stuff i think

Early morning @ IHOP...

Well, not exactly at IHOP. More like East Tennessee, but with my Bible, journal, and the cd pictured to the right, it's not a far stretch. This summer, the International House of Prayer started producing a bi-monthly cd of live prayer and worship from the prayer room. It's sort of funny - while working hard to produce a lot of studio projects, they were inundated with requests at the bookstore: "What do you have that sounds just like what goes on in the prayer room?" They finally realized they were producing valuable content around the clock and that people would love to get their hands on it.

This morning I settled on John 1:1-5 while the prophetic singers layered a melody and lyrics around the same passage. Good stuff.

I've always loved the Gospel of John. It's my favorite of the four Gospels. I'm ot so sure how they'd feel about me having a favorite - it sort of feels like Apostolic Star Search (an idea I'm almost reluctant to blog, because surely high level exectives at the major Christian media outlets read this blog daily and I promise you someone will produce the show...). Anyway, John cuts to the chase. Twenty one chapters of clipped, Dragnet style scripture. "Just the theology, ma'am." His opening rolls like poetry.

...In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, an the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light ofmen. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

John boils it down and pulls this out out of the pot: Jesus existed at creation. He existed pre-creation. He was an active partner in the process. Later, the writer of Hebrew's tips his hat to the idea in describing Jesus as "through whom He made the universe." This is not a new idea. In Genesis 1, God says "Let us make man in our image...". Either Jesus is there or God is dealing with some serious MPS.

Humanism would call Jesus a good teacher, a man above other man, but surely nothing more than a man. Most of postmodernism (which in the vast majority of cases is humanism with incense and candles) would lop their favorite quotes of Him next to those of Buddha and Bud Melman. John drawns a line and says "Nope. This man - as you perceive Him - is much more than the box you'd cram Him into.

Jesus is creator. Jesus is redeemer. He is then, now, later, and off the time line in both directions. Jesus is panhistoric.

Put that in your hookah, race fans.