I was born right the first time...

Dear Friend,

So I’ve been driving a lot lately…well I don’t know about that…maybe I am driving the same amount but it is just so hot right now that it feels like I have been driving more than usual.

I will say though that I love to drive (just not in the summer), I love to take the long way when I am not short for time. Sometimes I will leave an hour before I have to be somewhere just so I can drive. We have this loop in Arizona…101..202..to the 51, and sometimes I just drive in a really big circle around the Valley. I love music…just not in the car. It is always a good time to think…talk out loud…pray…I’m that guy that wears that really stupid looking ear piece (for the phone) so people don’t think that I am doing what I am actually really doing…talking to myself.

I love to watch people while I am driving. I love it when you catch someone picking their nose. That is the best! No…wait…the best is actually when they see that you caught them picking their nose. That is the best!

Are you a honker? I’m really not to much of a honker. Only when I am hungry and a little cranky…then I am a honker. Bobby is a honker…he always tells me he is just helping them out. He makes me laugh! I wish there were two horns in a car. One of the left side of the steering wheel that when honked made a nice sound as to say…hey buddy, the light is green, oh and by the way I like your new hairdo. Or…Hi there buddy, just wanted to let you know that you can’t stop to talk to your friend in the middle of the parking lot, have a good 4th of July. And then I wish there was a horn on the right side of the steering wheel that when honked made a loud noise as to say…hey idiot!! Or what the heck are you doing!! Do you have a brain?? Or a right foot??

I saw something today while I was driving. And I don’t know why it bothered me so much…but it did.

I was driving up to this car right in front of me and I could see from a distance that it had a white bumper sticker on the back of it (that is another thing I love to do in the car…read other peoples bumper stickers) and so as I pasted this car the bumper sticker read…I was born right the first time.

I thought to myself…I was born right the first time?

I didn’t know what to think at first. Normally I laugh at comments like those…like when I see those fish with the little feet on the bottom of them. Or how about the bigger more powerful fish that you see sometimes that is eating the smaller fish with the little feet on the bottom (and the best part about that one is how you can see the little fish still in the mouth of the bigger fish…as to say…HA, I’m better!). That is just funny! But this one made me feel a little different…I felt like this bumper sticker wasn’t trying to show which side the person was on…but rather they were saying… Yeah, I understand what Christianity is about…but I’m good. Thanks though.

There is almost this feeling like they’ve really thought about it…

So I’ve been thinking about what I would say to this person if I had a chance…

What would you say???

Look forward to hearing from you soon.

heart.soul.mind.
kyle diroberts

Holy Spirit...Part II

Dear Friend,

I hope that you are doing well and that this letter finds you in a place of peace.

It feels really good to be home.

So I'm in the process of reading this book by John Calvin called The Institutes of Christian Religion. It is a great book. Please know that just because I am reading this book doesn’t mean that I am reformed now! Although I am having a really good time reading this book. It was written in 1559…so to read it is something of a treat, when you think of all its history. It is also really confusing sometimes though...

There is this one part in the book that I wanted to share with you. I read it not to long after my last letter that I had written you about the Holy Spirit. It was pretty encouraging to hear his thoughts about the Holy Spirit and its role with Scripture…

