ILLUSIONS

"I know your out there. I can tell you now; I know that you're afraid. You're afraid of us. You're afraid of change.I don't know the future. I didn't come here to tell you how this is going to end, I came here to tell you how it's going to begin. I'm going to hang up this phone and then Im going to show these people what you don't want them to see. I'm going to show them a world.....without you. A world without rules and controls, without borders or bounderies. A world where anything is possible. Where we go from there... is a choice I leave to you."

This is the final dialogue in the first Matrix movie. The strength of this monologue lies in the lines, ["... I'm going to show these people what you don't want them to see. I'm going to show them a world..... without you.] Talk 'bout throwin' DOWN the GAUNTLET! This tone sets the stage for the fight between THE TRUTH and THE ILLUSION:

il~lu~sion: n. 1. something that deceives by producing a false impression. 2. a perception that represents what is perceived in an unreal way.
-Syn. An illusion is a false mental image or conception that may be a misinterpretation of a real appearance or may be something imagined.

I am struck at how hip they look and move; always in danger, speaking in low whisperey tones, then bustin' out some bullets or KUNG-FU on the bad guys. Could I ever be that dangerously cool or have a mysterious way about me which draws in others ? For examle, take Morpheous as he presents Neo with the ultimate choice to know THE TRUTH:

["You take the blue pill, the story ends and you wake up believing whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in wonderland and I show you just how deep the rabbit hole goes."]

truth n. 1. a verified or indisputable fact 2. reality apart from and transcending perceived experience.




Do I the want the TRUTH or the ILLUSION? Do I want to stay safe in my bed OR be out there, scared but on the edge, living and loving people, being a part of a battle greater than my OWN LIFE?

Do I want to simply exist in the ILLUSION OF my BIG life with my BIG STUFF, worshipping my BIG god(?) or do I want to live in the TRUTH and BLAST A HUGE GAPING HOLE IN THE STATUS QUO OF MY SAFE, CLEAN, COOKIE CUTTER CHRISTIAN LIFE BY HONESTLY WORSHIPPING THE ONE, TRUE GOD!!

Neo, Trinity, Morpheus... characters in a movie, yes, but also examples of modern day prophets/evangelists. It's not there guns or martail arts skills that make them DANGEROUS, but rather the fact that they put it all out ON THE LINE, sacrificing themselves for a belief, a dream... of a Savior, who will end the suffering one day, end the charade of our current life; one who will usher each of us to a real WALK on earth with Him and eventually into Zion and into... the TRUTH!

diving head-first...

This is the great Julian Beever; and his artwork makes me smile. It's hard to believe that this is really a 2-dimensional piece made on the side walk (the stairs are real) with pastels. Yes, he is really standing on an ordinary sidewalk outside of some building! Most of his 3-D pieces can only be viewed from one angle to get the proper perspective.



Notice the guy on the left stepping around this next piece?



Okay, it gets tricky now. That's REALLY Julian on top of the bottle. Think about it... look real close...

Prepare your mind...

Today in "Experiencing God Day-by-Day Devotional" by Henry Blackaby, the following JUMPED off the page, starting in paragraph three:

"Sadly, many Christians today do not excercise their minds to be of service to God. They allow others to do their spiritual thinking for them. If they can find their theology from a book, they will not bother to study God's Word themselves. If a speaker makes an authoritative statement, they readily accept it without verifying whether it is biblical."

I'm convicted! In II Timothy 2:15 it states: "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who CORRECTLY HANDLES the word of truth."

In Ephesians, it calls us to " take every thought CAPTIVE to the obediance of Christ."

Well, 'nough said. Get back on the path if you've found yourself in the weeds and keep your eyes on the Son. Peace Out!

LIFE IN THE FAST LANE...

really makes you lose your mind... that song by the Eagles; can you hear the guitar riff? So look, I know it's been a while since posting (sorry) but I had to catch up after being on "island time". Hawaii was SOOOOO laid back! I just loved it. We had such a great time hanging out with the Baldwins and the McDaniels. This is the most time Jacqui and I spent with Brian and Candace in the 13+ years that we've known each other and the most time spent with Keith and Tracy since our last Hawaii revival at Olivet Baptist Church in '03. I could not have ever envisioned a better week than the one I experienced!

So here's the quick low down of our time spent: lots and lots of SUN and SURF. We rented a house across the street(!) from Kailua beach (rated in top 3 most beautiful beaches in the world), boogie boarded at Sherwood Beach (the McD's favorite beach for catchin' sweet waves), saw SEA TURTLES up close and watched Candace ALMOST GIVE ONE A KISS!, went to N.shore to have SHAVE ICE at Matsimotos (AWESOME!!!), stopped at the Dole Factory for soft-serve pineapple ice-cream (yes!); had many home cooked meals at our beach house, where I bbq'd (of course); helped Brians mom and dad throw a surprise party for Parker's 11th birthday; had a great brunch at Arlie and Onita's; checked out properties for the future home of CRASH; LAUGHED hard, TALKED and CRIED; got to just BE with each other as friends; got to watch our ABSOLUTELY CRAZY children put on a zany impromptu play in the backyard; watched the sunset as Candace took pictures of our families; saw huge strange Hawaiian snails; dug fortresses in the sand as the surf tried (and succeeded) in tearing it down; found a coconut and tried to crack it open only to find it was rotten and STUNK; played with sand crabs; got SUNBURNED, but eventually TANNED; went to the swap meet; witnessed the sheer, physical beauty of a land and a sea only God could have created; got to watch Brian deliver a message to a few believers at Wakiki Baptitst Church; got to hear that song (how is it spelled?) "coom-by-AH" played on the accordian! by a truly humble servant/drummer named Dave; ate peanut butter cookies made by a women named Irna; HAD THE BEST PANCAKES ON THE PLANET WITH MACADAMIA NUT SAUCE AT BOOTS AND KIMOS; had McDonalds breakfast with SPAM and rice!; then our final dinner at Pinky's (home of the greatist ballon animal making brothers!) Anything else besides sleeping and bathing? No, I think that may be it... God is good!