I am a team player. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ and He is where my primary loyalties lie...but country comes right after faith and family on the totem pole of life. I want the very best for America, regardless of who is in the White House. I do not believe that America is now, or ever has been, supernaturally-favored over any other nation on Earth. The Bible is very clear that God's "most favored nation" pin is on Israel's lapel. I firmly believe that God's sovereign plan for our nation is still firmly intact, and that for some reason beyond my understanding, God wants Barack Obama running this country for the next 4-8 years.
Ok, pleasantries out of the way. I'm going to set aside my political preferences for just a bit and offer a hearty congratulations to the entire Obama campaign. As a member of the 18-34 demographic and one who appreciates a good marketing ad...I am truly impressed at the job Obama did on winning over the American people.
He utilized every conceivable avenue to get his name out there and stir up support for his campaign. Never before has the internet and technological fronts been anywhere near properly utilized in a presidential campaign. Obama has forever raised the bar on what is expected to win a presidential election.
A thirty minute long ad on 3 major networks the night of a World Series game? brilliant.
An application available on the iPhone whose sole purpose is propaganda and publicity? brilliant.
Finally awaking the untapped voting monster that is the 20-something crowd? brilliant.
Creating such a fervor among young people that their support is almost cult-like? brilliant.
I could go on, but I think you get the idea.
McCain's deck was a few cards short from the beginning. He didn't have full support of the evangelical right from the beginning. He never sufficiently distanced himself from George W. Bush to be able to call anything he wanted to do "change." If I had a penny for every time I saw that clip of him saying "I voted with the President more than 90% of the time. Much more than many of my fellow Republicans did." I could probably buy a Happy Meal.
As much as I like Sarah Palin as a person, there is a 0% chance I would trust her decision-making as President of the United States of America. She is a great governor, no doubt. She is a pretty face and a fairly intelligent debater...but that is about it. McCain's choosing her was the beginning of the end. It was a gutsy and dangerous move that backfired badly.
I have extreme reservations about Barack Obama's motives and intentions. I do not trust that man. That being said, I have to admit that he did a nearly flawless job of running a campaign for the presidency. He performed wonderfully on camera. He said the right things at the right times to the right people. He was trendy without being cliche. He was classy without coming across as pious. He is an extraordinary orator and I have confidence that he will do a good job of regaining our good reputation on the world stage.
Do I respect Barack Obama? Yes. He has come from the humblest of beginnings and had walked a rocky path to get to where he is now. He has made very powerful friends and convinced a strong majority of almost 300 million Americans to elect him as their leader. While I strongly oppose most of his beliefs and policies...he will be the President of the USA. As 3rd-generation Armed Services brat and a future member of the United States Air Force, I am honor-bound to respect the office of Commander-in-Chief.
As a disciple of Jesus Christ, it is my responsibility to represent Him well to this world. It is my goal to act how He would act and respond how He would respond. In the last few weeks, I have failed miserably at both of those goals. I have done the very thing I've accused the masses of: Letting my emotions get the best of me. I have strained friendships and caused people to lose respect for me on account of my overly strong stand on political matters. I don't believe that if Jesus were walking America today, he would care at all about politics. A good friend quoted me a verse which rung in my ears, "rend to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's", speaking on Jesus' politicality (if that's a word.)
Having said that, since this is the venue where most of my opinions have been displayed, this is also the venue where I feel it is appropriate to offer an unconditional apology for the way in which I expressed them.
Please note that I am not apologizing for having opinions or feeling the need to express them...merely in how I went about doing that. I was wrong and I lost sight of my purpose. I was more concerned with being right and winning an argument (with people who will never admit to ever losing any argument) than I was about representing Christ well.
Done.
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President-Elect Obama, I offer my congratulations. I sincerely hope that you are able to fulfill your campaigning promises and that through your leadership America will return to its prior greatness. I hope that God himself would thwart the plans of the people that are undoubtedly already plotting how they are going to kill you. I will praying for you as often as your name comes to mind for as long as you are in office. May God bless your presidency and may God bless America. May America in turn bless God with her actions and attitudes.
06 November 2008
03 November 2008
How you must vote...
Let me start this blog off by defining who I am writing to and who I am not writing to. I am not writing this for the people out there who have no care for matters of faith, the atheists, agnostics, pagans, etc. I am not writing this for people who, for some reason or another, have decided to discard one of the most fundamental of American rights by not voting (those people spit in the face of every man and woman who has ever stood in defense of American freedoms. They disgrace themselves and democracy itself with their laziness and lackadaisical attitude towards the responsibility of voting. Enough said.) I am not writing this for someone who does not consider the Christian faith and the Bible to be truth. I am writing this for every single American who considers themselves a follower of Jesus Christ, and for them alone.
Forgive me if I dispense with formality and the pleasantries of a politically correct discourse on this particular situation. I will merely present the truth as I see it from scripture and respected preachers of the Word of God.
If you consider yourself a follower of Jesus Christ, I declare with absolute resolution that cannot vote for Barack Obama. The reasoning behind that admittedly unpopular statement is quite simple. From his own actions, (I choose to completely disregard Senator Obama's word because they do not come close to matching up to his actions) Barack Obama stands in direct opposition to some of the most fundamental pillars of the Christian faith: Defense of the innocent, solidarity of the family unit, definition of marriage, etc.
Now, I know that many people have made these types of arguments before, but let me make it very plain. A follower of Christ's first priority when selecting their candidate for higher office MUST be the morals, ethics and character of the man/woman under consideration. For the race, social policy, foreign policy, economic policy, etc...are all very important, but they fall far below the importance of those mentioned before.
Barack Obama supports the "Freedom of Choice Act." He has declared that at Planned Parenthood rallies and other venues. The FoCA would completely eliminate all current restrictions on abortion and remove the need for parental notification. This abhorrent, blatantly evil and disgusting piece of legislation would swing the door wide open for all forms of infanticide in this country and completely undermine parental authority over their own daughters. Even Bill Clinton was against partial-birth abortions because of their obvious barbaric and brutal nature. Yet, Barack Obama fully supports this abomination. How can you, as a follower of Jesus Christ, vote for a man who supports legalizing such atrocities?
Barack Obama is against the "Defense of Marriage Act." He does not define marriage as being between one man and one woman as the Bible clearly dictates (Gen. 2:24 ; Mark 10:7 ; 1 Cor. 7:2 ; Eph. 5:31). In doing so, Barack Obama is standing in direct opposition to the Bible. Obama believes that homosexual couples should have the right to marry and enjoy all the social and financial benefits that come with that privilege. I choose to not address the issue of homosexuality here, as I have already done so elsewhere. The fact is that the traditional concept of the family is under direct attack from Barack Obama. If he is elected, there is no end to the list of traditional values he will do away with.
Barack Obama claims to believe in Jesus Christ, yet few of his actions serve as evidence of that claim. His "conversion" was administered by a radical, anti-American, anti-Christian "pastor" whose hateful venom has been poisoning the black community in Chicago for decades. In his own book, Obama wrote "I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction." Scared to have this guy in the White House? Yeah, me too. No wonder Iran, Syria and Pakistan want him as President so badly. In an interview with ABC, Obama "slipped" and referred to his "muslim faith" before being corrected by the interviewer. He tried to play it off and has since feigned offense that people are targetting that comment...however, Sigmund Freud would probably have his own opinion about slips like that.
Now, whether or not Barack Obama is a muslim doesn't mean much to a lot of people. But to a follower of Jesus Christ, it means everything! It means that there is a fundamental philosophical difference in thinking. It means that our values are different from his, our goals are different from his...he is not a man of the people, we are not his people.
I could write for hours about why you should not vote for Barack Obama. Please note that I am not saying that you have to vote for John McCain. I did, but that is your choice. What I am saying, and I will argue this until I'm passed out on the floor...If you consider yourself a follower of Jesus Christ, you must not vote for Barack Obama. The flipside is also true...If you vote for Barack Obama, you choose to disregard holy scripture and your Christian faith when you make that decision.
Please be politcally active, be informed and VOTE ON NOVEMBER 4th. May God bless you and this great nation.
Forgive me if I dispense with formality and the pleasantries of a politically correct discourse on this particular situation. I will merely present the truth as I see it from scripture and respected preachers of the Word of God.
If you consider yourself a follower of Jesus Christ, I declare with absolute resolution that cannot vote for Barack Obama. The reasoning behind that admittedly unpopular statement is quite simple. From his own actions, (I choose to completely disregard Senator Obama's word because they do not come close to matching up to his actions) Barack Obama stands in direct opposition to some of the most fundamental pillars of the Christian faith: Defense of the innocent, solidarity of the family unit, definition of marriage, etc.
Now, I know that many people have made these types of arguments before, but let me make it very plain. A follower of Christ's first priority when selecting their candidate for higher office MUST be the morals, ethics and character of the man/woman under consideration. For the race, social policy, foreign policy, economic policy, etc...are all very important, but they fall far below the importance of those mentioned before.
Barack Obama supports the "Freedom of Choice Act." He has declared that at Planned Parenthood rallies and other venues. The FoCA would completely eliminate all current restrictions on abortion and remove the need for parental notification. This abhorrent, blatantly evil and disgusting piece of legislation would swing the door wide open for all forms of infanticide in this country and completely undermine parental authority over their own daughters. Even Bill Clinton was against partial-birth abortions because of their obvious barbaric and brutal nature. Yet, Barack Obama fully supports this abomination. How can you, as a follower of Jesus Christ, vote for a man who supports legalizing such atrocities?
Barack Obama is against the "Defense of Marriage Act." He does not define marriage as being between one man and one woman as the Bible clearly dictates (Gen. 2:24 ; Mark 10:7 ; 1 Cor. 7:2 ; Eph. 5:31). In doing so, Barack Obama is standing in direct opposition to the Bible. Obama believes that homosexual couples should have the right to marry and enjoy all the social and financial benefits that come with that privilege. I choose to not address the issue of homosexuality here, as I have already done so elsewhere. The fact is that the traditional concept of the family is under direct attack from Barack Obama. If he is elected, there is no end to the list of traditional values he will do away with.
Barack Obama claims to believe in Jesus Christ, yet few of his actions serve as evidence of that claim. His "conversion" was administered by a radical, anti-American, anti-Christian "pastor" whose hateful venom has been poisoning the black community in Chicago for decades. In his own book, Obama wrote "I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction." Scared to have this guy in the White House? Yeah, me too. No wonder Iran, Syria and Pakistan want him as President so badly. In an interview with ABC, Obama "slipped" and referred to his "muslim faith" before being corrected by the interviewer. He tried to play it off and has since feigned offense that people are targetting that comment...however, Sigmund Freud would probably have his own opinion about slips like that.
Now, whether or not Barack Obama is a muslim doesn't mean much to a lot of people. But to a follower of Jesus Christ, it means everything! It means that there is a fundamental philosophical difference in thinking. It means that our values are different from his, our goals are different from his...he is not a man of the people, we are not his people.
I could write for hours about why you should not vote for Barack Obama. Please note that I am not saying that you have to vote for John McCain. I did, but that is your choice. What I am saying, and I will argue this until I'm passed out on the floor...If you consider yourself a follower of Jesus Christ, you must not vote for Barack Obama. The flipside is also true...If you vote for Barack Obama, you choose to disregard holy scripture and your Christian faith when you make that decision.
Please be politcally active, be informed and VOTE ON NOVEMBER 4th. May God bless you and this great nation.
07 August 2008
Real Men Risk Rejection
Yet another article from Boundless Webzine. This one relates very well my opinion on the DTR conversation and other relationship things as well. Enjoy!
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Real Men Risk Rejection
by Michael Lawrence
My senior year in college, I met a girl that blew me away. She was beautiful. She shared my passion for ministry. She shared my theology and understanding of the local church. And I suspected we had a lot of other things in common as well. We had lunch to talk about some areas of ministry we were both involved in on campus. A few days later I saw her again at our campus prayer meeting. I told her how much I enjoyed our lunch, and that we should do it again.
And then it hit me. That cold, gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach. A weakness in my limbs, a dryness in my mouth. You know what I'm talking about. Fear. Powerful, primal, inescapable, fear.
I saw her often — at prayer meeting, our IVCF meetings, around campus. But all I could muster at those chance encounters (and some not so chance encounters!) was an earnest "We should do lunch again some time," followed by awkward avoidance of actually setting it up.
Thankfully, she had mercy on me. She took the initiative and found an excuse to set up a meeting. I was in charge of small group Bible studies on campus and she was leading one. So she could pull it off without too much trouble. Once again we had a great time. Once again, at the end of the lunch, I suggested we should get together again. And once again, fear gripped me and I failed to act.
Unbeknownst to me, she had already confided in her friends that she liked me, but wasn't going to bail me out again. If anything was going to happen, I was going to have to step up to the plate, initiate, and define the relationship. In short, I was going to have to be a man and lead.
It took a while, and she began to think I'd never do it. But a month or so later, I managed to initiate a conversation at our annual fall beach retreat. When we got back to campus, we took a walk one evening. I told her many of the things I liked about her, how much I enjoyed being with her, and that I wanted us to date exclusively. I'm not sure what we called it back then, but in today's parlance, I had finally had the DTR — Define The Relationship
It wasn't the last difficult stage in our dating relationship, nor was it the last time I was nearly paralyzed with fear. But nearly 17 years of marriage later, I am so thankful that Adrienne found that excuse for a second lunch. Had she not, I'm not sure we ever would have made it to the DTR, or the altar!
A Small Talk That's Not Just Small Talk
So why is it that guys like me and you tend to wait so long to have the talk? After all, chances are, you've already talked quite a few times. You like talking to her. That's why you want to have the conversation. But this conversation isn't like all the others. Even if it's just the initials DTR, there's a whole lot more riding on the outcome than whether or not you start dating. Your entire self-image is on the line.
Basically it comes down to what the Bible calls the fear of man. It can take many different forms. Maybe we don't want to risk her rejection, because we've invested a lot of ourselves in what she thinks of us. Maybe we don't want to risk failure, because our self-image is wrapped up in success, including relational success. Maybe we don't want to risk the ridicule of the guys, who'll tease us for not landing someone "better." Maybe we don't want to risk commitment, because we fear being that exposed to another person.
Whatever form it takes, fear of man causes me to avoid doing anything that puts me at risk, and that includes the DTR. Instead, I either wait for a risk-free scenario (like pumping her friends for information to find out how she'll respond), or I manipulate her into taking the risk for me (which is basically what flirting is all about — can I lead her on just enough to get her to reveal her true feelings first?).
Trusting God with your Manhood
Many people think that for guys, being a Christian means giving up being a man. Nothing could be further from the truth. God created us as men to lead and take the initiative. And that means taking risks.
But there's no way I'll ever take a real risk as long as my sense of worth is tied up in what others think of me. And that includes a girlfriend, or even a wife. It's only as I put my trust in God and his unconditional acceptance of me through the atoning death of Jesus Christ that I can ever take up God's calling to be a leader. It's only when I'm confident of God's love for me that I can stop manipulating the woman I'm interested in, and instead love and honor her by shouldering the risks of the relationship myself.
And guys, while risk-taking leadership may begin with the DTR, it doesn't end there. From Genesis 2 to Matthew 1 (Joseph's concern for Mary), to Ephesians 5 (Christ's love for the church), the Bible consistently portrays the man's responsibility to initiate and lead in the marriage relationship.
Maybe the most often overlooked example of this is in the very first relationship, Adam and Eve. Genesis 2:22 tells us that after God made Eve, he brought her to Adam. Now what we might have expected next was for God to say something: explain the purpose of marriage, assure Adam that after all the disappointment of not finding a suitable helper (2:19-20), here she was, encourage him about her willingness to marry. But God doesn't do any of that. He simply brings her to Adam and says nothing. The silence is deafening. The next move is all up to him.
What does Adam do? He doesn't flirt with her. He doesn't ask her if she likes him. Instead, he shoulders the risk, steps up to the plate, and declares his intentions for the relationship. When Adam says in Genesis 2:23, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh," he's not just describing where she came from. And he's certainly not flirting, or putting out feelers. He's laying it on the line and declaring his intentions for marriage.
Guys, the woman you marry is going to depend on you to lead her. She's going to look to you to sacrifice your own comfort and convenience for the sake of the family. She's going to look to you to back her up when your teenage children, or the in-laws, come down on her. She's going to look to you set the pace spiritually. She's going to look to you for leadership when hard decisions about career, or parenting, or aging parents, or any of a host of other issues arise. She's going to look to you to set the example in admitting when you're wrong and asking for forgiveness.
In all of those situations, you're going to feel the fear again. The fear of making a wrong decision. The fear of being exposed. The fear of being rejected. And then, as with the DTR, the only way you'll be able to step up and lead as the man God made you to be, is if your trust is in God, not in the outcome of the conversation.
[Note to women: if the guy you're dating isn't leading well now, don't think that a ring on his finger is going to change anything. You should be extremely wary of prolonging that relationship in the hope that you'll be able to change him. At this point, humility, realism and the Scriptures are your best friends. Humility reminds you that you're not the Holy Spirit; you can't change another person's heart. Realism tells you that what you see is generally what you get. A poor leader may improve in his leadership skills incrementally over time, but he's unlikely to metamorphose into a great leader on your wedding night. And the Scriptures warn you that your heart does not have your best interests in mind (Jer. 17:9). It will betray you. Thus the repeated warning in Song of Solomon, "Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires" (Song of Solomon 2:7, 3:5, 8:4). So if you want to be married to a man who will lead well, don't date a man that doesn't.]
Swallowing Our Pride, Not Our Words
Since marriage is all about self-risking leadership, it makes sense that that's where we need to start in dating. Guys, we need to swallow our pride, which is unwilling to risk failure or embarrassment, and then open our mouths and initiate the relationship.
What should the DTR look like? There's no one right formula, but it should at least include the following:
What do you like about her? What qualities and attributes have attracted you to her? What have you observed that makes you want to pursue this? Tell her! And don't just focus on the romantic things that are likely to produce an emotional response. Talk to her about the biblical qualities and virtues that you've observed that make you think marriage is worth considering.
What are your intentions? If you're serious about obeying 1 Timothy 5:2, "Treat ... younger women as sisters, with absolute purity," your intentions should not be recreational or experimental dating. You wouldn't want someone treating your sister as a means for a little fun, would you? So if you're not in a position to get married, you shouldn't be having this conversation or the relationship! If you are, you don't need to tell her that you want to marry her, but you should let her know that you want to start this relationship in order to find out.
What's next? Regular dates? Getting involved in ministry together? Meeting each other's close friends? Give her a sense of how you intend to go about this, so she's not left wondering the next day why you haven't called. This might even include a sense of how long you think it will take to decide if this is leading to marriage or not.
Some of you men are thinking at this point, "Wait a minute. Are you saying that all the risk is mine?" Yes I am. "Doesn't that mean that she can just tell me no and leave me twisting in the wind?" Yes is does. Welcome to leadership. Welcome to trusting God. Welcome to being a man. Your cards belong on the table. Your intentions and your feelings, to the extent that you can discern them and it is appropriate for you to share them, should be clear. Part of your role even at this early stage is to protect the woman of your interest from unnecessary risk and vulnerability by providing a safe context in which she can respond.
Twenty years ago, when I finally worked up the courage to have the DTR, I didn't do everything right. I wasn't clear enough on my intentions. I certainly didn't give her a sense of what was next. That led to problems along the way. And additional DTRs. But by God's grace, I did risk myself. And I learned that God can be trusted, with my love life, with my manhood, with everything.
All that, from just one small conversation.
---
Real Men Risk Rejection
by Michael Lawrence
My senior year in college, I met a girl that blew me away. She was beautiful. She shared my passion for ministry. She shared my theology and understanding of the local church. And I suspected we had a lot of other things in common as well. We had lunch to talk about some areas of ministry we were both involved in on campus. A few days later I saw her again at our campus prayer meeting. I told her how much I enjoyed our lunch, and that we should do it again.
And then it hit me. That cold, gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach. A weakness in my limbs, a dryness in my mouth. You know what I'm talking about. Fear. Powerful, primal, inescapable, fear.
I saw her often — at prayer meeting, our IVCF meetings, around campus. But all I could muster at those chance encounters (and some not so chance encounters!) was an earnest "We should do lunch again some time," followed by awkward avoidance of actually setting it up.
Thankfully, she had mercy on me. She took the initiative and found an excuse to set up a meeting. I was in charge of small group Bible studies on campus and she was leading one. So she could pull it off without too much trouble. Once again we had a great time. Once again, at the end of the lunch, I suggested we should get together again. And once again, fear gripped me and I failed to act.
Unbeknownst to me, she had already confided in her friends that she liked me, but wasn't going to bail me out again. If anything was going to happen, I was going to have to step up to the plate, initiate, and define the relationship. In short, I was going to have to be a man and lead.
It took a while, and she began to think I'd never do it. But a month or so later, I managed to initiate a conversation at our annual fall beach retreat. When we got back to campus, we took a walk one evening. I told her many of the things I liked about her, how much I enjoyed being with her, and that I wanted us to date exclusively. I'm not sure what we called it back then, but in today's parlance, I had finally had the DTR — Define The Relationship
It wasn't the last difficult stage in our dating relationship, nor was it the last time I was nearly paralyzed with fear. But nearly 17 years of marriage later, I am so thankful that Adrienne found that excuse for a second lunch. Had she not, I'm not sure we ever would have made it to the DTR, or the altar!
A Small Talk That's Not Just Small Talk
So why is it that guys like me and you tend to wait so long to have the talk? After all, chances are, you've already talked quite a few times. You like talking to her. That's why you want to have the conversation. But this conversation isn't like all the others. Even if it's just the initials DTR, there's a whole lot more riding on the outcome than whether or not you start dating. Your entire self-image is on the line.
Basically it comes down to what the Bible calls the fear of man. It can take many different forms. Maybe we don't want to risk her rejection, because we've invested a lot of ourselves in what she thinks of us. Maybe we don't want to risk failure, because our self-image is wrapped up in success, including relational success. Maybe we don't want to risk the ridicule of the guys, who'll tease us for not landing someone "better." Maybe we don't want to risk commitment, because we fear being that exposed to another person.
Whatever form it takes, fear of man causes me to avoid doing anything that puts me at risk, and that includes the DTR. Instead, I either wait for a risk-free scenario (like pumping her friends for information to find out how she'll respond), or I manipulate her into taking the risk for me (which is basically what flirting is all about — can I lead her on just enough to get her to reveal her true feelings first?).
Trusting God with your Manhood
Many people think that for guys, being a Christian means giving up being a man. Nothing could be further from the truth. God created us as men to lead and take the initiative. And that means taking risks.
But there's no way I'll ever take a real risk as long as my sense of worth is tied up in what others think of me. And that includes a girlfriend, or even a wife. It's only as I put my trust in God and his unconditional acceptance of me through the atoning death of Jesus Christ that I can ever take up God's calling to be a leader. It's only when I'm confident of God's love for me that I can stop manipulating the woman I'm interested in, and instead love and honor her by shouldering the risks of the relationship myself.
And guys, while risk-taking leadership may begin with the DTR, it doesn't end there. From Genesis 2 to Matthew 1 (Joseph's concern for Mary), to Ephesians 5 (Christ's love for the church), the Bible consistently portrays the man's responsibility to initiate and lead in the marriage relationship.
Maybe the most often overlooked example of this is in the very first relationship, Adam and Eve. Genesis 2:22 tells us that after God made Eve, he brought her to Adam. Now what we might have expected next was for God to say something: explain the purpose of marriage, assure Adam that after all the disappointment of not finding a suitable helper (2:19-20), here she was, encourage him about her willingness to marry. But God doesn't do any of that. He simply brings her to Adam and says nothing. The silence is deafening. The next move is all up to him.
What does Adam do? He doesn't flirt with her. He doesn't ask her if she likes him. Instead, he shoulders the risk, steps up to the plate, and declares his intentions for the relationship. When Adam says in Genesis 2:23, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh," he's not just describing where she came from. And he's certainly not flirting, or putting out feelers. He's laying it on the line and declaring his intentions for marriage.
Guys, the woman you marry is going to depend on you to lead her. She's going to look to you to sacrifice your own comfort and convenience for the sake of the family. She's going to look to you to back her up when your teenage children, or the in-laws, come down on her. She's going to look to you set the pace spiritually. She's going to look to you for leadership when hard decisions about career, or parenting, or aging parents, or any of a host of other issues arise. She's going to look to you to set the example in admitting when you're wrong and asking for forgiveness.
In all of those situations, you're going to feel the fear again. The fear of making a wrong decision. The fear of being exposed. The fear of being rejected. And then, as with the DTR, the only way you'll be able to step up and lead as the man God made you to be, is if your trust is in God, not in the outcome of the conversation.
[Note to women: if the guy you're dating isn't leading well now, don't think that a ring on his finger is going to change anything. You should be extremely wary of prolonging that relationship in the hope that you'll be able to change him. At this point, humility, realism and the Scriptures are your best friends. Humility reminds you that you're not the Holy Spirit; you can't change another person's heart. Realism tells you that what you see is generally what you get. A poor leader may improve in his leadership skills incrementally over time, but he's unlikely to metamorphose into a great leader on your wedding night. And the Scriptures warn you that your heart does not have your best interests in mind (Jer. 17:9). It will betray you. Thus the repeated warning in Song of Solomon, "Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires" (Song of Solomon 2:7, 3:5, 8:4). So if you want to be married to a man who will lead well, don't date a man that doesn't.]
Swallowing Our Pride, Not Our Words
Since marriage is all about self-risking leadership, it makes sense that that's where we need to start in dating. Guys, we need to swallow our pride, which is unwilling to risk failure or embarrassment, and then open our mouths and initiate the relationship.
What should the DTR look like? There's no one right formula, but it should at least include the following:
What do you like about her? What qualities and attributes have attracted you to her? What have you observed that makes you want to pursue this? Tell her! And don't just focus on the romantic things that are likely to produce an emotional response. Talk to her about the biblical qualities and virtues that you've observed that make you think marriage is worth considering.
What are your intentions? If you're serious about obeying 1 Timothy 5:2, "Treat ... younger women as sisters, with absolute purity," your intentions should not be recreational or experimental dating. You wouldn't want someone treating your sister as a means for a little fun, would you? So if you're not in a position to get married, you shouldn't be having this conversation or the relationship! If you are, you don't need to tell her that you want to marry her, but you should let her know that you want to start this relationship in order to find out.
What's next? Regular dates? Getting involved in ministry together? Meeting each other's close friends? Give her a sense of how you intend to go about this, so she's not left wondering the next day why you haven't called. This might even include a sense of how long you think it will take to decide if this is leading to marriage or not.
Some of you men are thinking at this point, "Wait a minute. Are you saying that all the risk is mine?" Yes I am. "Doesn't that mean that she can just tell me no and leave me twisting in the wind?" Yes is does. Welcome to leadership. Welcome to trusting God. Welcome to being a man. Your cards belong on the table. Your intentions and your feelings, to the extent that you can discern them and it is appropriate for you to share them, should be clear. Part of your role even at this early stage is to protect the woman of your interest from unnecessary risk and vulnerability by providing a safe context in which she can respond.
Twenty years ago, when I finally worked up the courage to have the DTR, I didn't do everything right. I wasn't clear enough on my intentions. I certainly didn't give her a sense of what was next. That led to problems along the way. And additional DTRs. But by God's grace, I did risk myself. And I learned that God can be trusted, with my love life, with my manhood, with everything.
All that, from just one small conversation.
God is not the Defendant
I am a huge fan of Boundless Webzine. I find their writing insightful and consistent with scripture. I came across article tonight that demands your attention. Ironically enough, I am currently reading The Shack to see what all the fuss is about. Enjoy this article by Gary Thomas.
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God's Not the Defendant
by Gary Thomas
"But what was God doing before He created the world?" a skeptic once asked Augustine, the famous 5th century bishop.
"Creating hell for people who ask stupid questions like that," the esteemed Augustine replied.
One of the many memorable lessons I learned from my theological mentor Dr. J.I. Packer was our obligation to accept the mystery of God and His refusal to answer every question we might ask of Him. The book of Job is forcefully clear: God does not feel obligated to answer a question just because we might ask it. Great thinkers such as Augustine and Packer lived with a humble, submissive willingness to accept this side of God.
Fewer and fewer today seem to be so humble. If we have a question, God must provide the answer.
How else to explain the unfathomable popularity of The Shack, a self-published novel by William Young, selling more than one million copies in its first year of publication?
The Ten Commandments begin with an overarching claim on our curiosity: Don't mess with the Godhead. It's the first commandment, and therefore of utmost importance. "Not taking the Lord's name in vain" and not creating idols in his image goes far beyond swear words and the actual construction of gold or wooden "deities." It's a call to respect the nature of God as He reveals himself, and a refusal to speculate beyond what He gives us.
Centuries of Jews have refrained from even speaking or writing out God's name, for fear of violating the respectful distance with which God asks us to think of Him — and now a Christian writer presents God the Father as a black woman who starts out talking ghetto, the Holy Spirit as a Ghost-like Asian woman, and then all but "channels" them by giving them long streams of dialogue, some of which directly contradicts long-held Christian beliefs. If this doesn't violate the letter of the first commandment, it at least impinges on the spirit.
But maybe I'm taking all this too seriously. After all, everyone says, it's fiction. Putting aside the fact that so was The Last Temptation of Christ, I want to go back and ask why anyone would want to re-depict the Godhead? God as He reveals Himself through His words and ways in the Old Testament, and through His incarnate form in the New, is so beautiful and perfect, what makes anyone think they could do a better job? God our Father is so wonderful in His love, authority, power, and rule; God the Holy Spirit first convicts us, and then comforts and teaches us; God the Son defines Himself as humble (Matt. 11:29) — imagine that; the God of the universe, humble! — and gentle (also Matt. 11:29), while bold enough to take on the Pharisees and the political rulers.
Who can do better than this? And why do so many readers say they've been waiting for this?
I don't mean to sound harsh here, but if you can't fall in love with the God of the Bible, you don't need a new depiction; you need a new heart. I understand how someone who has never known God, and whose heart is hostile toward God, can look in the pages of Scripture and despise Him. What I don't understand is how someone who truly knows God, and who has been reconciled to God, can think that a ghost-like depiction of the Holy Spirit, a re-creation of God the Father as a cliché-speaking, slap-happy kitchen cook, and Jesus as a somewhat dopey and clumsy helper makes Him more accessible and interesting.
C.S. Lewis brilliantly avoids these problems in The Chronicles of Narnia. Aslan represents the incarnate Christ in another world, a Christ who occasionally strikes fear while simultaneously offering gentle intimacy. Lewis wisely avoids depicting an incarnate Father and an incarnate Holy Spirit, and he doesn't have Aslan throw out theological zingers that challenge 2,000 years of orthodox Christian teaching.
The Wrong Question
There's another serious issue in The Shack that defies the mystery of faith: In essence, the book puts God on trial. The narrator's main contention against God is this (paraphrased): "You've created and/or allowed a world that has hurt me deeply; what do you have to say for yourself? Why should I believe in you anymore?"
Tragically, and perhaps even heretically, Young has God respond, "OK; let me explain myself to you as best you can understand it."
For 2,000 years, Christians have believed that God sent His Son because He put us on trial and found us wanting. The proper response of humans is, "I have sinned and fallen short of Your glory. Have mercy on me." Today's believer and non-believer is far more likely to respond, "There's evil in the world; God, if You really exist, explain Yourself!"
As a man who has sinned and who continues to sin, how dare I judge God for allowing sin? To destroy all sin, He would have to destroy me, as I continue to sin on a daily basis. At the very least, He would have to remove all whispers of any notion of free will; and without free will, would I still be made in the image of God?
Again, I can understand how someone who hasn't been regenerated by the Holy Spirit can live in hostility and anger toward God. What I don't get is how someone can be genuinely convicted of their sin — to the extent that they see it as God sees it, in all its depravity — be truly forgiven, having the weight of this sin and rebellion removed, knowing that now, because of Christ, every thought God has toward us is one of tender mercy; and then, on top of all this, getting to walk in fellowship with God every day, being comforted in our sorrows, convicted in our sins, taught in our ignorance, encouraged by His kindness, supported in His love; how can one of God's children truly experience all this and even dare to ask God to account for Himself? Every moment we live in peace with God and outside of hell is a moment we don't deserve; the thought of taking God to task for anything else is beyond me.
I confess that I don't understand this sense of entitlement, in large part because of how brilliantly God has addressed the problem of evil. God made provision for the sin of unbelievers to be dealt with justly in hell, and for the sin of believers to be dealt with on the cross. It's a brilliant, comprehensive plan that preserves the necessary free will inherent in beings made in the image of God himself. Does anyone seriously have a better plan?
It's not just that I take issue with The Shack's answers (though I do, and vehemently so). It's that I take issue with its questions. Job had a lot of questions to ask God, and he asked them in an impertinent manner. Instead of answering Job's questions, as "Papa" does in The Shack, God responded, "Listen now, and I will speak. I will question you, and you shall answer me." And Job's holy and healthy response was, "Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes" (Job. 42:4, 6).
True enough, the Psalms pose many of these same questions, but for the most part they are resolved in a spirit of humility, surrender, and worship — not with wild speculation, and not by channeling God until Papa and Jesus sound like two guests on the Oprah Winfrey show.
It is also very significant that you don't find the writers of the New Testament voicing these same questions. In the age of the church, an age in which God's own Spirit resides in us, an age in which we can be uniquely reconciled to God (in a way that even King David and the other psalm writers could not), I believe there is an opportunity for Christ-like humility and surrender that supersedes many of these questions. We can be part of the solution — bringing God's redemption to a fallen, sinful world — instead of constantly obsessing over why God allows a problem.
Nobody appointed me to be the church's guard dog when it comes to theology. For starters, I'm not qualified. So maybe I'm taking all this way too seriously. Even if I am, can we at least agree that this is as far as we need to go? I believe The Shack already crosses the line; but if I'm wrong, can we at least say "enough's enough"?
The first commandment is to respect and honor the Godhead. The beginning of all wisdom, according to Scripture, is to fear the Lord. The Shack, in my opinion, violates both. It is our privilege and duty to respect the God who made us, to humbly allow Him to reveal Himself or not reveal Himself as He chooses, and to live in the mystery that remains. We should reject any irreverent speculation as naïve ignorance at best, and flat out arrogant, speculative heresy at worse. Where The Shack falls in this spectrum isn't for me to judge, but its approach channels our culture's arrogant sense of entitlement far more effectively than it channels the never-changing revealed will and words, not to mention the nature, of God.
As for me, I'm grateful that God has given us His written word as an accurate, trustworthy account of who He is, what He has said, and how I may know Him — an account that every other account must be measured by. It is also an account, I'd submit, that places The Shack outside of appropriate Christian literature.
Let's be willing to live in the mystery of who God is. Let's remind ourselves that we are the ones who need to explain ourselves, not God. He is the judge; He is not the defendant. The real shack that keeps us imprisoned isn't our pain — it's our alienation from, rebellion against, and hostility toward God. That's the shack from which I wish William Young had sought Mack's liberation.
---
God's Not the Defendant
by Gary Thomas
"But what was God doing before He created the world?" a skeptic once asked Augustine, the famous 5th century bishop.
"Creating hell for people who ask stupid questions like that," the esteemed Augustine replied.
One of the many memorable lessons I learned from my theological mentor Dr. J.I. Packer was our obligation to accept the mystery of God and His refusal to answer every question we might ask of Him. The book of Job is forcefully clear: God does not feel obligated to answer a question just because we might ask it. Great thinkers such as Augustine and Packer lived with a humble, submissive willingness to accept this side of God.
Fewer and fewer today seem to be so humble. If we have a question, God must provide the answer.
How else to explain the unfathomable popularity of The Shack, a self-published novel by William Young, selling more than one million copies in its first year of publication?
The Ten Commandments begin with an overarching claim on our curiosity: Don't mess with the Godhead. It's the first commandment, and therefore of utmost importance. "Not taking the Lord's name in vain" and not creating idols in his image goes far beyond swear words and the actual construction of gold or wooden "deities." It's a call to respect the nature of God as He reveals himself, and a refusal to speculate beyond what He gives us.
Centuries of Jews have refrained from even speaking or writing out God's name, for fear of violating the respectful distance with which God asks us to think of Him — and now a Christian writer presents God the Father as a black woman who starts out talking ghetto, the Holy Spirit as a Ghost-like Asian woman, and then all but "channels" them by giving them long streams of dialogue, some of which directly contradicts long-held Christian beliefs. If this doesn't violate the letter of the first commandment, it at least impinges on the spirit.
But maybe I'm taking all this too seriously. After all, everyone says, it's fiction. Putting aside the fact that so was The Last Temptation of Christ, I want to go back and ask why anyone would want to re-depict the Godhead? God as He reveals Himself through His words and ways in the Old Testament, and through His incarnate form in the New, is so beautiful and perfect, what makes anyone think they could do a better job? God our Father is so wonderful in His love, authority, power, and rule; God the Holy Spirit first convicts us, and then comforts and teaches us; God the Son defines Himself as humble (Matt. 11:29) — imagine that; the God of the universe, humble! — and gentle (also Matt. 11:29), while bold enough to take on the Pharisees and the political rulers.
Who can do better than this? And why do so many readers say they've been waiting for this?
I don't mean to sound harsh here, but if you can't fall in love with the God of the Bible, you don't need a new depiction; you need a new heart. I understand how someone who has never known God, and whose heart is hostile toward God, can look in the pages of Scripture and despise Him. What I don't understand is how someone who truly knows God, and who has been reconciled to God, can think that a ghost-like depiction of the Holy Spirit, a re-creation of God the Father as a cliché-speaking, slap-happy kitchen cook, and Jesus as a somewhat dopey and clumsy helper makes Him more accessible and interesting.
C.S. Lewis brilliantly avoids these problems in The Chronicles of Narnia. Aslan represents the incarnate Christ in another world, a Christ who occasionally strikes fear while simultaneously offering gentle intimacy. Lewis wisely avoids depicting an incarnate Father and an incarnate Holy Spirit, and he doesn't have Aslan throw out theological zingers that challenge 2,000 years of orthodox Christian teaching.
The Wrong Question
There's another serious issue in The Shack that defies the mystery of faith: In essence, the book puts God on trial. The narrator's main contention against God is this (paraphrased): "You've created and/or allowed a world that has hurt me deeply; what do you have to say for yourself? Why should I believe in you anymore?"
Tragically, and perhaps even heretically, Young has God respond, "OK; let me explain myself to you as best you can understand it."
For 2,000 years, Christians have believed that God sent His Son because He put us on trial and found us wanting. The proper response of humans is, "I have sinned and fallen short of Your glory. Have mercy on me." Today's believer and non-believer is far more likely to respond, "There's evil in the world; God, if You really exist, explain Yourself!"
As a man who has sinned and who continues to sin, how dare I judge God for allowing sin? To destroy all sin, He would have to destroy me, as I continue to sin on a daily basis. At the very least, He would have to remove all whispers of any notion of free will; and without free will, would I still be made in the image of God?
Again, I can understand how someone who hasn't been regenerated by the Holy Spirit can live in hostility and anger toward God. What I don't get is how someone can be genuinely convicted of their sin — to the extent that they see it as God sees it, in all its depravity — be truly forgiven, having the weight of this sin and rebellion removed, knowing that now, because of Christ, every thought God has toward us is one of tender mercy; and then, on top of all this, getting to walk in fellowship with God every day, being comforted in our sorrows, convicted in our sins, taught in our ignorance, encouraged by His kindness, supported in His love; how can one of God's children truly experience all this and even dare to ask God to account for Himself? Every moment we live in peace with God and outside of hell is a moment we don't deserve; the thought of taking God to task for anything else is beyond me.
I confess that I don't understand this sense of entitlement, in large part because of how brilliantly God has addressed the problem of evil. God made provision for the sin of unbelievers to be dealt with justly in hell, and for the sin of believers to be dealt with on the cross. It's a brilliant, comprehensive plan that preserves the necessary free will inherent in beings made in the image of God himself. Does anyone seriously have a better plan?
It's not just that I take issue with The Shack's answers (though I do, and vehemently so). It's that I take issue with its questions. Job had a lot of questions to ask God, and he asked them in an impertinent manner. Instead of answering Job's questions, as "Papa" does in The Shack, God responded, "Listen now, and I will speak. I will question you, and you shall answer me." And Job's holy and healthy response was, "Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes" (Job. 42:4, 6).
True enough, the Psalms pose many of these same questions, but for the most part they are resolved in a spirit of humility, surrender, and worship — not with wild speculation, and not by channeling God until Papa and Jesus sound like two guests on the Oprah Winfrey show.
It is also very significant that you don't find the writers of the New Testament voicing these same questions. In the age of the church, an age in which God's own Spirit resides in us, an age in which we can be uniquely reconciled to God (in a way that even King David and the other psalm writers could not), I believe there is an opportunity for Christ-like humility and surrender that supersedes many of these questions. We can be part of the solution — bringing God's redemption to a fallen, sinful world — instead of constantly obsessing over why God allows a problem.
Nobody appointed me to be the church's guard dog when it comes to theology. For starters, I'm not qualified. So maybe I'm taking all this way too seriously. Even if I am, can we at least agree that this is as far as we need to go? I believe The Shack already crosses the line; but if I'm wrong, can we at least say "enough's enough"?
The first commandment is to respect and honor the Godhead. The beginning of all wisdom, according to Scripture, is to fear the Lord. The Shack, in my opinion, violates both. It is our privilege and duty to respect the God who made us, to humbly allow Him to reveal Himself or not reveal Himself as He chooses, and to live in the mystery that remains. We should reject any irreverent speculation as naïve ignorance at best, and flat out arrogant, speculative heresy at worse. Where The Shack falls in this spectrum isn't for me to judge, but its approach channels our culture's arrogant sense of entitlement far more effectively than it channels the never-changing revealed will and words, not to mention the nature, of God.
As for me, I'm grateful that God has given us His written word as an accurate, trustworthy account of who He is, what He has said, and how I may know Him — an account that every other account must be measured by. It is also an account, I'd submit, that places The Shack outside of appropriate Christian literature.
Let's be willing to live in the mystery of who God is. Let's remind ourselves that we are the ones who need to explain ourselves, not God. He is the judge; He is not the defendant. The real shack that keeps us imprisoned isn't our pain — it's our alienation from, rebellion against, and hostility toward God. That's the shack from which I wish William Young had sought Mack's liberation.
How Great is Our God
Let no man say, “There is no God”, for I have seen Him for myself. I have felt the vast expanse of His love and tender kindness to me. I have experienced His faithfulness on a moment by moment basis. There is no God but Jehovah, Lord Almighty. When the psalmist wrote “my soul longs and even faints for you”, he foretold the outcry of my heart and soul even now, tonight. Even now as I sit here basking in the twilight glow of a quarter moon, being serenaded by the host of woodland creatures singing praises to their Maker. All I can think is, “How great Thou art…”
The majesty and glory of our God is so great that it consumes even the simplest and seemingly insignificant of events. In a moment of silence, His Presence comes rushing in and reminds my feeble, selfish mind of how magnificent He is. In the face of an ever-present fatigue that threatens to subdue my body, a peace and supernatural fountain of joy spring forth involuntarily from the depths of my inner man. All I have cries out “Glory! Glory to you, Almighty God!” All I want is to see You lifted high, my Maker. In the grand scheme of the cosmos, I am not even a speck. I see how infinitesimally small I am when compared to the tiniest glimpse of You in all Your splendor.
Father, you transcend truth. Your Son is the embodiment, the very personification of Truth. Your love provided Your creation with the free will to not love you back. Your sovereignty covers all Heaven and Earth. Nothing happens or fails to happen without Your permission, oh Mighty King of Heaven. The lightning bolts and hurricanes report to you. The lions and tigers sing Your praises. Even the Earth itself calls out to you from the tiniest flower blossom of spring to the mightiest of Sequoias. Your majesty knows no bounds.
Where could I go to escape you? Why would I ever try? You are matchless in the entire universe and I can’t think of a better reason to get out of my bed in the morning. May all of my honor and praise forever be passed on directly to you, my Lord and Savior. I am absolutely nothing without You. I lay prostrate before you.
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty…the whole Earth is full of His glory!
The majesty and glory of our God is so great that it consumes even the simplest and seemingly insignificant of events. In a moment of silence, His Presence comes rushing in and reminds my feeble, selfish mind of how magnificent He is. In the face of an ever-present fatigue that threatens to subdue my body, a peace and supernatural fountain of joy spring forth involuntarily from the depths of my inner man. All I have cries out “Glory! Glory to you, Almighty God!” All I want is to see You lifted high, my Maker. In the grand scheme of the cosmos, I am not even a speck. I see how infinitesimally small I am when compared to the tiniest glimpse of You in all Your splendor.
Father, you transcend truth. Your Son is the embodiment, the very personification of Truth. Your love provided Your creation with the free will to not love you back. Your sovereignty covers all Heaven and Earth. Nothing happens or fails to happen without Your permission, oh Mighty King of Heaven. The lightning bolts and hurricanes report to you. The lions and tigers sing Your praises. Even the Earth itself calls out to you from the tiniest flower blossom of spring to the mightiest of Sequoias. Your majesty knows no bounds.
Where could I go to escape you? Why would I ever try? You are matchless in the entire universe and I can’t think of a better reason to get out of my bed in the morning. May all of my honor and praise forever be passed on directly to you, my Lord and Savior. I am absolutely nothing without You. I lay prostrate before you.
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty…the whole Earth is full of His glory!
01 July 2008
Poetic Expression: Round 5
I wrote this during a particularly trying time at Pine Cove this week. Enjoy!
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Harmony
A house divided against itself will fall
When mind wars with heart, there is no victor
When one is apart from the other, calamity reigns
There is harmony in the unity brought by submission
A mind no longer seeking to understand can instead rest
A heart no longer grasping is free to simply abide
Single-minded pursuit of unseen riches
Is all that quenches the thirsty soul
Devotion to One higher brings wind to my sails
In His arms I find my harmony, my all
---
Harmony
A house divided against itself will fall
When mind wars with heart, there is no victor
When one is apart from the other, calamity reigns
There is harmony in the unity brought by submission
A mind no longer seeking to understand can instead rest
A heart no longer grasping is free to simply abide
Single-minded pursuit of unseen riches
Is all that quenches the thirsty soul
Devotion to One higher brings wind to my sails
In His arms I find my harmony, my all
22 June 2008
Heart ramblings
Ok, this is completely separate from any journal entries this summer. This is just something that I wanted to get out of my head and so I write. I think I may have finally come to an understanding as to why I have been completely unable to remain consistent in my walk with the Lord and my behavior as a man seeking to be like Jesus Christ.
When I think about all the times that I have been disappointed in myself these last couple of years, when I think about the things I’ve said and done that have not honored Christ and all the people I have hurt or angered…I remember what usually followed after those incidents. It was a concerted effort to eliminate the unacceptable actions and prevent them from happening again.
I have spent almost my entire adult life wavering between brief periods of fervent and intimate walk with the Lord and a much larger amount of time when I am quite mediocre in my Christian walk. This summer, in these last 5 weeks or so at Pine Cove…I have again been poured into by men much wiser and more Christ-like than myself. Someone I greatly respect called me on the carpet last week on something that I really never addressed in my life. He said that my actions weren’t the problem this time, it was my heart attitude that he was concerned about. He and I had some very serious conversation for a while that night and he shared some things that the Lord has taught him in Daniel.
I have heard the phrase several times here…”it doesn’t matter how clean your hands are if your heart is still dirty.” That is so true. I have spent some time since then seeking the Lord’s face on this issue and it is becoming excessively clear that I have found the source for my complete inability to be the man I so desperately want to be.
Despite the best efforts of my hands, my heart was still thoroughly corrupted with “selfish ambition and vain conceit” as Paul calls it in Philippians 2. Those times at school that I have come across as a cocky jerk without meaning to, the times when I have “tried to help” and only succeeded in being an arrogant know-it-all, the times when I have just plain been living in sin and allowed my frustration to get the best of me…all of those can be traced to a heart that is not submitted to the sovereignty of Almighty God.
“Your body is not your own, for you were bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God with your body.” I have heard that verse many, many times, but it has never really sunk in until this week. I know that many people at SFA have never seen the James B. Jenkins that I so desperately want to be, a man completely devoted and submitted to the will of Jesus Christ. The weight of my total inability to ever consistently be that man has been multiplied this summer at Pine Cove.
Something has clicked this past week that I hope and pray will allow me to finally get to the root of the heart attitude that has been the core of my interpersonal problems for as long as I can remember. The qualities of a man fervently following Christ are plainly evident: genuine joy, consistently encouraging words, tact, an eager servant’s heart, etc…these are qualities that I see displayed on a daily basis by many people around me. Pine Cove is the oven that God uses to fully develop these qualities in the people He has brought here.
All this rambling to say this…if your heart is put where it belongs, your hands can’t help but follow. I know that all the things I want most will appear at their appointed time. Just as King Neb said in Daniel 4, the Lord’s sovereignty covers all. The Lord is good. His timing is perfect.
The fact that I feel way too old to still be in college and not have taken even one step towards any kind of romantic relationship means nothing. The fact that I still don’t know what I’m supposed to do after the Forge means nothing. I may not know specifics, but I know that I’m supposed to submit my life to God and trust Him to open the door when the time is right and give me the nudge to walk through it. Ok, maybe a shove…I’m a pretty stubborn guy when it comes to the big stuff.
Ok, enough. I feel like I’ve been writing for an hour. The short version is that I want more than anything to consistently be the guy I’m supposed to be, to be true to the essence of the Lord that abides in me and to be a light that shines His love and encouragement in the environment He’s divinely placed me in. Everything else is icing on the cake.
And now I feel better…if you actually read this whole rambling mess, I think you deserve a gold medal or something. Be blessed…
08 May 2008
Concealed Carry
I was recently interviewed for a piece NBC56 out of Tyler was doing on Concealed Carry on Campus.
http://www.ketknbc.com/topvideo/18758699.html
I fully support the rights of licensed college students to carry concealed handguns wherever they so desire, college campuses included. There are a great many reasons for this, not the least of which is that I enjoy living and making sure others are alive too.
There are some risks associated with allowing students to carry firearms on campus, but most of them stem from fear and irrational paranoia. The risk of someone attempting homicidal violence at a school full of unarmed, defenseless victims should be what people are afraid of.
If we as a nation remove the guns from the hands of responsible, law-abiding citizens, then the only people who have guns will be the ones who don't care what the law says.
Go 2nd Amendment!!!
http://www.ketknbc.com/topvideo/18758699.html
I fully support the rights of licensed college students to carry concealed handguns wherever they so desire, college campuses included. There are a great many reasons for this, not the least of which is that I enjoy living and making sure others are alive too.
There are some risks associated with allowing students to carry firearms on campus, but most of them stem from fear and irrational paranoia. The risk of someone attempting homicidal violence at a school full of unarmed, defenseless victims should be what people are afraid of.
If we as a nation remove the guns from the hands of responsible, law-abiding citizens, then the only people who have guns will be the ones who don't care what the law says.
Go 2nd Amendment!!!
02 May 2008
Here's my exit...or is it?
Yeah, I know...two posts in one day. Who thought it was possible?
This semester has been quite a trying one, for a great many reasons. Due to some mistakes I've made, I will be retaking Genetics again in the fall semester. This creates a problem, Organic Chemistry, Genetics and Microbiology are all that remain in my undergraduate career...the only glitch is that Genetics and Microbiology are each only offered once in the fall, and as my luck would have it, they conflict with each other.
I could take it at Angelina College, but the only section they offer conflicts with O-chem. Go figure. So I'm talking to a bunch of PA school admissions committees trying to determine if a pre-nursing Micro class would count towards the necessary prerequisites. If not, I will either have to re-evaluate my career goals (for the 124,653,234,643rd time), or be here yet another semester next spring.
This is quite the conundrum, but thankfully I'm not freaking out. One of the signs of becoming more of an adult is the ability to approach an undesirable situation with an open and discerning mindset. As always, there is something that I'm supposed to learn from this trial. Hopefully, something more than simply "don't suck at genetics, James."
Please be in prayer as I continue to seek God's will for this chapter of life. There are many goals and ambitions I have for what I want the future to look like...but none of them hold a candle to my desire to be in the center of God's will. Please pray for the courage and patience to allow that to happen in my life.
There are far too many possibilities to choose from right now. Unbridled potential is a dangerous and very exciting thing. But, just as a wild mustang is a much more useful and productive animal once it has been broken, I too must be broken and set in the right direction.
To my friends, family and loved ones...thank you ever so much for your support. You are all very near and dear to my heart. Thank you...
This semester has been quite a trying one, for a great many reasons. Due to some mistakes I've made, I will be retaking Genetics again in the fall semester. This creates a problem, Organic Chemistry, Genetics and Microbiology are all that remain in my undergraduate career...the only glitch is that Genetics and Microbiology are each only offered once in the fall, and as my luck would have it, they conflict with each other.
I could take it at Angelina College, but the only section they offer conflicts with O-chem. Go figure. So I'm talking to a bunch of PA school admissions committees trying to determine if a pre-nursing Micro class would count towards the necessary prerequisites. If not, I will either have to re-evaluate my career goals (for the 124,653,234,643rd time), or be here yet another semester next spring.
This is quite the conundrum, but thankfully I'm not freaking out. One of the signs of becoming more of an adult is the ability to approach an undesirable situation with an open and discerning mindset. As always, there is something that I'm supposed to learn from this trial. Hopefully, something more than simply "don't suck at genetics, James."
Please be in prayer as I continue to seek God's will for this chapter of life. There are many goals and ambitions I have for what I want the future to look like...but none of them hold a candle to my desire to be in the center of God's will. Please pray for the courage and patience to allow that to happen in my life.
There are far too many possibilities to choose from right now. Unbridled potential is a dangerous and very exciting thing. But, just as a wild mustang is a much more useful and productive animal once it has been broken, I too must be broken and set in the right direction.
To my friends, family and loved ones...thank you ever so much for your support. You are all very near and dear to my heart. Thank you...
enrichment
I'm actively studying spanish again, for the first time in years. It is really cool how quickly the words come back even if you haven't put them to use in such a long time.
I am reminded how easy it is to let the hustle and bustle of life keep us all from really living life. The thought I have is, take the time to actively do something to enrich yourself today. Pick up an interesting book, practice your instrument if you play one, learn something on Discovery or Learning channel, go out and try a new sport or activity....do something. You'll feel better about the day, you'll get to go enjoy some of God's marvelous creation and you'll probably spend quality time with amazing people as well!
It could be even something as simple as sitting down with a friend, pushing past the typically superficial and drab "how are you?" type of conversation, and really invest in them as someone important in your life. Ask them questions that require thought, talk about things that matter, or things that really don't matter at all...doesn't matter.
If you make your seconds and minutes count for something, the hours and days can't help but follow suit. It all comes down to taking your time captive, live your life on purpose. Live intentionally. I believe that the more satisfaction we find in the life that God has blessed us with, the more glory He will inevitably receive from our endeavors (assuming our hearts are in the right place...).
As we go into the summer, try to put all that free time to good use. Even if you're going to be working or interning a lot...I guarantee you'll have more free time then you have this semester. God's given us the opportunity for an amazing life, let's go make it happen.
Be blessed...
I am reminded how easy it is to let the hustle and bustle of life keep us all from really living life. The thought I have is, take the time to actively do something to enrich yourself today. Pick up an interesting book, practice your instrument if you play one, learn something on Discovery or Learning channel, go out and try a new sport or activity....do something. You'll feel better about the day, you'll get to go enjoy some of God's marvelous creation and you'll probably spend quality time with amazing people as well!
It could be even something as simple as sitting down with a friend, pushing past the typically superficial and drab "how are you?" type of conversation, and really invest in them as someone important in your life. Ask them questions that require thought, talk about things that matter, or things that really don't matter at all...doesn't matter.
If you make your seconds and minutes count for something, the hours and days can't help but follow suit. It all comes down to taking your time captive, live your life on purpose. Live intentionally. I believe that the more satisfaction we find in the life that God has blessed us with, the more glory He will inevitably receive from our endeavors (assuming our hearts are in the right place...).
As we go into the summer, try to put all that free time to good use. Even if you're going to be working or interning a lot...I guarantee you'll have more free time then you have this semester. God's given us the opportunity for an amazing life, let's go make it happen.
