For this blog I am forced to admit that I not only watched the epic movie Titanic, but also (now opening myself up to endless critics) found it mildly entertaining.  I could say I enjoyed it, but I won’t press this any further.  After all, it’s clearly a chick movie.  I’ll keep a protective distance.  On the other hand, to outright condemn this modern portrayal of such a tragic event seems in itself somewhat deplorable.  So…I saw the movie…it piqued my interest in the real event.  Case closed.

I needed to tell you that because it is the reason I recently found myself glued to a documentary concerning the sinking of the Titanic.  I’ve never been to the ship in Branson, but now I just might spend a few bucks the next time I’m through.  The history (forgive me if you are way ahead of me on Titanic trivia) of this tragedy is amazingly troubling.  The bottom line is that the crash with the iceberg and subsequent deaths of 1522 people could have been avoided.  Ok…you knew that.

What you don’t know is that all it would have taken was ONE good decision among AT LEAST a dozen bad ones, and for all we know the ship would still literally be unsinkable!  The documentary laid out a compelling case:  rivets that were of low quality; lifeboats that were cut from the ship for aesthetic reasons; a decision to lower the bulkheads to make room for the grand staircase (what?); messages of warning that never made it to the captain; the ships radio that was used for wealthy patrons instead of emergency services; unusual ocean currents for that year; and even the decision to attempt to avoid the iceberg (It’s true!  The Titanic would have been better off to hit the iceberg head on!).  If any one of these dumb decisions is reversed, everyone lives.

So let me tell you about the events that really caught my attention.  It seems that the Titanic had a sister ship that was disabled at the time of the Titanic launch.  Because of this, the officers of the sister ship were combined with the staff of the Titanic.  This, of course, led to more officers than positions, and those at the bottom of the pecking order were relieved of their duty.  One such officer was slated to be a lookout at the front of the boat.  When he was fired, he packed his things in a trunk and hastily left the ship.  (Well, wouldn’t you?)  What no one knew until it was too late was that inside his trunk, that was now off the ship, was a key to the only locker on board that contained binoculars.  Binoculars, by the way, are a handy thing to have if you want to see things like, well…icebergs.

You can guess the rest.  No binoculars for the lookout means not being able to see the iceberg in time to avoid it, which leads to one of the greatest tragedies ever.  In official documents recording the hearings which took place a week after the accident, the un-spectacled lookout (who survived!) said with full assurance, “if I had been able to use binoculars, there’s no doubt I would have seen the iceberg in time.”

Yes, if only.  I think we are in the same position as this lowly lookout.  We attempt to navigate the course of life with nothing but our own two peepers.  And it usually leads to disaster.  But unlike the Titanic staff, we do have what we need.  God has freely given us tools to be able to see clearly.  He’s given us directions that will guide us away from trouble.  Our very lives depend upon using what he has provided.  God has binoculars for you.  It’s up to you to use them…and live.

“The eye is the lamp of the body.  If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be filled with darkness.  If then, the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”  -Matthew 6:22-23

A good friend posted this on his facebook page, so I thought I’d share it with you.  I think it speaks volumes as to what unbelievers are really impressed by, and what actually constitutes a planted seed in someone’s life.  See I Peter 3:15-16 and Also Jude 22-23.  Then watch.

Alright.  As I have been working on the upcoming “Seeing Clearly” series, I came across a great little video.  It’s nothing spectacular, but I need you to watch it before you read on.  Do not read on without watching the video.  Also, as you watch you must attempt to count the passes that this group of people make with two basketballs.  Easy right?  How many are there?  Don’t do it!  Don’t skip ahead without watching the video!

Click this link for the video:  Basketball Passing

Ok.  Good.  Tell me what you saw?  Here’s the thing: about half of you who watch this video will not see anything other than people passing around basketballs the first time you watch it.  In some live audience situations the percentage is as high as 90%!  If you didn’t see anything abnormal the first time, know you’re in good company!  But, also know that you missed something big.  Watch it again.  This time, don’t worry about counting passes.

It’s amazing what we miss.  The scientific label for missing the obvious in some medium (like the video, or in picture, film, or even real life) is “change blindness.”  Something can be obvious to some, but escape nearly everyone else’s perception.  I think it’s what Jesus meant when he said in Matthew 13 that there are people who are “seeing, yet do not see.”  I wonder if he’s talking about me.  (I think I know the answer!)

