"Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by the others. Truly I tell you, they have recieved their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what the right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you." - Jesus Christ -Matthew 6:1-4
The needy, who are the needy? I have often looked at this verse and let it burn itself deeply into my soul. Is Jesus talking only about the poor? I prefer to believe He is talking of anyone in need. The NLT says, "Watch out! Don't do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven." I think that says it very plainly. I have always looked to the 6th chapter of Matthew to guide me in the things that I must do to try and maintain my path with following the teachings of Christ. In that, I fall very short every day. I stumble, scrape, scrap, and scratch, my way through the day. I forget, and look past some of these things often, but I do put my best foot forward in that.So, basically to me, when you do good deeds, it's only for you and God to see.
In my work, I see many people who work with other people and then proceed to say 'LOOK WHAT I JUST DID!!!', it often reminds me of an old character from the late night sketch comedy 'Mad TV'. His name was Stuart, he was characterized as a say 8 year old, who would shout, 'Look what I can do!!!', and then proceed to do nominal tasks or skills. Is it pride? Is it desperation for acknowledgement? Is it the need for advertising for fundraising? Is it American culture? Is it a conglomeration of all of the above?
We are called to serve, we are called to share the love that we were so freely given. I mean, this is the right in the middle of the sermon on the mount. I like to think of Jesus as any modern day speaker, in that there is an order to speaking, just like a meal. There is the appetizer, something to get people into whatever is being said. There is the meat and potatoes, which is the stuff that is supposed to stick to your ribs. Then finally there is desert, the topping to it all, to settle in and finalize it.
In that, there is, right in the middle, the meat and potatoes, 'Don't do your good deeds publicly , and yet time and time again, we choose to be Stuart, 'LOOK WHAT I CAN DO!!!'. Screaming to the masses, as loudly as we can, just so that we can be possibly heard above the ascending crescendo of the world. Time and time again we take pictures, videos, or any other type of shameless self plug so that we can try to bee seen, Yet, the only one that wants to see it, is God Almighty himself.
In the times that this was worded, there were mostly the ultra rich, and the ultra poor. In that, here's some perspective, if you have any change in your pocket, you are in the top 8% of the world's wealthy. I know you may say, well, I don't have any change in my pocket. Do me a favor, next time you go out, look on the ground, I'm sure sooner or later, you will find a penny. That's the American perspective, we leave a coin on the ground that if we pick it up, we are among the top 8% wealthiest. Yeah, think on that for a while. I did.
So many in that day would make a display of what they were doing to show just how much they 'believed', to show how devoted they were, and yet, they were the ones that John the Baptist called a 'Brood of Vipers', and Jesus chastised on multiple occasions. How many of us do that today? I know I have been guilty of it.
Whatever we do in life, God knows it. And yet, we still continue to say, 'Look what I can do!'. Today as I was making sure I placed my quotes and so on, I like to check everything that I quote, usually in various sources, just to make sure I get it right. I looked up a couple of 'Stuart Mad Tv' videos on Youtube, and I have to wonder, When we do make a display of our deeds, is that how we look to God?
I just have to wonder.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Five
Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. James 1:26
Okay, today I am going to cover words, words, in my opinion are some of the most powerful movements in the universe. Why?
Well, for those who believe, I think we can all agree in the fact the God made us in His image. In that, I would lean towards Genesis, as we look into the creation story, we see time and time again the power of words. Verse 3, And God said "let there be light," and there was light. Verse 6 and 7, And God said, "Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water." So God made vault and separated the water from under the vault from the water below it. And it was so. Verse 9, And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place and let dry ground appear." And it was so. Verse 11, Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to the various kinds. And it was so. Verse 14 and 15, And God said, "Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and and days and years, let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on earth." And it was so. Verse 20, And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky." Verse 22 And God said, "Let the land creatures produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. Verse 26, Then God said, "Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
So, in the first 26 verses of the bible, 10 of them directly speak of God speaking, and then the others, are Him naming the things He created. So, the entire opening of the bible to me, not only tells of creation, but the power of words. Let's face it, He's God, He could have snapped His fingers, waved a mighty wand, clapped, blinked, winked, or pretty much anything else to create everything, and yet He spoke. For me, that is the power of words.