“It is essential to pay attention to the point I have already made, that we cannot rely on the doctrine of Scripture until we are absolutely convinced that god is it’s Author. Its best authentication is the character of the one whose word it is. The prophets and apostles do not boast of their own cleverness of any gifts as public speakers, nor do they lay stress on arguments. They appeal to the sacred name of God, so that the whole world may be brought into submission. Then it seems not merely probably but certain that God’s name is not lightly nor falsely assumed. So if we want to find the best answer for our consciences and prevent them from being tossed around in a whirlpool of uncertainty, from wavering and stumbling at the slightest obstacle, our conviction of the truth of Scripture must be derived from a higher source than human guesswork, opinions and arguments, namely the hidden witness of the Spirit. True, if we choose to go the way of argument, it is easy to make a case, using all sorts of evidence, that if there is a God in heaven, the Law and the Prophecies and the Gospel must have come from him. Indeed even if the wisest and cleverest of men should oppose this view, and demonstrate all their powers of genius in the discussion, unless they are brazenly arrogant, they will be forced to agree that the Scripture shows clear proof of being spoken by God, and consequently of containing his divine truth. We shall see later how the volume of sacred Scripture far surpasses all other writings. More, if we study it with clear eyes and unbiased judgment, it will immediately display such divine authority as will quell our impertinent attacks and compel us to pay homage. However it is preposterous to attempt by discussion to bring about full faith in Scripture. True, if I had to oppose the cleverest enemies of God, I believe it would not be difficult to silence their blusterings, even though I am not specially able or eloquent. Without much difficulty I could squash the boastful ideas they mutter about in corners, if anything was to be gained by answering their petty objections, But although we may defend God’s holy Word against all opponents, it does not follow that we can establish in their hearts the conviction which faith demands. Unbelievers think that religion is a matter of opinion and so demand rational proof that Moses and the prophets were divinely inspired, if they are to have sufficient ground for belief. My reply is that the testimony of the Spirit is superior to reason. As God alone can truly bear witness to his own words, so these words will not be given complete acknowledgment in the hearts of men, until they are sealed by the inner witness of the Spirit. So the same Spirit, who spoke by the mouth of the prophets, must pervade our hearts, in order to convince us that they faithfully passed on the message entrusted to them by God. This link is best expressed by Isaiah in this way: ‘My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and for ever’ (Isa. 59:21). Some sincere people feel distressed, because they cannot find clear proof ready to hand to silence the infidels who oppose the Word of God with impunity. They forget that the Spirit is called a pledge and seal to confirm the faith of the godly because until he enlightens their minds, they are tossed about on a sea of doubts.”

Well my friend it is getting late...i look forward to hearing from you soon.

heart.soul.mind.
kyle diroberts

snorkeling...breathing... and sharks!

Dear Friend,

So I’ve been on the beach for the past couple of days and have gotten to spend some quality time just taking in the sights and sounds that the ocean has for me. One of my favorite verses in the whole bible is the one where it talks about the ocean waves and how they roar!!

One of the things I love the most about visiting the ocean is the chance to get to snorkel. Have you ever been snorkeling before? Do you like snorkeling? I have this love hate relationship with snorkeling. I love snorkeling because I love the ocean for all its beauty, but with that I am also terrified of it.

I love to snorkel because you get to peak into this world that is so calm and quiet. It is very peaceful getting to look at all the fish that seem to be different and special in their own way.

For as long as I have loved the ocean I have been terrified of it as well! See I am scared to death (literally) of sharks! I have this fear that I will be eaten by a shark if I am in the water…so those movies like Deep Blue Sea…Open Water…Jaws…I can’t watch those! No way! Never!

But back to the question about snorkeling…do you like to snorkel???

I always love getting in the water for the first time. It takes me a good 10 minutes just to get up the nerve to walk up to the water…then another 10 just to get in…then I finally can take what could very well be my last step…dun, dun, dun…

I don’t like being one of those guys who walks up to the shore with all his snorkeling gear on…you know those guys who pick up their feet way into the air because they don’t want to trip over their man made fins. So I always wait till I get into the water to put on my flippers! Then you have to put that stuff that has water and soap in it so that your mask doesn’t fog up while you are out there. But this particular process if huge for me because at this point I can’t see if anything is swimming around me and so I race to put on my mask because I want to at least have the dignity to see the shark coming at me! So I hurriedly put on my mask and begin to check my surroundings.

Once I feel confident (I never feel fully confident out in the water) I start to make my way out to the coral reef. But do you ever notice that when you first begin to swim out to your tropical underwater destination all you seem to hear is your breathing? I always stress myself out for those first couple minutes because it sounds like I am running for my life! And so all you hear is these huge deep breaths…breathing in…breathing out…breathing in…breathing out…

And this doesn’t stop until I see the first fish of the day…then my attention changes to the beauty that is around. And I would be lying if I didn’t say that I checked behind me every once in awhile just to make sure that there weren’t any sharks lurking around behind me!

But this breathing that I could hear…it really got to me this time. It is crazy to me how the Holy Spirit causes us to remember things from the past…I have this Irish prayer on my i-pod. I listen to it a lot. This Irish man walk, with his words, through the three members of the Trinity and prays about and to each of them…it is beautiful! Sometimes I just listen…other times I pray along. But there is this one point in the prayer that reads…

Help me now to pray even without words
Help me to pray with my breathing
To breath in of your love and your peace
To breath out of my pain and sadness
To breath in of your cleaning and forgiveness
To breath out of my guilt and impurity
So that in my breathing may my body and soul be at one with you
At harmony with you
At ease with you
May I be still and know that you are God
May I be still and know that you are the Lord who brings healing
Help me to hear your still small voice Lord Jesus
May I now hear your words…peace be still.

As I was watching these fish swim all around…my breathing caught my attention…and then I remembered this prayer…

And from that breath on while I was in the water looking at God’s creativity and beauty…I prayed…even with my breathing…

I think I will remember the sound of my breathing that day for awhile.

The prayer ends with these words…

Glory be to you Father in Heaven,
Glory be to you Lord Jesus,
Glory be to you Holy Spirit,
Amen.


I miss you my friend…hope to see you soon!

heart.soul.mind.
kyle diroberts

Holy Spirit...

Dear Friend,

I have been thinking about the Holy Spirit a lot. There is something about this divine helper that I am attracted to. It is crazy to me that the Holy Spirit is the only member of the trinity that lives inside me, and yet often I think that I barely know him. I mean I’m pretty sure that I have felt the Holy Spirit before. But then again it could have just been some bad take-out from Flo’s (it has happened). I know that I don’t speak in tongues and that isn’t to say that I don’t believe in it. I just never have. I always have wanted to though. It seems like it would be interesting. Or at least that is what my friends say.

But I have a question for you. Do you think that the Holy Spirit has a role with this next generation? If so, I am wondering how big?

I know it is strange, but I think about the role of the Holy Spirit in this next generation. . . or whatever you may call it: the emerging culture, younger evangelical, postmodern, or perhaps post-western would be the best description for this particular topic. Nevertheless, I think the Holy Spirit is going to have a special place.

It just seems like there has been a loss or disconnect with the Western way of finding truth and absolutes, and, in its place, there has been this rise or even this celebration of discovery that seems to have its roots in a more Eastern way of finding purpose and meaning. And I think that as a Christian this leads us to a point of change. I think that the power to this change for the Christian heart.soul.mind will be the Holy Spirit.

It is interesting because when one looks at the members of the trinity, we have God the Father, the Son in Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit…the helper. Each member being God (equally) and serving each other in fellowship through different ways, making themselves very independent but yet still one (please know that as I allow my mind to be vulnerable, I am not trying to say that any of the members of trinity are less or not as important). So we have God the Father, who seems to be the Father for a few different religions . . . Jews, Christians, and Muslims. And, thus, for conversational purposes (some call this evangelism), it seems that this may or has been in the past a confusing piece for many people who are looking for and trying to discover who this God really is. In some awkward way, this gives us a little light to the idea that all roads lead to heaven . . . but this is kind of like all roads lead to God if you are a Jew, Christian, or Muslim. I could see where this would be confusing.

