Ok, so everything's right in the world - well, at least this little soap box called "my world." I met with the guys here at Daybreak and everything's going to be ok. It'll be a little tight financially this summer, but with a little budgeting (the "natural") and God's intervention (the "super) I think we're gonna see a glimpse of the supernatural this summer.
So I'm sittin in my little office here at Daybreak - there's nothing glamorous about it - overlooking the parking lot. I'm watching this wonderful Michigan rain soak the hot, black asphalt and I can't help but think about the cleansing qualities of rain. Even though it's pretty much all I see here in Michigan, I can't ignore how renewing and life-giving rain actually is. It's like exactly what I needed from God, just to hear the sound of the rain falling softly on the roof (I know you're thinking, "Davey, your sounding like a real fruit." But just bear with me . . .). I was listening to the rain and a huge rush of PEACE just flowed over me. If God can send rain from heaven, providing nourishment for thousands of plants on earth, then how much more will He provide for me (Luke 12:24-28)! So I say, "God, bring on the Rain!"
I can't wait to get things rolling here. I'm speaking on Sunday night, so be in prayer for me for that. I really think that God's going to use me to make an impact here.
I spent the weekend with the wonderful Amanda Grace running in a community 5K together, reading with her on my shoulder, playing, swimming, and "tanning" at St. Joe (Lake Michigan), and sifting through old home videos of each other. It was a blast! It's amazing how well you get to know someone when you actually spend time with that person (as opposed to long distance phone calls for 5 months). I'll be able to see her about once a week, so we will definitely get some time together this summer (YEAH!).
I was thinking, this morning as I was driving up to Hudsonville from an amazing Memorial Day weekend in Elkhart, about our relationships, particularly with our Heavenly Father. I wonder if God get's tired of long distance calls sometimes. I lay awake at night thinking about how much I would like to be with Amanda, just spending time with her on a daily basis, and sometimes I can't take the phone any longer. I just have to SEE her!
I wonder if us being on Earth is like a long distance phone call to God. I know the Holy Spirit is always surrounding us and God's presence is always with us. That's the beauty of Jesus' sacrifice; it made interaction with God available to everyone. But I can't help think that God looks forward to the day that we're in His presence in Heaven, "kickin' it" with Him all the time, personally. Maybe that's when He calls us home, when He can't take the long distance phone calls anymore and He just wants to see us and embrace us. Maybe death, the state that induces such mourning here on earth, creates an environment in heaven that blows away that of a New Year's Bash in New York City! The day that God takes us up in His arms and wipes all of our tears away will be even sweeter than when I embraced Amanda for the first time in 5 months.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Friday, May 26, 2006
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Directions to I-90/94?
Life hit me fast today. A knock out blow. You’ve all seen Rocky. Of course, who hasn’t. Isn’t it amazing how Rocky can stand there and take a left hook, a right jab, an uppercut, and another hook and it never phases him. Here I am wallowing in my own pity after one sharp hook. Granted this one was below the belt.
Let me back up. It all started yesterday as my mom dropped me off at the airport in Birmingham. After an amazing three days with my family I was ready to take life head-on again and be out on my own. There was something spiritual about walking through those revolving doors at the Birmingham International Airport, it may have been the tacos from the night before, but whatever it was, it hit me like the Titanic to an iceberg, I was on my own again! For all you high schoolers out there who are so eager to get away from the auspice of your parents overbearing regime, don’t ever forget the day that you will run back with your tail tucked between your legs. The REAL WORLD is scary! It’s full of vicious monsters waiting to devour you at every slip of your footing (Hmmm . . . funny that my blogsite is entitled THE REAL WORLD).
So back to my spritual experience—this recognition that I was once again on my own. Once again I have to think for myself, I have to reason for myself, I have to find my way around by myself, shoot, I have to feed myself (have you ever forgotten to eat a meal because it wasn’t provided for you? haha). Everything goes well until my plane lands in Chicago, where my dimwittedness kicks in. I hop the Airport shuttle to Economy lot Yellow, Stop 12, and hop in my car heading east on Garfield Blvd. I decide that it might be faster for me to follow the signs to “Alternate 90/94” instead of just getting on I-90/94 the way I know how. Guess where the signs led me to . . . NOT 90/94!
So I’m lost in Chicago feeling a little like Kevin on Home Alone. It takes me literally 2 hours to get 30 minutes down the road, and ultimately 4 hours to get to Elkhart, Indiana (2 hours away from Chicago). UNBELIEVABLE! What’s even worse is I can’t hear out of my left ear because of the altitude pressure built up from the plane ride.
Hmmm . . . I could vent about that one for hours and tie some superspiritual conclusion in but I want to get on to today.
People have been asking me how my internship at Daybreak has been going. One word:
NOT LIKE I EXPECTED
Ok maybe that’s 4 words. Seriously, it’s fast paced, it’s intense, it’s high-tech, it’s cutting edge, it’s multidimensional, and it’s dynamic! Wonderful right? Sure, if your making more than $50 dollars a week.
That’s right $50 a WEEK! Today, when I was informed that my money raised had equaled out to be a $50 a week salary, my world came crashing down. I have never felt so dejected, unqualified, devalued, or misused in my life. I put in about 60 hours a week to get paid $50. “Here Davey, let me fill up your gas tank once a week and we’ll call it even. Oh by the way thanks for the work!” Shoot I moved up here knowing no one, leaving everything, with only the crappy weather and the 8 point buck that hangs on the wall of my room at my host home to keep me company. Can I just say that northern people in general are not near as hospitable as Southerners. I probably just made some enemies with that one.
Reality Check. It has been a real a reality check (sorry for being redundant). I was driving to Hudsonville this morning excited, ready to finally get to work on this internship stuff, ready to pour my time, my energies, and my resources into this job. I had dreams, I had hopes—high hopes—I had ambitions. I had a vision of what this internship was going to look like. And now it seems shattered.
For you young ministry students or pastors. How does it feel on the bottom of the totem pole? I saw this cool advertisement in one of the magazines on the airplane and it said: “Don’t you see the pecking order? Oh, look behind you.” Hmmm. What field is that guy in? Cuz I look behind me and see nothing but trash that I was supposed to pick up from all the people in front of me.
Welcome to the Real World, Davey. Maybe this is why so many people lose their dreams and ambitions when they grow older. It’s not the old age, the sensodyne, the tapioca pudding, or the nutragena that does it. It’s the world. It’s the ruthless, insensitive, vicious world that swallows our dreams.
I watched Office Space tonight for the first time. I connected! It was another “spiritual” experience. The Plot: a bunch of guys who hate their jobs because their talents aren’t utilized and they’re not challenged. They’re not fulfilled at all! That may be my biggest fear—to forget why I was put on this earth, to have dreams and never see them come to fruition, to shoot for the moon and blow up like the Challenger. I’M SCARED TO DEATH OF NOT MAKING A DIFFERENCE!
What’s even scarier is that I’m in a line of work that sees no worldly success. If I’m “successful” at my job, I won’t see it. God only knows (not to borrow the cliché).
I feel Lost. Kind of like the television show but more like total blackness. I sat in the dark today just to gain a better perspective on things. It was lonely. No light to comfort my senses, no awareness of what’s going on around me. I’m lost on 106th street in Chicago and I can’t find the entrance ramp to 90/94.
Let me back up. It all started yesterday as my mom dropped me off at the airport in Birmingham. After an amazing three days with my family I was ready to take life head-on again and be out on my own. There was something spiritual about walking through those revolving doors at the Birmingham International Airport, it may have been the tacos from the night before, but whatever it was, it hit me like the Titanic to an iceberg, I was on my own again! For all you high schoolers out there who are so eager to get away from the auspice of your parents overbearing regime, don’t ever forget the day that you will run back with your tail tucked between your legs. The REAL WORLD is scary! It’s full of vicious monsters waiting to devour you at every slip of your footing (Hmmm . . . funny that my blogsite is entitled THE REAL WORLD).
So back to my spritual experience—this recognition that I was once again on my own. Once again I have to think for myself, I have to reason for myself, I have to find my way around by myself, shoot, I have to feed myself (have you ever forgotten to eat a meal because it wasn’t provided for you? haha). Everything goes well until my plane lands in Chicago, where my dimwittedness kicks in. I hop the Airport shuttle to Economy lot Yellow, Stop 12, and hop in my car heading east on Garfield Blvd. I decide that it might be faster for me to follow the signs to “Alternate 90/94” instead of just getting on I-90/94 the way I know how. Guess where the signs led me to . . . NOT 90/94!
So I’m lost in Chicago feeling a little like Kevin on Home Alone. It takes me literally 2 hours to get 30 minutes down the road, and ultimately 4 hours to get to Elkhart, Indiana (2 hours away from Chicago). UNBELIEVABLE! What’s even worse is I can’t hear out of my left ear because of the altitude pressure built up from the plane ride.
Hmmm . . . I could vent about that one for hours and tie some superspiritual conclusion in but I want to get on to today.
People have been asking me how my internship at Daybreak has been going. One word:
NOT LIKE I EXPECTED
Ok maybe that’s 4 words. Seriously, it’s fast paced, it’s intense, it’s high-tech, it’s cutting edge, it’s multidimensional, and it’s dynamic! Wonderful right? Sure, if your making more than $50 dollars a week.
That’s right $50 a WEEK! Today, when I was informed that my money raised had equaled out to be a $50 a week salary, my world came crashing down. I have never felt so dejected, unqualified, devalued, or misused in my life. I put in about 60 hours a week to get paid $50. “Here Davey, let me fill up your gas tank once a week and we’ll call it even. Oh by the way thanks for the work!” Shoot I moved up here knowing no one, leaving everything, with only the crappy weather and the 8 point buck that hangs on the wall of my room at my host home to keep me company. Can I just say that northern people in general are not near as hospitable as Southerners. I probably just made some enemies with that one.
Reality Check. It has been a real a reality check (sorry for being redundant). I was driving to Hudsonville this morning excited, ready to finally get to work on this internship stuff, ready to pour my time, my energies, and my resources into this job. I had dreams, I had hopes—high hopes—I had ambitions. I had a vision of what this internship was going to look like. And now it seems shattered.
For you young ministry students or pastors. How does it feel on the bottom of the totem pole? I saw this cool advertisement in one of the magazines on the airplane and it said: “Don’t you see the pecking order? Oh, look behind you.” Hmmm. What field is that guy in? Cuz I look behind me and see nothing but trash that I was supposed to pick up from all the people in front of me.
Welcome to the Real World, Davey. Maybe this is why so many people lose their dreams and ambitions when they grow older. It’s not the old age, the sensodyne, the tapioca pudding, or the nutragena that does it. It’s the world. It’s the ruthless, insensitive, vicious world that swallows our dreams.
I watched Office Space tonight for the first time. I connected! It was another “spiritual” experience. The Plot: a bunch of guys who hate their jobs because their talents aren’t utilized and they’re not challenged. They’re not fulfilled at all! That may be my biggest fear—to forget why I was put on this earth, to have dreams and never see them come to fruition, to shoot for the moon and blow up like the Challenger. I’M SCARED TO DEATH OF NOT MAKING A DIFFERENCE!
What’s even scarier is that I’m in a line of work that sees no worldly success. If I’m “successful” at my job, I won’t see it. God only knows (not to borrow the cliché).
I feel Lost. Kind of like the television show but more like total blackness. I sat in the dark today just to gain a better perspective on things. It was lonely. No light to comfort my senses, no awareness of what’s going on around me. I’m lost on 106th street in Chicago and I can’t find the entrance ramp to 90/94.
Monday, May 22, 2006
I'm Back!
