive crowd, and then ride another three hours back.  What I’m saying, folks, is these guys are troopers.  Most of them are too old to even have had a legal abortion since Roe v. Wade.  But they’re putting their beliefs into action.  That’s what I respect so much: They’re actually DOING something!  It’s like when I go to our recycling center each week.  I’ve seen someone my age or younger just a couple times.  Usually it’s the older folks.  Why are younger people talking about the environment but not showing up to do something as simple as recycle?  Whenever I think of old people, I’ll no longer picture retired folks sitting around drinking tea and reading the newspaper and grumbling about “young people these days.”  Instead, what will come to mind are a sturdy group of dedicated people with such deep conviction that they’re doing what “young people these days” should be doing.  What was my generation doing?  I have no idea.  Probably stuff that seems urgent but is possibly quite meaningless once we look at it from beyond the end of our own noses.  Older people have a perspective that helps them see what truly matters.  And when they do something about it, especially something very inconvenient and uncomfortable, I have a profound respect for them.

(3) Politicians.  Well, some of them.  Don’t worry, I haven’t gone over the deep end.  I have to admit I’m still just as jaded and cynical as ever.  Well, almost.  Three dozen politicians stepped to the microphone yesterday in front of a countless multitude and publicly identified themselves with the pro-life movement, an association which is surprisingly controversial (it’s mind-blowing to think that opposing the killing of children is controversial, yet that’s how perverse our society is).  These were not spinsters visiting a midweek women’s Bible study at the height of election season to try to garner votes with a charming smile.  This is a group of largely freshmen representatives who are riding into the Beltway with a resounding victory at the polls just two months ago.  They were quoting Scripture and speaking bluntly.  Of course that doesn’t mean I bought into all their promises and friended them all on Facebook, but it was pretty cool to see that hey, maybe there are a few people with conviction sitting in that dome of corruption that looms over the capital city.

Next year I look forward to going on my second Catholic field trip!

There was one gift card for Amazon that was worth $100, but 9 people had pushed the bidding on it up to $191.50 with three and a half hours still to go.  I’ve tried to come up with some explanation, but with no success.

Are sellers just taking advantage of people who are really bad at math, or what?

Of course, I already knew that God made me and that He made me unique.  But I never really thought about the fact that I’m His idea.  I mean, this morning I made a cup of coffee, but I didn’t come up with the idea of coffee.  God not only made me, but my very existence is His idea.  There were already billions of people on the planet, but none of them were me, and in His mind God conceived the idea of me and then made me.  My height, my complexion, the color of my eyes and the shape of my nose… my strengths, weaknesses, the things that make me laugh and the things that make me nervous… all of this was God’s idea!  I originated in His mind.

This insight gives much more meaning to Psalm 139:13-15: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.”

Think about it: You are God’s idea.

That’s as good as it gets this side of heaven.

You can keep your kingdoms, your wealth, your fame and fortune, your whatever.  I’d rather have my little girl running into my arms.

So today I’m wearing a Cowboys windbreaker.  Underneath that is a Cowboys jersey–injured quarterback Tony Romo, to be precise.  Underneath that is a Cowboys t-shirt.  Underneath that is just my linebacker bod.  Okay, more like a desk jockey bod, but that’s not the point.  I’ve crowned it all with a pretty sharp Dallas Cowboys hat.  And I am not ashamed.

A fan should be a fan at all times, through good and bad.  My family (on Mom’s side, at least) have been Cowboys fans for 50 years.  We’ve seen the good and bad.  I grew up in Redskins country when the Cowboys went 1-15.  I enjoyed the Super Bowl years with Emmitt, Aikman, and Irvin.  And now they really stink and just fired their coach.  (Their biggest problem, of course, is their owner–but that’s a different blog post altogether!)

I wore the silver, blue, and white during the great times, so why should that change now?  A day will come when they are again Super Bowl champions.  And on that day, I’ll still be wearing my Dallas gear.  What’s the point in being a fan if you’re only a fair-weather fan?  How can you truly celebrate the highs if you’re not willing to suffer through the lows?

So I’m sporting my allegiance today loud and clear.  Let there be no doubt which team my affection belongs to.

But there’s a bigger point than that.

My greatest allegiance belongs to Jesus Christ.  Right now it looks like He’s not winning the war.  If you look around at how the world seems to be falling apart, it looks doubtful that He’s going to emerge victorious in the end.  But He will!  Revelation 17:14 says: “They will wage war against the Lamb [that's Jesus], but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”

Did you catch that?  Jesus will triumph, “and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers”–that is, the ones who wear His gear through good times and bad.  I am clothed in Christ, and I am not ashamed.

When all is said and done and Jesus comes again, I want there to be no doubt whose I am.  I want it to be loud and clear that all along I’ve been clothed in Christ, layer after layer after layer, all the way from the top of my head to the bottom of my heart.  I want it to be abundantly clear at all times that Jesus Christ is my God, my Savior, and my King.

Go Cowboys… and go Jesus!!!!

Reminds me of all the bumper stickers that were around during President Bush’s last year or so, that simply had the date of the next inauguration.

It’s weird how so many people still place so much hope in a politician.

There’s a day coming when we will have a new leader who will make a difference and we will see positive and lasting change.  But as Jesus said: “About that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24:36).

Maybe I should get a bumper sticker with a blank date.

Brightly-colored trees.  Crisp, cold air on the face and in the lungs.  Invigorating.  World Series excitement.  A new chance for my Cowboys.  School year routine.  Short days and long nights.  The smell of crackling fireplaces up and down the street.  Heavy, warm clothes.  The smell of impending snow.  Thanksgiving dinner.  The first Christmas tree lights.  Burning candles.  Pumpkin spice.  A full moon seen through stark, bare trees.  Crunchy leaves on the ground.  Crystals on the windshield in the morning.  The smell of pine trees.  Pleasant memories of -embers past.  Cozy.  Quieting.  Still.  Peaceful.

Love it.  Bring it!  Welcome, September.  I gladly open my arms to receive you and your fellow -embers.