Randy Wray’s Blog

When Reese was a wee little lad and a wee little lad was Reese he received a heavy duty plastic basketball goal as a present. It was used off and on for a while and has sat out in the yard for the last few years.

The weather has been spectacular the last few days and the kids, for some reason, began to play with this old basketball goal. I’ve since joined in the fun and we’ve playing some challenging games of P-I-G-S. It’s basically a game of “horse” using the word “pig” and the “s” is for the mercy shot you receive each and every time you miss your last shot. What can I say? We just play for the love of the game.

We are playing basketball on a child’s toy basketball goal propped up as high as it will go with a soccer ball. Let me tell you, it makes for some difficult and creative shots.

And now a flashback: When I was in high school I used to go out to our driveway and play basketball and we had no basketball goal. I’d play and shoot at the imaginary basketball goal on the roof. I was a pretty good shot. Made a basket pretty much every time. Someone from church came over one day and saw me doing this and must have taken pity on the poor son of a preacher man. The next day we were given a brand new basketball goal and backboard. We found a pole, dug the hole and the rest is history.

You should have seen what I did to get a car!

So please, help stop the MARCH MADNESS. These preachers kids need a better basketball hoop. Make a donation today to the WRAY stop the MARCH MADNESS fund. Because a child’s basketball future is a terrible thing to waste.

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So here is where this entire discussion turns personal. Is the rebellion in my heart better than the rebellion in the heart of another? Is the sin of another worse than my sin?

The theoretical answer, of course, is no. Sin is sin. Rebellion is rebellion, in whatever form it is expressed. But deep down, in the dark crevices of my own heart, the seed thought grows that some sins are worse than others.

Are sexual sins worse than lying? Is murder worse that not respecting my parents? Is idolatry worse than stealing? Is covetousness worse than gossip?

Again the answer is no. But is it not true that we make distinctions? “Can you believe what he did?” “You won’t believe what she did?” “It was just a little lie, it’s not like anyone got hurt?”

My dad had a good thought in a sermon of his I recently read. He said: “Sin in its deepest sense is not merely breaking of God’s commandments, but the breaking of God’s heart.” So yes someone (God) is always hurt by our sin (no matter the sin).

Even as I wrestle with these ideas I must go a step further. I’ve been a believer in Jesus Christ all my life. I can’t remember a time when I did not believe in Jesus. Growing up with believing parents, missionaries none the less, you tend to have blurred lines between believing and not believing.

Because I did not live a life of open rebellion before accepting Jesus as my Savior it was hard to make a distinction between “my old life” and “my new life.” But this, understand, did not make “my old life” any better than “the old life” of anyone else. Sure, the rebellion of some was out in the open for all to see. My rebellion (my sin) was simply neatly camouflaged. There is no such thing as the lesser of evils when it comes to sin.

The whole point of the indwelling Spirit of God living within is to defeat the darkness. The Holy Spirit lives in me to wipe out the rebellion in whatever form it may manifest. I’m losing the battle when I keep supplying the rebellion with the ammunition and reinforcements necessary to resist the leading of the Spirit.

The Apostle Paul said it this way: (Even if you are familiar with this passage it’s worth your time to read through it again)

Galatians 5:19-23 (NCV) The wrong things the sinful self does are clear: being sexually unfaithful, not being pure, taking part in sexual sins, worshiping gods, doing witchcraft, hating, making trouble, being jealous, being angry, being selfish, making people angry with each other, causing divisions among people, feeling envy, being drunk, having wild and wasteful parties, and doing other things like these. I warn you now as I warned you before: Those who do these things will not inherit God’s kingdom. But the Spirit produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. There is no law that says these things are wrong.

Please don’t miss this next part:

Galatians 5:24-26 (NCV) Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their own sinful selves. They have given up their old selfish feelings and the evil things they wanted to do. We get our new life from the Spirit, so we should follow the Spirit. We must not be proud or make trouble with each other or be jealous of each other.

Ultimately it is an issue of belonging. Who owns me?

I am making the effort to see all people as God sees them. Broken people in need of a Savior. The best work I see the Holy Spirit doing in my life lately is stamping out the rebellion of self-righteous judgment.

So I truly resonate with these words by Keith Green:

My eyes are dry
My faith is old
My heart is hard
My prayers are cold
And I know how I ought to be
Alive to You and dead to me

But what can be done
For an old heart like mine
Soften it up
With oil and wine
The oil is You, Your Spirit of love
Please wash me anew
With the wine of Your Blood

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I’ve been doing quite a bit of reading and reflecting on some emotionally charged societal issues. These same issues exist within the community of believers but tend to be swept under the proverbial rug. No matter the issue, (insert issue of choice here), the result is crisis.

The root of our sin is rebellion, in one form or another. The result of our rebellion is crisis. Torn relationships, broken covenants, hate, murder, sexual sins and self-righteous judgment of others surface as the direct result of the exchange made between our desire and the desire of God.