The obvious question then, is, “What am I missing spiritually?”  What important things should be obvious to me, but are passed over because of my misdirected focus?  Even more condemning is, “Who am I missing?”  What important person is right in front of me that I choose not to see?

Blindness is not just a condition that affects what someone can’t see, it’s also a chasm of darkness that separates people.  But seeing clearly allows us the opportuntiy to come together.  When we see the whole picture, we respond as we ought.  To see better is truly to live better.

Watch this video via youtube for a better understanding of Change Blindness

“Please, Lord…I pray that I won’t encounter any problems…on my trip, at my job, with my friend, in my marriage,” or whatever other occurrence you’d like to insert.  I don’t think there are too many of us who haven’t prayed that particular prayer.  It boils down to, “Lord, just let everything in my life go smoothly.”  No bumps.  No potholes.  No obstacles.  On the surface, it sounds like a prayer that is in keeping with our best interest.  But it’s time for a spiritual audit.

Kindergarten was fun for me.  I remember a kind teacher (Thanks Joyce!), fun recesses, and comfortable naps on those blue and red cushion things.  (Why do we stop taking naps after Kindergarten?)  But with all the fun, came problems.  I don’t remember it specifically, but I know that one problem in particular existed right away.  After mastering our counting skills, our kind pedagogue posed a conundrum: “What if you take two apples and add two more?  How many will you have?”  Holy mathematics Batman!  How in the world will we ever figure this fruit fiasco out?  It was a situation that was sure to upset the apple cart.  (Don’t you love puns?)

Now, years later, believe it or not, I am actually able to calculate the 2 plus 2 query.  And, yes, I can do it correctly…every time!  And, how am I able to achieve this stunningly consistent success?  Because of a problem.  If I hadn’t had the problem, I’d never have come to the solution, and the solution has been important to me literally every day since K School.

Here’s the truth: problems help us grow.  Bumps in the road force us to stretch ourselves into people we never thought we could be.  Obstacles in our path redirect us so that we encounter things in our life that will be indispensible down the road.  Problems are not problems, they’re useful and necessary.

And yet, we continue to pray that God will “bless” us with a life that is problem free.  “Lord, just make all of them disappear!”  After all, my life will surely be better without problems!  My best interest is surely manifested in a life free of potholes!  “So, Lord, wave your hand and insulate me from difficulty…that’s what would be best!”

Really?  Hey, if you want to live a spiritual life where you never know the answer to the simplest of dilemmas, then by all means, keeping praying that way.  But if you do, don’t bother asking those of us who have mastered some of the basics to contribute to your infancy.  One thing that I know to be true is that God is not interested in our comfort, but in our character.  And among other things, God uses problems to produce in us a character that is worth having.  (See Romans 5:3-4.  No, don’t skip this.  You need to dust off the sword anyway. )

Kindergarten is a great year of someone’s life, and then the point is to move on.  No one ever gets a diploma for spending twelve more years there.  We advance through the grade levels, taking on more and more problems, mastering them so that we can navigate accurately through life.  And this is normal.  In fact, the opposite is abnormal.  Yet this abnormality is exactly what we ask for when we request no problems…and that is…a problem! 

“Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.  But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” -Hebrews 5:13-14

It doesn’t matter where your politics lay, today is unmistakeably historical.  The inaugural address by the first African American president in our history will be replayed as long as there is a United States.  The million plus (two million??) turnout to hear that address even in freezing temperatures bears witness to the gravity of the occasion…did you see any tank tops?

But closer to home, it is also important.  I want to share a story told by CCC’er Dale Johnson about his own journey with minorities.  He didn’t have one.  He didn’t have one, that is, until 1956.  It was only then that he was introduced to a black man for the first time.  Dale was working on a highway project south of Cherryvale, Kansas, and met an African American cement finisher who was also working on the project.  They began a conversation about this and that, and finally the talk came around to the topic of vacation.  Dale, who remembers that he was probably complaining, began to unveil his frustration about his vacation time…trip plans…whatever.  After listening, his new found friend said “I can’t take a vacation.”  Dale was a little confused.  “Don’t you work for the same people I do?  Why can’t you take a vacation?”  He said, “You don’t understand.  I have days off.  But going on vacation somewhere is not an option.  I literally can’t go anywhere.  I’m not welcome in restaurants.  I can’t buy a hotel room for a night.  Where am I going to go?”

