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I have not written here in quite some time. I’ve got plenty to say, but very little time to say it.
I’m one week away from finishing another trimester of college. This one stretched me to the max. Reading old Theology books by dead guys can melt your brain faster than hulu.
I really like Bon Iver’s “For Emma, Forever Ago” – Possibly one of the greatest albums I’ve ever owned. Buy it.
It’s disc golf season. Immeasurable Joy.
As soon as my brain returns to a solid mass, I may just unleash some goodness.
The Following is From my Dad:
April 11th . Holy Saturday. It was my first official fishing trip. We had just hit the water and my phone rang, it was my wife. We have a little household joke that if you call me while I’m fishing, you had better be bleeding, if not, it can wait. So I knew I had better answer.
My wife Linda says “This guy named Steve just called. He worked with your Dad and Rockingham Machine” That was like 1978 or so . . she continues “Steve said he was 16 when he worked there and something had been bothering him for a long time” . . “Well Steve stole a Crescent wrench from your Dad and he was hoping he was still alive to apologize and return it.” Linda explained that Eugene was no longer with us.
Linda further explained that a recent sermon at Steve’s church really hit him and he had to reconcile this. I was dumbfounded how someone could keep something so insignificant as a Crescent wrench for 31 years and remember how they got it. She continued to explain he was going to come to the house that afternoon. I immediately thought the worst .. my wife is at home, alone, and some stranger with the a ” crescent wrench story” is coming by.
Well it was all legit. Linda told me he was very nice, nervous and embarrassed. He explained he was a 16 year old punk and took it for no reason, other than he could, but it has bothered him for many years. He returned the wrench apologized and went on his way. As you can see in the attached picture, it’s just a cheap 8 inch crescent wrench. But it was a barrier that kept this man from God.
What an interesting Easter weekend I had . . . . . I did catch some fish too . . .
Balancing schedules is super tough these days for just about everybody. It’s important that when we make time for God’s word, we make the most of it. As a student, here are some of the things that make my study time as productive as it can be:
1) ESV Study Bible – Fantastic. Great for regular reading, or as a launch pad for further study.
2) Logos Bible Software – Hundreds of resources at your fingertips. Complete hours worth of source gathering in seconds.
3) YouVersion – Real life encounters with scripture from millions of people across the globe.
4) A Library and a Great Research Librarian – Love your Librarian. They are the ancient tribal guides of the research jungle.
5) Coffee, in abundance – Self Explanatory.
How do you make the most of your time in God’s word?
He is not here, for he has risen – Matthew 28:6
Some of us approach the tomb of our faith much like Mary and Mary approached the tomb of Jesus. Expecting to encounter death. Uselessness, and hopelessness. Whether in our own lives, or through an encounter with another, we’ve all experienced the perception “Jesus is dead to me”.
We approach the tomb in sorrow and despair, broken over the loss. He is no longer our healer, our reedemer, our teacher, our king, or our saviour. He’s dead, and we are left with hopelessness.
What do we find when we seek out this dead Jesus? Nothing, for he has risen.
Chaos becomes Peace.
Sorrow becomes Joy.
Despair becomes Hope.
Doubt becomes Faith.
Death becomes LIFE.
May those who have encountered a dead Jesus, approach his tomb today, and see that he is risen. He is still our healer. He is still our redeemer. He is still our teacher. He is still our king. He is still our saviour, and will always be, for he is risen.
Are your goals personal or communal in nature?
When we set out only to achieve our personal goals, we submit to defeat far too easily. When we set out to achieve common goals, there is a natural urge too overcome all adversity for common success.
This is something we all wrestle with in our lives. The problem is that when we serve only personal interests, we possess too much control over the standards set.
One of two things will happen. We will lower the standards to lessen the weight of failure, or we will leverage that failure to seek out peraonal charity (not necessarily monetary).
Neither is healthy. I like me, but me kills.
Common success is more rewarding then personal success. Parties are always more fun when people besides you and your dog show up.
There is nothing wrong with honestly earned personal gain or success. It just shouldn’t be the focal point of our labor. Personal gain that is directly pursued will always be more difficult and rare compared to the inevitable personal satisfaction found in common success.
What steps do you take in your life to avoid getting consumed by yourself?
This painting was in my basement when I moved in. Previously it was strategically hidden behind a row of books. Due the recent addition of a new book shelf, the wonders of the art have been revealed, and I’m pretty sure those are maggots.
What’s on your wall?
Waazit!
When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. - 1 Corinthians 5:4-5
Recently, ABC Nightline hosted a debate on the topic “Does Satan Exist”. Panelists included former prostitute Annie Lobert, Pastor Mark Driscoll, Author Deepak Chopra, and Bishop Carlton Pearson. Definitely worth watching.
Chopra built his initial claim around the idea that “healthy people don’t need satan”. First off, the Christian faith is based on the need for Jesus, not satan. Satan is a reality we have to deal with, but he is not needed as Chopra implied. Second, sick people don’t need satan either, they need a doctor. (Luke 5:31)
One of the most common arguments that arises out of any conversation regarding the existence of satan is “if God is good, why does he allow evil (satan) to exist?”. Driscoll was quick to point out that the Bible teaches that satan is a finite created being, subject to God’s authority and purpose for all creation.
The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble. – Proverbs 16:4
So why satan? I think we can all agree that we’d enjoy the absence of evil in our world. Nobody wants satan around. Chopra also mentioned that we understand the world through contrast. I agree. We understand cold in the absence of heat. We understand darkness, by the absence of light. We understand how destructive and evil satan is, in the absence of Jesus. Paul illustrates this in his first letter to the Corinthians.
From an idealist perspective, nobody would be subject to satan’s influence. It is influence that leads to terribly destructive places. Sometimes, however unpleasant, people need to get delivered to Satan for a season. Paul also teaches that there is purpose in this. Its not so we can be tormented and punished. Its so we can die to ourselves and gain new life through Christ. Christ cannot be fully embraced if we do not understand the evil and sin from which he has freed us through the Cross. Its when we find ourselves at the bottom of the barrel, that we start to look up.
How do you address Satan in your church, relationships, organizations, etc? In what ways do you contrast the darkness of evil with the light of Christ?
Mom always knows how to do it big when we come home! I’m ready to get my chow on!
Excited to spend a weekend with friends and family.
Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. – Proverbs 4:25
When I looked back on the past 5 or so years of my life, I noticed a trend that I was stuck in. Everything I set out to do was for immediate results. I couldn’t see past the next 5 days most of the time. Needless to say I didn’t get very far with anything, and I ended up with several mediocre skills and several dreams and passions. There’s nothing wrong with developing skills and having passion. The problem is we don’t fair to well when we’re trying to tackle too many. It’s like taking on an entire squad of ninjas circled around you in an alley. The odds are much better with one opponent taken head on. Majority of us do not possess Jackie Chan style dream pursuing abilities. Even that’s a poor example, because Jackie Chan was still only good at one thing, kung fu domination.
I’ve had several opportunities recently to do several different things. Several opportunities to serve in serveral different ways in several different ministries. All opportunities from worthy causes.
At the turn of 2009, I had a “*&^% just hit the fan” moment. I was putting a lot of time into trying to finish a recording project, researching and outlining for writing projects, serving in an online ministry, volunteering as a sound engineer, etc. I was allocating my time to way to many activities. As soon as the school year started up, I was forced to either cut out all the excess stuff and look directly forward, or put myself in a situation to totally cash out.
Not quite a week ago, I finished my first trimester in pursuit of my B.A. degree. (2 to be Exact – Communications: Mass Media & Journalism, Religion:Youth and Family Ministry) And that is all I’ve been doing. Studying like crazy. (With intermittent interjections of Heroes) I haven’t written a lick of music, posted one blog, or touched a single fader. I even wound up taking like 2 week twitter time out. (My mom even got worried.) I’m glad I did though, God is rocking me.
The past 3 months I’ve thrown myself into the things that I really want to do with my life. The path I see before me is exciting, and the last thing I want to do is wind up pulling some Jackie Chan business in the midst of it. I think we all hit a point in our lives, where we have to sit back and ask ourselves, what am I really here to do. Everything else quickly becomes irrelevant.
What are you here to do? What is the one thing you’ve felt called to pursue? What things are holding you back? What things are distracting you? What opportunities is God laying before you today? When you find it:
Look Directly Forward.
Disclaimer: An advisor at school said it takes approximately 6 months for weekend students to adjust to the new life style. That’ll preach. I feel more comfortable going into the next, and hope to find ways to balance the work in order to get back into the blogosphere again.
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