Well, well, well. My long-winded sabatical from bloggin is OVER!! I'm back and I'm PUMPED! It's tough going so long without having any outlet for my thoughts. A few things I want to share with you guys:
I arrived at Daybreak Community Church in Hudsonville, Michigan last Monday. I was hoping my life would slow down a little once I got settled in and I could start blogging again. WRONG! Daybreak put on a conference this past week called the Creative Infusion Conference and we were at it for about 12 hours every day. It's similar to one of those Ed Young or Andy Stanley conferences where pastors and creative ministers come to learn about how to be innovative and emerging with the way they teach the message of Jesus Christ. IT BLEW MY SOCKS OFF! I was amazed! I was able to sit in on PhotoShop and Final Cut Pro seminars, listen to some of the most creative people in the country, and meet Ralph Winter (the producer of the X-Men and Left Behind movies). If you want to see more about this conference check out the reviews here.
I'll be keeping you guys updated on the church and exactly what I'll be doing this summer as the summer goes on. KEEP READING EVERYDAY! NO MORE SABATICALS FOR ME!
I'm reading Rob Bell's book (The Velvet Elvis). Very insightful. What's even cooler is that Mars Hill Bible Church (Rob's church) is about ten minutes down the road from me in Grandville, MI. I checked it out and I'm hoping to get over there for a service sometime and hear Rob speak. You can check out Rob's book here and Mars Hill Bible Church here.
I flew back down to T-Town (Tuscaloosa, for my non-Southern readers) from Chicago today for my bro's graduation. It was a very memorable time, looking back on my High School graduation and how much the people here in T-Town mean to me. Coping with moving right before my Senior year was not easy but the people here in T-Town welcomed me with arms wide open and I will never be able to fully express my appreciation. I'm so proud of my bro, too. My prayer is that no matter what life brings his way, he will be passionate about making a difference in people's lives for Jesus Christ.
Anyways, can't wait to get into all the things I have to share with you guys. I can't promise that it will all be interesting but I can promise to be somewhat insightful and thought-provoking. I've been wrestling with some serious life issues lately and I can't wait to express myself through this blog. Until then . . .
I arrived at Daybreak Community Church in Hudsonville, Michigan last Monday. I was hoping my life would slow down a little once I got settled in and I could start blogging again. WRONG! Daybreak put on a conference this past week called the Creative Infusion Conference and we were at it for about 12 hours every day. It's similar to one of those Ed Young or Andy Stanley conferences where pastors and creative ministers come to learn about how to be innovative and emerging with the way they teach the message of Jesus Christ. IT BLEW MY SOCKS OFF! I was amazed! I was able to sit in on PhotoShop and Final Cut Pro seminars, listen to some of the most creative people in the country, and meet Ralph Winter (the producer of the X-Men and Left Behind movies). If you want to see more about this conference check out the reviews here.
I'll be keeping you guys updated on the church and exactly what I'll be doing this summer as the summer goes on. KEEP READING EVERYDAY! NO MORE SABATICALS FOR ME!
I'm reading Rob Bell's book (The Velvet Elvis). Very insightful. What's even cooler is that Mars Hill Bible Church (Rob's church) is about ten minutes down the road from me in Grandville, MI. I checked it out and I'm hoping to get over there for a service sometime and hear Rob speak. You can check out Rob's book here and Mars Hill Bible Church here.
I flew back down to T-Town (Tuscaloosa, for my non-Southern readers) from Chicago today for my bro's graduation. It was a very memorable time, looking back on my High School graduation and how much the people here in T-Town mean to me. Coping with moving right before my Senior year was not easy but the people here in T-Town welcomed me with arms wide open and I will never be able to fully express my appreciation. I'm so proud of my bro, too. My prayer is that no matter what life brings his way, he will be passionate about making a difference in people's lives for Jesus Christ.
Anyways, can't wait to get into all the things I have to share with you guys. I can't promise that it will all be interesting but I can promise to be somewhat insightful and thought-provoking. I've been wrestling with some serious life issues lately and I can't wait to express myself through this blog. Until then . . .
Friday, May 12, 2006
Blogging Haitus
I haven't blogged in FOREVER! I'm soooo sorry for those of you who actually read my blog. I've been CRAZY BUSY for the past month and a half. I'm leaving for Michigan today for an internship. I'll start blogging everyday again once I get settled in there on Monday. Be in prayer for me this summer! Thanks for your support! If you want to see the church that I'm interning at this summer you can check it out here.
Monday, April 10, 2006
Who's yo Daddy!
Ahhh! I forgot my dad's birthday yesterday. I'm so absent-minded! I even wrote myself a sticky note a couple days before to help remind me, AND I STILL FORGOT. I’m one of those people that tie something to their finger to remind them of something and the next day they can’t remember why they tied the string to their finger. What’s even worse is I talked to him about three times yesterday and didn't wish a happy birthday until about midnight. I'm such a terrible person! So to try to make it up to him, this blog post is in honor of him.
Aren't dads awesome! My dad is the most Godly, humble, and sincere man of integrity I know. If you were to ask me one person that I could emulate, if I had the choice, it would be my dad. I thought of 3 main reasons why I want to be like my dad and here they are:
1. HE’S HUMBLE
My dad is the most honest and humble man I have ever met. His integrity astounds me more and more everyday. To have grown up and seen the example that he set for our family and to see the life that he has lived is a blessing! He's talented, athletic, a fluent communicator, and gifted writer. Every trait that he bears I want to be able to emulate, feed off of, and absorb! But when I say that he's talented, you really wouldn't know it because he would never tell you that. He's confident but never arrogant. He never puts himself before anyone else. His focus is always on how he can serve other people, especially his family. His goal in life, his aim, is that GOD would show off in his life. From what I've seen from my dad he's never lived to try to impress other people, although he's had plenty of opportunities. He's lived a life that is consistent with humility and Godliness, glorifying Jesus in everything that he does.
2. HE’S LOVING
Wow, I know my brother and I have been pains in the you-know-what to put up with before. I look back at a few years in high school that I put my parents through utter Hades. But my dad has always loved me unconditionally; despite the grief I may have caused him at one time or the other. Did that mean I was never disciplined? SHOOT! Of course not! My dad laid into me a few times more than I would like to remember. But it was never out of rage, contempt, or anger. He has always had our best interest at heart. The numerous Sunday afternoons he would take us to the batting cages, or the soccer field, the countless nights spent watching my brother and I play the sports we love, the selfless sacrifices he made so that my brother and I could have all the opportunities we did, all these things amaze me when I look back and reflect on my dad.
He raised two very competent boys, who love Jesus with their heart and he has the most amazing relationship with my mom that I have ever seen from any married couple. When I have a wife and kids, I won't be looking to Oprah, or Dobson, or Dr. Phil for advice. My dad will be first person I turn to when I need some advice on how to handle a situation. My dad is my best friend - someone I know will always pick up the phone and listen to me if I need to vent and pray with me when I need it (and boy do I need a lot of prayer!)
3. HE’S WILLING
My dad has always strove to be in the center of God's will. I remember when we moved to Tuscaloosa right before my Senior of high school. You better believe that he was concerned about uprooting his family and moving somewhere else, but he constantly reminded us that the center of God's will is the only place we will find true fulfillment. I recall one night in particular where our whole family sat in the living room, holding each other, crying, hugging, and praying, not knowing where God was going to lead us, only having each other as stability in this chaotic world.
I trust my life with my dad. I know that he will never purposefully put me in harms way, and I know that he will never compromise his relationship with HIS heavenly Father. My dad has always been willing to serve Jesus with his whole heart, even if that means he will never be recognized for it; even if that means he will live in utter obscurity; even if that means he will never make a lot of money, or have a lot of worldly success; even if that means he will never impress a lot of people, or pastor his own megachurch. My dad is only concerned with one thing: glorifying God with his life!
Reflecting on my dad has reminded me of our Heavenly Father. It's amazing how often we question Him. God sees things from a perspective that we will never be able to see. He always has our best interest at heart, and yet we pull away when he takes us into uncomfortable territory. Remember the 12 spies checking out the Promise Land (Numbers 13). After all God had brought them through, all but Caleb and Joshua refused to go into Canaan because it would have meant placing their ENTIRE trust in God and stepping out of their comfort zones.
When I was little and my dad would punish me or he would place "ridiculous" restrictions me, I didn't understand why. I thought he just wanted to steal my fun. But the reality is that he saw the world from an entirely different and broader perspective than I did. He had plenty more experience than me and he was merely trying to protect me from hurting myself. Our heavenly Father sees everything from a much broader perspective than we ever could. Why are we afraid to TRUST Him with our whole lives?
lives?
Aren't dads awesome! My dad is the most Godly, humble, and sincere man of integrity I know. If you were to ask me one person that I could emulate, if I had the choice, it would be my dad. I thought of 3 main reasons why I want to be like my dad and here they are:
1. HE’S HUMBLE
My dad is the most honest and humble man I have ever met. His integrity astounds me more and more everyday. To have grown up and seen the example that he set for our family and to see the life that he has lived is a blessing! He's talented, athletic, a fluent communicator, and gifted writer. Every trait that he bears I want to be able to emulate, feed off of, and absorb! But when I say that he's talented, you really wouldn't know it because he would never tell you that. He's confident but never arrogant. He never puts himself before anyone else. His focus is always on how he can serve other people, especially his family. His goal in life, his aim, is that GOD would show off in his life. From what I've seen from my dad he's never lived to try to impress other people, although he's had plenty of opportunities. He's lived a life that is consistent with humility and Godliness, glorifying Jesus in everything that he does.
2. HE’S LOVING
Wow, I know my brother and I have been pains in the you-know-what to put up with before. I look back at a few years in high school that I put my parents through utter Hades. But my dad has always loved me unconditionally; despite the grief I may have caused him at one time or the other. Did that mean I was never disciplined? SHOOT! Of course not! My dad laid into me a few times more than I would like to remember. But it was never out of rage, contempt, or anger. He has always had our best interest at heart. The numerous Sunday afternoons he would take us to the batting cages, or the soccer field, the countless nights spent watching my brother and I play the sports we love, the selfless sacrifices he made so that my brother and I could have all the opportunities we did, all these things amaze me when I look back and reflect on my dad.
He raised two very competent boys, who love Jesus with their heart and he has the most amazing relationship with my mom that I have ever seen from any married couple. When I have a wife and kids, I won't be looking to Oprah, or Dobson, or Dr. Phil for advice. My dad will be first person I turn to when I need some advice on how to handle a situation. My dad is my best friend - someone I know will always pick up the phone and listen to me if I need to vent and pray with me when I need it (and boy do I need a lot of prayer!)
3. HE’S WILLING
My dad has always strove to be in the center of God's will. I remember when we moved to Tuscaloosa right before my Senior of high school. You better believe that he was concerned about uprooting his family and moving somewhere else, but he constantly reminded us that the center of God's will is the only place we will find true fulfillment. I recall one night in particular where our whole family sat in the living room, holding each other, crying, hugging, and praying, not knowing where God was going to lead us, only having each other as stability in this chaotic world.
I trust my life with my dad. I know that he will never purposefully put me in harms way, and I know that he will never compromise his relationship with HIS heavenly Father. My dad has always been willing to serve Jesus with his whole heart, even if that means he will never be recognized for it; even if that means he will live in utter obscurity; even if that means he will never make a lot of money, or have a lot of worldly success; even if that means he will never impress a lot of people, or pastor his own megachurch. My dad is only concerned with one thing: glorifying God with his life!
Reflecting on my dad has reminded me of our Heavenly Father. It's amazing how often we question Him. God sees things from a perspective that we will never be able to see. He always has our best interest at heart, and yet we pull away when he takes us into uncomfortable territory. Remember the 12 spies checking out the Promise Land (Numbers 13). After all God had brought them through, all but Caleb and Joshua refused to go into Canaan because it would have meant placing their ENTIRE trust in God and stepping out of their comfort zones.
When I was little and my dad would punish me or he would place "ridiculous" restrictions me, I didn't understand why. I thought he just wanted to steal my fun. But the reality is that he saw the world from an entirely different and broader perspective than I did. He had plenty more experience than me and he was merely trying to protect me from hurting myself. Our heavenly Father sees everything from a much broader perspective than we ever could. Why are we afraid to TRUST Him with our whole lives?
lives?
The "Gospel" of Judas
Skeptics are everywhere. Just as rampant as skeptics, though, are liars and frauds. If I were to tell you that the Senator Giuliani has contacted me and told me that he wants me to run beside him as his Vice President candidate for the next presidential election, you probably would be a little skeptical about that, right? Because let’s face it. That is extremely far-fetched. Who would ever believe that I was to be the next Vice Presidential candidate? I would be lying. But what if I told you that Dr. Spittal has contacted me and wants me to be the next Student in charge of Campus Activities. That a little less far-fetched, but it’s no more truthful than me running for Vice President of the United States. The truth is, though, you would probably believe the campus life story because it’s something that is prevalent and conceivable in my life. Right?
Skeptics of the Bible have been using this technique for years. Let’s take a look at Dan Brown and his best seller, The DaVinci Code. Now, he can’t PROVE that Jesus never existed. He knows that there is more evidence that the person of Jesus walked the earth than Alexander the Great. But what he can try to make his reader believe is that Jesus had and Mary Magdalene and had a child together. That is not so far-fetched to the mind of an average person. Is it true, though? There’s a similar theory that has been around for a while but has just recently surfaced among the media and that is The Gospel of Judas has been uncovered. That’s right, Judas, the one that betrayed Jesus, his “Gospel” has been uncovered and has highly controversial claims in it—claims that challenge the very foundation of Christianity.
This document was apparently discovered about 30 years ago by a farmer who was searching through some caves in Egypt. He then gave the manuscript to someone who then turned around and sold it to an Egyptian black-market antiquities dealer. It was then stolen from this dealer and somehow recovered again by that dealer. The dealer, not knowing what to do with the manuscript and not being able to decipher it, stored it for over 20 years in a safety deposit box in a bank, where it sat, dried, and deteriorated. It was then recovered and handed over to National Geographic for restoration and authentication purposes. These conservators have restored about 85% of the manuscript. Liberal scholars claim that this is an authentic manuscript from the 3rd Century A.D.
The manuscript apparently claims 3 things that fly in the face of traditional Christian beliefs. First (1) is that Jesus put Judas up to betraying him, that he was chosen to carry out a most important mission that would make him a hero and lead the way for the salvation of the world. Second, (2) the disciples were envious of Judas and decided to portray him as a traitor. And third, (3) that God did not create the world.
This manuscript is speculated to have been written by a religious sect called the “Cainite” Gnostics. Now if you are not familiar with the beliefs of this group called the Gnostics, I want to share with you 4 major things they believed. First (1) is that Jesus was never raised from the dead. They believed that it was essential for Jesus to die and his spirit lived on but there was no physical resurrection. The second (2) is that they believe that the Almighty God did not create the world, that in fact, the “creator God” is not worthy of worship. Which leads us to their next belief. Who is worthy of worship? Their third (3) major belief is that each and every one of us can become divine (worthy of worship) if we truly “find” ourselves. In other words, the Kingdom of God is within us.
The fourth (4) thing they believe is that the serpent in the Garden of Eden was not actually a bad character. In fact they believe that the serpent was a good character that was merely trying to offer Adam and Eve knowledge. And to these Gnostics, knowledge was something that was desired. They wanted knowledge. So the serpent was really an enlightening character. These Gnostics also praise Cain for killing his brother Abel. They praise the Sodomites, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah for their immoral behavior. And they also praise Judas for turning Jesus over. They make Judas the HERO of the crucifixion story.
Now in order to thwart these ridiculous claims, we need to understand a few things. The first (1) is that the New Testament is VALID. Skeptics will argue that the New Testament cannot be trusted because it was put together by on man. They claim that it was canonized by a man named Iranaes who lived around 175 A.D. What we know as the New Testament (and 4 gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), today, was ACTUALLY canonized, or made official, in 382 A.D by a group of church fathers in the Synod, or Council, of Rome. These church fathers based their decision of what would stay in what we know as the Bible because these books all lined up with History and with each other. They hold to the belief that God inspired them to RECOGNIZE these books as canon, not to CHOOSE them. We believe these books to be the ACTUAL inspired word of God.
We also need to understand what the Bible says about Judas. Judas was obviously a friend of Jesus. He was one of the Twelve appointed disciples, Jesus closest friends and followers. In fact, Judas was arguably the most trusted of the disciples because he was given the responsibility of treasurer. He was entrusted with all the money of Jesus’ ministry. But Judas was not from Galilee like Jesus and all the other disciples. He was from a region known as Judea where a group known as the Zealots lived. Now a Zealot was pretty much a terrorist. They believed strongly that the Messiah would come, overthrow the Roman government, and set up an earthly kingdom. These Zealots resorted to violent terrorist acts to "jump start" the overthrow of the Roman government. He was convinced that Jesus was the man to do that.
Now, the more time Judas spent time with Jesus and realized that overthrowing the Roman government was not Jesus’ intent, the more enraged Judas became. In fact we see in the book of Matthew that Judas is the only disciple that does not acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God. He calls Him Rabbi, teacher (Matthew 26:22-25). So out of Judas’ greed, and lack of belief in Jesus, it is very easy to see what actually drove him to betray the Son of God. There is no way that Jesus would have put Judas up to the betrayal. In fact, the actual canonized Gospels say that Jesus told the disciples it would have been better if Judas had NEVER been born (Matthew 26:24).
So, you see, these theorists and skeptics have been using the same techniques for years. They have attempted to skew our beliefs by mixing FACT with THEORY (or FICTION). Look at the conspiracy theories that have surrounded events like the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Oklahoma City Bombing, the bombing of the World Trade Towers. These theorists can’t possibly make you believe that 911 never happened. We all saw it. We were around to experience it! But what they can do is try to make you question some some of the details under the surface of the event. Maybe the Bush administration was behind the bombing of the World Trade Towers; maybe they actually planted detonation devices within the building to implode the buildings at the same time the planes were crashing into them. Maybe this Judas character wasn’t such a bad guy. Maybe Jesus actually put him up to the betrayal. But the TRUTH is that we can only trust one source; that is THE source of Truth. And this TRUTH will set us free!
Skeptics of the Bible have been using this technique for years. Let’s take a look at Dan Brown and his best seller, The DaVinci Code. Now, he can’t PROVE that Jesus never existed. He knows that there is more evidence that the person of Jesus walked the earth than Alexander the Great. But what he can try to make his reader believe is that Jesus had and Mary Magdalene and had a child together. That is not so far-fetched to the mind of an average person. Is it true, though? There’s a similar theory that has been around for a while but has just recently surfaced among the media and that is The Gospel of Judas has been uncovered. That’s right, Judas, the one that betrayed Jesus, his “Gospel” has been uncovered and has highly controversial claims in it—claims that challenge the very foundation of Christianity.
This document was apparently discovered about 30 years ago by a farmer who was searching through some caves in Egypt. He then gave the manuscript to someone who then turned around and sold it to an Egyptian black-market antiquities dealer. It was then stolen from this dealer and somehow recovered again by that dealer. The dealer, not knowing what to do with the manuscript and not being able to decipher it, stored it for over 20 years in a safety deposit box in a bank, where it sat, dried, and deteriorated. It was then recovered and handed over to National Geographic for restoration and authentication purposes. These conservators have restored about 85% of the manuscript. Liberal scholars claim that this is an authentic manuscript from the 3rd Century A.D.
The manuscript apparently claims 3 things that fly in the face of traditional Christian beliefs. First (1) is that Jesus put Judas up to betraying him, that he was chosen to carry out a most important mission that would make him a hero and lead the way for the salvation of the world. Second, (2) the disciples were envious of Judas and decided to portray him as a traitor. And third, (3) that God did not create the world.
This manuscript is speculated to have been written by a religious sect called the “Cainite” Gnostics. Now if you are not familiar with the beliefs of this group called the Gnostics, I want to share with you 4 major things they believed. First (1) is that Jesus was never raised from the dead. They believed that it was essential for Jesus to die and his spirit lived on but there was no physical resurrection. The second (2) is that they believe that the Almighty God did not create the world, that in fact, the “creator God” is not worthy of worship. Which leads us to their next belief. Who is worthy of worship? Their third (3) major belief is that each and every one of us can become divine (worthy of worship) if we truly “find” ourselves. In other words, the Kingdom of God is within us.
The fourth (4) thing they believe is that the serpent in the Garden of Eden was not actually a bad character. In fact they believe that the serpent was a good character that was merely trying to offer Adam and Eve knowledge. And to these Gnostics, knowledge was something that was desired. They wanted knowledge. So the serpent was really an enlightening character. These Gnostics also praise Cain for killing his brother Abel. They praise the Sodomites, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah for their immoral behavior. And they also praise Judas for turning Jesus over. They make Judas the HERO of the crucifixion story.
Now in order to thwart these ridiculous claims, we need to understand a few things. The first (1) is that the New Testament is VALID. Skeptics will argue that the New Testament cannot be trusted because it was put together by on man. They claim that it was canonized by a man named Iranaes who lived around 175 A.D. What we know as the New Testament (and 4 gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), today, was ACTUALLY canonized, or made official, in 382 A.D by a group of church fathers in the Synod, or Council, of Rome. These church fathers based their decision of what would stay in what we know as the Bible because these books all lined up with History and with each other. They hold to the belief that God inspired them to RECOGNIZE these books as canon, not to CHOOSE them. We believe these books to be the ACTUAL inspired word of God.
We also need to understand what the Bible says about Judas. Judas was obviously a friend of Jesus. He was one of the Twelve appointed disciples, Jesus closest friends and followers. In fact, Judas was arguably the most trusted of the disciples because he was given the responsibility of treasurer. He was entrusted with all the money of Jesus’ ministry. But Judas was not from Galilee like Jesus and all the other disciples. He was from a region known as Judea where a group known as the Zealots lived. Now a Zealot was pretty much a terrorist. They believed strongly that the Messiah would come, overthrow the Roman government, and set up an earthly kingdom. These Zealots resorted to violent terrorist acts to "jump start" the overthrow of the Roman government. He was convinced that Jesus was the man to do that.
Now, the more time Judas spent time with Jesus and realized that overthrowing the Roman government was not Jesus’ intent, the more enraged Judas became. In fact we see in the book of Matthew that Judas is the only disciple that does not acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God. He calls Him Rabbi, teacher (Matthew 26:22-25). So out of Judas’ greed, and lack of belief in Jesus, it is very easy to see what actually drove him to betray the Son of God. There is no way that Jesus would have put Judas up to the betrayal. In fact, the actual canonized Gospels say that Jesus told the disciples it would have been better if Judas had NEVER been born (Matthew 26:24).
So, you see, these theorists and skeptics have been using the same techniques for years. They have attempted to skew our beliefs by mixing FACT with THEORY (or FICTION). Look at the conspiracy theories that have surrounded events like the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Oklahoma City Bombing, the bombing of the World Trade Towers. These theorists can’t possibly make you believe that 911 never happened. We all saw it. We were around to experience it! But what they can do is try to make you question some some of the details under the surface of the event. Maybe the Bush administration was behind the bombing of the World Trade Towers; maybe they actually planted detonation devices within the building to implode the buildings at the same time the planes were crashing into them. Maybe this Judas character wasn’t such a bad guy. Maybe Jesus actually put him up to the betrayal. But the TRUTH is that we can only trust one source; that is THE source of Truth. And this TRUTH will set us free!
Saturday, April 08, 2006
It's Not About Me
So what do Godly relationships look like? We talked a little about relationships in discipleship group the other night and I've mentioned again on this blog two nights ago. But everything has been kind of theory, or concepts. We haven't really gotten into the nitty-gritty. What does the Bible say about romantic relationships? There a several things that God spells out in black and white ink, guidelines for Christians in romantic relationships, and they can all be summed up as this: IT'S NOT ABOUT ME! A romantic relationship, whether it be boyfriend and girlfriend, fiancées, or husband wife, will not succeed if you make it about YOU and what you can GET out of it! Let's take a closer look:
(I need to preface this discussion with the fact that the Bible doesn't say a whole lot about DATING relationships. Dating wasn't a real common practice in those days. The Bible does specify several guidelines for married people, though. But if you really take the time to think about it, the whole point of dating is finding out whom we can or can't marry. So we can definitely apply these guidelines to dating relationships too.)
1. DUCKS CANNOT MATE WITH SEAHORSES:
Davey, what are you smoking now? What is that supposed to mean? Simple, Christians are not supposed to date non-Christians, period. This is not a gray area in the Bible. The Bible says that we are not to be "unequally yoked" with non-believers. Wait, Davey, that verse means we're not supposed to hang out with non-Christians who could make us stumble. Oh really? So Jesus was disobeying His own laws when He ate with the tax collectors and sinners. Hmmm. So we can only glean from this that God does not want us DATING, or marrying, non-Christians if we have committed our lives over to Jesus.
So many people try to missionary date (that is dating with the intention of winning your boyfriend or girlfriend over to the Lord). "Oh, I can change them." The problem is, God wants to change them, but He can't because you're in the way! Ducks and seahorses are both water animals. But Ducks are above and beyond the water. They are not confined to the water. In fact they can fly! Seahorses, on the other hand, spend all their time on the ocean floor. They sit in the dark, murky, dangerous territories of the sea. If a duck tried to live down there it would DROWN! Ducks are not meant to live under water. If we try to missionary date, or just date anyone who is not a Christian, we just end up getting sucked into that lifestyle and we will drown, spiritually.
2. EPHESIANS 5:25
Ephesians 5:25 says, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her . . . Wives, submit to your husbands." Check this out. "It's not about me!" Christ loved the church (us - His children) so much that He gave His life for us. He gave all that He had while He was alive too! He also instructs the wives to be totally submissive to that loving husband. Too many people make relationships all about what "I can get out of it." Can I get this girl to "put-out" for ME; can I get this guy to buy ME all this stuff or do everything for ME? This is a simple fact of life. We are self-centered. It hit me the other day how many times I use first person personal pronouns in my conversations ("I" or "Me").
We want everyone to know about us and to be concerned for our needs. Jesus gives us a standard to live up to - be totally consumed with what you can do for others, particularly in a romantic relationship.
3. EVE TASTED THE APPLE; ADAM DIDN'T TELL HER IT WAS A PEAR:
I think it's so funny how Eve is always blamed for the Great Fall of Man because she tasted the fruit (by the way we don't know what kind of fruit it was) and then gave it to her husband. Get this, though, Adam was given the responsibility to watch over Eve, to disciple her, to make sure that she didn't get into trouble. It was Adam who was instructed not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and THEN God created Eve. So, it was Adam's responsibility to instruct Eve in God's ways, but HE FAILED! But we blame women for sin entering the world. That's just the problem with this world. "SHE doesn't satisfy me any more. I'm going to find my satisfaction in someone else." "SHE didn't raise our kids right." "SHE isn't cleaning the house the way I would like." "SHE, SHE, SHE. It's all HER fault that our marriage is falling apart." Guys, how about we step up, be MEN, take responsibility for our own shortcomings, and be the spiritual leaders in the relationship! Get involved with your families. Romance your wife. Disciple her. In middle school, people used to say that phrase, "When you point at me there are three fingers pointing back at you!" It's so true. Pointing the blame may take the spotlight off of you for a minute, but unless you realize that it is really YOUR fault, nothing will every change. How many guys pray with their girlfriends or with their wives? Some of the most meaningful times I have with my girlfriend are praying with her. We should do it more often. There's something incredible about coming before God and surrendering your relationship to Him.
Remember, it is NOT ABOUT ME. That is the basic guideline for all relationships with all people, but especially romantic relationships. Jesus came into this world not to BE served but to SERVE others. We are called to do the same!
(I need to preface this discussion with the fact that the Bible doesn't say a whole lot about DATING relationships. Dating wasn't a real common practice in those days. The Bible does specify several guidelines for married people, though. But if you really take the time to think about it, the whole point of dating is finding out whom we can or can't marry. So we can definitely apply these guidelines to dating relationships too.)
1. DUCKS CANNOT MATE WITH SEAHORSES:
Davey, what are you smoking now? What is that supposed to mean? Simple, Christians are not supposed to date non-Christians, period. This is not a gray area in the Bible. The Bible says that we are not to be "unequally yoked" with non-believers. Wait, Davey, that verse means we're not supposed to hang out with non-Christians who could make us stumble. Oh really? So Jesus was disobeying His own laws when He ate with the tax collectors and sinners. Hmmm. So we can only glean from this that God does not want us DATING, or marrying, non-Christians if we have committed our lives over to Jesus.
So many people try to missionary date (that is dating with the intention of winning your boyfriend or girlfriend over to the Lord). "Oh, I can change them." The problem is, God wants to change them, but He can't because you're in the way! Ducks and seahorses are both water animals. But Ducks are above and beyond the water. They are not confined to the water. In fact they can fly! Seahorses, on the other hand, spend all their time on the ocean floor. They sit in the dark, murky, dangerous territories of the sea. If a duck tried to live down there it would DROWN! Ducks are not meant to live under water. If we try to missionary date, or just date anyone who is not a Christian, we just end up getting sucked into that lifestyle and we will drown, spiritually.
2. EPHESIANS 5:25
Ephesians 5:25 says, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her . . . Wives, submit to your husbands." Check this out. "It's not about me!" Christ loved the church (us - His children) so much that He gave His life for us. He gave all that He had while He was alive too! He also instructs the wives to be totally submissive to that loving husband. Too many people make relationships all about what "I can get out of it." Can I get this girl to "put-out" for ME; can I get this guy to buy ME all this stuff or do everything for ME? This is a simple fact of life. We are self-centered. It hit me the other day how many times I use first person personal pronouns in my conversations ("I" or "Me").
We want everyone to know about us and to be concerned for our needs. Jesus gives us a standard to live up to - be totally consumed with what you can do for others, particularly in a romantic relationship.
3. EVE TASTED THE APPLE; ADAM DIDN'T TELL HER IT WAS A PEAR:
I think it's so funny how Eve is always blamed for the Great Fall of Man because she tasted the fruit (by the way we don't know what kind of fruit it was) and then gave it to her husband. Get this, though, Adam was given the responsibility to watch over Eve, to disciple her, to make sure that she didn't get into trouble. It was Adam who was instructed not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and THEN God created Eve. So, it was Adam's responsibility to instruct Eve in God's ways, but HE FAILED! But we blame women for sin entering the world. That's just the problem with this world. "SHE doesn't satisfy me any more. I'm going to find my satisfaction in someone else." "SHE didn't raise our kids right." "SHE isn't cleaning the house the way I would like." "SHE, SHE, SHE. It's all HER fault that our marriage is falling apart." Guys, how about we step up, be MEN, take responsibility for our own shortcomings, and be the spiritual leaders in the relationship! Get involved with your families. Romance your wife. Disciple her. In middle school, people used to say that phrase, "When you point at me there are three fingers pointing back at you!" It's so true. Pointing the blame may take the spotlight off of you for a minute, but unless you realize that it is really YOUR fault, nothing will every change. How many guys pray with their girlfriends or with their wives? Some of the most meaningful times I have with my girlfriend are praying with her. We should do it more often. There's something incredible about coming before God and surrendering your relationship to Him.
Remember, it is NOT ABOUT ME. That is the basic guideline for all relationships with all people, but especially romantic relationships. Jesus came into this world not to BE served but to SERVE others. We are called to do the same!
Thursday, April 06, 2006
"The Newlyweds"
Nick and Jessica! Wow what a match made in heaven. Did any of you guys ever watch that show? Man, they made marriage look so easy. Nick, sitting at home watching T.V., eating everything in sight (that guy always had something in his mouth) and never gaining an ounce, no responsibility. Poor guy didn't even know how to mow his own yard! Jessica, between touring for her latest release and her role in the Dukes of Hazard, getting her nails done, and shopping, I don't see how she kept it all together! She had it rough! Somebody waiting on her hand and foot all the time! Man isn't this such an accurate picture of marriage and relationships—two good-looking people, hardly fussing (and when they did it took a mere kiss to make-up). REALITY TV IN ITS MOST AUTHENTIC STATE!
But something must have been boiling beneath the surface. Something obviously went awry, because, like most Hollywood relationships, it came to a pitiful end. But this one was supposed to be different! They were SOOO in love! They were a match made in heaven—looks matching looks, talent matching talent. Your modern day Sleeping Beauty and Prince Charming! So why didn't they live happily ever after?
If I were to guess, most of us have had a relationship go off track at one time or another in our lives. Why? Love is so ideal isn't it? Hollywood sure has made it ideal, but if we were to base our relationships on the "scripted" relationships of Hollywood we would be in world of hurt! But we'd never do that, right? Oh . . . wait . . . uh . . .checking the pulse . . . we're in a world of hurt!
Sex In The City. Now that's a great portrayal of relationships. Non-committal sex! An all you can eat buffet. And when you get full you just ditch it all together until the next craving comes on. Sounds like such a great thing! Why is prostitution so frowned on in our society, yet these stars have been praised and elevated for their lifestyles? That is messed up! There's no difference!
We talked about relationships the other night in discipleship. I started by asking everyone what love is and the answer of the night was "the feeling that you've never felt about anyone else." Hmmm . . . I had a dog a few years ago. I never felt that way for anyone else. BECAUSE IT WAS A DOG NOT A HUMAN! The way I felt about that dog was unlike any feelings I had for anybody. Are you telling me that was love? Wow, I must be smoking the crack pipe if I LOVE my dog.
But some would say they LOVE their little puppy doggy. What love is this? Love is such a confused word and can be used I so many contexts in the English language, we don’t even know what love is. "I love lamp, I love chair, I love curtains, I love carpet." "Brick are you just looking at things around the room and saying you love them or do you really LOVE the lamp?" Haha, that part just cracks me up. Most of us fell out of our chairs with hysteria when we witnessed Ron Burgandy's encounter with "love" and his futile attempt at explaining it to the rest of the Channel Four news team (Anchorman). And the reason we laugh about it is because we know that we do the same thing too! We throw around the word "love" like it's a football in Peyton Manning's hands. I love chocolate, I love movies, I love coffee, I love shopping, I love reading, I love American Idol, I LOVE LAMP!" It's really not that funny when you think about it. We use the same term of endearment (or affection) for a $3.28 coffee as we do for a human being that we think we want to spend the rest of our lives with.
I don’t mean to give you a disillusioned and jaded view of love, because true love (as God intended it to be) can be an amazing thing! We can only understand love, though, if we begin to understand God. The Bible doesn't say that God HAS love, or God ACTS as love, or God FEELS love, it says that God IS love! Love is the very essence of God: unbiased, unconditional, unadulterated, unabridged, unfiltered (need I use any more -un's) love. I talked to someone the other day that told me he had a problem with Christianity, and one of his qualms was that you're supposed to love God MORE than you love your girlfriend or spouse. The point is, we CANNOT understand love without God! God's gift of His only son was the truest display of love that has EVER been! "Greater love has no man than to give his life for a friend." Without God, the deepest we can "feel" for our mate is the corruption of love (lust, infatuation—infatuation is not necessarily the CORRUPTION of love but it IS watered-down love. It doesn't last).
How does the Bible say we should love? Hehe. What a great discussion! It's gonna have to wait till tomorrow, though. I'm exhausted and I would just LOVE to go to sleep (case in point)!
But something must have been boiling beneath the surface. Something obviously went awry, because, like most Hollywood relationships, it came to a pitiful end. But this one was supposed to be different! They were SOOO in love! They were a match made in heaven—looks matching looks, talent matching talent. Your modern day Sleeping Beauty and Prince Charming! So why didn't they live happily ever after?
If I were to guess, most of us have had a relationship go off track at one time or another in our lives. Why? Love is so ideal isn't it? Hollywood sure has made it ideal, but if we were to base our relationships on the "scripted" relationships of Hollywood we would be in world of hurt! But we'd never do that, right? Oh . . . wait . . . uh . . .checking the pulse . . . we're in a world of hurt!
Sex In The City. Now that's a great portrayal of relationships. Non-committal sex! An all you can eat buffet. And when you get full you just ditch it all together until the next craving comes on. Sounds like such a great thing! Why is prostitution so frowned on in our society, yet these stars have been praised and elevated for their lifestyles? That is messed up! There's no difference!
We talked about relationships the other night in discipleship. I started by asking everyone what love is and the answer of the night was "the feeling that you've never felt about anyone else." Hmmm . . . I had a dog a few years ago. I never felt that way for anyone else. BECAUSE IT WAS A DOG NOT A HUMAN! The way I felt about that dog was unlike any feelings I had for anybody. Are you telling me that was love? Wow, I must be smoking the crack pipe if I LOVE my dog.
But some would say they LOVE their little puppy doggy. What love is this? Love is such a confused word and can be used I so many contexts in the English language, we don’t even know what love is. "I love lamp, I love chair, I love curtains, I love carpet." "Brick are you just looking at things around the room and saying you love them or do you really LOVE the lamp?" Haha, that part just cracks me up. Most of us fell out of our chairs with hysteria when we witnessed Ron Burgandy's encounter with "love" and his futile attempt at explaining it to the rest of the Channel Four news team (Anchorman). And the reason we laugh about it is because we know that we do the same thing too! We throw around the word "love" like it's a football in Peyton Manning's hands. I love chocolate, I love movies, I love coffee, I love shopping, I love reading, I love American Idol, I LOVE LAMP!" It's really not that funny when you think about it. We use the same term of endearment (or affection) for a $3.28 coffee as we do for a human being that we think we want to spend the rest of our lives with.
I don’t mean to give you a disillusioned and jaded view of love, because true love (as God intended it to be) can be an amazing thing! We can only understand love, though, if we begin to understand God. The Bible doesn't say that God HAS love, or God ACTS as love, or God FEELS love, it says that God IS love! Love is the very essence of God: unbiased, unconditional, unadulterated, unabridged, unfiltered (need I use any more -un's) love. I talked to someone the other day that told me he had a problem with Christianity, and one of his qualms was that you're supposed to love God MORE than you love your girlfriend or spouse. The point is, we CANNOT understand love without God! God's gift of His only son was the truest display of love that has EVER been! "Greater love has no man than to give his life for a friend." Without God, the deepest we can "feel" for our mate is the corruption of love (lust, infatuation—infatuation is not necessarily the CORRUPTION of love but it IS watered-down love. It doesn't last).
How does the Bible say we should love? Hehe. What a great discussion! It's gonna have to wait till tomorrow, though. I'm exhausted and I would just LOVE to go to sleep (case in point)!
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Discipleship Tonight
Wow! We had a great discipleship meeting with the guys tonight. We discussed relationships and what a Godly dating relationship looks like. The guys really opened up and shared with us what they struggle with in their relationships. It is so awesome to see a bunch of guys get together and open up like that! The best part is, after the night was over, we all held hands in a circle and prayed. To see what God has done on this team is incredible!
Phil and I had a great discussion afterwards. Phil told me tonight that he wanted faith like a mustard seed because the Bible tells us that if we had faith like a mustard seed we could move MOUNTAINS! How incredible would that be! I mean I could think of plenty of other things I would do with that faith rather than move mountains, but to be able to tell a mountain to pick itself up and move, that takes some serious power!
The other day, I heard someone say that we have the most boring name for the country we live in . . . The United States of America. It's just not a cool name like Iraq, Ajribijan, China, Japan, or Russia (I wonder what those names mean). But the name of The United States of America is not only practical, it strikes fear in the hearts of the rest of the world. Why? Because we are UNITED. It's amazing what can be accomplished when people come together on common ground and work as one unit.
If you don't have a discipleship or accountability group that you're a part of, I would suggest starting one or jumping into an already existing one. Feeling that encouragement, that UNITY, that instruction, that concern, and that support is essential in our lives. Christianity was not made to be done on our own. I could go out on the baseball field and try to play every position by myself, but no matter how much I TRIED I would never win! I could get up on stage and try to play every instrument by myself, but even if I was good at every instrument I wouldn't be able to make the music a full band can make. Our friends make us stronger! As warriors, lining up for battle side by side, under Jesus' banner, we can defeat any opposition that comes our way! Let's go to war on our knees . . . TOGETHER!
Phil and I had a great discussion afterwards. Phil told me tonight that he wanted faith like a mustard seed because the Bible tells us that if we had faith like a mustard seed we could move MOUNTAINS! How incredible would that be! I mean I could think of plenty of other things I would do with that faith rather than move mountains, but to be able to tell a mountain to pick itself up and move, that takes some serious power!
The other day, I heard someone say that we have the most boring name for the country we live in . . . The United States of America. It's just not a cool name like Iraq, Ajribijan, China, Japan, or Russia (I wonder what those names mean). But the name of The United States of America is not only practical, it strikes fear in the hearts of the rest of the world. Why? Because we are UNITED. It's amazing what can be accomplished when people come together on common ground and work as one unit.
If you don't have a discipleship or accountability group that you're a part of, I would suggest starting one or jumping into an already existing one. Feeling that encouragement, that UNITY, that instruction, that concern, and that support is essential in our lives. Christianity was not made to be done on our own. I could go out on the baseball field and try to play every position by myself, but no matter how much I TRIED I would never win! I could get up on stage and try to play every instrument by myself, but even if I was good at every instrument I wouldn't be able to make the music a full band can make. Our friends make us stronger! As warriors, lining up for battle side by side, under Jesus' banner, we can defeat any opposition that comes our way! Let's go to war on our knees . . . TOGETHER!
Monday, April 03, 2006
"Music Make You Lose Control!"
I thought I would compile a list of all my favorite POSITIVE and CHRISTIAN music for you guys who are looking for some good music to get your hands (and your iPod) on. Check these out if you can! It's a pretty extensive list. Here it is:
PUNK:
-MxPx
-Hawk Nelson
-FM Static
-Relient K
-Stellar Kart
-Slick Shoes
-Pugface
-Sanctus Real
-Shorthanded
EMO:
-Dashboard Confessionals
-Anberlin
-As Cities Die
-Thrice
-Underoath
-Emery
-Further Seems Forever
-Saosin
HARD ROCK/ HEAVY METAL:
-12 Stones
-Falling Up
-Pillar
-Kutless
-Skillet
-Justifide
-P.O.D.
-Thousand Foot Krutch
-Stavesacre
-Zao
-Living Sacrifice
-Day of Fire
CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN:
-Building 429
-Casting Crowns
-Across the Sky
-Justin Barnard
-Shane & Shane
-Matt Wertz
-Mercy Me
-Overflow
-Switchfoot
-Todd Agnew
-Jeremy Camp
-Shaun Groves
-Shawn McDonald
COUNTRY:
-Rascal Flatts
-Keith Urban
-Lonestar
RAP:
-Gospel Gangstaz
-T-Bone
-GRITS
-John Reuben
-KJ-52
SKA:
-Buck
-Insyderz
-Five Iron Frenzy
-The W's
-The O.C. Supertones
WORSHIP:
-Chris Tomlin
-David Crowder Band
-Charlie Hall
-Hillsong
-Matt Redman
-Delirious?
-Sonic Flood
PUNK:
-MxPx
-Hawk Nelson
-FM Static
-Relient K
-Stellar Kart
-Slick Shoes
-Pugface
-Sanctus Real
-Shorthanded
EMO:
-Dashboard Confessionals
-Anberlin
-As Cities Die
-Thrice
-Underoath
-Emery
-Further Seems Forever
-Saosin
HARD ROCK/ HEAVY METAL:
-12 Stones
-Falling Up
-Pillar
-Kutless
-Skillet
-Justifide
-P.O.D.
-Thousand Foot Krutch
-Stavesacre
-Zao
-Living Sacrifice
-Day of Fire
CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN:
-Building 429
-Casting Crowns
-Across the Sky
-Justin Barnard
-Shane & Shane
-Matt Wertz
-Mercy Me
-Overflow
-Switchfoot
-Todd Agnew
-Jeremy Camp
-Shaun Groves
-Shawn McDonald
COUNTRY:
-Rascal Flatts
-Keith Urban
-Lonestar
RAP:
-Gospel Gangstaz
-T-Bone
-GRITS
-John Reuben
-KJ-52
SKA:
-Buck
-Insyderz
-Five Iron Frenzy
-The W's
-The O.C. Supertones
WORSHIP:
-Chris Tomlin
-David Crowder Band
-Charlie Hall
-Hillsong
-Matt Redman
-Delirious?
-Sonic Flood
Sunday, April 02, 2006
Left in the Dark
Wow. . . . That was like the longest break from blogging I've done in a while. It was a great vacation from blogging, but I'M BACK! Sorry to leave you guys in the dark about a lot of stuff that happened this week. It was an physically and emotionally draining week and I really didn't have the strength in me to blog this week. I would regale you on all the events but I'm afraid that would take days of writing, so I'm just going to pick right back up like I never took the hiatus. Sorry once again.
Don't you hate being left in the dark about things? I do. Now you may not give one rat's patooey that I've left you in the dark (albeit didn't tell you anything that happened this week), because, frankly, my life really isn't THAT interesting. But we HATE being left in the dark, don't we? Think about your favorite television show. You HATE to miss an episode, right? I used to watch Seventh Heaven RELIGIOUSLY! I didn't want to miss an episode. I wouldn't schedule anything because I just had to watch Seventh Heaven. I know, the episodes would get kind of lame every once in a while, but I LOVED Seventh Heaven.
There's really no spiritual application to all this except that people hate to be left in the dark, especially when it comes to relationships. You've heard it millions of times. Be open, be honest, be genuine and your relationships will be fruitful. There are a handful of friends that I entrust everything to - a couple buddies of mine and my girlfriend. I trust them with information and with my feelings because there is a mutual level of intimacy among us where we can thoroughly confide in and trust each other. BUT, if I decided not to trust them with those things, if I decide to withhold things from them that were important to me, they would never truly KNOW me. I wouldn't really be sharing my life with them and that level of intimacy wouldn't be there.
There are two words in the original Greek text of the Bible that mean "to know." The first is "ginosko" which means "to know, understand, perceive, have knowledge of." This "ginosko" is the knowledge that we have about thinks such as historical facts, math formulas, or subject/verb agreement. It is a displaced knowledge of things, knowing ABOUT something or someone without having EXPERIENCED those things or people.
The second word is "epiginosko," which means "to become thoroughly acquainted with, to know thoroughly." This "to know" is an INTIMATE relationship, to fully experience something or someone, to know someone inside and out. This is the level of intimacy that requires work. This is a level of intimacy that allows you to confide in someone. This is a level of intimacy in which you can finish each other's sentences and you have all kinds of inside jokes. But this level of intimacy requires total honesty even if you don't feel like talking about something. This is the only way human relationships can really experience true fulfillment.
This "epiginosko" is the type of relationship Jesus Christ wants us to enter into with Him. He's beckoning, He's calling, and He's romancing us. It's up to us to respond. How intimate do you want to be with your maker?
Don't you hate being left in the dark about things? I do. Now you may not give one rat's patooey that I've left you in the dark (albeit didn't tell you anything that happened this week), because, frankly, my life really isn't THAT interesting. But we HATE being left in the dark, don't we? Think about your favorite television show. You HATE to miss an episode, right? I used to watch Seventh Heaven RELIGIOUSLY! I didn't want to miss an episode. I wouldn't schedule anything because I just had to watch Seventh Heaven. I know, the episodes would get kind of lame every once in a while, but I LOVED Seventh Heaven.
There's really no spiritual application to all this except that people hate to be left in the dark, especially when it comes to relationships. You've heard it millions of times. Be open, be honest, be genuine and your relationships will be fruitful. There are a handful of friends that I entrust everything to - a couple buddies of mine and my girlfriend. I trust them with information and with my feelings because there is a mutual level of intimacy among us where we can thoroughly confide in and trust each other. BUT, if I decided not to trust them with those things, if I decide to withhold things from them that were important to me, they would never truly KNOW me. I wouldn't really be sharing my life with them and that level of intimacy wouldn't be there.
There are two words in the original Greek text of the Bible that mean "to know." The first is "ginosko" which means "to know, understand, perceive, have knowledge of." This "ginosko" is the knowledge that we have about thinks such as historical facts, math formulas, or subject/verb agreement. It is a displaced knowledge of things, knowing ABOUT something or someone without having EXPERIENCED those things or people.
The second word is "epiginosko," which means "to become thoroughly acquainted with, to know thoroughly." This "to know" is an INTIMATE relationship, to fully experience something or someone, to know someone inside and out. This is the level of intimacy that requires work. This is a level of intimacy that allows you to confide in someone. This is a level of intimacy in which you can finish each other's sentences and you have all kinds of inside jokes. But this level of intimacy requires total honesty even if you don't feel like talking about something. This is the only way human relationships can really experience true fulfillment.
This "epiginosko" is the type of relationship Jesus Christ wants us to enter into with Him. He's beckoning, He's calling, and He's romancing us. It's up to us to respond. How intimate do you want to be with your maker?
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Lisence to Sin - Maybe for James Bond
Wow! This weekend has been one thing after another! Once again I didn't get the work done that I needed to because crazy stuff came up! To make a long story short, we won one out of three against Faulkner this weekend. Right after the game on Saturday night, we had some serious internal team problems dealing with dishonesty and cheating. Having to sit by and watch some of my teammates suffer in their decisions was a scary thing, especially since a couple of these guys are brand new Christians and are just now realizing that their actions have consequences. It was NOT a good situation and it just reminded me about the consequences that accompany each and every one of our actions. My parents always told me it takes a lifetime to build up a reputation but one stupid decision to make it all come crashing down. AND THAT'S SO TRUE!
Tonight at Newspring, Perry talked about David and how severe his consequences were with his sins (You can check it out for yourself in 2 Samuel 11). Just think, David slept with his best friend's wife and then had his best friend killed when she got pregnant. He tried to cover one mistake up with another. Two wrongs DON'T make a right. Have you ever tried to lie your way out of a lie and it just keeps piling up until you are so far in you don't know how to move, let alone get out of it. That's what happened this weekend with the team. Emotions flared, tempers scourged, and some of the guys were forced to grow up and take responsibility for their actions.
I'm reminded of that Relient K song, "I So Hate Consequences":
"And I so hate consequences
And running from you is what my best defense is
Consequences
Oh God, don�t make me face up to this
And I so hate consequences
And running from you is what my best defense is
Cause I know that I let you down
And I don�t want to deal with that
It just now hit me this is more than just a set back
And when you spelled it out, well, I guess I didn�t get that
And every trace of momentum is gone
And this isn�t turning out the way I want "
I remember my Junior year of High School, I got caught in a serious lie that affected my reputation with my teachers, the faculty at my school, and my baseball coach. I had spent several years building up a reputation and in one fail swoop, everything I had worked for crumbled in my hands. I had never felt so alone and empty. Even my friends didn't look at me the same after that. They all knew the life that I professed, but all that mattered to them was that my actions had not lined up with my talk. It took me a long time to build my credibility back up with my teachers, friends, and my parents.
But, to be honest with you. I wouldn't change that situation if I could, because that situation taught me that I can't get away with lies, I can't get away with sin, and it has partially made me into who I am today. Here are three things the Bible points out that we have to do when confronted with sin in our life and the consequences of that sin.
1. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR OUR ACTIONS:
It took David being confronted by someone else before he finally took responsibility for his actions. Nathan, a prophet, was sent by God to tell David that he screwed up. Now do you really think that David was clueless to the fact that he screw up? No! But David never would have owned up to his actions and taken responsibility for what he had done if Nathan had never confronted him. Nathan told David that the child that he and Bathsheba would bear would die. Unfortunately for David, it took God doing that to finally get David's attention. Now I know some of you are thinking, "How could a loving God kill an innocent baby because of David's actions." YOU'RE MISSING THE POINT! The point is that David would have never been in that situation if he had listened to God in the first place. When all Hell breaks loose because of the decisions YOU'VE made in your life, YOU CAN'T BLAME GOD! It's time we take responsibility for our actions. It's time we stop living in the "Baby-blamer" generation and the generation "Excusers" and start owning up to our sins.
2. HAVE A REPENTIVE HEART (LIVE A REPENTIVE LIFE):
This is the only way God can work in our lives to heal and fix what we have screwed up. David repented before God. Check out Psalms. A lot of this book is David's confessions to God about his sins. David not only admitted that he was wrong but he CHANGED his actions from that moment on. Repentance is a complete, 180 degree turn AWAY from what you want and TO what God wants. The Bible describes it as a TURN away from sin and a RETURN to God, and God DEMANDS IT!! It is amazing what God can do in our lives once we own up to our actions, REPENT of them, and let God begin the healing process in our lives.
3. LET GOD HAVE COMPLETE LEADERSHIP IN OUR LIVES:
It is only by God's grace that we don't fall again. We must turn our lives COMPLETELY over God's leadership. He only wants to make our lives fulfilling and abundant! Jesus didn't say He came so he could beat us over the head with a club every time we sinned, but He also didn't say that He came so that we could sin anytime we wanted. Jesus said that He came so that we could have life and have it more abundantly! And what does that life look like? Abundant life is LIFE WITHOUT SIN AND ITS CONSEQUENCES!! It's by God's grace that we can conquer temptation and live an abudant life.
We have to remember the role of God's grace. God's grace is NOT a lisence to sin; instead, it is a tool that He has graciously given us to defeat sin! James Bond may have had a lisence to kill, but our sin has consequences that are very REAL!
One good thing that came out of this weekend, though, is that I got the incredible opportunity to have a very heartfelt talk with Ben about Christianity and a REAL relationship with Jesus. The conversation spawned off of this situation with the team. He's beginning to understand what life's all about. Keep praying for him and for his salvation. I KNOW God will come through, and I TRUST that He's at work in Ben's heart!
Tonight at Newspring, Perry talked about David and how severe his consequences were with his sins (You can check it out for yourself in 2 Samuel 11). Just think, David slept with his best friend's wife and then had his best friend killed when she got pregnant. He tried to cover one mistake up with another. Two wrongs DON'T make a right. Have you ever tried to lie your way out of a lie and it just keeps piling up until you are so far in you don't know how to move, let alone get out of it. That's what happened this weekend with the team. Emotions flared, tempers scourged, and some of the guys were forced to grow up and take responsibility for their actions.
I'm reminded of that Relient K song, "I So Hate Consequences":
"And I so hate consequences
And running from you is what my best defense is
Consequences
Oh God, don�t make me face up to this
And I so hate consequences
And running from you is what my best defense is
Cause I know that I let you down
And I don�t want to deal with that
It just now hit me this is more than just a set back
And when you spelled it out, well, I guess I didn�t get that
And every trace of momentum is gone
And this isn�t turning out the way I want "
I remember my Junior year of High School, I got caught in a serious lie that affected my reputation with my teachers, the faculty at my school, and my baseball coach. I had spent several years building up a reputation and in one fail swoop, everything I had worked for crumbled in my hands. I had never felt so alone and empty. Even my friends didn't look at me the same after that. They all knew the life that I professed, but all that mattered to them was that my actions had not lined up with my talk. It took me a long time to build my credibility back up with my teachers, friends, and my parents.
But, to be honest with you. I wouldn't change that situation if I could, because that situation taught me that I can't get away with lies, I can't get away with sin, and it has partially made me into who I am today. Here are three things the Bible points out that we have to do when confronted with sin in our life and the consequences of that sin.
1. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR OUR ACTIONS:
It took David being confronted by someone else before he finally took responsibility for his actions. Nathan, a prophet, was sent by God to tell David that he screwed up. Now do you really think that David was clueless to the fact that he screw up? No! But David never would have owned up to his actions and taken responsibility for what he had done if Nathan had never confronted him. Nathan told David that the child that he and Bathsheba would bear would die. Unfortunately for David, it took God doing that to finally get David's attention. Now I know some of you are thinking, "How could a loving God kill an innocent baby because of David's actions." YOU'RE MISSING THE POINT! The point is that David would have never been in that situation if he had listened to God in the first place. When all Hell breaks loose because of the decisions YOU'VE made in your life, YOU CAN'T BLAME GOD! It's time we take responsibility for our actions. It's time we stop living in the "Baby-blamer" generation and the generation "Excusers" and start owning up to our sins.
2. HAVE A REPENTIVE HEART (LIVE A REPENTIVE LIFE):
This is the only way God can work in our lives to heal and fix what we have screwed up. David repented before God. Check out Psalms. A lot of this book is David's confessions to God about his sins. David not only admitted that he was wrong but he CHANGED his actions from that moment on. Repentance is a complete, 180 degree turn AWAY from what you want and TO what God wants. The Bible describes it as a TURN away from sin and a RETURN to God, and God DEMANDS IT!! It is amazing what God can do in our lives once we own up to our actions, REPENT of them, and let God begin the healing process in our lives.
3. LET GOD HAVE COMPLETE LEADERSHIP IN OUR LIVES:
It is only by God's grace that we don't fall again. We must turn our lives COMPLETELY over God's leadership. He only wants to make our lives fulfilling and abundant! Jesus didn't say He came so he could beat us over the head with a club every time we sinned, but He also didn't say that He came so that we could sin anytime we wanted. Jesus said that He came so that we could have life and have it more abundantly! And what does that life look like? Abundant life is LIFE WITHOUT SIN AND ITS CONSEQUENCES!! It's by God's grace that we can conquer temptation and live an abudant life.
We have to remember the role of God's grace. God's grace is NOT a lisence to sin; instead, it is a tool that He has graciously given us to defeat sin! James Bond may have had a lisence to kill, but our sin has consequences that are very REAL!
One good thing that came out of this weekend, though, is that I got the incredible opportunity to have a very heartfelt talk with Ben about Christianity and a REAL relationship with Jesus. The conversation spawned off of this situation with the team. He's beginning to understand what life's all about. Keep praying for him and for his salvation. I KNOW God will come through, and I TRUST that He's at work in Ben's heart!
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Are You Glad When You Suffer?
Hmmm . . . That's a pretty interesting question. Are we glad when we suffer? Am I happy to be going through rough times. The past few months have not been particularly easy for me. By no means am I suffering compared to the children dying everyday of AIDs in Africa, or the countless men losing their lives for our country in Iraq. But, so far in my life, I haven't had more frustrating times. I think it's just part of college and this transitional period between living under total dependence on our parents and gradually finding our way to total independence. But also think that most of it is a test of true character from God. I think a lot of it has to do with God seeing how willing I am to serve Him even when I don't have anything to offer.
My dad sent me this email a couple days ago and I kind of just put it my "To Read" folder for a later date. It caught my eye tonight so I read it. It really couldn't have been a more relevant email for the occasion because tonight feels like I've just reached my max in my frustration level. I wanted to share this email with you guys and I'm praying that God speaks to you as intimately as He did to me through this interview. (The email is a short interview with Rick Warren, the author of Purpose Driven Life. Enjoy!)
"People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven. One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.
"I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.
"Life is a series of problems: you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort. God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life.
The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.
"This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer. I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.
"Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.
"No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.
"You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems. If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, "which is my problem, my issues, my pain." But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.
"We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her. It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.
"You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life. Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy. It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before.
"I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease. So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.
"First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases. Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church. Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation. Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was
liberating to be able to serve God for free.
"We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?
"When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, "God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better." God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.
"Happy moments, PRAISE GOD. Difficult moments, SEEK GOD. Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD. Painful moments, TRUST GOD. Every moment, THANK GOD."
My dad sent me this email a couple days ago and I kind of just put it my "To Read" folder for a later date. It caught my eye tonight so I read it. It really couldn't have been a more relevant email for the occasion because tonight feels like I've just reached my max in my frustration level. I wanted to share this email with you guys and I'm praying that God speaks to you as intimately as He did to me through this interview. (The email is a short interview with Rick Warren, the author of Purpose Driven Life. Enjoy!)
"People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven. One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.
"I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.
"Life is a series of problems: you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort. God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life.
The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.
"This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer. I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.
"Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.
"No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.
"You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems. If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, "which is my problem, my issues, my pain." But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.
"We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her. It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.
"You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life. Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy. It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before.
"I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease. So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.
"First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases. Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church. Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation. Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was
liberating to be able to serve God for free.
"We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?
"When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, "God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better." God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.
"Happy moments, PRAISE GOD. Difficult moments, SEEK GOD. Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD. Painful moments, TRUST GOD. Every moment, THANK GOD."
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
"Go-Go Gadget . . . Human Being!"
I've discovered something awesome on my APPLE computer! I can activate a setting that will allow me to talk to my computer and it dialogues (to an extent) back to me. But . . . not only does it talk back to me, it will do as I command it to do. For example, I can say to itl, "Apple, open up iTunes," and it will open up my iTunes folder. HOW SWEET IS THAT!? It reminds me of one of those sci-fi movies like Star Wars where the androids dialogue with the humans, but this is cooler because it is REAL LIFE!
I was messing around with setting this cool thing up, and I started thinking. Why did God create Humans? Davey, how in the world did you think of that while setting up something on your computer? Try to follow me on this one. God could have created anything He wanted and He created human beings. But not only did He create human beings, He created us with a free will, knowing full well that we could (and would) be disobient to Him. So why did he create us in the first place if he knew we were going to suck at life?
God wanted companionship. He didn't NEED it, He's got community within himself (remember the whole trinity thing - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all in one?) But God WANTED companionship. He wanted to create something that He could call His own creation and love it unconditionally! But in order to have that love he had to give us the free choice to love Him back. He could have created us like this Apple computer, where everything I tell it to do it does. But then we would be a bunch of machines running around doing "God's will" without any consent. We would be FORCED to love God back.
If you force your girlfriend/boyfriend to love you back, what kind of love is that? NONE! (That's called rape, b.t.w., and it's against the law!) Love is an uncoerced, unforced commitment to someone! In order for us to fully carry out God's intention for us and give Him glory in life, we HAD to have the CHOICE to love Him back. Could God have created us without free will to accept or reject Him? HE'S GOD, HE CAN DO ANYTHING! (B.T.W. I hate those questions like "Can God create a rock so big that He can't lift it?" I just want to smack whoever said that and tell him to shut up! But then I remember that I'm a Christian . . . hehe.) But He didn't create us that way because He knew that the reward is far greater than the risk! Sure, God risks that some people are going to reject His free offer of Salvation (personally I wouldn't turn down a free offer at $100, let alone the free offer to ETERNAL LIFE!), but He is also going to find many people who accept His free gift and that is 1,000 times more rewarding to Him (even more that 1,000)!
As much as I love this new thing I figured out on my computer, it reminds me that I'm soooooo glad that I'm not a computer. I'm sooooo glad that I have the free will. You may take this the wrong way, but I couldn't serve a God that didn't give me the free will to love and serve Him (well I guess I would be b/c I wouldn't have a choice, but you get the picture).
I was messing around with setting this cool thing up, and I started thinking. Why did God create Humans? Davey, how in the world did you think of that while setting up something on your computer? Try to follow me on this one. God could have created anything He wanted and He created human beings. But not only did He create human beings, He created us with a free will, knowing full well that we could (and would) be disobient to Him. So why did he create us in the first place if he knew we were going to suck at life?
God wanted companionship. He didn't NEED it, He's got community within himself (remember the whole trinity thing - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all in one?) But God WANTED companionship. He wanted to create something that He could call His own creation and love it unconditionally! But in order to have that love he had to give us the free choice to love Him back. He could have created us like this Apple computer, where everything I tell it to do it does. But then we would be a bunch of machines running around doing "God's will" without any consent. We would be FORCED to love God back.
If you force your girlfriend/boyfriend to love you back, what kind of love is that? NONE! (That's called rape, b.t.w., and it's against the law!) Love is an uncoerced, unforced commitment to someone! In order for us to fully carry out God's intention for us and give Him glory in life, we HAD to have the CHOICE to love Him back. Could God have created us without free will to accept or reject Him? HE'S GOD, HE CAN DO ANYTHING! (B.T.W. I hate those questions like "Can God create a rock so big that He can't lift it?" I just want to smack whoever said that and tell him to shut up! But then I remember that I'm a Christian . . . hehe.) But He didn't create us that way because He knew that the reward is far greater than the risk! Sure, God risks that some people are going to reject His free offer of Salvation (personally I wouldn't turn down a free offer at $100, let alone the free offer to ETERNAL LIFE!), but He is also going to find many people who accept His free gift and that is 1,000 times more rewarding to Him (even more that 1,000)!
As much as I love this new thing I figured out on my computer, it reminds me that I'm soooooo glad that I'm not a computer. I'm sooooo glad that I have the free will. You may take this the wrong way, but I couldn't serve a God that didn't give me the free will to love and serve Him (well I guess I would be b/c I wouldn't have a choice, but you get the picture).
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Fat Tuesday
To be honest with you I have no idea why I entitled this post Fat Tuesday, other than the fact that this day was packed full. I barely felt like I've had a chance to breath. I spent the entire day doing work, going to lectures and class, doing more work, going to practice, doing more work, eating, doing more work, and then having discipleship with the guys. I'M WORN SLAP OUT! (Did you know there is a real place called Slapout, Alabama. I think it's because it's SLAP OUT in the middle of nowhere - just a random piece of info) As you can tell I can't even think straight to be able to write anything worth reading. Have you ever felt like your brain is so full that you if you stuffed one more piece of information into it you would wind up like a whitehead on a teenage girl's chin . . . POPPED!
But I will tell you guys that we had a great discipleship meeting with the guys. You wouldn't believe the wide range of topics that were discussed. I wrote several of them down, and I'm looking forward to blogging about them later this week. We practically had to kick everyone out of our apartment tonight, though, because it was getting too late and they were still wanting to talk about Jesus!! HOW AWESOME IS THAT?!?! Praise God for what he continues to do on this team.
My parents came up tonight. They're staying until Friday morning. It's sooooo nice to see them. If I can't go home, I'll go for the next best thing - let home come to me! I'm out, though, guys. Look for more tomorrow. I won't let you down!
But I will tell you guys that we had a great discipleship meeting with the guys. You wouldn't believe the wide range of topics that were discussed. I wrote several of them down, and I'm looking forward to blogging about them later this week. We practically had to kick everyone out of our apartment tonight, though, because it was getting too late and they were still wanting to talk about Jesus!! HOW AWESOME IS THAT?!?! Praise God for what he continues to do on this team.
My parents came up tonight. They're staying until Friday morning. It's sooooo nice to see them. If I can't go home, I'll go for the next best thing - let home come to me! I'm out, though, guys. Look for more tomorrow. I won't let you down!
Monday, March 20, 2006
Death . . . The Final Exam
I asked you guys to pray for Amanda yesterday. I wish I could tell you how she and her family are doing after their loss. To be honest with you guys, I have no idea how to handle this situation. I feel so hopeless! I want so badly to call her, comfort her, let her cry and scream to me on the phone. I want most of all to walk through her door, embrace her, let her cry on my shoulder, and then wipe away her tears. BUT I CAN'T!!
It was a new side of Amanda that I was exposed to last night, her grieving side. I'd never "seen" her cry before (I guess I still haven't since she was crying on the phone). Do you guys know how helpless of a feeling it is to hear the girl you care the world about hurting and not be able to do a thing about it? AAAAAHHHHHH! Even though it doesn't seem like enough, I will continue to lay my requests before God. I think God is teaching me that I can't humanly handle everything that I go through. I have to rely on His sovereignty and providence, especially when there is absolutely nothing I can do. So I know that somehow, through my prayers for her, God will comfort her heart and convey to her that I am carring for her and that I'm here for her.
My cousin died last semester and I began pondering some things about life and death. This incident with Amanda's cousin has re-awoken some of these thoughts and questions in my own mind. The biggest question that I've struggled with is how do we as Christians handle death? Death is such a final thing. That's the reason death is such a scary thing to think or talk about in our society - a taboo. There have only been a few cases of people crossing over into death and then coming back to this life; all of these had been brought back by the supernatural (Jesus). Check out the story of Lazarus in John 11. Even Jesus wept when he saw how Mary and Martha were pained over the death of their brother. Death is a scary and sad thing to think about, and Jesus is the only one who can conquer death.
I had a scary thought the other day. My dad was supposed to meet us over in Waleska, GA for the double-header on Sat. He called me well before the game while he was on his way, but by the end of the first game he still had not shown up. I was freaked out! A billion thoughts raced in my mind. Did he get in a wreck? Is he in the hospital? Is he dead? What do I do? Thankfully my dad showed up in time for the second game (he had just been caught in serious traffic in Atlanta), but for those few moments I was at a loss. I didn't know what to do. I just couldn't imagine my life without my dad! Even the thought of death is a scary thing!
As Christians we have the assurance that neither this life nor the grave is our final resting place (THANK GOD!). In fact Jesus is preparing a mansion for us in heaven and is looking forward to the day that we finally get to be with Him forever. My buddies and I often sit around and talk about what heaven is going to be like. Imagine the best house you have ever seen on MTV Cribs and it doesn't even compare to what Jesus has waiting for each of us! We have this one guy on our team that asked me if Jesus would make him a grill (mouth bling) when he gets to heaven. I thought that was hilarious, but it's awesome that he was looking forward to heaven! The point is that as Christians, we cannot even fathom how good heaven is going to be! No tears, no pain, no stress, no death, no fatigue - nothing but basking in God's perfect presence forever! How awesome!
However, the last thing somebody wants to hear when they've lost a loved one is the ill-coined cliché: "He's in a better place." "That's awesome, but how does that help this pain that I'm feeling? The point is that he's not here right now and I'll never see him in this lifetime again! I just miss him!" These are NATURAL reactions to the cliché funeral comment. So what can we do to console someone who is in pain over a death of a loved one? Be there for them. Love on them. Hold them if they want to be held, and back off if they don't feel like being around anyone. Be there to just listen to them. I'm glad that I was at a loss of words when Amanda was telling me about her cousin. She was extremely upset and she didn't NEED my words because frankly NOTHING I could say would help. After anything I could have said the pain would still be there. The only one who can heal that pain is Jesus, and all I can do is point her to Him! What did I do? I was a sound-board for her to bounce her pain and confusion off of and then I PRAYED WITH HER. That did more, I'm sure, than anything else I could have done! And I'm continuing to pray for her.
So what about death for non-Christians? Not a pretty sight! The Bible talks about a place of ETERNAL DAMNATION called Hell. We'll talk about Hell some more another time, but the point of it is ETERNAL SEPARATION FROM GOD! You think this world is bad. Imagine the world with all of God's grace, restraints, and presence taken from it; imagine a place where Satan has free reign to do whatever he wants. UTTER CHAOS! This is why it is so important for us as Christians to tell people about the hope offered in Jesus Christ. What if on judgment day the friends you hung out with on earth passed by you one-by-one on their way to Hell? What if they looked into your eyes and asked you why you never shared with them the secret to eternal life? The Bible says Ezekiel that we are the Watchmen for all mankind and if we don't tell other people about the forgiveness offered through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, then their blood is on our hands; we are responsible for their eternal destination! That's heavy! That among other things is what has motivated me to tell all my friends about how much Jesus wants a relationship with all of us.