Dale implied that it was this first encounter that caused him to face the plight of black Americans.  Then he said this, “Think of how far we’ve come in just 52 years.  Then, a black man wasn’t welcome even in the most common of places, but today an African American man is being inaugurated as President of the United States.  For some, this may seem to have taken too long.  But considering that some nations are still fighting over events that took place in the 1500’s, that is warp speed!  I’m so proud to be an American today.”

Amen and Amen Dale!  Our Founding Fathers meant it when they wrote that all men are created equal, with certain unalienable rights, given to them by their creator.  Every man is worth dying for…black, white, democrat, republican, majority, or minority.

This last Tuesday I was responsible for the Kiwanis club program.  I understand this is hard to believe, but I procrastinated long enough in asking someone to speak that my only option was to do the program myself.  But what to speak about?  I decided to share about something I’ve been introduced to recently that has reconnected me with friends from all over the country: Facebook.

I’m not a Facebook expert.  I’m just a Facebook user.  However, it became clear to me quickly that to the crowd (I use that term loosely) I would be speaking to…I am an expert!  There’s a frightening thought!  There are millions of facebook users on the planet.  There are just as many who are way more proficient at this social networking platform than me.  Yet, to these guys (who are intelligent and succesful in many ways), I am the expert on this particular subject.

It is frightening how little it takes these days to be the expert in the room.  Do you want to know more than 95% of the people in your path know about some given subject?  I read recently that all it takes to get to this level is to read three books about that particular subject.  Really!  That’s it!  Three books is all that is necessary for world domination!

Now, I’m not sure if that’s a bigger commentary on our world, or on us individually…or both.  But I do know this: our Christian argument of “I don’t know enough to tell someone else about Jesus” just got really weak.  Have you read one of the gospels?  Have you read an epistle?  Have you read one of the prophets?  Do you even know what I’m referring too?  Then YOU are an “expert” on the Bible compared to 95% of the people that you will ever bump in to!

Now that you are aware of this newfound superpower…go use it!  Save the planet.  Dominate the world for Christ.  I’ll do the same…right after I give another presentation about Facebook next week.  Yes, it seems there’s yet another civic club in town that heard about my expertise, and needs my help.

Ready for the National Championship tonight?  If fans can’t keep things in perspective, one player on the field definitely can.  I received an email from former CCC’er Chris Moddelmog that contained an article about Tim Tebow.  Tim is the quarterback for the Florida Gator football team, has already won a Heisman, was nominated again this year, and is only a Junior!  The best, is that he’s a fully committed Christian young man who has his priorities straight.  Listen to this quote:

“Pressure is not having to win a football game; pressure is having to find your next meal,” Tebow said this weekend. “Even though we love it so much, football is still just a game. A lot of people bleed over it and love it, and I’m one of those people. But at the end of the day, I know what’s more important, and pressure is definitely not football.”

Tebow understands that football is just a game, but following Christ is real life.  How often do we become convinced that exactly the opposite is true?

Click to read the whole article about Tim Tebow.

Ok, before you read the rest check out my picture that was published in the Tribune:

http://www.fstribune.com/story/1487522/photo/1187888.html

Cool, huh? Now listen…er…read…I am NOT a really good photographer. However, I have queried people along the way who ARE. I’ve picked up a few rules of photography, one of which can be understood from the picture above. It is this: photography is not a spectator sport! In order to get a great shot, you have to move out of the stands and go to where the action is happening. Now, you’ll see lots of parents and family in the stands with cameras taking pictures of their little darlings, but very few of these (if any!) will ever be worthy of a commercial printer. Is it because of their camera? Well, not really. You can get great shots even with the camera in your cell phone. The difference is being where the action is. Under the basket. Behind the backstop. On the sidelines. To get the shot, you have to move to where the action is. Now…faith is not a spectator sport either! Move to where the action is. One man said it this way: “Find out where God is moving…and join him there.” Not a bad idea. Placing yourself in the middle of God’s action will result in a picture that you and God are proud to display!

Don’t forget to come out next Tuesday to Ziggies.  Meeting there at 11:30.