On Ruin

So once again it's been embarrassingly too long since I posted a blog. It's not really the new year and I don't know if I want to make this my resolution, but I definitely need to post more often.

Story time... Many of you who know me or have talked to me in the past couple of months know that I am currently working with a church plant in Midlothian, VA, which is right outside of Richmond (check us out @ http://www.villagemidlothian.org/ ). Shameless plugs aside, I was sitting at the apartment in Richmond yesterday thinking about how much the gospel has ruined my life. All right, I know that's a weird statement. Stick with me and let me unpack it.

The gospel has indeed ruined my life. Whatever selfish, self-serving plans I have, had, or could have had about my life have been tossed aside in order to follow God's direction. For example, in middle school after I had been playing guitar for a few years I really wanted to make a live touring with a band. That would be awesome and maybe it could have worked out. As poor of an example that is, I had to give that dream up to follow God's direction. Perhaps a better example would be this. I will by this time next year have graduated college with a respectable degree in worship and music. With this degree and some good connections I could get a great job in some mega church somewhere. I'm not being over confident. I've seen it happen to the majority of the seniors in my department. But instead, I am choosing to continue to work with The Village Church in an unpaid position. Rationally, this is probably the worst choice I could make. It takes up a good deal of my time without any financial return. This is the direction the gospel has taken me.

I don't write this to be self-gratifying. There are many other parts of life that I still live in disobedience in. I am not an example to look to. I write this to challenge whoever may read. The gospel should ruin you in the same way. If it is not, you should really step back and determine whether the gospel is truly the driving force in your life.

For my Christian friends, take a look in your own life. Are you completely given over to the God's will? How are you actively pursuing unity with Christ both privately and corporately? In what ways has the gospel ruined you and what is it pushing to change next?

For my unbelieving friends, do not misunderstand me. This "ruining" of my life is actually God giving me life in abundance. God as completely sovereign knows what is best for me better than I do. So what I want to do must always take a backseat to God's will. This is not an easy sacrifice but it is the only way in which life can be lived in abundance. This is the best life I can live.

Another Good One

Ok this one is too good not to post.

See more funny videos and Entertainment Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Hecklers = Awesomeness

Hecklers are awesome. Nuf said.

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

The Magician's Nephew

So I just finished reading C.S. Lewis' The Magician's Nephew. In case you didn't know, this is the prologue of sorts to The Chronicles of Narnia. It is to be read as the first book, but it was actually written after all the other books were released. All of this to say C.S. Lewis is a genius. The amount of theology that he can fit into a children's fiction book is astounding. So I thought that I'd share some of my favorite passages.

page 185 "But I cannot tell that to this old sinner, and I cannot comfort him either; he has made himself unable to hear my voice. If I spoke to him, he would hear only growlings and roarings. Oh Adam's sons, how cleverly you defend yourselves against all that might do you good!"

I love this quote. The balance between Calvinism and Armenianism is found right here. Aslan chooses not to speak to an "old sinner" because Aslan can see that he will be unresponsive. God calls we answer. We cannot answer without God calling. God will not call if we will not answer. I hope this makes sense to most. I don't feel like laboring over this point. What can I say? I'm a lazy author.

The part of this section that I liked the most is the end. Humanity has become quite adapt in being able to defend ourselves against the joy we were created for. This is the "old man" that we must fight day after day. In the words of John Piper, we must fight for joy. Freedom in Christ is something that is to be sought after harder than precious stones or pearls. Remember the words of Christ, "where your treasure is there your heart will be also".

page 189 " 'Son of Adam,' said Aslan, 'you have sown well. And you, Narnians, let it be your first care to guard this Tree, for it is your Sheild. The Witch of whom I told you has fled far away into the North of this world; she will live on there, growing stronger in dark Magic. But while that Tree flourishes she will never come down into Narnia. She dare not come within a hundred miles of the Tree, for its smell, which is joy and life and health to you, is death and horror and despair to her.' "

The witch represents evil, which I'm sure you probably grasped. The tree represents the gospel, at least in my eyes. This passage reminds me of 1 Corinthians 1 where it talks about the way of the cross being foolishness to those that are perishing but to the saved it is the power of God. God must break our hearts in order for us to become receptive to salvation. We were dead in our sins. Dead people don't try to make themselves alive. God awakens our hearts to His gospel. If He had not done so for me, the gospel would still seem foolish (not that I truly understand it now). All glory should belong to Him, the Author and Protector of my faith.

page 190 "She has won her hearts desire; she has unwearying strength and endless days like a goddess. But length of days with an evil heart is only length of misery and already she begins to know it. All get what they want; they do not always like it."

This quote is about the evil witch that we talked about earlier. This passage breaks my heart. First it reminds me of the fruitlessness of sin. If it is what we desire we will obtain it, but we will never be satisfied. We will only end up living a life of misery. It also reminds me of the horrifying verses that talk about God turning people over to the consequences of their sins. We do not understand how big His hand is until He takes it away. This horrifies me because I constantly find myself "driving around the same cul de sac of stupidity" (Marc Driscoll "Death By Love").

Well, it's almost 11 and I must go to bed. Farewell.

You Can't Tell Me Nothing

Just in case you haven't seen this, watch. I thought you might be in need of a good laugh in the form of farmland fun and Kayne West. Zach Galifianakis is a genius. That is all I have to say.

Christian Karma

First of all I wanna start off with a bang and thank everyone that's reading. There are a lot more people reading than I thought there were. Now, its not all about the numbers (I'm not a baptist mega church), but it does help encourage me. Well anyhow, in this post I kinda wanted to drop my two cents in on a strong undercurrent that's been sweeping through American Christian for a couple of decades. Also I need to make the statement that not all of this is my own thoughts. A good deal might come from the series on Ecclesiastes that Matt Chandler did a while back. If you haven't listened to that give it a look see. You won't regret it. That is unless you enjoy being a nominal Christ follower.

Finally I actually get to what I wanna talk about. The undercurrent that I referred to earlier is what could be called Christian karma. Basically it is the thought that if you do good things good things will happen to you. This does not fit in well with Scripture. In fact, it actually disagrees with some parts of Scripture. Take Job for instance. What did Job's friends suggest that he should do when his whole life was falling apart? They said he should repent of any sins that he might have forgotten about. This really isn't the thought that if you do good good things will happen to you. It's actually the flip side. If you fail to do good, bad things will happen to you.

Another part of Scripture that this mindset disagrees with (as you might have guessed) is Ecclesiastes. In Ecclesiastes chapter 7, Solomon (the wisest man in the history of the universe mind you) writes how he has seen the wicked flourish and the righteous die an early death. God does not treat us according to our actions.

You see this is the most encouraging part of all of this. I'll say it again. God does not treat us according to our actions. He always (always, always, always) acts with our best interest in mind. If our perfectly righteous friend should die at the early age of 30, it was for God's glory and for his best that his life was required of him. If we truly believe this our lives will change completely. Well, I guess I can't speak for everyone. Maybe there are some perfect people out there.

So I am lead to ask the question. Why do you choose to do the right thing? Is it for some possible reward? Or is it because its the right thing and that's how we can bring Christ the greatest glory? If we chase what's in God's hand instead of His actual face we will be disappointed every time.

Once again, thanks for reading. Ecclesiastes 2:24-25

This Summers Employment

For those of you who don't know, this summer I am working at my local YMCA doing a day camp with kids ages 5-16. I just wanted to drop a line and tell you guys how great its going. So... It's going great. I mean, the kids aren't perfect. Sometimes they seem like little demons, but we're all fallen.

I guess the real reason that I can be super positive about all of this is the YMCA itself. The YMCA is very purpose driven. Even more so then most churches I know. This makes working at the Y quite encouraging. For you who don't know the purpose statement of the Y is "To put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy mind, spirit, and body for all." The best part about that statement is that they stick to it. Not only do they stick to it, but they allow it to be the purpose behind why they do things, whether its disciplining kids during camp or sponsoring someone's membership.

Now the Y is not a church. I would even say it would be a stretch to say its a parachurch organization. The sad (for actual churches) yet encouraging (for the Y) fact is that it seems to me that the Y is more on mission than most churches I run across. They may not be saving people into the Kingdom (as much as a human person can), but they are positively affecting people for the mission, which is all that can really be asked.

As I close, I can only hope that I feel the same way at the end of the summer as I do now.

Read Me!

I would like to write a book. I feel like it would be a rewarding adventure. I mean, it may not be like a huge 500 page book in the end. Maybe it would be more like a memoir. At any rate, I think it would be entertaining. I know, you might be asking yourself, "Self, why would he write a book if he can't even keep up with a simple blog?" To this I can provide no answer. I can only optimistically hope that somehow writing a book would be different than my blogging experience so far. So I ask you, what should I write a book about? What would you like to read about? I don't really have much direction as of right now, but I'm open to input. And now... discuss.

Summer Holiday?

Hey! I'm back. It's good to be back. I don't know why I left in the first place. Anyhow, it's summer that's a good thing. Well, it should be. Summer is such a good thing. It's freedom from school, possible jobs, beautiful weather, summer concerts and all around good times. At least that's what it is to me.

If that was all it was to me I would be quite happy, but I've noticed that I've turned summer into something else. I've tried to make summer an excuse to be lazy. I don't just mean lazy like not having a job and stuff. I have a job, but I've let other things slide out of control. I've become lazy in the things that really matter, eternal things. Yes money is good. I need to have a job, but His Kingdom is so much greater. These things will pass away, but the Kingdom will not.

What's the cause of all of this? There's many different reason that I perceive. First of all, I've bought into lies. I've bought the lie that the things that I see are more important than the things that I can't. I've subconsciously bought the lie that I can pick it all back up without any consequences. I've ultimately been lulled into subconsciously thinking that it doesn't matter. Basically, I'm saying with my actions that it doesn't matter that I'm losing a multitude of chances to effect others for the cause of Christ.

Now listen to what I did not just say. I did not say that I'm letting people die and go to hell. God is sovereign and He will bring people into His Kingdom with or without me. Thank goodness for that, but I still have no excuse. No matter how well I can convince myself otherwise.

Part of me would like to go on with reasons why I'm failing like this, but I've already hit the ultimate point. I feel like if I continue typing I will only take away from the things that actually matter. So this is your encouragement. Don't get lulled into buying a bunch of lives. The mission is lived moment by moment. There are no excuses for doing otherwise. If this sounds disheartening go to the Word and remind yourself that this is "life and life to it's fullest" that we are talking about here.

Freedom or Lack Thereof

I got back not too long ago with hanging out with some good friends tonight. It was a great time. Such great weather. Such great friends. Anyhow, there was a discussion tonight that kinda made me think. This conversation was about one of those hot button topics among Christians (smoking, drinking, cussing, etc...). Any ways, it was just interesting to me the different ways people handle themselves. You have your run of the mill button pushers, the indifferent, the uninformed, and the closed minded. Seldom do you find people with answers and with an actual fact based (and hopefully scripture based) argument that will speak their mind. Honestly, I'm hoping to work my way into becoming this type of person. The thing that I have found though is that when God finally does reveal something to me that doesn't license me to blurt it all over. I think with this type of subject people have to draw their own conclusions.

The most harm that can be done in all of this is when one hurts the body of Christ and or damages his or her relationship with a friend. Ideas and people should never intersect. If a person keeps stepping in the way of an idea that you are speaking out against. Make your point and shut up. Do not harm your brother or sister under the guise of trying to help them understand your point.

I must let it be known that this blog really has nothing to do with the conversation that I am referencing. That is just what got me thinking. So for my friends that were present, it's okay. I'm not talking about you. I'm not really talking about anyone. Besides I think most of you understand my position in the aforementioned topic. If not we can talk. Also another important thing to be made known, I don't have it all figured out. Like I said earlier, if I do actually get the chance to come to some type of position in all of this it is only through the help of the Father.

I will wrap this all up with a favorite story of mine about a favorite preacher of mine. There is a story told about Charles Spurgeon meeting one of the renowned evangelist of America for the first time. Apparently, as Charles was walking up to meet this man he was enjoying a fine cigar as was one of his favorite pastimes. So after Charles greeted this man, the evangelist asked him how he could partake of cigars as a man of God. Charles simply reacted by poking the evangelist in the stomach and asking how he could eat like that as a man of God. The American evangelist was quite overweight. That is all for now. Peace!

Brutally Honest

I'm not gonna talk about how long its been since I last wrote. I've been busy. Well, I guess I just did. Crap! Anyhow, I been thinking recently. I've been thinking a lot about the time that I've spent here at Liberty so far. It has been a fun time. I've met some awesome people, had some awesome times, and done some awesome new things. First, I would like to address these people. Thank you for the awesome times we have had together. I love you and I can't wait till we hang out next. This blog really doesn't have anything to do with you guys.

You see, I've been thinking about my cultural progression here at Liberty and honestly I've become a bit dissatisfied. I feel as though the more time I spend at Liberty I should be meeting more people and having more fun times. I can't help but think though that I feel that in reality the more time I spend here the more people I find out I don't want to hang out with. Honestly, there are a lot of people on Liberty's campus that aren't worth the time; however, this is not the majority. The difficult fact is that I feel like the majority of people that I meet are not people that I feel excited about getting to know, but people that I don't really care for.

Don't here me saying that Liberty students are horrible people. Because, the horrible person is me. Outside of Christ I am definitely full of sin. I learn this fact even better each day. There is no good thought inside of me. And because of this my pride gets in the way of my enjoyment of hanging out with other members of God's creation. I think of myself as being on a different level than these people. Why because God maybe has revealed more to me than them? How much of an idiot must I be? I would bet that God really hasn't revealed more to them than me. Maybe I need to come to understand them better because they understand more than I. So that's what this is. This is a cry for help. Not necessarily to those around me, but ultimately to my Father. Break me.

Robots In Disguise

Just in case you haven't seen this you should watch it. Because I'm excited and you should be excited also. I mean, who doesn't love Transformers? If you do not remotely like Transformers in any way, then I would submit that you my friend are not human. Anyhow, here's the trailer.

Trusting Him

Hey guys! I'm alive. I know, imagine that. It's been a hot minute since I last posted. I offer no apologies. I've been busy. Is that an apology? I hope not. Honestly, I don't really know what to write about. I've been thinking about a lot of different things lately. Oh, here's a good one. Try this on for size.

Lately I've been doing a lot of thinking about trusting God. Probably because I've found myself in a good number of situations where I had to do just that, trust God. Not that I've had some sort of major catastrophe in my life or anything. I've just had a lot of things that should be out of my control that I need to trust God for.

For instance, as I talk to you right now I am probably coughing for the 4 thousandth time today (I am). I'm kinda getting over being sick. Ok, I am getting over it, and I was sick. I've had some sinus issues since this past Wednesday. I'm talking about the spitting out a ton of blood and drainage every morning kind of sinus trouble. I mean, its not really that big of a deal except that I am singing for worship this Sunday at conVerge (my church in Lynchburg). You see, I feel like I should be freaking out. I mean, I've been trying to sing today and it hasn't been good news. I can get a couple of lines out at most until I turn into a huge coughing mess.

Even though I have about 20 hours until I have to start practicing for a couple of hours or so before service I'm not worried. I'm not going to pretend for a second that God isn't completely in control of everything and that He's not going to work all of this out for His glory and my good. This is what it means to trust Him. So many times we tell others or we tell ourselves that God is in control, but we in no way mean it. If we did mean it we would understand that it's meaningless to worry. How can you think for second He doesn't know exactly what's happening and how it will be resolved? Do you think this took God by surprise? I firmly believe it didn't. Well I've got to go get ready for a concert. AdIoS!

Learning How To Die

So, I'm fully convinced no one ever reads this any more. This might be because I really am saying nothing, which is what I tend to do most of the time anyhow. Regardless, I don't really care. I like hearing myself talk, and by that I mean type.

Any ways, I just really like the lyrics to this song. Maybe you imaginary folks know it. Maybe you don't. It's a song by Jon Foreman off of his "Winter" album. The track is entitled "Learning How To Die". I love the thesis of this song. It makes you think.

Learning How To Die

I'm gonna miss you
I'm gonna miss you when you're gone
She said, "I love you"
I'm gonna miss hearing your songs

And I said, "Please"
Don't talk about the end
Don't talk about how every little thing goes away

She said, "Friend,
All along-
Thought I was learning how to take
How to bend not how to break
How to live not how to cry
But really
I've been learning how to die
I've been learning how to die"

"Hey everyone,
I got nowhere to go
The grave is lazy
He takes our bodies slowly"

And I said, "Please"
Don't talk about the end
Don't talk about how every little thing goes away

She said, "Friend,
All along-
Thought I was learning how to take
How to bend not how to break
How to live not how to cry
But really
I've been learning how to die
I've been learning how to...
Die
Die
I've been learning how to die."

Not Walking Hand in Hand

So I am currently in the process of reading through C.S. Lewis' (my favorite author) science fiction series. Some of you may not know that he had a science fiction series, but to those who do, congrats. Right now I am about halfway through the second book of three. Anyhow there was an awesome quote in Perelandra which I cannot help but sharing. 

Let me try and give you the setting for all of this. Basically, Random, the main character, is explaining to this human-like woman from another world the idea of evil and good and the choice between the two. You see this person was completely innocent. In her world there is no idea of evil. There is no idea of pain. But anyhow, here the quote...

"I thought that I was carried in the will of Him I love, but now I see that I walk with it. I thought that the good things He sent me drew me into them as the waves lift the islands; but now I see that it is I who plunge into them with my own legs and arms, as when we go swimming. I feel as if I were living in that roofless world of yours (Earth) where men walk undefended beneath naked heaven. It is a delight with terror in it! One's own self to be walking from one good to another, walking beside Him as Himself may walk, not even holding hands. How has He made me so seperate from Himself? How did it enter His mind to concieve such a thing? The world is so much larger than I thought. I thought we went along paths - but it seems there are no paths. The going itself is the path." 

Taking Joy in Joy

To be put most plainly, I'm glad that my God is not a God that deprives me of joy. In fact, it is my belief that God takes great joy in us finding joy. Now, when I speak of this joy I am only speaking of what I call secondary joy. You see the only primary joy that will make us happy is Jesus Christ Himself. He is our main joy. He is the reason to live today and the reason to have peace in death.

But this is not our only joy. God loves us so much that He has given us other things to enjoy. Ultimately all these things point back to Him; however, humanity over time has taken these secondary joys and put them in place of God the Creator and Sustainer. It is only when we have God as our primary joy that we can fully experience any secondary joy.

Today I reconnected with a joy that I have not tasted in quite a while. It was an enjoyable experience for me, but overall it draws me closer to my Savior. I am silenced in awe just to think that He loved me enough to create things like this for me to enjoy. God is love. Not some abstract form of love, but a form of love that causes Him to give up His only Son to bring us back to Him. Beyond even this, He creates these beautiful roadsigns in life which point us back to the love that He's had for us since the beginning of time. O how He loves you and me.

Mae + Babies

I like Mae and I like funny babies. If you share my likes watch it. If you don't still watch.

A Message That Sends

This past Friday was a good day for me. I ended up going to Roanoke with some folks from the dorm to make a Krispy Kreme run and go see the new Tyler Perry movie, Madea Goes to Jail. I wrestled most of the day with whether I was going to go or not. In the end, I'm glad I went.

The doughnuts were heavenly so I was happy as far as Krispy Kreme went. Now comes the movie. The reason I wrestled with whether to go or not was because I knew the movie wasn't going to be cheap. Basically, I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a movie that I didn't really care about seeing. Oh for the summer times when I could go see every movie because they were only 5 dollars. Count your blessings 757 crew.

However, I digress. We eventually made it to the movie. It was actually a lot better than I thought it would be. And there were definitely a couple of moments from the movie that I learned something. The first one of these lessons is that my roommate is basically a male version of Madea. In my book that itself would deserve a note, but thats not really why I'm writing.

God used the movie to paint a picture of evangelism for me. He used the picture of this woman Christian minister who was ministering to the prostitutes and druggies on the street. She would walk around the streets where she knew where these people would be, hand out condoms and clean needles, and let them know if they needed some help to give her a call.

Now I'm not here to debate wether or not its okay for a Christian to give out this type of stuff. That's not the point in all of this. The point is she was reaching people. This reminds me of a guy I heard talking in ministry convocation a couple of weeks ago. This guy really understood the mission. And he talked numerous times about how we need to "do everything short of sin" to reach the lost. Much like what Paul said we need to "become everything to everyone in order to win a few to Christ". 

I think this type of idea is lost in the Christian church. It seems like we are invited the lost to clean themselves up and come to church to hear the gospel. I don't think that looks like Christ at all. If anything we need to dirty ourselves up a bit and get out there and try to live a life that looks more like Christ every day.

For my Liberty U peeps, this is why I'm trying to move off campus. I don't see how living on campus, being involved in campus activities, and eating most of my meals on campus allows me to reach the lost. Yes, there are lost people on campus. There are also a lot more Christians that need to be reminded of the gospel. So until I do move off campus I realize that God has put me here for a reason.

That's all that I'm really talking about. Understand that God has put you where He has put you for a reason, and that reason is to advance the gospel. If you are not sharing the gospel wherever you are, then you my friend are not living the Christian life. Once you come to taste the joy of salvation day after day you cannot turn back to the old man. Christ's gospel is not a gospel of spiritual gluttony, but it is a gospel that sends. If you are a Christian and you are still alive, you have been sent. The places that you walk everyday make up your mission field. Now go!

Secondhand: God Is After Our Joy

It's been a while since I've last written. I've been really busy with school. I don't really have anything to say right now, but I thought it would be cool to share this post that my friend wrote a while back. Enjoy!

God Is After Our Joy

                By James McLean

I have to be reminded of this constantly because every minute of the day I am caught up in lesser joys. I am convinced that the worst thing is not necessarily placing value on bad things but placing too much value on good things to where they take the place of the Best thing. I hope that makes sense somehow. Recently I have been challenged by the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30, before you read any further, read it here.

I have recently been changed because the giftings and abilities God has given me are finally lining up with the opportunities that he provides. The hard part now is staying focused on using it to build God’s Kingdom and realizing that every part of life is caught up in that.

I recently listened to a Matt Chandler message (as i often do) on this passage, I would strongly urge you to do the same as I think it is very encouraging. These are the moments that challenged me:

“As natural abilities begin to grow and become visible to the world around us opportunities come, opportunities intrinsically belong to God, they are given based off natural ability. The more natural ability you have the more opportunity you have. They were given to us not for our own use and our own gain but for the gain of the Kingdom. This text is about what you do with the opportunities that come your way based off the gifting that Christ gifted you with.

This is talking about how we see the world. How do we see the world? Do we really see that this is light and momentary and that there is a future glory coming? Do we see our money as not being ours but rather as money for the Kingdom to fund the Kingdom and to do good eternally? Do we see our opportunities, our free time, our Saturdays as a way to build the Kingdom?

What do you really value? What do you really treasure? What are you really after? Don’t tell me Jesus, don’t give me the church answer. Look into your heart, look into your wallet, and look into how you use your time. They’ll betray you or they’ll convince you. In the end God is after your joy, he is not honored in begrudging submission. The only way to have that kind of joy is to walk in freedom. The only way to walk in that kind of freedom is to live life with an open hand.”

I don’t know much else to say after that. This causes me to examine myself and then seek God and ask for help. I hope it does that for you too.

I love you squirrel face

Look I've been really busy. So I haven't been able to write. But this video is a must see. Please enjoy yourself.

Here's to #10

In honor of the newly-back-together Blink 182. Here it goes. Let's hope the new record is just as good as the past nine.

Testing the Water

This is the first note that I have begun writing without really thinking about it first. Let's see how it goes. 

What was the last thing that you've done that you regretted? I have a theory. I believe that most of the lessons we learn in life are learned in failure and not victory. One does not learn that an oven is hot by just looking at it and not touching it. One learns by burning his or her hand on the oven itself. 

What does this really mean though? Should we submit ourselves to everything without discretion? I don't believe so. I think there are many things that we don't have to experience in order to learn that we should avoid it. Take illegal drugs for example. We don't have to be aversely affected by drugs to learn that they're harmful. We should be able to see the negative effects of it on others. Still, we learn from the negative effects of it on others. Not from others breaking their addiction with crack. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is don't be afraid to test the waters, either theologically or literally. If we are reading God's Word as we ought to be we will know the things that are black and white and we will be able to work through the grey areas. Just remember we have been set free from the law not to turn back to sin, but to accomplish good works for His name. 

Disguising Mistakes With Goodbyes

So I seem to be in a old school music period of life right now. Here's another good one. This was my jam like five years ago. Also the costumes are classic. 

Greg's Story

His names was Greg. He was in need and I got to help him. Who would have thunk it? Here's the story.

This past evening me and a few friends were chilling in a local coffee shop. After we had been there about 45 minutes or so we came across Greg. I don't really remember how it started, but it did. Turns out Greg was originally from Waynesborough and through a series of situations he has come to live in Lynchburg. 

Why does all of this matter? Because Greg was in need. Yes, he did need money to buy a sandwich or something, but he also was in need in another way. He needed love. We gave Greg a few dollars, but the numerous conversations that ensued were more important than money. Turns out Greg is a Christian. Well at least that what he said. Who's to judge. 

So, we invited Greg to join us in a little devotional of sorts. We read the beatitudes. We talked about finding joy in Christ instead of storing up treasures on the earth. Honestly, I don't really think we made a huge impact on Greg. If any impact was made it wasn't anything we had done it was the Holy Spirit using us. 

To be frank, I think all of this did more for me than it did for Greg. This was an opportunity to get outside of my selfish lifestyle and live for someone else. You see, life lived to its fullest isn't found in chasing happiness for ourselves. The fullest life can only be obtained when we live for people other than us. 

As Jesus Himself said, "Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven... Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth... Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." 

New (Old?) Medicines

Just throwing it back old school a bit. If you know then you know. If you don't then you don't.

1+1

Two separate people enter one cafe

Two separate drinks

Two separate lives

Two sets of ears listen to the same song

Two sets of eyes meet from across the room

Fast forward two years

1+1=1

Once Again to Edna

So as I was catching up on the Blogspot world I came across my dear friend Steven Smark's blog. In this one post he talked about his mom's very good friend who recently passed away. He also described the type of person she was and how he wished there were more people like her.

As I read his post I could help but think about the person that I want to be and how far away from that I am. I want to be a person that truly loves God, loves people, and loves what he does. I want to be that type of person who's smile is contagious. That person who can lighten your mood no matter how depressed you are. I want to be that person who can't keep in the love that they have. It just spills all over the place.

I cannot say though that I am anywhere close to this vision for myself. In fact, it seems like I am the exact opposite. Much like what my friend Laura Feagan said in her blog, I also tend to shrink away from the same people that I say I want to love. I fool myself into thinking that I will have more fun reading in my room by myself instead of going out to eat with a couple of friends. I would rather waste time by myself doing something completely unnecessary instead of spending a few extra special moments with a friend.

So once again I hit the same wall that I've found myself at so many times before. Only through the help of my Lord and Savior can I ever hope to accomplish this. I, a natural loner, must learn to live a lifestyle that is filled with love. I want it to be perfectly clear that Christ has done a work in me. 

"By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35

The Thoughts on a Sabbath

So it's been too long since I last posted. I'd like to think that this is because I was doing better things with my life, but I don't know how true that is. There is one thing that has really been on my mind lately and that is the idea of having a Sabbath. 

You see, this idea comes from the beginning of time. It didn't just come from the Pharisees or some other religious leaders in Jesus' time. It came from God, Himself. When God created the world he created it in six literal days and then He rested on the seventh. Now maybe I'm crazy, but I don't think God rested because He was tired. I think He rested in order to set an example for us.

I'm not really using Scripture right now because I don't really have the time at the moment, but maybe I'll post some Scripture if this sparks some type of deep debate. Honestly, I hope my Christian friends know their Bible enough to know that this agrees with Scripture. Because the Bible speaks clearly on this idea of the Sabbath. We are to take one day out of our week and just rest. Now that doesn't mean that we have the follow all the rules that the Pharisees made up. Jesus didn't do that. What we should do is just to take a day off and enjoy the gifts God has given us. A Sabbath is a time to be spent with family and friends. It is a time to be spent reading or playing. I don't think it matters. Do something that you really enjoy. Take a break off of work or school or whatever's  holding you down and just rest.

For me that looks like not doing homework, not checking my e-mail/Facebook, and spending as little time on the Internet as possible. You see, I want to use my Sabbath to break out of the technological bubble that surrounds me. This past Friday I went hiking and it was so relaxing. Maybe hiking isn't your thing. Maybe you want to go catch up on your favorite comic books. Just get outside of your normal day to day.

I think the effect of having a Sabbath will be bigger than we expect. It will effect our relationship, how we work on the other six days, and most importantly it will effect our walk with God. It was ordained since the beginning  of time that we should take one day of and rest. Maybe this idea is a little bit more important than how we treat it.

I Had a Dream

Today has been quite an inspired day, beginning with the very first thought. I awoke this morning from a quite realistic dream. I will not go into the details in order to keep myself from talking of others as I shouldn't. Basically, my dream consisted of me having a verbal argument with a friend of mine after she treats me like crap. I do my best to debunk the imaginary arguments she lays against me with no avail. The more I try to reason with her. The louder her voice becomes and the less friendly she becomes. As with most dreams I was awoken before my story meet a resolution, but this dream sets into action a conversation with myself.

In this conversation I relished the fact that sometimes people become something totally different than what they were the first time you met them. I have spent most of the day trying to answer this question: If a person you have known for a while slowly becomes someone totally different (in a negative way) than they were when you met them, at what point does one break off this relationship? I cannot definitely come up with an answer to this because I believe that it is quite different for each and every situation.

I guess overall, I'm trying to encourage whoever reads this and myself to evaluate your relationships. What roles are these people playing in your life? Are your "Christian" friends bringing you closer to Christ or pulling you farther away? Do find yourself wanting to complain about this person or encourage them?

I think its easy to continue hanging out with a person that we probably shouldn't be hanging out with if we really enjoy their company. I also can think of numerous times in my life where I haven't wanted to hang out with the people that I should hang out with. The people that pull me closer to Christ versus tearing me away.

Dear God, I pray that I would never continue on an incorrect course because of the ease of the walking.

I Will Follow You Into the Dark

I don't really know why I like this song so much, but I do.

Does it do anything for you or am I just crazy?

Comments?

In Christ I Can Do What?

So it's happened once again. I have once again been roped into being a prayer leader on my hall. For those who don't know, at Liberty University we weekly meet together as a hall, talk about stuff, and then break off into groups and have a bit of a devotional and pray a bit. This is the part I really enjoy. 

As a Christian a huge part of my life involves being discipled and disciplining others. The thing that is gonna bring me off this high of having five new guys to pour the love of Christ into is simply everything else that comes with this job. The numerous meeting I will have to attend on the dorm and most horribly prayer leader meeting. 

Now, prayer leader meeting as an idea is not a bad thing, but it has become something that it was never intended to be. See I as a rule would enjoy a fifty minute meeting in which I learn about the happenings on campus and then partake of a mini-lesson. You see the problem isn't really in the system its in the people. The people who are volunteering for this prayer leader job. Common sense tells me that in order for me to encourage other Christians in the walk I personally have to be in step with Christ as much as possible. I guess not everyone shares my common sense. 