Verse 26 speaks of being made in His image. In that, I will jump way forward into the book of Matthew, when Jesus says, "if you have the faith of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Once again, the power of words, and yet I feel we often forget that power. We use words to cut down and not heal, we are quick to talk badly of someone, but not quick to commend or comfort one. My son once said, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words cut through my soul.", a quote that has often haunted me. How many times have I used words to tear someone apart, how many times have I dodged a chance to heal by my words, or even just say a simple 'Hi' to a stranger.
In delving into this I found something very interesting. I will set up this to the best of my view. Matthew, Mark and Luke, three books that show the life of Jesus from three different perspectives. They were all different men with different backgrounds, and yet, you find this.
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Mark 13:31
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Luke 21:33
Okay, first of all, for those who don't delve into the disciples, they often fought like cats and dogs, Jesus broke up more than one disagreement between them, and yet, this quote struck a chord deep within all of their souls, not paraphrased, word for word. No difference. I know that it speaks of Christ's words, and in that I understand, but there were often much deeper meanings in that, and for me, I look at it this way, Jesus call us His brothers and sisters, God calls us His children, and the bible says we are created in His image, and from personal experience, I know that spiteful angry words can leave a wound that stays open when the physical wounds heal. So, please choose your words carefully, For we have the power to create or destroy with them, and the words we speak may never pass away.
"For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." - Jesus Christ
Okay, today I am going to cover words, words, in my opinion are some of the most powerful movements in the universe. Why?
Well, for those who believe, I think we can all agree in the fact the God made us in His image. In that, I would lean towards Genesis, as we look into the creation story, we see time and time again the power of words. Verse 3, And God said "let there be light," and there was light. Verse 6 and 7, And God said, "Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water." So God made vault and separated the water from under the vault from the water below it. And it was so. Verse 9, And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place and let dry ground appear." And it was so. Verse 11, Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to the various kinds. And it was so. Verse 14 and 15, And God said, "Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and and days and years, let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on earth." And it was so. Verse 20, And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky." Verse 22 And God said, "Let the land creatures produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. Verse 26, Then God said, "Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
So, in the first 26 verses of the bible, 10 of them directly speak of God speaking, and then the others, are Him naming the things He created. So, the entire opening of the bible to me, not only tells of creation, but the power of words. Let's face it, He's God, He could have snapped His fingers, waved a mighty wand, clapped, blinked, winked, or pretty much anything else to create everything, and yet He spoke. For me, that is the power of words.
Verse 26 speaks of being made in His image. In that, I will jump way forward into the book of Matthew, when Jesus says, "if you have the faith of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Once again, the power of words, and yet I feel we often forget that power. We use words to cut down and not heal, we are quick to talk badly of someone, but not quick to commend or comfort one. My son once said, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words cut through my soul.", a quote that has often haunted me. How many times have I used words to tear someone apart, how many times have I dodged a chance to heal by my words, or even just say a simple 'Hi' to a stranger.
In delving into this I found something very interesting. I will set up this to the best of my view. Matthew, Mark and Luke, three books that show the life of Jesus from three different perspectives. They were all different men with different backgrounds, and yet, you find this.
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Mark 13:31
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Luke 21:33
Okay, first of all, for those who don't delve into the disciples, they often fought like cats and dogs, Jesus broke up more than one disagreement between them, and yet, this quote struck a chord deep within all of their souls, not paraphrased, word for word. No difference. I know that it speaks of Christ's words, and in that I understand, but there were often much deeper meanings in that, and for me, I look at it this way, Jesus call us His brothers and sisters, God calls us His children, and the bible says we are created in His image, and from personal experience, I know that spiteful angry words can leave a wound that stays open when the physical wounds heal. So, please choose your words carefully, For we have the power to create or destroy with them, and the words we speak may never pass away.
"For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." - Jesus Christ
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Four
Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us...
I can't tell you how many times I have said that series of words, especially when working in the recovery realms, 'forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us'. Yet, it wasn't until recently that I really delved into it. As I understand it, if I don't forgive those who wrong me, God won't forgive me.
