Impending Madness (15/28)

Posted on February 23, 2009 by Jason Bandura

Let me join the growing chorus. All together now, to the tune of the “Hallelujah Chorus”…

Time for Madness
Time for Madness
For the Madness
Brings me gladness
It’s time for Madness

Girls and fellas
Can you pick her, Cinderalla?
Brackets tell ya…
That March has arrived.

I was going to compose more, but I’m aiming for a jingle deal with CBS. Showing all the goods on a blog just didn’t seem prudent.

But as the anticipation builds, perhaps these highlights from past years can stoke your fire just a tad…

Delight to Show Mercy (14/28)

Posted on February 23, 2009 by Jason Bandura

I spent a lot of time in the book of Jonah lately. I didn’t so much enter the fish, as I tried to sit beneath the vine with him. If you care to hear the lesson that flowed from sitting there, it’s here.)

In the process, I was led to Micah’s writings, particularly this bit…

“Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.” (7:18)

I’ve been captured by that thought: Delight to show mercy.

God is maker of all—fully aware of all that universe has to offer. All authority is His, and every role waiting to be played as well—Judge, Critic, Score-keeper, Counselor, Adviser, Disciplinarian, and more—He is perfectly suited and empowered to play these.

But He delights in showing mercy.

It tickles His heart to be display compassion, and it thrills His soul to extend grace into the life of another.

It is His delight.

That strikes me as a big deal!

One reason: I suspect we are invited into the joy of God. Scripture, the New Testament especially, speaks of us as heirs, with rights and privileges equal to those of Jesus himself. One of God’s acts of mercy towards us is to extend a hand of invite into His joy.

And take note: He finds delight in showing mercy.

It is so much easier to play the cynic, to find fault, criticize, and keep whatever form of score seems most flattering to myself.

And it is such a delight-less path to walk.

Delight—of a quality fit for the Divine and those made in His image—that is found in showing mercy to one another.

Fatima Al-Mutairi (13/28)

Posted on February 23, 2009 by Jason Bandura

This is from the latest issue of “The Voice of the Martyrs”. If you don’t subscribe to this free publication, you could. Guaranteed, it will open your eyes.

Below is the content of one page…

In August, a Muslim cleric and member of Saudi Arabia’s Commission of the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice killed his sister, 26-year-old Fatima Al-Mutairi, after she proclaimed her faith in Christ to her family in Buraydah, Saudi Arabia. Fatima’s fellowship with other believers was mainly limited to internet forums and phone correspondence. From VOMC contacts: “As part of her testimony to the family, she proclaimed that the way of Christ is the most pure and most holy way of all. After sharing with her family, she found her brother in her room with her laptop open before him. Her laptop contained notes about her spiritual journey, which he was searching in order to find more evidence against her. Her brother locked her in the room for four hours, during which time she wrote a final letter on the internet. Fatima was killed soon thereafter.”

Her poem…

“And We for the Sake of Christ All Things Bear”
Fatima Al-Mutairi

May the Lord Jesus guide you, Oh Muslims
And enlighten your hearts that you might love others
The forum does not revile the Master of the prophets
It is for the display of truth, and for you it was revealed
This is the truth which you do not know
What we profess are the words of the Master of the prophets
We do not worship the cross, and we are not possessed
We worship the Lord Jesus, the Light of the worlds

We left Mohammed, and we do not follow in his path
We followed Jesus Christ, the Clear Truth
Truly, we love our homeland, and we are not traitors
We take pride that we are Saudi citizens
How could we betray our homeland, our dear people?
How could we, when for death—for Saudi Arabia—we stand ready?
The homeland of my grandfathers, their glories, and odes—for it I am writing
And we say, “We are proud, proud, proud to be Saudis”
We chose our way, the way of the rightly guided
And every man is free to choose any religion
Be content to leave us to ourselves to be believers in Jesus
Let us live in grace before our time comes
There are tears on my cheek, and Oh! The heart is sad

To those who become Christians, how you are so cruel!
And the Messiah says, “Blessed are the Persecuted”
And we for the sake of Christ all things bear
What is it to you that we are infidels?
You do not enter our graves, and if with us buried
Enough—your swords do not concern me, not evil nor disgrace
Your threats do not trouble me, and we are not afraid
And by God, I am unto death a Christian—verily
I cry for what passed by, of a sad life

I was far from the Lord Jesus for many years
Oh History record! And bear witness, Oh Witnesses!
We are Christians—in the path of Christ we tread
Take from me this word, and note it well
You see, Jesus is my Lord, and He is the Best of protectors
I advise you to pity yourself, to clap your hands in mourning
See your look of ugly hatred
Man is brother to man, Oh learned ones
Where is the humanity, the love, and where are you?
As to my last words, I pray to the Lord of the worlds
Jesus the Messiah, the Light of Clear Guidance
That He change nations, and set the scales of justice aright
And that He spread Love among you, Oh Muslims

Sigh.

If you know someone who might be inspired by this, it’s also be made into a video here.

Bailing Out (12/28)

Posted on February 22, 2009 by Jason Bandura

Some of you are thinking I’ve finally realized that February’s twenty-eight days have got me and my pitiful blog beat—so I’m bailing out.

Oh so no!

What I’m bailing out on is a book I’m reading. Am I the only one who has trouble doing this?

I’ve made appointments with myself. I’ve laid down on my own couch and asked myself penetrating questions. I’ve even paid myself for the counsel and booked another appointment. But no answers.

Why do I feel compelled to finish a book? It might be a hope-the-best-part-is-still-coming attitude. Or it could be a simpler desire to not quit—a thought that somehow the quest of finishing will be worth itself. Or it may be simple stubbornness that says, “This book isn’t going to get the best of me.”

Well, I’m getting off this train.

I’m 2/3 into a memoir. You could even label it a “spiritual” memoir, if you’re into labeling. It’s not a bad book. I’ve read much less fruitful pieces. But I know the hours I already sunk into its pages, and I know the more that finishing will require, AND I know that my available hours are only decreasing.

So I’m saying, “Enough!”

“Of making many books there is no end”… that’s from Solomon, 3000-ish years ago. He didn’t know the half if it! So I’m upping the power of my screening process. If I AM what I read (or something like that), then I just want to maximize my page consumption.

And current memoir… you are out.

To the authors out there, you’ve got about thirty pages to get me. Being flooded in writing, I’ll gauge your tone, character, and substance. If it’s what I need, I’m in. If not, there’s plenty of shelves where you can hang out with friends.