I have come to find that too many prayer leaders don't really strive to have much of a prayer life at all. I find that instead of their lessons coming from time spent in the Word they come out of something they read online or in some book. Now, I understand getting a spark from some other type of input other than the Word; however, this secondary input should never be emphasized more that the Bible itself. 

I guess the root of my frustration is involved in that I have just found another compartment of my daily interaction with people in which Christians are not meeting the expectations. Now I believe I must remind myself and those reading this that I in no way have achieved anything close to my capabilities in Christ. In fact, I find myself failing to be like Christ more than I actually do get things right. 

I guess out of all of this, I pray that God would give me the strength to daily exceed the standards that I am expected to meet. "In Christ I can do all things..."

Do it right, Do it tight

Maybe you might enjoy some funk done right, son.

The Most Exciting University

So it's January 12 and once again I find myself returning to the playground of ideas that is Liberty University. It's always tough to come back to this place. I guess some of it has to do with the above average amount of good friends that I have back home. I mean, I don't want to stroke their egos too much because they will probably read this, but they make it pretty hard to come back here.

Another big factor that plays a part in this is the fact that Liberty University embodies the type of thinking that God has so beautifully extracted from my life. The best way I could describe it is by saying its like going to a bad church every day. I don't mean a bad church like the singers sing off key or the pastor speaks with a lisp. I mean a church that doesn't get the mission of Christ. A church that believes that in order for a person to be saved they must attend a church service in a church building. A church that thinks that praying some type of magical prayer will provide you access into the kingdom of heaven. A church that honestly believes that we accept Christ and totally forgets the fact that we don't really have a part to play in salvation.

Maybe by this point you have thought of the question that I have struggled with so many times. Why am I here? The best way I can answer this question is this is where God wants me to be. I firmly believe that God wants me to be at this university studying this major at this time in my life.

In light of all of this I really have no reason to complain. I am doing what God has planned before my birth for me to do. So for now I will continue to every day glean a small pearl of wisdom from the overwhelming amount of babble I hear every day. I will continue to extract the most poignant principle from every lengthy, monotone sermon I hear.

By writing this I really only ask for one thing. Allow me a little grace when I start complaining. Wait till I'm done and then look me in the eye and remind me that this is the place in life where God wants me to be.

Face Melting

You gotta stand up and realize some real rock talent when you see it. As usual watch and respond.

Blogs Were Meant To Be Updated

So this is my second blog and I've already learned one blog-lesson the hard way. Blogs were meant to be updated. What you read in the following section is me updating my blog. 

It all started with my dear friend Josh Hazel's Facebook status: Josh wants a fedora. Well I must admit that at this time I wasn't exactly sure what a fedora what. I knew it was a hat, but what kind of hat was it? So I went to the place where I find all the answers I need answering, Google. Well to make a long story short my Internet journey lead me to a website entitled "The Art of Manliness" (www.artofmanliness.com). 

After a little poking around on this quite intriguing site I found myself reading an article about how to eat correctly like a man should. This mainly involved avoiding food with preservatives, eating manly things like meat, sitting down and eating with family, and finally controlling your portion size. 

As I read this rather informative blog I could help but think, maybe we don't have it all figured out. I mean, we have cars that can do everything but drive for us and ovens the heat up, cook, and turn off by themselves, but maybe we've forgotten how to truly enjoy life as it was meant to be lived. Even this evening I was at fault because I skipped out on the family dinner and ended up eating with a good friend on the run. 

I can honestly say some of the most enjoyable times in my life happen in very simple situations. Whether I'm reading a book by myself, drinking coffee with a friend, or sitting by the waterside just simply watching nature. 

Basically, what I'm trying to say is we need to learn to enjoy life again. At least once this week sit down and drink a cup of coffee and think about life for an hour or so. Or maybe you need to go hiking with a friend for a couple of hours. Regardless, get outside of the usual crap we get so caught up in and truly enjoy something.  

The Introduction

So I'd figured I'd start out my Blogspot career with a little bit of an introduction. If your reading my blog chances are I already know you, but then again maybe you don't. Well, first of all, my name is Josh. I like moonlit walks on the beach and watching the starts on a cold night... Okay, I really don't enjoy those things, but it seemed like the cliched thing to say. Instead of providing an actual introduction I will just give you this phrase. I am what I is. That should basically explain all that you need to know.  So to make up for the lack of an actual blog I will provide you with a little laugh by the way of this video. Just follow the link cause its on Funny or Die and I don't know how to embed it. So as for now farewell, friends.

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/bf2211325e/iraq-shoe-throwing-store-from-fod-team