I attempted to delve further into it. In that, I found,
'For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive you.' - Matthew 6:14-15.
I found it interesting that this verse is not only the direct words of Christ, but is is also the next two verses after the Lord's Prayer. In that, I feel that it was Jesus himself stating the importance of forgiveness, that in the prayer, that was the first thing that he chose to reiterate. For those who read about the lack of exclamation points in Hebrew culture to accentuate importance, this is twice in probably the same breath. Yet, would it be found any more? Yup, in fact there is a full parable about it only a few chapters later.
Long story short, a king decided to bring his accounts up to date with the searvants who had borrowed money from him, one of them owed him 10,000 bags of gold. In some translations it is said 10,000 talents. In that, I searched out a talent, it is the equivalent of 75 pounds. So, he owed the king 750,000 lbs. of gold, or in 'now' equivalent, he owed the king $1,352,250,000. So, over a billion dollars. The king knew the servant didn't have the dough, and so he ordered the servant, his wife, his children, and all his stuff to be sold so that he could regain some of what was owed. The servant plead his case to the king, and in that, the king was so moved that he decided to cancel the debt.
So this servant is free and clear, and he continues to go on with his life. Shortly after that he runs into one of his workmates, who owed him 100 pence(KJV). Okay, it was more than likely a silver shekel, which is said to weigh approximately 1/4 ounce, so with today's market, it would be the equivalent of $800. When the first servant sees his debtor, he proceeds to rough him up, and then press charges against him so that he is place in prison until he could repay the debt. When the king found out what the first servant had done, he decided his fate, he repealed the forgiveness and had him not only placed in prison, but tortured until he could pay the debt back, which in reality, was not possible, so I'm betting that the servant lived out his days in prison, being tortured by his captors. One quick perspective, the Romans were in power at the time. They were the masters of torture and death, they had refined it an art, and Jesus made sure to say that the first servant was tortured, not just jailed.
With all of this told, there is one more verse to this chapter, in the words of Christ,
'This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother and sister from your heart' - Matthew 18:35
For me, this is often the hardest part of my walk, forgiveness like love is supposed to be unconditional, and in that, many who know me, know that holding grudges was one of the things that I was once good at. I would often joke that I was still looking for the doctor who spanked me, and he was gonna pay when I found him. Time and time again, I struggle with this, but I know that in that, God has graced me with forgiveness, and what kinda idiot would I be not to be thankful. In that, I feel it is my duty to pay it forward, and as hard as it is, to forgive as I would want to be forgiven.
I can't tell you how many times I have said that series of words, especially when working in the recovery realms, 'forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us'. Yet, it wasn't until recently that I really delved into it. As I understand it, if I don't forgive those who wrong me, God won't forgive me.
I attempted to delve further into it. In that, I found,
'For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive you.' - Matthew 6:14-15.
I found it interesting that this verse is not only the direct words of Christ, but is is also the next two verses after the Lord's Prayer. In that, I feel that it was Jesus himself stating the importance of forgiveness, that in the prayer, that was the first thing that he chose to reiterate. For those who read about the lack of exclamation points in Hebrew culture to accentuate importance, this is twice in probably the same breath. Yet, would it be found any more? Yup, in fact there is a full parable about it only a few chapters later.
Long story short, a king decided to bring his accounts up to date with the searvants who had borrowed money from him, one of them owed him 10,000 bags of gold. In some translations it is said 10,000 talents. In that, I searched out a talent, it is the equivalent of 75 pounds. So, he owed the king 750,000 lbs. of gold, or in 'now' equivalent, he owed the king $1,352,250,000. So, over a billion dollars. The king knew the servant didn't have the dough, and so he ordered the servant, his wife, his children, and all his stuff to be sold so that he could regain some of what was owed. The servant plead his case to the king, and in that, the king was so moved that he decided to cancel the debt.
