The rider in the video is a guy named Danny MacAskill.  He has mad skills and travels around the world taping himself doing stunts.

The video is awesome yet if you think about it, Danny MacAskill is stupid!  Who risks their life for a free Youtube video that people will post nasty comments under?  It doesn’t make sense

Of course, sometimes God doesn’t make sense either.

Look at Genesis 22:1-19,

Jesus suffered at the hands of the religious leaders and Romans for hours.  Why?

I don’t think Christ’s alienation from the Father and Spirit and death on the cross had to last a certain amount of time.  Why so long?

I remember asking myself that question when I first read the Bible from cover-to-cover in 1997.  It wasn’t until years later after reading the Gospel accounts several times that it hit me–It took that long to save the thief on the cross next to him and the Roman solider who declared him to be the son of God.  Jesus suffered for hours to save one man (who began the day mocking him) and hours later to save another who assisted in his crucifixion.  Such an ordeal doesn’t just take love (although it certainly takes a lot of it) and it doesn’t just take bravery (although it takes a lot of that too), it takes discipline and focus.  Love and courage without discipline and focus is often ineffective if not foolish.

Last night, A&Es Intervention focused on my hometown of Portsmouth.  It was jarring.  Especially for those who remember what the town once was. 

In the early and mid-1970s, the small city boasted near full-employment for its nearly 40,000 residents who lived and played on the banks of the Ohio River.  The heaving smoke stacks and busy sidewalks outside of locally owned businesses were signs of the healthy tax base that paid for good schools and the low crime rate that led few to lock their doors at night. 

Ever resented the success of someone you thought was a jerk? I’ve been there. 

I mean, look at Charlie Sheen.  Why is a guy strung out on meth & coke who has run off 3 different wives and alienated his own children by chasing porn stars and waving around guns get paid mad cash for sharing his crazy with thousands of ticket holders on a world tour? If you are going to church, working hard, paying your taxes and still struggling to get by then how can you not go, ”Hey Lord, what is that all about?”

The Charlie Sheen of the Bible may be Jacob.  Don’t believe me? Let’s look at the Jacob’s story in Genesis 27-33.

Here is what’s happening on the interweb the kids are all crazy about: