2.1.2020 - week 40
on the kobe bryant tragedy
yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. what is your life? for you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
james 4:14
and just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
hebrews 9:27-28
i was taking a post-preaching catnap on my friend bobby’s couch in fayatteville, arkansas when someone yelled from the other room, ‘kobe bryant died in a planecrash.’ immediately that moment joined a pantheon
getting out of the pool after 1st period gym at fremd high school (september 11)
playing gameboy in the back of the old tape duplication room at harvest rolling meadows (princess diana)
reading a book in the tv room at a vacation house in northern michigan with my in-laws (michael jackson)
on the list of places i will always associate with newsbreaking tragic moments.
kobe was never my guy. everyone from chicago who loved MJ has spent the better part of 2 decades throwing shade at anyone who made a claim to his basketball preeminence. in fact, in 2 of the most disappointing sports losses of my life (2002 western conf finals + 2010 nba finals) i was aggressively rooting against him. but man was he good. and what a tremendous tragedy this is, for everyone involved. living in LA where it feels personal to so many has been a unique experience. monday night i went to the mall and saw dozens of people in kobe jerseys wandering the halls w despair on their face.
i had an unusual opportunity to speak to my weekly wednesday service and try to bring some comfort to those who are mourning. the lord led me to title the message …
‘4 things kobe wants you to know.’ in simple form, he would say something like
your family is more worth it than you might think - in the media coverage the last few days, you simply couldn’t miss how much of a family man kobe was, truly engaged in the day to day with his 4 daughters. when life ends, there’s no chance we will wish we had held on to bitterness longer or given more to less important people. family is for life.
your time is shorter than you might see – this is the obvious one, but man do we overlook it so often. wisdom demands planning for the future and wisely numbering our days, but we also must cultivate the experience of being right where we are right now and leaning into it with joy. we simply don’t know how long we or the people around us have.
your focus can accomplish more than you might envision – kobe was the rare intersection of incredible natural talent and preposterous work ethic. when those two collide, greatness happens. so dear friend, find something you are passionate about, and do it. with all your might. for a long time. and you can’t believe what will happen.
jesus is more real than you can imagine
we don’t know much of kobe’s faith (although the little bit we do know brings comfort), but what we for sure know is that he knows now. we worship by faith, but very soon we will worship by sight. jesus is everything you have hoped and much more you haven’t. trust him today.
that’s what i think kobe would love to say to you right now.
KG Korner
(a few wise words from lady kristen macdonald)
The brevity of life is at the forefront of many of our minds this week after seeing the news of the untimely death of Kobe Bryant and those with him on his helicopter. Just like you, I yet have had a day go by without thinking of their families and my heart breaking for their new reality. Any time we see death up close and personal, the feeling of finality hits home. Scripture likens our lives to a mist (James 4:14), a shadow (Psalm 144:4), a breath (Psalm 144:4) and only God knows the number of our days (Job 14:5).
Stay with me I promise this will get more uplifting…
A few days ago, my Bible reading took me to the book of Revelation. Much of the book is filled with prophecy of the future and imagery that is supposed to show our finite minds a picture of what is to come. Through my reading, I have been reminded afresh of the continual posture of worship that takes shape in eternity. Again and again it speaks of those around the throne falling on their faces and worshipping and telling God how awesome He is!
I simply believe that that’s the end game : Worship.
Scripture tells us that those worshipping him are “from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages,” (Revelation 7:9) and I imagine that being a beautiful sight because he created us all in his image and for his glory. But, if we are going to spend eternity worshipping him that must mean that I was created to do that in the here and now as well. There’s nothing I can take with me but what I have done for him. If I prepare in worship, I believe that will direct my heart toward eternity more than anything else here on this earth.
Lest you may think I am trying to encourage you toward something I am good at, I will have you know that I don’t have a good singing voice but rather one that I hope to trade in when I get to heaven. I have been in one choir since I became an adult and they put me in the far left top corner where I was furthest from the microphone. (LOL with me!) I do love to sing, but it’s more often in the shower or my car rather than on a stage. And that’s what I love about worship - we can all do it anywhere, anytime.
It has been an enriching experience to be part of our new church where the music is much different than what I had previously experienced. If we are going to be singing with all tribes and tongues I don’t believe it will just be the music that we all know but songs and instruments and melodies that are new to us. If even in heaven we are singing a ‘new song’ (Revelation 5:9) let’s prepare our hearts accordingly and give God glory through the many songs that boast of his awesomeness.
We don’t know how many days we have left, all we can be certain about is that eternity is coming. No matter the tone of your singing voice, you can prepare your heart and soul for heaven and worship him daily - there’s so much to be thankful for and to praise our King of Kings and Lord of Lords for. Let’s not neglect to tell him why we love him here on the daily.
cup of leadership
neutrality is active, passivity is not.
survey the landscape, try to understand both sides, choose not to be aligned completely with any group. that can be admirable. head in the sand, not learning or hearing is unhelpful and weak.
to always vote and change sides of the aisle depending on the candidate/election is neutral.
not voting or researching is passive.
trying to untangle the web of elementary school sibling’s fighting to find the source of the problem (and thus the punishment) is neutral.
handing them ipads and yelling ‘calm the #$%^ down’ every half hour is passive.
it’s very tempting for passive people to claim neutrality.
‘it’s not my fight’
‘my role is to pray’
‘i wouldn’t know what to do’
wanting to attach a positive morality to self-protection is understandable, but it isn’t excusable. doing nothing communicates a lot louder than you might think. so if you want to love well, ask questions. try to understand other perspectives. advocate for right anywhere you can. you can be helpful in a war without firing a gun.
book review
how to pray – by pete greig
as someone who has struggled to grow a life of connection with god in prayer for many years, i have become weary and wary of prayer content. it often becomes a substitute for you know, actually praying. i have made some wonderful new friends lately who pray with incredible power and authority. when questioned, they have no special technique or training to point to, simply a lot of practice. that all being said, this book is practical and loaded with helpful tools, but if you read it (and you should), please for the love, put it into practice. we are never ‘just praying.’ thx pete greig
(i had some great paragraphs to share, but sadly lost the book lol)
content this week
the boys started a sports show. they love sports and love to argue, so their parents are hoping this is a great outlet for them. would be so blessed if you came along for the ride with the mac pack wack world of sports.
i started a podcast with bishop ulmer called ‘welcome to the war.’
it’s his stories of 40 years as a pastor in LA. episode 1 is about the LA Riots. some genuinely brilliant content, have been getting tons of good feedback. would very much appreciate you checking it out and subscribing/rating/reviewing.
last but not least, the 2nd message in my just do it series on the book of james is on youtube/podcast, check it out:
verse of the week
may the Lord give strength to his people!
may the Lord bless his people with peace!
psalm 29:11
2 pieces of good news I saw this week
1. my all-time favorite show is the office. my favorite episode is ‘dinner party.’ 9 min of deleted scenes have been released … they are excruciatingly funny.
2. you can’t tell me the story of kobe bryant without his fruitful and fractured relationship with shaq. i can’t remember ever seeing a more vulnerable public moment than shaq’s reflections on the tragedy.