So this servant is free and clear, and he continues to go on with his life. Shortly after that he runs into one of his workmates, who owed him 100 pence(KJV). Okay, it was more than likely a silver shekel, which is said to weigh approximately 1/4 ounce, so with today's market, it would be the equivalent of $800. When the first servant sees his debtor, he proceeds to rough him up, and then press charges against him so that he is place in prison until he could repay the debt. When the king found out what the first servant had done, he decided his fate, he repealed the forgiveness and had him not only placed in prison, but tortured until he could pay the debt back, which in reality, was not possible, so I'm betting that the servant lived out his days in prison, being tortured by his captors. One quick perspective, the Romans were in power at the time. They were the masters of torture and death, they had refined it an art, and Jesus made sure to say that the first servant was tortured, not just jailed.
With all of this told, there is one more verse to this chapter, in the words of Christ,
'This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother and sister from your heart' - Matthew 18:35
For me, this is often the hardest part of my walk, forgiveness like love is supposed to be unconditional, and in that, many who know me, know that holding grudges was one of the things that I was once good at. I would often joke that I was still looking for the doctor who spanked me, and he was gonna pay when I found him. Time and time again, I struggle with this, but I know that in that, God has graced me with forgiveness, and what kinda idiot would I be not to be thankful. In that, I feel it is my duty to pay it forward, and as hard as it is, to forgive as I would want to be forgiven.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Three
When we talk of the teachings of Jesus Christ, we are called to love, to reflect His love. We are not called to judge those or impose laws on those who do not know Him. We are called time and time again to love, to love unconditionally. In Hebrew there is no exclamation point to express importance, so in that, repetition is used. The more it is repeated, the more importance it holds, and if it is repeated 3 times, it is declared to be of the utmost importance. The example I was given by the person who taught it to me was this, say someone would say 'never, never, never,' in Hebrew, to properly translate that to English would be, 'no, never, not ever, never under any circumstance.' The first time, it is important, the second time, it is something that should be never forgotten, the third time, it should be imprinted on your soul. In that, 'love one another', is used 11 times in the New Testament.
I feel that so many of us have established so many conditions on which we 'love one another'. It has become tainted in so many ways we can't count. We are quick to condemn those who don't know Chirst, and yet, we are to do no such thing. We are called to love them, and that's it. The times when condemnation is used in the New Testament, is only when there are those who have already come to the faith, not before. We attempt to impose and enforce 'God's will and laws' on those who don't even have a relationship with Him.Even in Leviticus, a book which lays down some very strict laws and guidelines for the Israelites to follow says the same thing.
Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. - Leviticus 19:18
The foreigner residing amongst you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God. - Leviticus 19:34
That's twice in just that book, and as some of you know, Leviticus is a pretty hard-line approach for laws that the Israelites were to follow.
Time and time again we are told to love unconditionally, especially when it comes to those who don't know Christ. We are called not to judge. We are called to not impose laws that we ourselves cannot follow.
In the council of Jerusalem Paul is quoted saying
Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke neither we nor our ancestors could bear? - Acts 15:10
And that was for the believers, not the non-believers. In the gospels, the only time Jesus reprimands people is when they are doing something incorrect within the walls of a church or are believers who are perverting the word for their own purpose. He NEVER reprimanded a non-believer for the lives that they led before they came to faith. He just loved them, and in that I believe that when it comes to dealing with non-believers, we are called not to open our mouths in any way shape or form of judgement. We are just commissioned to love them.
I feel that so many of us have established so many conditions on which we 'love one another'. It has become tainted in so many ways we can't count. We are quick to condemn those who don't know Chirst, and yet, we are to do no such thing. We are called to love them, and that's it. The times when condemnation is used in the New Testament, is only when there are those who have already come to the faith, not before. We attempt to impose and enforce 'God's will and laws' on those who don't even have a relationship with Him.Even in Leviticus, a book which lays down some very strict laws and guidelines for the Israelites to follow says the same thing.
Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. - Leviticus 19:18
The foreigner residing amongst you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God. - Leviticus 19:34
That's twice in just that book, and as some of you know, Leviticus is a pretty hard-line approach for laws that the Israelites were to follow.
Time and time again we are told to love unconditionally, especially when it comes to those who don't know Christ. We are called not to judge. We are called to not impose laws that we ourselves cannot follow.
In the council of Jerusalem Paul is quoted saying
Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke neither we nor our ancestors could bear? - Acts 15:10
And that was for the believers, not the non-believers. In the gospels, the only time Jesus reprimands people is when they are doing something incorrect within the walls of a church or are believers who are perverting the word for their own purpose. He NEVER reprimanded a non-believer for the lives that they led before they came to faith. He just loved them, and in that I believe that when it comes to dealing with non-believers, we are called not to open our mouths in any way shape or form of judgement. We are just commissioned to love them.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Two
I had written out 7 different things that I found let's say interesting, in that, I was given some other things to write about. So instead of those things, I will be writing about some other things. I will still bring them out as the time is right, but I feel guided to bring this first.
In the past few weeks I have heard time and time again about 'the candidates'. My opinion, words about either candidate, and the state of the country, is kinda like words about your senior high president and the state of your high school grades. The most discouraging thing to me, that no one could just deabte, they had to go forward on some type of attack, when, let's face it, this country, economy, so on and so forth didn't happen overnight. It was a long time coming, it was not over either political party, I find both have faults, but it was over Greed, Gluttony, Lust, the list goes on and on. We did it to ourselves, and we just can't seem to face that reality. Everyone got greedy, and only a few profited from it for long term. We can all look back on when we had more, and was it more wants or needs? I could rant on that alone all night, but I wont.
My point, we are busy to blame everything else when we serve a God who commands us to call to Him. We serve a God who says,
"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes what he says will happen, it will be done for him." - Mark 11:23
What do you think His power can do for a governmental shift?
What do you think He can do for a state of an economy?
...for every animal of the fores is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. - Psalm 50:10
He says things like...
Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know -
Jeremiah 33:3
And yet we as Christians can't get it together enough in these United States to even see that? I heard no general call to prayer from any and all sides to help us seek the leader that God ordained, I heard no call that we must get together and discuss what our course of action should be as a whole, when it comes down to it, we will talk over and over again about partisan politics, but will avoid at all costs the giant rifts between churches.
I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.
1 Corinthians 1:4
As I see it, we need to get our poop in a group, sure we may not agree on some things, but when it comes to the teachings of Christ and the movements of the Holy Spirit, I believe we need to press in so we can move forward. There is food appearing in the Philipines, and limbs growing back through the power of God. For all of you with ministries, how affective would it be for you to show God's strength and power by coming to that faith. The turning around and simply saying, 'This is the living God that I serve.' I bet you'd peak people's interest. The truth is, that is the God that we serve, we just need to press in, now more than ever.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
One
I feel like there are some things that I have to get off of my chest. First of all.
Acts 15 Verses 22-29
22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, two men who were leaders among the brothers. 23 With them they sent the following letter:
The apostles and elders, your brothers,
To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia:
Greetings.
24 We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. 25 So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. 28 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29 You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.
Farewell.
Ok, now to preface this. Most of us are considered Gentiles, if we are not Jewish, then this would apply to us if we choose to follow it. Now in that there was a great discussion within the church as in what to do with these new believers, since they were not raised in Jewish customs, would the laws of Jewish custom now apply to them? How would these people dress, look, act, and so on and so forth?
In that, they put together the ultimate biblical think-tank. They took the question far and wide, travelling dusty roads and byways to make sure everyone had some input into this great accord. There was much discussion, "Would they need to be circumsized?", Would they have to abide by all the laws of Moses?", and I'm sure there was plenty of debate. In the end, they all came together and sat down and wrote out the rules that Gentiles should adhere to to be 'Good Christians'.
The rules? Are there pages and pages? Are there bylaws and stipulations? Addendums? Ratifications? Are there side articles?
There are four. It would fit on a post it note, and there are no bylaws, stipulations, addendums, ratifications, or any of the such.
Those four rules are:
1. Don't eat food off of idols
2. Don't drink blood (actual blood)
3. Don't eat meat from a strangled animal
4. Abstain from sexual immorality
Those the only for rules that have ever been installed by the greatest thinkers of the bible, some were men who had walked alongside of Christ himself. In that, they knew the man, they knew His heart. They had traveled far and wide to ask all that they could in "what does it take to be a 'Good Chirstian'", and that is exactly what they came up with.
So yeah, those are the four rules, and anything else, is quite simply not a rule. Are there other guidelines to 'following'? Of course, but in choosing to follow Christ's teachings there is an insatiable will to continue in finding the other things. Of course, as long as you "love they God with all they heart, mind, body and soul" and "love thy neighbor as thyself", you will just find yourself striving for a better you. But when it gets down to it, 'four rules' no more, no less, and in that... yeah. Do with it what you will. I love each and every one of you, and God does too. LLLAKYFOTPA XD
Acts 15 Verses 22-29
The apostles and elders, your brothers,
To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia:
Greetings.
24 We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. 25 So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. 28 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29 You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.
Farewell.
Ok, now to preface this. Most of us are considered Gentiles, if we are not Jewish, then this would apply to us if we choose to follow it. Now in that there was a great discussion within the church as in what to do with these new believers, since they were not raised in Jewish customs, would the laws of Jewish custom now apply to them? How would these people dress, look, act, and so on and so forth?
In that, they put together the ultimate biblical think-tank. They took the question far and wide, travelling dusty roads and byways to make sure everyone had some input into this great accord. There was much discussion, "Would they need to be circumsized?", Would they have to abide by all the laws of Moses?", and I'm sure there was plenty of debate. In the end, they all came together and sat down and wrote out the rules that Gentiles should adhere to to be 'Good Christians'.
The rules? Are there pages and pages? Are there bylaws and stipulations? Addendums? Ratifications? Are there side articles?
There are four. It would fit on a post it note, and there are no bylaws, stipulations, addendums, ratifications, or any of the such.
Those four rules are:
1. Don't eat food off of idols
2. Don't drink blood (actual blood)
3. Don't eat meat from a strangled animal
4. Abstain from sexual immorality
Those the only for rules that have ever been installed by the greatest thinkers of the bible, some were men who had walked alongside of Christ himself. In that, they knew the man, they knew His heart. They had traveled far and wide to ask all that they could in "what does it take to be a 'Good Chirstian'", and that is exactly what they came up with.
So yeah, those are the four rules, and anything else, is quite simply not a rule. Are there other guidelines to 'following'? Of course, but in choosing to follow Christ's teachings there is an insatiable will to continue in finding the other things. Of course, as long as you "love they God with all they heart, mind, body and soul" and "love thy neighbor as thyself", you will just find yourself striving for a better you. But when it gets down to it, 'four rules' no more, no less, and in that... yeah. Do with it what you will. I love each and every one of you, and God does too. LLLAKYFOTPA XD
Thursday, September 6, 2012
In the presence of a king.
Ok, this is going to be a mix of both Crags and Crevices and Soapbox. I have been hurting, I have been hurting bad. My heart has been fractured, in that, I know that it is a step in life. It is something that each one of us must go through to try and find our one true love. Some of you may balk at that, I'm sorry you feel that way, odds are that you once believed in that until someone fractured your heart and you promised that you would never let it happen, and your heart became cold and calloused as mine once was. If you are that way now as you read this, I am sorry for you, and I can tell you that I may not know exactly the pain you have felt, but I have lived in the same emotional state, city, neighborhood, street, probably next door. In that, I had to move, I didn't like that neighborhood anymore. So, I have been trying to keep myself going. I'm sorry to those who are close to me for not letting you know, but at the same right, it has always been easier for me to express how I feel by writing it down. I feel as if I have once again been forgotten by the one who I placed the most important role on for a mate. Now, I know that she is in a tough spot, and long distance relationships are not easy in any way shape or form, and she also has a big plate in front of her. Yet, to be completely cut off, it hurts. So, I have been doing my best to keep upbeat, to make myself move forward, to smile through the tears and make a better way, to continue forward, and to just fake it til I make it.
Then, this morning, I watched the 'Son Sadell Flashmob' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBaHPND2QJg , and I was thrown back to a sermon I once heard titled the same I believe. Sabadell is a city in Spain, it is 20 kn north-west of Barcelona, and 190 meters above sea level. It has seen it's shares of trials and tribulations, yes, I like using that phrase, just because, we all go through them. Yet, for me I look to the fact that this is a hustling bustling European suburb to a major metropolis, and they stop what they are doing to stand in the presence of a king. There is a point at 4:09 where the man's expression says it all. Heck, the whole audience says it all, people awesturck, children joyfully dancing in the streets, and so on and so forth, the tremendous awes and joys that music can bring.
Why do I say 'stand in the presence of a king'? Well, there is a story that says, when King George heard the chorus of Handel's Messiah, he was so moved that he stood up. There is also another story that when asked by a com-patriarch on why he stood, he replied, 'even a king stands in the presence of a greater king.' Now in my searching I have found evidence of both, but yet, no concrete proof confirming nor denying it. Yet, I like the story, and the thought behind it. For me, whether it is true or not, I have to admit that something stirs deep within my soul when I crank up pieces like this and it hits poignant points, I am moved to stand and wave my arms like a raving madman. For me, there is power in this music, and for me, it is the power of God, and for that, I want to stand in the presence of a king.
Now I know this is Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor, not Handel's Messiah, but yet, when it get's down to it, they're both praise and worship songs. In these times the writers usually chose to glorify their king, country, or God. Most chose to glorify the King of Kings in their works. In that, I believe that God himself was present in the writings of these song, He was in every penstroke and thought, He was there, and helped make these songs what they have become.
I know some of you will argue the fact that many of these authors were maniacs with addictions and were no men of God. I will argue a discovery that I recently realized for myself. For those who may not have read the bible, there was a man named Saul, who persecuted Christians, not only did he persecute them, he killed them. He was a Pharisee, which would be considered the religious right of that time, he took joy in persecuting and killing Christians because he felt that was right. Until one day, on a dusty road to a place called Damascus, he had a confrontation with Jesus. A bright light shone down from above blinding him and all those with him, and then a booming voice came down from the sky saying, 'Saul, why do you persecute me?', now in that, Saul was the only one who heard those words, by Judaic account of the others that were with him, they were all blinded, and a 'voice so loud that it shook the earth spoke out, yet it was in a tongue we could not comprehend.' Gotta love the Jews, they keep track of everything, that's right, that's from their account, not the bible. Long story short, Saul became Paul, and instead of persecuting Christians, he became one of them, and became such a man that he, the self appointed 'chief of sinners', wrote the bulk of the new testament, was constantly chased, put in prison, on their equivalent of death row, and finally put to death for a belief that he had at one time not only persecuted others for, but had put them to death for it.
Where was I going with this? When he speaks of his wanting or cravings that he must battle against, he does it in present tense.
'I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God through Christ Jesus, is calling us'. - Phillipians 3:12-14
Yeah, so, for me, he wasn't some super Christian who could do no wrong, he was struggling to stay on the straight and narrow just like the rest of us, it was his diligence and faith which kept him where he needed to be. So yeah, that's just what was in my skull. I love each and every one of you and God does too.
-Preach
Then, this morning, I watched the 'Son Sadell Flashmob' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBaHPND2QJg , and I was thrown back to a sermon I once heard titled the same I believe. Sabadell is a city in Spain, it is 20 kn north-west of Barcelona, and 190 meters above sea level. It has seen it's shares of trials and tribulations, yes, I like using that phrase, just because, we all go through them. Yet, for me I look to the fact that this is a hustling bustling European suburb to a major metropolis, and they stop what they are doing to stand in the presence of a king. There is a point at 4:09 where the man's expression says it all. Heck, the whole audience says it all, people awesturck, children joyfully dancing in the streets, and so on and so forth, the tremendous awes and joys that music can bring.
Why do I say 'stand in the presence of a king'? Well, there is a story that says, when King George heard the chorus of Handel's Messiah, he was so moved that he stood up. There is also another story that when asked by a com-patriarch on why he stood, he replied, 'even a king stands in the presence of a greater king.' Now in my searching I have found evidence of both, but yet, no concrete proof confirming nor denying it. Yet, I like the story, and the thought behind it. For me, whether it is true or not, I have to admit that something stirs deep within my soul when I crank up pieces like this and it hits poignant points, I am moved to stand and wave my arms like a raving madman. For me, there is power in this music, and for me, it is the power of God, and for that, I want to stand in the presence of a king.