Be blessed...
29 April 2008
A small challenge
Ok, so the world is negative, pessimistic, sarcastic, etc...and we as people who love Jesus are called to be in the world but not of it. Here's the thing: Wouldn't it be weird if you said lots of good things about people, situations, etc? I think people would notice after a while that you say lots of positive, uplifting things and it would bug them. After a while it would probably bug them enough to ask you why you have so much joy. And then you can tell them. It's that simple.
Oh, and don't forget to smile. It takes less work for your face and you'll look younger in 20 years if you smile a lot. People will notice.
Forget world domination. It's world transformation that I'm all about.
Don't talk it.
Don't do it.
BE IT.
Oh, and don't forget to smile. It takes less work for your face and you'll look younger in 20 years if you smile a lot. People will notice.
Forget world domination. It's world transformation that I'm all about.
Don't talk it.
Don't do it.
BE IT.
17 April 2008
Best time of your life?
As a college student, I am constantly bombarded with the culture and media's idea that the college years are the "best time of your life", etc. The spark for this particular post was a conversation I recently had with one of my professors who I believe is disillusioned with his impending mid-life crisis. He told me after class that I'd better live it up, because this the most fun I'll ever have..." I think we've all heard this before.
I had to contain my passions to his face, but the instant I left the room, my wheels were turning. To me, life is a book. An epic novel with an over-arching plot, countless subplots, main character, minor characters, chapters, ebb and flows, etc. Every single chapter in our lives has its own flavor, its own activities, characters, struggles, etc. The one constant is the life is almost always a matter of perspective. Even in the midst of struggle, there is plenty of good to be found. Just ask Paul, that man spent more time in prison than the rats, but he still found joy and satisfaction in his surroundings.
I got to thinking about life as a whole, and the "fun" that we get to have along the way. I couldn't agree any less with the professor that this is the most fun I'll ever have. Fun is not a concrete entity that you can sit on the shelf. Fun is not defined and immobile. Fun is a fluid, ever-changing, adapting, chameleon that follows us through life. Fun is what you make it.
Fun is playing with the big wooden blocks with your friends.
Fun is fingerpainting and making a big mess.
Fun is building a Lincoln log house that falls over every time.
Fun is creating universes and adventure for G.I. Joe and all of his friends.
Fun is making silly noises into the Teddy Ruxpin and making your friends laugh.
Fun is getting scrapes and bruises playing "American Gladiator" with your friends.
Fun is rolling around on the ground, play-fighting with your little brother.
Fun is running the riding mower into the house, while your Dad records the whole thing.
Fun is climbing a tree, just because you can.
Fun is riding a bike, while your dad runs beside you.
Fun is building sandcastles out of nasty dirt in your backyard.
Fun is playing with the puppy and letting him lick your face.
---
Fun is learning all about stuff and things you used to be ignorant of.
Fun is making new friends and loving old ones.
Fun is learning to play basketball or that other amazing sport that inspires you.
Fun is discovering the opposite sex, and becoming completely awkward around them.
Fun is throwing a frisbee, football, or whatever with your friends on a damp summer evening.
Fun is the dances, proms, homecomings, football games, etc.
Fun is seeing another country for the first time.
Fun is doing something kind for someone, just because you can.
Fun is stepping behind the wheel, alone, for the first time.
Fun is getting up the nerve to try to kiss her for the first time.
Fun is that first piece of plastic with your name and picture on it.
Fun is learning how to cherish a moment in time and never forget it.
---
Fun is learning who you really are inside.
Fun is discovering your reason for being alive.
Fun is studying hard for a test and making an A.
Fun is dunking a basketball.
Fun is dunking a basketball, again.
Fun is talking to Jesus as your Savior, and not the Savior of your parents.
Fun is when your Dad treats you like a man, and not just his son.
Fun is when you discover just how deep your faith really goes.
Fun is buying your first suit.
Fun is the first real job interview.
Fun is walking a stage, shaking a hand and posing in front of a flag.
Fun is a piece of paper on your wall that represents 16+ years of education.
---
Fun is looking in her eyes and finding love there.
Fun is peace that you are where you're supposed to be.
Fun is spending two months salary on a little shiny thing society tells you is important.
Fun is agonizing over the details of the perfect proposal.
Fun is when she says "yes".
Fun is the day she's been planning since forever ago.
Fun is experiencing what all that stuff was really made for.
Fun is when you get your first "real" paycheck and fall down from laughing so hard.
Fun is having a mailbox with your name on it.
Fun is having a community of like-minded people who genuinely love and care for you.
Fun is ministering to God's people.
Fun is impacting lives and creating change that effects eternity.
Fun is spending a lifetime getting to know your "other half".
---
Fun is finding out you're going to be a father.
Fun is finding out it's a boy. (ok, girls wouldn't be that bad either...)
Fun is planning, building, buying and then waiting.
Fun is the day you get a new title.
Fun is looking into the eyes of God's product of your love for your wife.
Fun is 3am feedings.
Fun is backrubs, apologies, late night ice cream runs, and loving the mother of your kiddo.
Fun is watching your little munchkin figure out stuff.
Fun is the first _____ .
Fun is finding your wife buried beneath all the "Mom" she's developing inside.
Fun is remaining true to your God and your self in the midst of total chaos.
---
Fun is that big promotion at work.
Fun is going to the homecoming game and marveling at how much the campus has changed.
Fun is talking to college friends you haven't seen in 10 years.
Fun is discovering, developing, creating something that changes humanity.
Fun is building meaningful relationships at church, work and the kid's school.
Fun is ministering to people and living out Jesus' love.
Fun is becoming a master of God's Word.
Fun is acquiring small pieces of wisdom over the years and getting to share them.
Fun is rediscovering each and every day how amazing your wife is.
Fun is teaching your son/daughter how to love Jesus and how to do life well.
Fun is playing basketball with your son, and totally dominating him.
Fun is being a Dad...oh, how I long for that.
Fun is watching your children become their own people, and crying about it.
---
Fun is watching the dances, proms, homecoming, football games, etc. from the other side.
Fun is protecting, defending, nurturing, building, teaching how to be an adult.
Fun is making your daughter's prospective boyfriend pee...his...pants. In front of you. :)
Fun is having faith and trust that God will protect them as they go out and come back.
Fun is playing golf with the boys on Saturday morning.
Fun is sponsoring an orphan.
Fun is doing completely random kind things, just because you can.
Fun is loving your wife more each day and knowing the story behind every wrinkle on her face.
Fun is helping your kiddo pick a school...while secretly wishing they would pick yours.
---
Fun is having the freedom to do whatever you want again.
Fun is reaping the benefits of a wisely invested financial life.
Fun is discipling young men and women towards a lifetime of significance.
Fun is being able to richly bless God's people from your abundances.
Fun is owning an RV and exploring God's creation.
Fun is seeing all those travel brochure places with your own eyes.
Fun is watching your children become parents.
Fun is playing dominos with the boys on Saturday morning.
Fun is playing BINGO on Wednesday night.
Fun is shuffleboard.
Fun is spoiling grandkids rotten, then sending them home to Mom and Dad.
Fun is huge holiday meals with the whole family.
---
Fun is a legacy of love and lasting impact.
Fun is a life well lived.
Fun is what you make it.
Above all else, remember this...
1 Corinthians 10:31
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
---
Have you had fun today?
You can still fix that...
Fun is now.
and now...
and now...
and now...
Be blessed.
I had to contain my passions to his face, but the instant I left the room, my wheels were turning. To me, life is a book. An epic novel with an over-arching plot, countless subplots, main character, minor characters, chapters, ebb and flows, etc. Every single chapter in our lives has its own flavor, its own activities, characters, struggles, etc. The one constant is the life is almost always a matter of perspective. Even in the midst of struggle, there is plenty of good to be found. Just ask Paul, that man spent more time in prison than the rats, but he still found joy and satisfaction in his surroundings.
I got to thinking about life as a whole, and the "fun" that we get to have along the way. I couldn't agree any less with the professor that this is the most fun I'll ever have. Fun is not a concrete entity that you can sit on the shelf. Fun is not defined and immobile. Fun is a fluid, ever-changing, adapting, chameleon that follows us through life. Fun is what you make it.
Fun is playing with the big wooden blocks with your friends.
Fun is fingerpainting and making a big mess.
Fun is building a Lincoln log house that falls over every time.
Fun is creating universes and adventure for G.I. Joe and all of his friends.
Fun is making silly noises into the Teddy Ruxpin and making your friends laugh.
Fun is getting scrapes and bruises playing "American Gladiator" with your friends.
Fun is rolling around on the ground, play-fighting with your little brother.
Fun is running the riding mower into the house, while your Dad records the whole thing.
Fun is climbing a tree, just because you can.
Fun is riding a bike, while your dad runs beside you.
Fun is building sandcastles out of nasty dirt in your backyard.
Fun is playing with the puppy and letting him lick your face.
---
Fun is learning all about stuff and things you used to be ignorant of.
Fun is making new friends and loving old ones.
Fun is learning to play basketball or that other amazing sport that inspires you.
Fun is discovering the opposite sex, and becoming completely awkward around them.
Fun is throwing a frisbee, football, or whatever with your friends on a damp summer evening.
Fun is the dances, proms, homecomings, football games, etc.
Fun is seeing another country for the first time.
Fun is doing something kind for someone, just because you can.
Fun is stepping behind the wheel, alone, for the first time.
Fun is getting up the nerve to try to kiss her for the first time.
Fun is that first piece of plastic with your name and picture on it.
Fun is learning how to cherish a moment in time and never forget it.
---
Fun is learning who you really are inside.
Fun is discovering your reason for being alive.
Fun is studying hard for a test and making an A.
Fun is dunking a basketball.
Fun is dunking a basketball, again.
Fun is talking to Jesus as your Savior, and not the Savior of your parents.
Fun is when your Dad treats you like a man, and not just his son.
Fun is when you discover just how deep your faith really goes.
Fun is buying your first suit.
Fun is the first real job interview.
Fun is walking a stage, shaking a hand and posing in front of a flag.
Fun is a piece of paper on your wall that represents 16+ years of education.
---
Fun is looking in her eyes and finding love there.
Fun is peace that you are where you're supposed to be.
Fun is spending two months salary on a little shiny thing society tells you is important.
Fun is agonizing over the details of the perfect proposal.
Fun is when she says "yes".
Fun is the day she's been planning since forever ago.
Fun is experiencing what all that stuff was really made for.
Fun is when you get your first "real" paycheck and fall down from laughing so hard.
Fun is having a mailbox with your name on it.
Fun is having a community of like-minded people who genuinely love and care for you.
Fun is ministering to God's people.
Fun is impacting lives and creating change that effects eternity.
Fun is spending a lifetime getting to know your "other half".
---
Fun is finding out you're going to be a father.
Fun is finding out it's a boy. (ok, girls wouldn't be that bad either...)
Fun is planning, building, buying and then waiting.
Fun is the day you get a new title.
Fun is looking into the eyes of God's product of your love for your wife.
Fun is 3am feedings.
Fun is backrubs, apologies, late night ice cream runs, and loving the mother of your kiddo.
Fun is watching your little munchkin figure out stuff.
Fun is the first _____ .
Fun is finding your wife buried beneath all the "Mom" she's developing inside.
Fun is remaining true to your God and your self in the midst of total chaos.
---
Fun is that big promotion at work.
Fun is going to the homecoming game and marveling at how much the campus has changed.
Fun is talking to college friends you haven't seen in 10 years.
Fun is discovering, developing, creating something that changes humanity.
Fun is building meaningful relationships at church, work and the kid's school.
Fun is ministering to people and living out Jesus' love.
Fun is becoming a master of God's Word.
Fun is acquiring small pieces of wisdom over the years and getting to share them.
Fun is rediscovering each and every day how amazing your wife is.
Fun is teaching your son/daughter how to love Jesus and how to do life well.
Fun is playing basketball with your son, and totally dominating him.
Fun is being a Dad...oh, how I long for that.
Fun is watching your children become their own people, and crying about it.
---
Fun is watching the dances, proms, homecoming, football games, etc. from the other side.
Fun is protecting, defending, nurturing, building, teaching how to be an adult.
Fun is making your daughter's prospective boyfriend pee...his...pants. In front of you. :)
Fun is having faith and trust that God will protect them as they go out and come back.
Fun is playing golf with the boys on Saturday morning.
Fun is sponsoring an orphan.
Fun is doing completely random kind things, just because you can.
Fun is loving your wife more each day and knowing the story behind every wrinkle on her face.
Fun is helping your kiddo pick a school...while secretly wishing they would pick yours.
---
Fun is having the freedom to do whatever you want again.
Fun is reaping the benefits of a wisely invested financial life.
Fun is discipling young men and women towards a lifetime of significance.
Fun is being able to richly bless God's people from your abundances.
Fun is owning an RV and exploring God's creation.
Fun is seeing all those travel brochure places with your own eyes.
Fun is watching your children become parents.
Fun is playing dominos with the boys on Saturday morning.
Fun is playing BINGO on Wednesday night.
Fun is shuffleboard.
Fun is spoiling grandkids rotten, then sending them home to Mom and Dad.
Fun is huge holiday meals with the whole family.
---
Fun is a legacy of love and lasting impact.
Fun is a life well lived.
Fun is what you make it.
Above all else, remember this...
1 Corinthians 10:31
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
---
Have you had fun today?
You can still fix that...
Fun is now.
and now...
and now...
and now...
Be blessed.
14 April 2008
Props to you, Mr. Lewis
I have long held C.S. Lewis in highest regard when it comes to literary, theological and philospohical masterpieces. I recently stumbled on a site that had posted many of his more memorable quotes. Instead of posting selections on my profile, I decided to just copy and paste the website here. You can find this and many other quotes and biographical information on www.brainyquote.com.
Memorable Quotes From C.S. Lewis:
A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell.
---
A man who is eating or lying with his wife or preparing to go to sleep in humility, thankfulness and temperance, is, by Christian standards, in an infinitely higher state than one who is listening to Bach or reading Plato in a state of pride.
---
A young man who wishes to remain a sound atheist cannot be too careful of his reading.
---
Affection is responsible for nine-tenths of whatever solid and durable happiness there is in our lives.
---
Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.
---
An explanation of cause is not a justification by reason.
---
Can a mortal ask questions which God finds unanswerable? Quite easily, I should think. All nonsense questions are unanswerable.
---
Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.
---
Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality.
---
Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.
---
Don't use words too big for the subject. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.
---
Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.
---
Eros will have naked bodies; Friendship naked personalities.
---
Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.
---
Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn.
---
Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.
---
Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.
---
God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.
---
Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind.
---
How incessant and great are the ills with which a prolonged old age is replete.
---
Humans are amphibians - half spirit and half animal. As spirits they belong to the eternal world, but as animals they inhabit time.
---
I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.
---
I gave in, and admitted that God was God.
---
I sometimes wander whether all pleasures are not substitutes for joy.
---
If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be without meaning.
---
If we cut up beasts simply because they cannot prevent us and because we are backing our own side in the struggle for existence, it is only logical to cut up imbeciles, criminals, enemies, or capitalists for the same reasons.
---
If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair.
---
If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.
---
It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.
---
It's so much easier to pray for a bore than to go and see one.
---
Let's pray that the human race never escapes from Earth to spread its iniquity elsewhere.
---
Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become.
---
Long before history began we men have got together apart from the women and done things. We had time.
---
Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see.
---
Miracles do not, in fact, break the laws of nature.
---
No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.
---
Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours.
---
Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.
---
Part of every misery is, so to speak, the misery's shadow or reflection: the fact that you don't merely suffer but have to keep on thinking about the fact that you suffer. I not only live each endless day in grief, but live each day thinking about living each day in grief.
---
Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning.
---
Some people feel guilty about their anxieties and regard them as a defect of faith but they are afflictions, not sins. Like all afflictions, they are, if we can so take them, our share in the passion of Christ.
---
Telling us to obey instinct is like telling us to obey 'people.' People say different things: so do instincts. Our instincts are at war... Each instinct, if you listen to it, will claim to be gratified at the expense of the rest.
---
The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of 60 minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is.
---
The long, dull, monotonous years of middle-aged prosperity or middle-aged adversity are excellent campaigning weather for the devil.
---
The real problem is not why some pious, humble, believing people suffer, but why some do not.
---
The safest road to hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.
---
The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts.
---
There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, "All right, then, have it your way."
---
There is, hidden or flaunted, a sword between the sexes till an entire marriage reconciles them.
---
Thirty was so strange for me. I've really had to come to terms with the fact that I am now a walking and talking adult.
---
This is one of the miracles of love: It gives a power of seeing through its own enchantments and yet not being disenchanted.
---
We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive.
---
We are what we believe we are.
---
What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step.
---
What we call Man's power over Nature turns out to be a power exercised by some men over other men with Nature as its instrument.
---
With the possible exception of the equator, everything begins somewhere.
---
You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.
---
You can't get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me.
---
You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.
Memorable Quotes From C.S. Lewis:
A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell.
---
A man who is eating or lying with his wife or preparing to go to sleep in humility, thankfulness and temperance, is, by Christian standards, in an infinitely higher state than one who is listening to Bach or reading Plato in a state of pride.
---
A young man who wishes to remain a sound atheist cannot be too careful of his reading.
---
Affection is responsible for nine-tenths of whatever solid and durable happiness there is in our lives.
---
Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.
---
An explanation of cause is not a justification by reason.
---
Can a mortal ask questions which God finds unanswerable? Quite easily, I should think. All nonsense questions are unanswerable.
---
Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.
---
Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality.
---
Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.
---
Don't use words too big for the subject. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.
---
Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.
---
Eros will have naked bodies; Friendship naked personalities.
---
Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.
---
Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn.
---
Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.
---
Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.
---
God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.
---
Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind.
---
How incessant and great are the ills with which a prolonged old age is replete.
---
Humans are amphibians - half spirit and half animal. As spirits they belong to the eternal world, but as animals they inhabit time.
---
I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.
---
I gave in, and admitted that God was God.
---
I sometimes wander whether all pleasures are not substitutes for joy.
---
If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be without meaning.
---
If we cut up beasts simply because they cannot prevent us and because we are backing our own side in the struggle for existence, it is only logical to cut up imbeciles, criminals, enemies, or capitalists for the same reasons.
---
If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair.
---
If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.
---
It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.
---
It's so much easier to pray for a bore than to go and see one.
---
Let's pray that the human race never escapes from Earth to spread its iniquity elsewhere.
---
Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become.
---
Long before history began we men have got together apart from the women and done things. We had time.
---
Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see.
---
Miracles do not, in fact, break the laws of nature.
---
No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.
---
Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours.
---
Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.
---
Part of every misery is, so to speak, the misery's shadow or reflection: the fact that you don't merely suffer but have to keep on thinking about the fact that you suffer. I not only live each endless day in grief, but live each day thinking about living each day in grief.
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Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning.
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Some people feel guilty about their anxieties and regard them as a defect of faith but they are afflictions, not sins. Like all afflictions, they are, if we can so take them, our share in the passion of Christ.
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Telling us to obey instinct is like telling us to obey 'people.' People say different things: so do instincts. Our instincts are at war... Each instinct, if you listen to it, will claim to be gratified at the expense of the rest.
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The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of 60 minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is.
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The long, dull, monotonous years of middle-aged prosperity or middle-aged adversity are excellent campaigning weather for the devil.
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The real problem is not why some pious, humble, believing people suffer, but why some do not.
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The safest road to hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.
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The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts.
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There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, "All right, then, have it your way."
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There is, hidden or flaunted, a sword between the sexes till an entire marriage reconciles them.
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Thirty was so strange for me. I've really had to come to terms with the fact that I am now a walking and talking adult.
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This is one of the miracles of love: It gives a power of seeing through its own enchantments and yet not being disenchanted.
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We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive.
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We are what we believe we are.
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What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step.
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What we call Man's power over Nature turns out to be a power exercised by some men over other men with Nature as its instrument.
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With the possible exception of the equator, everything begins somewhere.
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You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.
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You can't get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me.
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You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.
01 April 2008
Peace in the middle east? Not gonna happen...
World peace sounds great coming out of the mouth of a Miss America contestant, but reality is a whole 'nother ballgame people. Lower gas prices and America soldiers not dying trying to babysit a country of fundamentalist, anti-American, pagan murderers are pipe dreams. There will never be peace in the middle east...in fact, it's only going to get worse. Read your Bible if you don't agree with me.
The arab/muslim world is an integral part of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Abraham's impatience for God to provide him a son with his wife Sara caused him to sleep with her handmaiden, Hagar. A son, Ishmael, was the product of that encounter. Later, God fulfilled his promise to Abraham and gave him a son, Isaac, with his wife, Sara. Sara despised Ishmael and wanted to leave him to die in the desert...so that he couldn't take the firstborn's inheritance that she wanted to give to Isaac. Abraham left Ishmael to die in the desert, but Ishmael cried out and God heard him.
Gen. 21:18 - "Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation."
Ishmael left Abraham and grew into a powerful man. God chose to bless him and his offspring immensely. Ishmael, and his 12 sons, are the fathers of all the Arab nations. Of course, Isaac and his descendants became the nation of Israel, God's chosen people. Ishmael's people hate Isaac's people. The descendants of Ishmael are the wayward stepchildren of God's covenant with Abraham. Arabs will never stop hating each other and the Israelites.
Revelation talks quite a bit about Babylon (current day Baghdad in Iraq) and how she will make war against Israel in the last days. There are many passages talking about unrest in the middle east. Even Jesus gets in on the prophecy...
Matthew 24:6
"You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come."
These things will happen. My friends, we are living in a time when biblical endtimes prophecy is being fulfilled before our very eyes. I would love for peace to happen, for American soldiers to come home and for things to settle down. Give me a gun and I'd have no problem putting metal in the foreheads of every last radical fundamentalist Muslim who wants to kill you, me and everyone who doesn't bend a knee to "allah". Unfortunately, that wouldn't solve anything.
In light of this knowledge, we should be living out our faith in spite of the horrible things happening in the world. We should take solace in the fact that we know how this story ends. Our God is firmly in control.
Be blessed...
The arab/muslim world is an integral part of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Abraham's impatience for God to provide him a son with his wife Sara caused him to sleep with her handmaiden, Hagar. A son, Ishmael, was the product of that encounter. Later, God fulfilled his promise to Abraham and gave him a son, Isaac, with his wife, Sara. Sara despised Ishmael and wanted to leave him to die in the desert...so that he couldn't take the firstborn's inheritance that she wanted to give to Isaac. Abraham left Ishmael to die in the desert, but Ishmael cried out and God heard him.
Gen. 21:18 - "Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation."
Ishmael left Abraham and grew into a powerful man. God chose to bless him and his offspring immensely. Ishmael, and his 12 sons, are the fathers of all the Arab nations. Of course, Isaac and his descendants became the nation of Israel, God's chosen people. Ishmael's people hate Isaac's people. The descendants of Ishmael are the wayward stepchildren of God's covenant with Abraham. Arabs will never stop hating each other and the Israelites.
Revelation talks quite a bit about Babylon (current day Baghdad in Iraq) and how she will make war against Israel in the last days. There are many passages talking about unrest in the middle east. Even Jesus gets in on the prophecy...
Matthew 24:6
"You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come."
These things will happen. My friends, we are living in a time when biblical endtimes prophecy is being fulfilled before our very eyes. I would love for peace to happen, for American soldiers to come home and for things to settle down. Give me a gun and I'd have no problem putting metal in the foreheads of every last radical fundamentalist Muslim who wants to kill you, me and everyone who doesn't bend a knee to "allah". Unfortunately, that wouldn't solve anything.
In light of this knowledge, we should be living out our faith in spite of the horrible things happening in the world. We should take solace in the fact that we know how this story ends. Our God is firmly in control.
Be blessed...
30 March 2008
Moonlight
Moonlight
Night, bringer of sin and salvation
Harbinger of silence, stillness and tranquility
An invitation to peer within the depths of the soul
Adventure, freedom to roam the ebony-clad fields of the mind
Conquest of unknown joys and curiosities fulfilled
Peace abounds, as a song unsung finds its tune in the wind
No fear exists, no apprehension foretold
Uncertainty has lost its hold
This Potter’s creation has broken the mold
Life, this sweet, simplistic beauty can ne’er be described
Nor shall I try, for many tales yet untold are better seen than heard
No proper justice can be offered by the written word
Live.
Love.
Lead.
13 March 2008
The warrior within
Exodus 15:3
"The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name."
Genesis 1:26
"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness...'"
Man was made to be a warrior. It's woven into the very core and fiber of who we are. Courage, determination, aggression and passion are integral parts of who we are as men. From the dawn of recorded history man has waged war...for conquest, for freedom, for justice, for the weak. Whatever the cause may be, whatever brings forth a man's warrior tendencies...at the very core, a man is a warrior.
Society and culture have taught us that aggression and a warrior mentality are carnal and archaic, barbarian instincts that are bred out of "polite" and "proper" civilizations.
I was sitting here tonight in the quiet that night provides, thinking about the dichotomy that exists inside my soul. On the one hand, I am a hopeless romantic who desires to pour out God's love and tenderness to the One God has for me (as I wrote about in my last post). I'm a generally harmless guy, I'm not looking to hurt anyone. But on the other side of the coin lies a undying ferocity that I do everything to keep under wraps. If you've endangered or hurt someone I care about, you've probably seen this side. It is an underlying desire to see everything as a battle, a conquest needing to be strategized and deciphered. This side sees every sporting event as a war to be fought and every lady as a maiden to be rescued.
Every man longs to play the hero in a story, a grand tale of adventure and danger. It's why little boys' imaginations run wild with the most violent and horrible scenarios you can conceive. Every man, no matter how meek or timid he may seem on the outside, hides an inner warrior lurking beneath the surface. You'll see it if you mess with his family or his lady...if you endanger what he holds dear.
This natural tendency has been perverted, as most other things in our nature have been, by sin and the world.
Psalm 4:4
In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.
So often today we see the twisted, sinful version of the warrior within. Domestic violence, gang activity, school shootings, etc. are perfect examples of Satan's perversion of the natural ferocious and aggressive tendencies built into man.
Violence is not an inherently bad thing. Would you like proof?
Joshua 10:11
As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the LORD hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.
Read the Old Testament. It is filled with stories of a holy and righteous God who displays His anger and ferocity on countless occasions, usually directed at those who would do His people harm. Whether it's causing over 100,000 Midianites to turn on each other in the night or sending His angelic armies to massacre the Assyrians...the Lord's warrior tendencies are a sight to behold.
The point here is that we as men should be focusing on honing and regulating our aggression and warrior spirit. We should seek to glorify God with all the different facets of the personality He has blessed us with. Do not allow feminists, the liberal media and the education system in America to brainwash you into thinking your aggression is bad. Your freedom was gained and is protected by the very aggression many would seek to destroy from your very being.
James 4:7
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Submit your anger, you aggression, your warrior spirit to the God who loves and gave you those leanings in the first place. Do not sin. Do not damage those who look to you for protection and guidance. Seek His wisdom in how to approach this aspect of who you are, talk to your mentor or pastor about developing these tendencies into a healthy compliment to your arsenal of attributes.
Remember this above all else...
1 Corinthians 10:31
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
Be blessed.
"The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name."
Genesis 1:26
"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness...'"
Man was made to be a warrior. It's woven into the very core and fiber of who we are. Courage, determination, aggression and passion are integral parts of who we are as men. From the dawn of recorded history man has waged war...for conquest, for freedom, for justice, for the weak. Whatever the cause may be, whatever brings forth a man's warrior tendencies...at the very core, a man is a warrior.
Society and culture have taught us that aggression and a warrior mentality are carnal and archaic, barbarian instincts that are bred out of "polite" and "proper" civilizations.
I was sitting here tonight in the quiet that night provides, thinking about the dichotomy that exists inside my soul. On the one hand, I am a hopeless romantic who desires to pour out God's love and tenderness to the One God has for me (as I wrote about in my last post). I'm a generally harmless guy, I'm not looking to hurt anyone. But on the other side of the coin lies a undying ferocity that I do everything to keep under wraps. If you've endangered or hurt someone I care about, you've probably seen this side. It is an underlying desire to see everything as a battle, a conquest needing to be strategized and deciphered. This side sees every sporting event as a war to be fought and every lady as a maiden to be rescued.