The devil runs virtually unchallenged on this earth leaving disaster and broken people in his wake. I think there is a problem when churches seek relevance to culture without genuinely addressing the real life struggles of living in a broken, fallen world.

Jim McGuiggan writes:

We can’t forever stand in silence while the hearts of our friends and neighbors are breaking. Our behavior and theology must offer some comfort to people in crisis. No, we don’t have the definitive answers or the complete cure for their ills; but the community of faith, the followers of the crucified and risen Lord, must have some to say and do.

God forgive us. God forgive us for our silence. God forgive us when we believe telling someone they are wrong is what we are to say and do. God forgive us when preaching “the wrath of God” is our answer to the sin that “entices others.”

Friends and neighbors forgive us for preaching at you instead of walking with you through your crisis. Forgive us for drawing lines between “us and them” as if it were our job to choose sides between saints and sinners.

Forgive us for judging your rebellion to be greater or more heinous than our rebellion. Forgive us for not understanding your struggle because your struggle is not our struggle. Forgive us for talking about love, mercy, compassion, grace, forgiveness and unmerited favor while we’ve insisted you jump through hoops to receive our compassion.

When we were kids we were told not to point a finger at someone else. When you point a finger at someone else three fingers are pointing at you.

Jesus said:

Luke 6:41-42 (NCV) “Why do you notice the little piece of dust in your friend’s eye, but you don’t notice the big piece of wood in your own eye? How can you say to your friend, ‘Friend, let me take that little piece of dust out of your eye’ when you cannot see that big piece of wood in your own eye! You hypocrite! First, take the wood out of your own eye. Then you will see clearly to take the dust out of your friend’s eye.

Perhaps a relevant church is one where the community of faith addresses their own rebellion toward God before they tackle the rebellion of the world?

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[Note to Steve: We set up the batting cage last night. Why don’t you bring the family over and hit a few buckets?]

If I had the chance to preach the weekly sermon I deliver on Sunday again on Tuesday it would probably be a much better sermon. Part of the struggle of preaching on a weekly basis is clearing the old sermon out of your head to focus on the new sermon.

Since Tuesday of last week I’ve been praying, planning, writing, re-writing, practicing and delivering the new message. Sunday morning I deliver said message. Sunday afternoon I rehash the delivery of the message - the mechanics of delivery and presentation. By Sunday night into Monday morning I’m thinking what I would have done or said differently - what I would have deleted or included. By Tuesday it’s a much better sermon that I have to stop thinking about so I can start on the new one. It can be rather frustrating.

I think of an etch-a-sketch and how sometimes it would be helpful to just be shaken vigorously a few times so the images of the old sermon would disappear. Of course this would just make me nauseous and set into motion a whole different chain of events.

So I’m sitting here today trying to begin the new sermon and I can’t get the old sermon out of my head. Is there some way to reboot the brain? Some way that doesn’t involve me forgetting who I am, soiling my trousers, and wondering about the strange people in my house?

The text from, actually a sentence from Hebrews 9:26, for the old sermon was “But Christ came only once and for all time at just the right time to take away all sin by sacrificing himself.” I talked about the reasons why it was the right time when Christ came to earth.

So today I’m thinking what if Christ had come during my lifetime? Would I have recognized him?

Would he have recognized me?

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Our town is all a buzz over the big win by George Mason. Here’s a great excerpt from the campus newspaper:

George Mason stunned the no. 1 seed University of Connecticut, 86-84, in a thrilling overtime NCAA Tournament game on Sunday at the Verizon Center. The Patriots are the first no. 11 seed to reach the Final Four since 1986. The next game is 6:07 p.m. on April 1 in Indianapolis, where Mason will face the University of Florida Gators.

Mason is also the first Colonial Athletic Association team in history to go to the Final Four.

The Patriots were down as much as 12 points in the first half. But they finished the half down by 9 at 43-34 and took the court for the second half with renewed momentum. In the second half they tied, then went ahead. Toward the end of regulation, the score kept seesawing between the two teams, and they were tied at the buzzer.

Mason hit six straight three-pointers in the second half, shot 5-for-6 in overtime and outrebounded the Huskies 37-34. Without a measuring stick, you couldn’t tell that Mason was dwarfed in size or reputation.

I picked George Mason for the first couple of rounds just because they were local. The hometown prophet syndrome kicked in or I would have picked them to go farther. That just shows you (or my bracket just shows you) how little I actually know about college basketball. Beth beats me every year (soundly) and I just keep coming back for more abuse.

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Yesterday I spoke about the importance of time and timing. Here are the facts from the first video, for those of you who wanted to see the numbers in print.

The average person lives 77 years. That’s 28,000 days, 670,000 hours, 40,000,000 minutes.

The average person spends 40 minutes each day on the telephone. That’s 20 hours a month, 10 days a year, 2 years in a lifetime.

The average person spends 1 hour each day in the bathroom. That’s 30 hours a month, 15 days per year, 3 years in a lifetime.

