Harmonica is now played in Heaven

Yesterday Paco died. I though that i had to write something about it, just because is a too much serious thing, and a too beloved friend to let his goodbye pass without saying a word. It would have been strange to write something in my blog after his depart, without naming him.

So i think is better to do it now rather than in two weeks. Apart from that, what can someone say in such situation? Yesterday i talked with several friends, and even phone others... and in all cases the reaction was silence, there's nothing left to say, he has gone, and we can't do anything about it.

But, thinking coldly, and that is something that i don't know why i am good at, there are at least three things that confort me.

The first is that i really bealieve that this is just a "see you" rather than a "good-bye". And that in some time, only God knows how long is it going to take me, i will meet him again, and we will just continue making bigger the list of good moments i have had the privilege to share with him... making it bigger for all eternity, that sounds cool.

The second thing is that i don't believe in free christian deads. I believe that somehow, somewhere, sometime, God will use this tricky situation for His glory... i think Paco would be glad to know that. At least i hope that when i die, my death means something good for someone.

The third thing that makes me happy, is to think the huge privilege that God has gifted me meeting Paco. A good friend has left, but at least i have known him, and that is something to be happy with, i can just say "thank you God, thank you Paco".

Although that it's not his best picture, i know that he loved it... i can also imagine, that maybe that is what he is doing now in Heaven... the other options are, playing football with Jesus, and complaining that He doesn't defend enough, or making the Father taste a little bit of his super politically incorrect humour. I will miss him a lot while i await to join him.

Some pics...

I am following Ryan's example... maybe this is funny.

1) Answer the questions below.

2) Take each answer and type it into Photobucket (www.photobucket.com) or the google image search.

3) Take any picture from the first page of results and post.

4) Don't explain, it's funnier that way!

The age you will be on your next birthday:

A place you’d like to travel:

Your favorite food:

Your favorite animal:

The town in which you were born:

Your favorite color:

The town in which you live:

The name of your pets:

Your name:

Your last name:

A bad habit of yours:

Your first job:

Your favorite kind of music:

Your crush/ love:

What car do you drive:

St. Valentine's day

I think i have to dedicate this post to all my nice friends with someone to tell "i love you" in this special day:

I think the rest of us will understand our situation when we see the real aspect of Cupid:

But anyway...

Where is God? - 2

So although a lot of people is trying to explain me that we have to meet with other christians, cause that is the sure way to connect with God. Cause there, in the meetings, for sure we will find God. And if we don't do that... then, something is wrong with us. So, despite all this reasons, i find that i can't be sure to find God in a christian meeting. At least as far as that meeting is made of human beings. Of course, i don't mean that meetings are useless or that is impossible to find God in one of them. I am just saying that is not a mathemathic evidence, not a logic reasoning, that if we asist to one christian meeting, we will find, for sure, God asisting to it too. Of course, i believe we should gather, at least because one of those miracles i have talked about might happen, and we should not want to miss it.

So, another belief that is more and more being introduced in church, at least in protestant one, is that God is were people is very expressive. I mean... if in a meeting you sing loudly, you cry, you shout your prayers(very nice and humble ones), you dance, jump, etc... then you're connected with God, you're sensitive to the Spirit. And if all your prayermates do the same... God is there!!!

When i was in Barcelona i stayed at the place of a guy from a pentecost church. He told me that some weeks ago he went to a not carismatic church. The average age in that church was between 70 and 90. An organ, and two hundred grandpas and grandmas... imagine the scene. So they all started singing together one of those ancient anthems... and my friend told me that his skin turned into chicken skin. That somehow he could feel the joy of God listening that, for some people, boring music, sang with all those old voices. He told me he realised the reason of this sensation. It was that all those old people were happy praising to God like that. They were satisfied with that kind of worship, they happy offering those ancient anthems to God.

Of course, not speaking in tongues, and of course not dancings and jumpings, remember the average age. But still, somehow, God slapped my friend's face and told him "i am here". Of course, however knows me probably would know how happy this experience made me. Cause i am a not very expressive person. And i really don't enjoy much too expressive worship. Despite that, i don't consider i am more insensitive than the average believer to God's Spirit.

So from there i turned to Bible, as a goog protestant. Oh, surprise!!! Just before he started his ministry Jesus did something. He went to the desert and spent there 40 days... alone, looking for God. In the quietness, stillness and lonelyness of the desert. Moreover, there is one prophet, one of the big ones, that met God. And just before he met him, fire came, but God was not in the fire, and a hurricane, and an earthquake... but God was in none of those... God was in a gentle breeze... Curious... it seems that although God loves powerfull expressions and espectacle... He is not in them... curious... it seems that, we, shy people, not very expressive, and that long to look for God in the quietness of our secret places, or just in a lonely walk, we still can have hope that one day we might find God!!!

I would say more... it seems that we have more probabilities to find Him rather than the people with an espectacular spiritual life, and a null secret spiritual life. Still curious.

Where is God? - 1

This last months I started again to asist to the prayer meeting in my home church. And this meetings sometimes make me remember the story a friend told me in Lithuania about a supercarismatic prayer meeting somewhere i can't remember. The thing is that although everybody was shouting, praying, jumping, etc... you know, the kind of things that very pentecost people like to do to probe themselfes they are nice christians. So although all this spiritual party, a little quiet girl went to the leader of the meeting, and told him, "i'm sorry, but God has told me that he is not here". So everybody was quite of surprised... so they continued praying... even louder... and... some time later the little girl spoke again... "God has told me that he is still not here". I can imagine the face of that people... probably they though that the girl was disconnected with God, trying to ask for attetion, or who knows what.

But anyway... the story reminds me usually of a quite important question, i think, at least for believers. Where is God?

Well... first of all i think we should say... that God is everywhere... cause we believe that He is omniscient... Yes... ok... and if we want to be more concrete, we could also say: God is wherever He wants to be, he is God. So... those two asserts are quite clear for me.

But some people go to Bible, and read some promises God did to believers, and they logically conclude that when some previous conditions are true, then, God should be there. One of those promises is in one psalm, can't remember the number, where it says that Gog pours blessings in the armonious gathering of brothers. How nice. But... when i see church nowadays... i think is pretty difficult to find completely armonious gatherings of believers. It's a disgrace, but we're humans, and the people that we can't swallow are humans too. And when you gather together more than 5 people, i think is quite difficult, if not impossible, to to enjoy one by one, the presence of everyone. And the few times that this might happen... i would call it miracle. Of course, reality is hard, and is even harder for nice christians like we are, to admit that we can't see that stupid guy sitting in front of us. So instead of that we smile and say, "God is here, look all of us smiling!!! That means that we are all celebrate the presence of each other." But is a pity... God doesn't look our pretty smiles, but our black hearts.
So, i think is quite difficult to asure that God is somewhere because everybody is gathering in a happily manner.

The other promise He did, and this one is always used in prayer meetings, was that he would be wherever two or more gather in His name. So, the logic conclusion that all smart christians find, is let's find at least another believer, gather with him, and make the magic spell "In the name of Jesus". And that's all... with that spell God has to be with us. And a lot of people believe that is true!!!
But, ok, i started to think a little bit further... cause sorry, is difficult for me to believe that with a spell were obligating God to come to us. He also said that if two of us agree in something he would give it to us. But i can't believe that if i convince someone to ask God for a couple of Ferraris(one for each), He would give them to us... mmm... although i have never tried... maybe i should?

So, what does it mean "in the name of Jesus"? I started by thinking in an easier example. Something like and embassador going to one country in the name of a king, for example. What does that mean? Somehow it means that whatever that embassador says, and does... is what the king he represents would do. So extrapolating the example to our situation. When we gather in the name of Jesus, it means that each act and word that we say, is what Jesus would do in such situation. Interesting... can we assure that each time we gather "in the name of Jesus" we are really praying, saying, acting the way that he would pray, say and act??? As i have said before we are imperfect and stupid human beings... So each time that we really gather in he name of Jesus, is not because of us, but because of the Holy Spirit living in us, another miracle.