Every man longs to play the hero in a story, a grand tale of adventure and danger. It's why little boys' imaginations run wild with the most violent and horrible scenarios you can conceive. Every man, no matter how meek or timid he may seem on the outside, hides an inner warrior lurking beneath the surface. You'll see it if you mess with his family or his lady...if you endanger what he holds dear.
This natural tendency has been perverted, as most other things in our nature have been, by sin and the world.
Psalm 4:4
In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.
So often today we see the twisted, sinful version of the warrior within. Domestic violence, gang activity, school shootings, etc. are perfect examples of Satan's perversion of the natural ferocious and aggressive tendencies built into man.
Violence is not an inherently bad thing. Would you like proof?
Joshua 10:11
As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the LORD hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.
Read the Old Testament. It is filled with stories of a holy and righteous God who displays His anger and ferocity on countless occasions, usually directed at those who would do His people harm. Whether it's causing over 100,000 Midianites to turn on each other in the night or sending His angelic armies to massacre the Assyrians...the Lord's warrior tendencies are a sight to behold.
The point here is that we as men should be focusing on honing and regulating our aggression and warrior spirit. We should seek to glorify God with all the different facets of the personality He has blessed us with. Do not allow feminists, the liberal media and the education system in America to brainwash you into thinking your aggression is bad. Your freedom was gained and is protected by the very aggression many would seek to destroy from your very being.
James 4:7
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Submit your anger, you aggression, your warrior spirit to the God who loves and gave you those leanings in the first place. Do not sin. Do not damage those who look to you for protection and guidance. Seek His wisdom in how to approach this aspect of who you are, talk to your mentor or pastor about developing these tendencies into a healthy compliment to your arsenal of attributes.
Remember this above all else...
1 Corinthians 10:31
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
Be blessed.
12 March 2008
Eyeing the finish line and looking for the next starting tape
I have the distinct privileges of being one of the only people left in Nac over the break. You might be inclined to think that it would be a nice, quiet pause from the usual hustle and bustle of college life...and you'd be wrong. Big surprise there, right?
I've had a lot of late nights this week, and a lot of time has been spent on self-assessment and realigning my will with God's. I am fully aware of the fact that calendar years mean nothing to God and that His plans are perfect. It doesn't worry me too much at all that I still don't have a good idea of exactly what is going after I walk that graduation stage in a little over 276 days and 8 hours. It doesn't bother me that I'm 24 years old and I am no closer to a potential wife than I was this time last year. Don't mistake my thoughts for sorrow, just readiness and eagerness.
Jer. 29:11 is possibly one of the most overused and cliched verses in the Bible. It is completely true, no doubt, but I think it's full impact is lost unless you really stop to think what is being said by the Creator. When you pair it with Rom. 8:28, you know beyond a doubt that nothing happens or doesn't happen that is not somehow connected to God's sovereign plan for your life.
I am naturally philosophical. It gets me completely wrapped around the axle sometimes, but that's life. I am enjoying college immensely, but I cannot wait for the day when I have no roommates other than my wife, a job with actual upward mobility and a clear vision of the ministry and purpose I am here to fulfill.
As I stand here at the biggest crossroads I have ever faced, there is excitement mixed with a tad bit of apprehension. There is so much out there that I have never experienced, so much I haven't seen, so much unknown. I am so glad I have an Almighty God who loves me as His own and has called me to be a piece in His puzzle.
I have no problem admitting it...I am eager to walk the path with someone that leads to marriage. I have no intention of rushing anything or acting foolish, but when God opens that door I will gladly walk through it without hesitation. There is so much of me that has been keeping, waiting and longing for her. The physical sense is such a small part of it...that holy union will be glorious when it gets here. Immensely hard and a time of intense growth and maturation, yes. But still glorious.
Gen. 2:18 - It is not good for man to be alone, I will make a helper suitable for him.
As I near the finishing tape of one race, I am wide eyed in search of the starting line for the next one. So...to my wife, wherever you are right now...whatever you're doing...Just know that I love you, I miss you and I'm praying for you.
Be blessed.
I've had a lot of late nights this week, and a lot of time has been spent on self-assessment and realigning my will with God's. I am fully aware of the fact that calendar years mean nothing to God and that His plans are perfect. It doesn't worry me too much at all that I still don't have a good idea of exactly what is going after I walk that graduation stage in a little over 276 days and 8 hours. It doesn't bother me that I'm 24 years old and I am no closer to a potential wife than I was this time last year. Don't mistake my thoughts for sorrow, just readiness and eagerness.
Jer. 29:11 is possibly one of the most overused and cliched verses in the Bible. It is completely true, no doubt, but I think it's full impact is lost unless you really stop to think what is being said by the Creator. When you pair it with Rom. 8:28, you know beyond a doubt that nothing happens or doesn't happen that is not somehow connected to God's sovereign plan for your life.
I am naturally philosophical. It gets me completely wrapped around the axle sometimes, but that's life. I am enjoying college immensely, but I cannot wait for the day when I have no roommates other than my wife, a job with actual upward mobility and a clear vision of the ministry and purpose I am here to fulfill.
As I stand here at the biggest crossroads I have ever faced, there is excitement mixed with a tad bit of apprehension. There is so much out there that I have never experienced, so much I haven't seen, so much unknown. I am so glad I have an Almighty God who loves me as His own and has called me to be a piece in His puzzle.
I have no problem admitting it...I am eager to walk the path with someone that leads to marriage. I have no intention of rushing anything or acting foolish, but when God opens that door I will gladly walk through it without hesitation. There is so much of me that has been keeping, waiting and longing for her. The physical sense is such a small part of it...that holy union will be glorious when it gets here. Immensely hard and a time of intense growth and maturation, yes. But still glorious.
Gen. 2:18 - It is not good for man to be alone, I will make a helper suitable for him.
As I near the finishing tape of one race, I am wide eyed in search of the starting line for the next one. So...to my wife, wherever you are right now...whatever you're doing...Just know that I love you, I miss you and I'm praying for you.
Be blessed.
05 March 2008
The results are in...
Tuesday, March 4th, the great state of Texas held our primary elections. John Mccain soundly defeated Mike Huckabee, thus ending Huckabee's bid for the presidency. This leaves Americans with 2 Über-liberals and a RINO (republican in name only) to choose from for President of the USA.
I am horribly terrified for the next 4 years of America. There isn't a single candidate now available to the voters that doesn't leave a putrid feeling in my stomach. I do not call myself a republican, although I normally vote as one. I am a conversative, and this election makes me sick. I voted for Mike Huckabee, and was gleeful to do so. Mike is about as good a man as you can find.
Mccain reminds me of Senator Palpatine from Star Wars 1, where on the outside he looks just fine and caring...but in reality, he is evil and twisted beyond imagination.
The only reason George W. Bush won either of the last two hotly contested election was because of the fervent support of the evangelical right-wingers. John Mccain has make it abundantly clear that there is no love lost between him and the church. As much as I truly hate the idea, I think that the democrats will have a fairly easy time defeating him.
Now the question is "Who will lead America now?": A closet muslim with ties to radical black-supremesists or the former first "lady" (it's laughable that we even have to call her a lady...) who's already run the country for 8 years.
The answer is obvious, for those of us who call on the matchless name of Jesus Christ. We can have faith in perilous times like these because we know that our Creator has written out this chapter of human existence just like all the rest. Regardless of what happens, regardless of how bleak the situation looks right now...God's will is being accomplished and His purposes are being fulfilled. This is definitely one of those times where I have to just take my hands off the situation and say "OK, God...do your thing." Honestly, I'm scared to death for America, but we should be acting in a spirit of faith and obedience to biblical commands.
Romans 13:1 "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God."
My friends, that's pretty cut and dried. Those are my thoughts on the situation...
Be blessed.
I am horribly terrified for the next 4 years of America. There isn't a single candidate now available to the voters that doesn't leave a putrid feeling in my stomach. I do not call myself a republican, although I normally vote as one. I am a conversative, and this election makes me sick. I voted for Mike Huckabee, and was gleeful to do so. Mike is about as good a man as you can find.
Mccain reminds me of Senator Palpatine from Star Wars 1, where on the outside he looks just fine and caring...but in reality, he is evil and twisted beyond imagination.
The only reason George W. Bush won either of the last two hotly contested election was because of the fervent support of the evangelical right-wingers. John Mccain has make it abundantly clear that there is no love lost between him and the church. As much as I truly hate the idea, I think that the democrats will have a fairly easy time defeating him.
Now the question is "Who will lead America now?": A closet muslim with ties to radical black-supremesists or the former first "lady" (it's laughable that we even have to call her a lady...) who's already run the country for 8 years.
The answer is obvious, for those of us who call on the matchless name of Jesus Christ. We can have faith in perilous times like these because we know that our Creator has written out this chapter of human existence just like all the rest. Regardless of what happens, regardless of how bleak the situation looks right now...God's will is being accomplished and His purposes are being fulfilled. This is definitely one of those times where I have to just take my hands off the situation and say "OK, God...do your thing." Honestly, I'm scared to death for America, but we should be acting in a spirit of faith and obedience to biblical commands.
Romans 13:1 "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God."
My friends, that's pretty cut and dried. Those are my thoughts on the situation...
Be blessed.
18 February 2008
Stressed?
Sometimes I say something that sounds cool or hits home with you. It probably wasn't me talking. Sometimes I do something right and amazing things happen. The chances are good that I can't take any credit for that. The overwhelming and matchless grace of an Almighty God is more than enough to compensate for my tremendous ability to suck at life.
At a point in life where it seems that the weight of the entire universe should be upon my shoulders, I am at peace. In the face of a host of reasons to be a giant stress ball, I'm laughing it off and pressing on. How is that possible? I don't have a career figured out, I don't have a wife or anyone who looks like she could be one, I don't have money or many "cool" things, so why am I so happy?
Mostly because I've somehow managed to obey 1 Pet. 5:7 and "cast my cares on Him." It's a beautiful thing when you can wake up on a Monday morning where you've had less than 4 hours of sleep and smile. My friends, if you would just let Him take care of the uncontrollable things in your life and stop worrying about things you can't affect...you would know joy and peace on a level you've probably only dreamed of at this point.
It's like the serenity prayer from when we were all kids "Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference." How profound.
As college students, everyone trys to put so much pressure on us, trying to knock us down. The world's view of success just doesn't seem that appetizing to me. Why should I hoard "stuff" and grasp and claw for every scrap of temporal happiness, pleasure and anesthetizing of pain? Why should I pick that special someone based on what I can see? Why should I judge and put you down to bring me up? Why should I gossip and slander, tearing down my brothers and sisters...only to somehow satiate my internal struggles of insufficiency? Why should I be afraid?
The answer is...I should not. You shouldn't either.
2 Cor. 12:9 "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."
Do all that you can to serve God, love people and make the world a better place. Leave to rest up to the Man that runs the show. If you mess up, fess up. Get up and get back to it. GO.
Be blessed...
At a point in life where it seems that the weight of the entire universe should be upon my shoulders, I am at peace. In the face of a host of reasons to be a giant stress ball, I'm laughing it off and pressing on. How is that possible? I don't have a career figured out, I don't have a wife or anyone who looks like she could be one, I don't have money or many "cool" things, so why am I so happy?
Mostly because I've somehow managed to obey 1 Pet. 5:7 and "cast my cares on Him." It's a beautiful thing when you can wake up on a Monday morning where you've had less than 4 hours of sleep and smile. My friends, if you would just let Him take care of the uncontrollable things in your life and stop worrying about things you can't affect...you would know joy and peace on a level you've probably only dreamed of at this point.
It's like the serenity prayer from when we were all kids "Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference." How profound.
As college students, everyone trys to put so much pressure on us, trying to knock us down. The world's view of success just doesn't seem that appetizing to me. Why should I hoard "stuff" and grasp and claw for every scrap of temporal happiness, pleasure and anesthetizing of pain? Why should I pick that special someone based on what I can see? Why should I judge and put you down to bring me up? Why should I gossip and slander, tearing down my brothers and sisters...only to somehow satiate my internal struggles of insufficiency? Why should I be afraid?
The answer is...I should not. You shouldn't either.
2 Cor. 12:9 "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."
Do all that you can to serve God, love people and make the world a better place. Leave to rest up to the Man that runs the show. If you mess up, fess up. Get up and get back to it. GO.
Be blessed...
09 February 2008
McCain / Huckabee ticket?
With the development of the presidential primary races this week, things have come into much greater clarity. When Mitt Romney officially suspended his campaign early this week, it essentially gave the nomination to McCain. Unless a total miracle of God happens, McCain will be the republican's nominee.
I support Mike Huckabee for President. I think that he would lead America back in the right direction, back towards integrity and character, back towards Jesus. The prospect of a R.I.N.O. running the republican's ticket really scares me. McCain's stand on the sanctity of life, of embryonic stem cell research, homosexual marriage rights, immigration and tax reform really bother me. I don't think for a second that John McCain is the right man for the job.
That being said, he will likely win the nomination. With Clinton and Obama embroiled in a very tight democratic primary...McCain will have the head start on fundraising and gameplanning. If he wins the primary as he should, I can't think of a better candidate to fill the ticket as VP than Mike Huckabee. Huckabee is a strong personality, a veteran and skilled debater, a proven leader and effective instrument for economic reform. If McCain is smart, he will attract the evangelical demographic and put Huckabee as his running mate.
It's sort of a consolation prize, but putting Huckabee in the White House, even as VP, can only mean good things for America. I am nothing close to a fan of John McCain, but if I have to chose between him and the likes of Clinton or Obama...McCain wins every time.
I am very concerned for the future of America. I believe we're entering into some very dark days in the life of our country. America has rejected God for more than a generation and it's beginning to catch up with us. 9/11 was a wake up call that unfortunately, only briefly rustled us from our spiritual slumber. The old adage of "evil prevails when good men (and women) do nothing" is in full force. The church is mostly either oblivious or incapable of responding effectively to the onslaught of darkness. Our eyes are in the mirror instead of in the clouds, seeking God's face. Our focus in internal when it should be eternal.
Call me melodramatic, call me a doomsdayer if you wish. I believe that this upcoming presidency will be a defining presidency for the rest of American history. Just as FDR's presidency defined the path America has taken in the last 60 years, I believe that whoever moves into the White House in January of 2009 will change the course of America's destiny one way or another.