The average person spends 26 minutes per day getting dressed. That’s 13 hours per month, 7 days a year, 1 year in a lifetime.

The average persons spends 3 hours television per day. That’s 90 hours per month, 45 days per year, 9 years in a lifetime.

(Note: there was no mention of time on the computer or surfing the net)

The average Christian spends less than 10 min each day with the God of the universe, the creator of time. That’s less than 6 hours per month, less than 3 days per year, less than 7 months in a lifetime.

My first reaction is to dismiss this as applying to the ‚Äúaverage Christian.‚Äù Isn‚Äôt self-deception great? I mean without self-deception we would have some awful realities to confront. “So, okay Mr. Big-Time, Better Than Average Christian‚Äù that voice inside my head says, ‚Äústart counting, start keeping track!‚Äù

“What do you mean?”, I timidly respond knowing full well the response I will get. “If you doubt the math add it up. Use a calculator or an abacus, it doesn’t matter, take a look at how you spend your time. How much time a day do you spend with the Creator of time?”

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The reading circle participants were very gracious last night. Opinions of the book were mixed, as diverse as the group itself. The participants are intelligent, caring people and enjoy lively discussions on broad topics. It was good for me to interact with these good church people in totally different setting.

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The news coming out of Selmer, Tennessee is certainly disturbing. As small as our church community might be I don’t personally know this family. I can’t quit thinking about the kids in the picture that is plastered everywhere. So much sadness, shock and unanswered questions.

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I am not a disciple of Donald Miller. I don’t believe Blue Like Jazz to be a book above the Bible. I don’t agree with everything he says. There is, however, so much in this book that resonates with me. My ambition is to live a life in tune with God and the notes I hear in this book complete so many chords of the song.

For example, he writes:

For so much of my life I had been defending Christianity because I thought to admit that we had done any wrong was to discredit the religious system as a whole, but it isn’t a religious system, it is people following Christ; and the important thing to do, the right thing to do, was to apologize for getting in the way of Jesus.

I read that again this week and thought:

For so much of my life I have been defending the church of Christ because I thought to admit that we were wrong on some point was to discredit the religious system as a whole. But it shouldn’t be a religious system, it should be about people following Christ. The most important thing we could do, the right thing we could do is to apologize for our arrogance and spiritual conceit, apologize for getting in the way of Jesus.

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Book update:

I’m not enjoying SoulTalk by Larry Crabb. I don’t greatly disagree with the principles of what he is saying but find myself reacting to the style of writing. A texture v. flavor kind of thing.

I have been challenged immensly by Slaves, Women, and Homosexuals, by William Webb. I’ve noted some incosistencies in my own thought process were I thought I was quite consistent. Delusion v. denial.

I’ve been asked to lead the discussion for a book club Thursday night. They have been reading Blue Like Jazz, by Donald Miller. I started reading the book again Monday night and read through the first 100 pages. I read another 50 pages last night and want so much to hear the music.

Those of you who have read Blue what points should I highlight (besides Penguin Sex) for the book club?

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As I reflect upon our weekend events I want to tell you of the people who worked so hard, without whom this would not have been possible. These are the people who took care of so many important details and do so on a regular basis with a spirit of servant hood that truly reflects the example of Jesus.

I want to tell you about the people who worked hard setting up equipment.

I want to tell you of the person who by himself carried enough tables and chairs up from the basement to the auditorium to seat 100 people.

I want to tell you of the person who worked diligently exercising her “gift of ambiance.”

I want to tell you of the person who meticulously planned a meal to feed an army.

I want to tell you of the people who cooked for an entire day, who chopped and sliced, who stirred and grilled.

I want to tell you of the people who marketed and advertised in many creative ways to get the word out regarding this event.

I want to tell you of the musicians and singers who prayed and practiced for months to use God-given gifts to communicate a message of hope, love and grace.

I want to tell you about the people who prayed for neighbors, co-workers and friends to attend this event.

I want to tell you about the people who ran the sound and the computer.

I want to tell you of the person who used her gift to communicate the messages of the event in sign language.

I want to tell you about the people who cleaned everything up, put everything back and did so joyfully.

I want to tell you about the 100 or so people who attended, delighted to share an evening of spiritual nourishment. They were encouraged with positive and uplifting music. They ate their fill and still couldn’t make a dent in the amount of food that had been prepared.

I want to tell you of the people who spent an entire evening hearing about the Grace of God and the sacrifice of Jesus.

I want to tell you about the person who went home asking to know more about God.

I want to tell you about the small group who went the following night to encourage a small church. How this church is losing their minister. He and his family are leaving to do mission work in the middle east. I want to tell you about how these people stood for the majority of the evening receiving a blessing with open hearts and minds, and giving praise to God.

I want to tell you about the lives of people who truly are in tune with God.

I want to tell you how thankful I am for the way God was involved and worked in so many ways, through so many people.

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It was a busy, hectic, energezing, encouraging weekend - not without it’s toll. Thanks to all you who were praying about our event. I’ll blog all about it later.

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