“Do you have any Scripture to back that up?”

I find that to be one of the most irritating questions on the planet.

Do I have a disdain for Scripture? Hardly. There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t find myself immersed in it in some fashion.

The question irks me because most of the times, the people asking want to prove a point. They want to trip you up. Nab you. “Ah-ha!” They say when you come up empty in your Scripture memory banks. They seem to believe that the Holy Scriptures are nothing more than a reference book, with all the right answers to life neatly cataloged in a easily-referenced index.

Let me ask you this: Do you believe punching babies in the face is always a bad idea? Of course you do.

Let me ask you another question: Do you believe that shooting methamphetamine into your veins is a bad idea? I certainly hope so.

Now, if someone asked you to cite a Scripture verse for your aforementioned beliefs, where would you go? What verse would you cite? If you read the same Bible I do, you won’t be able to. They’re not in there.

Oops.

What do we do then? What do we do when the answers we’re looking for aren’t plainly obvious in our Scriptures? Jesus himself spoke to this when he said, “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me!”

The answers we seek aren’t in a book. They’re in a man. That’s where we get things wrong.

The more I get to know who God is, the more I’m convinced he’s the happiest person on the planet.

Trite? Hardly.

There are some of us who want to believe that God is angry, wrathful, and looking for justice. We cite Scripture verses and point out where God’s judgment is being handed out across the land. It’s almost as if we need God to be this way to justify our own frustrated and furious little hearts.

But then there are some of us who refuse to believe the lie that God is always angry. My son, Finnegan, is the apple of my eye. Yes, he frustrates me sometimes, but even then I have an undying affection for him that is unshakeable. He is always safe in my company.

I think God is happy. A lot. In fact, I would say he’s happy 99.9% of the time. That’s good news.

What do you choose to believe about God?

I have had a song in my head all day long. It’s been driving me nuts. I had the melody, but couldn’t remember any lyrics. I was powerless against the Siren song of this wondrous tune!

Then I had an idea. I prayed. I asked God to help me remember the name of the song. Alas, nothing came to mind.

I sat down at my computer and fired up my normal go-to tune provider, Pandora. This particular station that I had cued up was from St. Germain’s “Sure Thing”. Normally it provides a good blend of ambient/acid jazz, french pop and the like. I’ve had it on for the last month and it’s solid. A true gem of my own creation.

As I’m still mourning the loss of the earworm that had been stuck in my head, I failed to realize what was happening in the earphones attached to my head. Lo and behold, the song I had been pining for all day long–neigh, needing all day long–was flowing from Pandora in all its brilliance. Out of the hundreds of thousands of songs Pandora could have chosen to play at that very moment in time, it played the one I wanted.

I had been saved.

Now, some could choose to look at this situation and dismiss it as coincidence. They may even be right. Totally conceivable.

But others … Others could choose to see this as something else. Something deeper…..

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I once heard a seminary professor say, “If your interpretation of the Bible cannot be explained to a farmer with a sixth-grade education, you’re interpreting it wrong.”

I found that entirely refreshing.

In the endless search for new insights, I think we cloud the simplicity of the Scriptures.

God is.
God created.
God loved.
God died.
We live.

With all the endless amounts of resources, access to original languages, studying contexts and historical cultures, the message of the Bible is profoundly simple. So simple, in fact, that the overwhelming majority of humanity has understood the Gospel without the help of most of our modern study tools.

Study is important. Understanding is key. But when it comes to the Gospel, simplicity reigns. Jesus is simple.

I had this idea.

What if, for one day, we used the power of social media for good. What if we all sent the same tweet to a selected celebrity and let them know that they are loved? What do you think would happen?

I got this idea after I sent the following to Katy Perry:

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Tom McFarlin is a coding prophet.

Kris Vallotton is a preaching prophet.

Sean Parker is entrepreneurial prophet.

Vince Marotte is a online church prophet.

Emily Carver is a photography prophetess.

David Wenzel is a creative cinematic prophet.

Cynthia Ware is a communications prophetess.

Josh Larson is a visual worship prophet.

Ariel Derrick is a turntable prophetess.

Seth Godin is a marketing prophet.

Nate Noble is a preaching prophet.

Jason Upton is a musical prophet.

You are a prophet. Of something.

Prophets are people–normal, everyday, walking-around men and women–who can see a few steps further down the road.

My question to you: What are you seeing?

This is a guest post from Bryne Lewis. Bryne’s a pro, a friend and one fierce writer. I hope you enjoy this post as much as I did.

The little girl just in front of me has on a white turtle neck, blue uniform pants and mismatched socks. One white set of toes and one purple set of toes stand straight against the line in the carpet. When she prostrates herself in prayer, one white sole and one purple sole curl back at me. Her white head covering perfectly frames her face, pinned neatly under her chin. My head covering is yellow and is gathered around my face, over my shoulders in way that makes it apparent I am unused to wearing it. I sit very still on the floor, not wanting to disturb my scarf or the prayers taking place all around me; this is my first time visiting a mosque.

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Seth Godin is my pastor because no one cares for their congregation (tribe) more than he does.

Anne Lamott is my pastor because she receives grace better than anyone I’ve ever seen. (I’m sure she’s just as adept at giving out grace as well.)

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In The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working, author Tony Schwartz states that:

How we feel profoundly influences how we perform. Feeling devalued pushes us into the Survival Zone–which increases our fear, distracts our attentions, drains our energy, and diminishes the value we’re capable of creating … Perhaps no human need is more neglected in the workplace than to feel valued.

Wow. That’s a statement. However, I’m guessing there are many people reading this post where this passage rings true. “Check. Check aaaaand check,” you said to yourself silently.

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I’m ankle-deep into Tony Schwartz’s book, The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working, and he drops this bomb on me:
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