Fellow believers, now is the time when we must be pleading for God's mercy and grace on our country. Be in prayer for our leaders, for the voters, for the hearts and minds of our judges and elected officials.
Also, I think it goes without saying, but: GET OUT AND VOTE. If you don't vote, you are letting people who hate what you stand for determine who runs this country. I, for one, am going to exercise every ounce of influence, power and constitutional authority I can grasp in the coming months. If you stand for the truth, you should to.
If you stand for the darkness, for murder and debauchery, for "tolerance"...be afraid. The sleeping giant that is the American church is stirring. Morning is almost here.
I support Mike Huckabee for President. I think that he would lead America back in the right direction, back towards integrity and character, back towards Jesus. The prospect of a R.I.N.O. running the republican's ticket really scares me. McCain's stand on the sanctity of life, of embryonic stem cell research, homosexual marriage rights, immigration and tax reform really bother me. I don't think for a second that John McCain is the right man for the job.
That being said, he will likely win the nomination. With Clinton and Obama embroiled in a very tight democratic primary...McCain will have the head start on fundraising and gameplanning. If he wins the primary as he should, I can't think of a better candidate to fill the ticket as VP than Mike Huckabee. Huckabee is a strong personality, a veteran and skilled debater, a proven leader and effective instrument for economic reform. If McCain is smart, he will attract the evangelical demographic and put Huckabee as his running mate.
It's sort of a consolation prize, but putting Huckabee in the White House, even as VP, can only mean good things for America. I am nothing close to a fan of John McCain, but if I have to chose between him and the likes of Clinton or Obama...McCain wins every time.
I am very concerned for the future of America. I believe we're entering into some very dark days in the life of our country. America has rejected God for more than a generation and it's beginning to catch up with us. 9/11 was a wake up call that unfortunately, only briefly rustled us from our spiritual slumber. The old adage of "evil prevails when good men (and women) do nothing" is in full force. The church is mostly either oblivious or incapable of responding effectively to the onslaught of darkness. Our eyes are in the mirror instead of in the clouds, seeking God's face. Our focus in internal when it should be eternal.
Call me melodramatic, call me a doomsdayer if you wish. I believe that this upcoming presidency will be a defining presidency for the rest of American history. Just as FDR's presidency defined the path America has taken in the last 60 years, I believe that whoever moves into the White House in January of 2009 will change the course of America's destiny one way or another.
Fellow believers, now is the time when we must be pleading for God's mercy and grace on our country. Be in prayer for our leaders, for the voters, for the hearts and minds of our judges and elected officials.
Also, I think it goes without saying, but: GET OUT AND VOTE. If you don't vote, you are letting people who hate what you stand for determine who runs this country. I, for one, am going to exercise every ounce of influence, power and constitutional authority I can grasp in the coming months. If you stand for the truth, you should to.
If you stand for the darkness, for murder and debauchery, for "tolerance"...be afraid. The sleeping giant that is the American church is stirring. Morning is almost here.
15 January 2008
funny how that happens...
So I was checking out at Walmart tonight...
It's been a long day with classes getting started and transitioning into management at work. I was putting me stuff on the counter at Walmart and for some reason I looked over what I was buying again. Toilet paper, surface cleaner, paper towels and laundry detergent. Talk about the most boring trip to Walmart ever. It hit me super hard all of a sudden. I'm an adult now.
I don't know exactly when it happened. In my head I'm still about 17, figuring out the world and wondering what the future holds. Then I look at the mirror and realize all that's going on in life...graduating soon, thinking about career opportunities, talking to God about my future wife, thinking about how awesome fatherhood is going to be, etc.
My friends, whether you're a freshman or a victory lap senior like me...you're officially an adult. Congratulations.
Whether Mom and Dad still pay the bills, or you're busy slaving away at your college job to make ends meet. We have left the confines of the roof we were born under. It's just you, God and life. How awesome!
Take advantage of the freedom you've been given. Put your minutes and hours to work for something significant. Don't waste your adulthood like many of us, myself included, mostly wasted our childhood.
Life...it's a beautiful thing.
Be blessed!
It's been a long day with classes getting started and transitioning into management at work. I was putting me stuff on the counter at Walmart and for some reason I looked over what I was buying again. Toilet paper, surface cleaner, paper towels and laundry detergent. Talk about the most boring trip to Walmart ever. It hit me super hard all of a sudden. I'm an adult now.
I don't know exactly when it happened. In my head I'm still about 17, figuring out the world and wondering what the future holds. Then I look at the mirror and realize all that's going on in life...graduating soon, thinking about career opportunities, talking to God about my future wife, thinking about how awesome fatherhood is going to be, etc.
My friends, whether you're a freshman or a victory lap senior like me...you're officially an adult. Congratulations.
Whether Mom and Dad still pay the bills, or you're busy slaving away at your college job to make ends meet. We have left the confines of the roof we were born under. It's just you, God and life. How awesome!
Take advantage of the freedom you've been given. Put your minutes and hours to work for something significant. Don't waste your adulthood like many of us, myself included, mostly wasted our childhood.
Life...it's a beautiful thing.
Be blessed!
11 January 2008
Judge not...
This post isn't any more fun to read than it is to write, but it desperately needs to been said...
Negative, cutting, derogatory remarks have no rightful place in a healthy community of people. Whether those people claim the name of Christ or not, that statement is still true. However, it's even more true when the people involved are supposed to be emulating Jesus Christ himself.
This whole post hinges on one verse I read in my JAM time (Jesus And Me).
Romans 14:4, "Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand."
So many times we just truck right along in our humanness and take pot shots at whoever gets in our way. It's so easy to be negative about things or people. It's in our nature.
My friends, answer some good prayer and meditation over this particular verse, the only message I get from God is this: "let me handle them, they are my children just like you are."
It's very cut and dried. Unless the person you have beef with is engaging in open sin, keep your comments to yourself. Even if they are sinning, DO NOT GOSSIP. Take your concerns to that person and deal with them biblically and personally.
I have no right to pass judgment or make slanderous comments about you or anyone else. It really fries my bacon when believers attack each other, especially when the world can see it. There is no faster way to lose your witness with most people than to cut someone down, talk behind their back or gossip about them.
Here's the bottom line. If you verbally attack someone, you are sinning. If you gossip about them, you are sinning. The way you judge someone else is the way you'll be judged when your number is up. If you call someone a fool, you are the fool. The next time you point your finger, look at your hand. There are 3 fingers pointing right back at you!
Let's build each other up, not trying to elevate ourselves by tearing everyone else down. Live to see the best in the people around you. Look for their best, encourage them to be and become all that God has for them. Kindness given fosters more kindness to be received.
Compliment, encourage and bless the people who cross your path. Don't be a poison. No one likes negative people. Leaving the judging to the Judge.
-----
Romans 14:4, "Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand."
Negative, cutting, derogatory remarks have no rightful place in a healthy community of people. Whether those people claim the name of Christ or not, that statement is still true. However, it's even more true when the people involved are supposed to be emulating Jesus Christ himself.
This whole post hinges on one verse I read in my JAM time (Jesus And Me).
Romans 14:4, "Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand."
So many times we just truck right along in our humanness and take pot shots at whoever gets in our way. It's so easy to be negative about things or people. It's in our nature.
My friends, answer some good prayer and meditation over this particular verse, the only message I get from God is this: "let me handle them, they are my children just like you are."
It's very cut and dried. Unless the person you have beef with is engaging in open sin, keep your comments to yourself. Even if they are sinning, DO NOT GOSSIP. Take your concerns to that person and deal with them biblically and personally.
I have no right to pass judgment or make slanderous comments about you or anyone else. It really fries my bacon when believers attack each other, especially when the world can see it. There is no faster way to lose your witness with most people than to cut someone down, talk behind their back or gossip about them.
Here's the bottom line. If you verbally attack someone, you are sinning. If you gossip about them, you are sinning. The way you judge someone else is the way you'll be judged when your number is up. If you call someone a fool, you are the fool. The next time you point your finger, look at your hand. There are 3 fingers pointing right back at you!
Let's build each other up, not trying to elevate ourselves by tearing everyone else down. Live to see the best in the people around you. Look for their best, encourage them to be and become all that God has for them. Kindness given fosters more kindness to be received.
Compliment, encourage and bless the people who cross your path. Don't be a poison. No one likes negative people. Leaving the judging to the Judge.
-----
Romans 14:4, "Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand."
08 January 2008
heart attack
Ok, so the topic of relationship has been heavy on my mind for a long time, but particularly these last several weeks (the CHRISTmas season is the only time of year that I genuinely wish I wasn't single). God has been working me over the coals for some time now and I haven't really been getting what He was sending.
There's a worship song, "Lord I give you my heart", you've probably heard it if you've been in a contemporary service in the last 5 years. I have been pondering over the words of that song for a long time (it's one of my favorite to play). See, the thing is that I had no idea how to "give Him my heart". I spent most of 2007 trying to keep my heart focused on God, in the midst of some terribly strong distractions. It was, and has always been, a struggle. I have a friend who I know has successfully given her romantic heart to God; she doesn't even possess it anymore. Until today, that has frustrated me to no end, because I can't seem to do the same.
Directing your affections is almost impossible to do. For most of the fall semester, it was an almost constant struggle to keep my affection and attention focused on my Savior. My heart has a tendency to wander back to worldly things if it's not corralled properly. I had a bit of an epiphany today when I was driving to work on my bike. I love the solitude driving the bike provides; plenty of thinking time alone inside my helmet...
Anyways, I realized that I have been trying to direct my affections. Away from certain people, towards Jesus, etc. That approach has failed miserably. The word I received from God today is that we are to release our heart, let go of it completely. We are to entrust it to God and let him take ownership of our heart. This is great for several reasons...
First, it allows us to relax and give God total control over the romantic affections that are present in our lives. It makes it easier to "guard your heart" because your heart is in God's hands.
Secondly, it makes finding the right person easier. It's not your job anymore. I came to that realization when I was having one of those ultra-significant conversations with a special person in my life. I told her, "It's not my job to win you...it's my job to be that Psalm 112 man and practice to be that Ephesians 5 and 1 Peter 3 kind of husband. It's God's job to bring our heart's together. He does the winning." I can't put words to how much relief that brings me. Stop worrying about "the one" God has for you. Release your heart and place your focus on being the one He's called you to be. Let those in your life see His light in your life and His joy in your eyes. Do what we've been called to do, leave the results up to Him.
Finally, it brings a safety to this life that I've never experienced before. I fight fear and worry on a daily basis. One of the areas I'm really bad about is the future. When it comes to relationships, especially those of the romantic variety, all my confidence goes out the window. To be perfectly transparent, every single person I've ever truly cared for has either wounded me deeply or been deeply wounded by me. I bring to Christ a heart that is weary and apprehensive when it comes to relationships in general. That is why simply releasing your heart to Him, to let Him assuage your grief, relief your worry or doubt and keep you on His path for you. Every bit of confidence I lack in myself is more than replaced by my faith in an omnipotent Creator who has my best interests at heart.
Stop trying to push your heart around like it's a shopping cart in the parking lot of love. Put your heart in God's vehicle (providence and grace) and let Him take your heart where He wants it to go.
----
Hopefully some of that made sense. It's 4:30am and I'm writing this now because I try to never put off what needs to be said. There was far too much scripture to choose from for this passage. I'd suggest checking out Song of Songs, Haggai, 1 Corinthians, Ephesians and 1 Peter.
Be blessed...
There's a worship song, "Lord I give you my heart", you've probably heard it if you've been in a contemporary service in the last 5 years. I have been pondering over the words of that song for a long time (it's one of my favorite to play). See, the thing is that I had no idea how to "give Him my heart". I spent most of 2007 trying to keep my heart focused on God, in the midst of some terribly strong distractions. It was, and has always been, a struggle. I have a friend who I know has successfully given her romantic heart to God; she doesn't even possess it anymore. Until today, that has frustrated me to no end, because I can't seem to do the same.
Directing your affections is almost impossible to do. For most of the fall semester, it was an almost constant struggle to keep my affection and attention focused on my Savior. My heart has a tendency to wander back to worldly things if it's not corralled properly. I had a bit of an epiphany today when I was driving to work on my bike. I love the solitude driving the bike provides; plenty of thinking time alone inside my helmet...
Anyways, I realized that I have been trying to direct my affections. Away from certain people, towards Jesus, etc. That approach has failed miserably. The word I received from God today is that we are to release our heart, let go of it completely. We are to entrust it to God and let him take ownership of our heart. This is great for several reasons...
First, it allows us to relax and give God total control over the romantic affections that are present in our lives. It makes it easier to "guard your heart" because your heart is in God's hands.
Secondly, it makes finding the right person easier. It's not your job anymore. I came to that realization when I was having one of those ultra-significant conversations with a special person in my life. I told her, "It's not my job to win you...it's my job to be that Psalm 112 man and practice to be that Ephesians 5 and 1 Peter 3 kind of husband. It's God's job to bring our heart's together. He does the winning." I can't put words to how much relief that brings me. Stop worrying about "the one" God has for you. Release your heart and place your focus on being the one He's called you to be. Let those in your life see His light in your life and His joy in your eyes. Do what we've been called to do, leave the results up to Him.
Finally, it brings a safety to this life that I've never experienced before. I fight fear and worry on a daily basis. One of the areas I'm really bad about is the future. When it comes to relationships, especially those of the romantic variety, all my confidence goes out the window. To be perfectly transparent, every single person I've ever truly cared for has either wounded me deeply or been deeply wounded by me. I bring to Christ a heart that is weary and apprehensive when it comes to relationships in general. That is why simply releasing your heart to Him, to let Him assuage your grief, relief your worry or doubt and keep you on His path for you. Every bit of confidence I lack in myself is more than replaced by my faith in an omnipotent Creator who has my best interests at heart.
Stop trying to push your heart around like it's a shopping cart in the parking lot of love. Put your heart in God's vehicle (providence and grace) and let Him take your heart where He wants it to go.
----
Hopefully some of that made sense. It's 4:30am and I'm writing this now because I try to never put off what needs to be said. There was far too much scripture to choose from for this passage. I'd suggest checking out Song of Songs, Haggai, 1 Corinthians, Ephesians and 1 Peter.
Be blessed...
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