Then what about Jesus? For quite some time now he has been picked apart and dissected with the hope to find some disease or fallacy in his make up as the Son of God. While he may not have been attractive in appearance (Is 53) and so our hope for him to marry a supermodel might be out of the question (unless you are a believer in Dan Brown’s book about the idea that Mary Magdalene and Jesus were wed . . . and you saw The Passion of Christ by Mel Gibson . . . both of which suggested that Mary was indeed a supermodel!). But for this past generation . . . the Josh McDowell generation if you will . . . has picked apart all the reasons why he (Jesus) is the Son of God. And this process has been systematically proven with much evidence. Because of this, we have lost a lot of this postmcdowell generation with all these answers. It gets tricky because this postmcdowell generation believes that there are no absolutes or that you cannot be absolutely sure there are any absolutes (even though absolutes may exist, they choose not to believe it). And I think that because of all this evidence and extensive research (even though some of it may be true), this postmcdowell generation has in some ways chosen to turn away from Jesus because in their minds too many Christians have all the right answers and are claiming too many absolutes regarding Jesus. This has given us the ability to not have to say, “I don’t know,” something that many Christians don’t like to say. And many people who aren’t Christians want to hear if we can say it.

But what about the Holy Spirit?

I like spiritual things. I like spiritual people. I like them because I know we are on the same journey. We both know that there is something bigger than us. I see this excitement about a lot of spiritual things and spiritual people . . . like Buddhist, Kabbalah, Yoga, witchcraft, etc. But it doesn’t seem like there is much excitement about Christianity. Why??? It does not make sense to me because I feel like Christianity has so many of the same elements as Buddhist, Kabbalah, or Yoga or even witchcraft for that matter. But what makes Christians different is that in our recent past, we have adopted a much more Western approach to life . . . to truth, whereas these spiritual ways that I have just mentioned are much more Eastern in their approach to life . . . to truth. I think this excitement is due in large because of the mystery that comes with Kabbalah, Buddhist, Yoga, and Witchcraft (to name a few). With these spiritual people there is a sense that in one’s life, you may never know it all or have it all figured out, but you will try. You will search your soul to discover peace…people like peace. They don’t have to give you all the right answers. They are in a sense kindred spirits with other people who are on the same journey. And so when they encounter a Christian who has it all figured out, who knows all the right answers, and can prove to you without a reasonable doubt that Jesus raised from the dead or that he was born of a virgin (to name a few), it rubs these spiritual people the wrong way because they know just as well as anyone else that we (Christians) can’t possibly know everything. And so they write us off and that means that they have written Jesus off...

So what about the Holy Spirit?

What if the Holy Spirit is the key to this next generation of spiritual creatures? What if the mystery of Christianity is hidden in the Holy Spirit? What if this mystery was to our advantage to show people that Christianity doesn’t have nor have to have all the answers -- that there is so much mysticism about us? That we chase down and pursue peace with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and we do this with all our strength. Doesn’t that just sound like Christianity??? It does to me…or maybe this is just the Christianity that I want to be a part of.

I think all this means that Christians have to have a better understanding of who the Holy Spirit is in our lives. What the Holy Spirit does in our lives. Christians need to be able to hear the Holy Spirit’s voice when he speaks to us. Christians need to be able to feel comfortable praying to the Holy Spirit. Christians need to be able to identify when the Holy Spirit moves (and know that it isn't just bad take-out). For most Christians (including myself), the Holy Spirit is probably the member of the trinity that Christians know the least about. This point beckons the fact that Satan is behind that somehow . . . which then makes me think that if Satan is behind it, there has to be a reason for it -- he is up to something.

But then I also think this means that we need to be able to bring the Holy Spirit to people -- to talk about things and experiences that we know and that we have had, to share the mystery that God has in our looking to find him in new ways, and to show the mysticism of our faith as we are in relationship with God. And with that will come times where we need to celebrate our relationship with God and be able to say, “I don’t know.”

I am on this journey and wanted to know if you wanted to come along?

heart.soul.mind.
kyle diroberts

p.s. sorry for the length.