If you guys have any suggestions of what I should do in helping Amanda cope with this death, feel free to comment. I've sent her a couple cards and letters, letting her know how much I care and that I'm here for her. I guess nothing I do will feel like enough. Stay in prayer for the baseball team, too. Let's go to war on our knees together!
It was a new side of Amanda that I was exposed to last night, her grieving side. I'd never "seen" her cry before (I guess I still haven't since she was crying on the phone). Do you guys know how helpless of a feeling it is to hear the girl you care the world about hurting and not be able to do a thing about it? AAAAAHHHHHH! Even though it doesn't seem like enough, I will continue to lay my requests before God. I think God is teaching me that I can't humanly handle everything that I go through. I have to rely on His sovereignty and providence, especially when there is absolutely nothing I can do. So I know that somehow, through my prayers for her, God will comfort her heart and convey to her that I am carring for her and that I'm here for her.
My cousin died last semester and I began pondering some things about life and death. This incident with Amanda's cousin has re-awoken some of these thoughts and questions in my own mind. The biggest question that I've struggled with is how do we as Christians handle death? Death is such a final thing. That's the reason death is such a scary thing to think or talk about in our society - a taboo. There have only been a few cases of people crossing over into death and then coming back to this life; all of these had been brought back by the supernatural (Jesus). Check out the story of Lazarus in John 11. Even Jesus wept when he saw how Mary and Martha were pained over the death of their brother. Death is a scary and sad thing to think about, and Jesus is the only one who can conquer death.
I had a scary thought the other day. My dad was supposed to meet us over in Waleska, GA for the double-header on Sat. He called me well before the game while he was on his way, but by the end of the first game he still had not shown up. I was freaked out! A billion thoughts raced in my mind. Did he get in a wreck? Is he in the hospital? Is he dead? What do I do? Thankfully my dad showed up in time for the second game (he had just been caught in serious traffic in Atlanta), but for those few moments I was at a loss. I didn't know what to do. I just couldn't imagine my life without my dad! Even the thought of death is a scary thing!
As Christians we have the assurance that neither this life nor the grave is our final resting place (THANK GOD!). In fact Jesus is preparing a mansion for us in heaven and is looking forward to the day that we finally get to be with Him forever. My buddies and I often sit around and talk about what heaven is going to be like. Imagine the best house you have ever seen on MTV Cribs and it doesn't even compare to what Jesus has waiting for each of us! We have this one guy on our team that asked me if Jesus would make him a grill (mouth bling) when he gets to heaven. I thought that was hilarious, but it's awesome that he was looking forward to heaven! The point is that as Christians, we cannot even fathom how good heaven is going to be! No tears, no pain, no stress, no death, no fatigue - nothing but basking in God's perfect presence forever! How awesome!
However, the last thing somebody wants to hear when they've lost a loved one is the ill-coined cliché: "He's in a better place." "That's awesome, but how does that help this pain that I'm feeling? The point is that he's not here right now and I'll never see him in this lifetime again! I just miss him!" These are NATURAL reactions to the cliché funeral comment. So what can we do to console someone who is in pain over a death of a loved one? Be there for them. Love on them. Hold them if they want to be held, and back off if they don't feel like being around anyone. Be there to just listen to them. I'm glad that I was at a loss of words when Amanda was telling me about her cousin. She was extremely upset and she didn't NEED my words because frankly NOTHING I could say would help. After anything I could have said the pain would still be there. The only one who can heal that pain is Jesus, and all I can do is point her to Him! What did I do? I was a sound-board for her to bounce her pain and confusion off of and then I PRAYED WITH HER. That did more, I'm sure, than anything else I could have done! And I'm continuing to pray for her.
So what about death for non-Christians? Not a pretty sight! The Bible talks about a place of ETERNAL DAMNATION called Hell. We'll talk about Hell some more another time, but the point of it is ETERNAL SEPARATION FROM GOD! You think this world is bad. Imagine the world with all of God's grace, restraints, and presence taken from it; imagine a place where Satan has free reign to do whatever he wants. UTTER CHAOS! This is why it is so important for us as Christians to tell people about the hope offered in Jesus Christ. What if on judgment day the friends you hung out with on earth passed by you one-by-one on their way to Hell? What if they looked into your eyes and asked you why you never shared with them the secret to eternal life? The Bible says Ezekiel that we are the Watchmen for all mankind and if we don't tell other people about the forgiveness offered through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, then their blood is on our hands; we are responsible for their eternal destination! That's heavy! That among other things is what has motivated me to tell all my friends about how much Jesus wants a relationship with all of us.
If you guys have any suggestions of what I should do in helping Amanda cope with this death, feel free to comment. I've sent her a couple cards and letters, letting her know how much I care and that I'm here for her. I guess nothing I do will feel like enough. Stay in prayer for the baseball team, too. Let's go to war on our knees together!
Sunday, March 19, 2006
A Little Preview . . .
Wow . . . It has been quite a weekend. We took two of three games from Reinhardt in good old Waleska, GA this weekend. It might have been the most fun I have ever had with these guys. We even had coach rolling in the dugout with laughter before the games on Saturday. It's so much fun to be able to share times with these guys, establish relationships, and show them Jesus on a daily basis.
I went to Newspring's early service this morning and still got back in time to hop over to the ALIVE service. I know, I was super-spiritual today. Not really, but it was revitalizing to worship God all morning and learn more truths about His word. I can't believe people think they can survive spiritually without going to church. Some say that church is boring or that they can worship God anywhere so they don't need church. (Umm . . . actually God COMMANDS us to worship publicly in Church. In fact the Church is referred to as the BRIDE of Christ. I don't know about you guys but if Jesus invited me to His wedding, I think I would go!) My suggestion is find a church that is alive and rockin' and where the Bible is held in absolute authority. Newspring's service ROCKED this morning. Ed Young (yeah the guy one TV who pastors that small church in Texas--about 20,000 attendees) was the guest speaker. I've always thought that Perry Noble was the best communicator I have heard, but I had to question who held the top seed in my rankings after hearing Ed Young. If you want to check out some more stuff about Ed Young just click HERE. Ed spoke on submission to authority. Great message! You can download it HERE.
On a more serious note. Keep my girlfriend, Amanda, and her family in your prayers. She just found out that her cousin (I think he was about 21) took his own life a couple days ago. She's been in Chicago the past few days on a class trip and she just received the news today when she got back. I feel so helpless because not only am I 12 hours away from her but this whole Lent thing is keeping me from being able to be there for her on the phone. But like I told her, this is not about me and how I feel, so if you could keep her and her family in her prayers I would appreciate that very much.
Switching gears a little bit, I'm super excited about blogging this week. Make sure you stay tuned every day because I have some great ideas and some awesome topics I want to address this week. God has hit me with some serious issues and questions that I have been reading up on and researching so I can relay them to you. I trust that God will meet you where you're at when we discuss these topics, and that you'll be able to gleen as much insight from Him on these issues as I have!
I'm out! It's bedtime. I spent almost the entire day writing a paper on Sanctification and my brain is fried. When it's totally finished I see about posting a PDF of it on the sidebar for you guys. It should be able to tie any loose ends that were left hanging during our discussion about our battles with SIN. Thanks for the comments you guys posted during the series I did on dealing with SIN and Sanctification. You guys are the best!
I went to Newspring's early service this morning and still got back in time to hop over to the ALIVE service. I know, I was super-spiritual today. Not really, but it was revitalizing to worship God all morning and learn more truths about His word. I can't believe people think they can survive spiritually without going to church. Some say that church is boring or that they can worship God anywhere so they don't need church. (Umm . . . actually God COMMANDS us to worship publicly in Church. In fact the Church is referred to as the BRIDE of Christ. I don't know about you guys but if Jesus invited me to His wedding, I think I would go!) My suggestion is find a church that is alive and rockin' and where the Bible is held in absolute authority. Newspring's service ROCKED this morning. Ed Young (yeah the guy one TV who pastors that small church in Texas--about 20,000 attendees) was the guest speaker. I've always thought that Perry Noble was the best communicator I have heard, but I had to question who held the top seed in my rankings after hearing Ed Young. If you want to check out some more stuff about Ed Young just click HERE. Ed spoke on submission to authority. Great message! You can download it HERE.
On a more serious note. Keep my girlfriend, Amanda, and her family in your prayers. She just found out that her cousin (I think he was about 21) took his own life a couple days ago. She's been in Chicago the past few days on a class trip and she just received the news today when she got back. I feel so helpless because not only am I 12 hours away from her but this whole Lent thing is keeping me from being able to be there for her on the phone. But like I told her, this is not about me and how I feel, so if you could keep her and her family in her prayers I would appreciate that very much.
Switching gears a little bit, I'm super excited about blogging this week. Make sure you stay tuned every day because I have some great ideas and some awesome topics I want to address this week. God has hit me with some serious issues and questions that I have been reading up on and researching so I can relay them to you. I trust that God will meet you where you're at when we discuss these topics, and that you'll be able to gleen as much insight from Him on these issues as I have!
I'm out! It's bedtime. I spent almost the entire day writing a paper on Sanctification and my brain is fried. When it's totally finished I see about posting a PDF of it on the sidebar for you guys. It should be able to tie any loose ends that were left hanging during our discussion about our battles with SIN. Thanks for the comments you guys posted during the series I did on dealing with SIN and Sanctification. You guys are the best!
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Off My Caffeine High
Here's a post that I wrote a while ago that I wanted to share with you guys. It's on my old blog. Just click HERE to view the blog post. I thought it was perfect today considering my being buzzed on Caffeine earlier today.
BASEBALL UPDATE: We have a weekend series away in Waleska, Ga (it's right next to Ten-Buck-Two) against Reinhardt. Be praying for us. We're going out to eat as a team tonight and I'm praying that some good conversation will come up. God is faithful and even though His work is not totally visible right now, I know He is still working on these guys' hearts. I'll let you know how things go when I get back on Saturday!
BASEBALL UPDATE: We have a weekend series away in Waleska, Ga (it's right next to Ten-Buck-Two) against Reinhardt. Be praying for us. We're going out to eat as a team tonight and I'm praying that some good conversation will come up. God is faithful and even though His work is not totally visible right now, I know He is still working on these guys' hearts. I'll let you know how things go when I get back on Saturday!
I'm buzzed right now!
Yesterday was awesome! I've had some much work that I've needed to get done the past couple days, so yesterday after practice I went to the library and pitched a tent; I camped out there for hours! I had a huge cup of coffee and I was in the zone! Don't you love it when you're actually motivated to do work (I know those times are few and far between for some of you). Yesterday was one of those one-in-a-million days for me, though!
I guess if you drink a huge cup of coffee around 7:00 pm and then at midnight you have a Full Throttle energy drink, you can get a ton of stuff done, because YOU WILL BE AWAKE FOR HOURS! After finally retiring for the night - er - uh - ok it was the morning - at 4:00 am, I woke up this morning, still buzzing on the residual affects of so much caffeine! It's going to be TERRIBLE around 4:00 pm today, though. I will definitely be hurting to keep my eyes open! Well, you live and you learn. Look for more posting tonight. I have class right now. Time for some of this work to pay off. Pray that I won't fall asleep. This professor has been known to chunk tennis balls at people who fall asleep (I believe it too - he's psycho!). Peace Out!
I guess if you drink a huge cup of coffee around 7:00 pm and then at midnight you have a Full Throttle energy drink, you can get a ton of stuff done, because YOU WILL BE AWAKE FOR HOURS! After finally retiring for the night - er - uh - ok it was the morning - at 4:00 am, I woke up this morning, still buzzing on the residual affects of so much caffeine! It's going to be TERRIBLE around 4:00 pm today, though. I will definitely be hurting to keep my eyes open! Well, you live and you learn. Look for more posting tonight. I have class right now. Time for some of this work to pay off. Pray that I won't fall asleep. This professor has been known to chunk tennis balls at people who fall asleep (I believe it too - he's psycho!). Peace Out!
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