Now I know this is Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor, not Handel's Messiah, but yet, when it get's down to it, they're both praise and worship songs. In these times the writers usually chose to glorify their king, country, or God. Most chose to glorify the King of Kings in their works. In that, I believe that God himself was present in the writings of these song, He was in every penstroke and thought, He was there, and helped make these songs what they have become.
I know some of you will argue the fact that many of these authors were maniacs with addictions and were no men of God. I will argue a discovery that I recently realized for myself. For those who may not have read the bible, there was a man named Saul, who persecuted Christians, not only did he persecute them, he killed them. He was a Pharisee, which would be considered the religious right of that time, he took joy in persecuting and killing Christians because he felt that was right. Until one day, on a dusty road to a place called Damascus, he had a confrontation with Jesus. A bright light shone down from above blinding him and all those with him, and then a booming voice came down from the sky saying, 'Saul, why do you persecute me?', now in that, Saul was the only one who heard those words, by Judaic account of the others that were with him, they were all blinded, and a 'voice so loud that it shook the earth spoke out, yet it was in a tongue we could not comprehend.' Gotta love the Jews, they keep track of everything, that's right, that's from their account, not the bible. Long story short, Saul became Paul, and instead of persecuting Christians, he became one of them, and became such a man that he, the self appointed 'chief of sinners', wrote the bulk of the new testament, was constantly chased, put in prison, on their equivalent of death row, and finally put to death for a belief that he had at one time not only persecuted others for, but had put them to death for it.
Where was I going with this? When he speaks of his wanting or cravings that he must battle against, he does it in present tense.
'I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God through Christ Jesus, is calling us'. - Phillipians 3:12-14
Yeah, so, for me, he wasn't some super Christian who could do no wrong, he was struggling to stay on the straight and narrow just like the rest of us, it was his diligence and faith which kept him where he needed to be. So yeah, that's just what was in my skull. I love each and every one of you and God does too.
-Preach
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Trials and Tribulations
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So, let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
- James 1:2-4
In going through this verse and researching it, I came in with a whole new thought line, go ADD, I had planned to go into a long sprawling ADD influenced transition about how we must persevere through any trials and hardships to get through life, which is totally true. We all know it, life's hard, and when you make the choice to stand up and be counted, it gets harder, and yet, with the peace that passes understanding, it has an ease to it when you remember who's in charge, and I'll give you a hint, it's not you. Either or, yes, by all means do consider your hardships to be a possibility for great joy, let's face it, we don't remember normalcy, we do remember and tell tales of your escapades. You don't believe me? Ok, think about it, do you remember the times when absolutely nothing happened? Or do you remember those times when you barely got outta there by the skin of your teeth, or I can't believe that happened, it was so crazy and we laughed for hours after wards. Exactly, we remember the traumatic, humorous, tremendous moments, and in that they make us more experienced, and give us tales to tell.
Ok, now, what I re-remembered, I say it that way, because I had learned it before, but since it didn't seem important at the time, I filed it into the back files of my mind. Til now, the thought?
Jesus' brothers thought He was crazy for awhile.
Now I know that James, Jesus' half-brother thought He was crazy until after the resurrection, I always liked to picture James hanging with the others, doing the whole, 'Yeah, that's my brother, yeah, He does do alot of cool stuff, yeah... I don't know though, (and and speaking in a hushed tone while making a circular motion next to his head)...but he thinks he's the son of God... yeah... so... you do the math.' I also would have liked to be a fly on the wall to see what his reaction to seeing the proof. That is part of why I believe what I believe, why would his brother lie? It even says, 'Even Jesus' own brothers did not believe him'. John 7:5, and in that, I get it, I mean, what would you say if your sibling walked up to you and said that, and not only said it to you, but wandered around the south metro saying that. I'm betting there would be some damage control going on in your family. In the book of Mark it talks of it again, 'Jesus entered a house. Again a crowd gathered. It was so large that Jesus and his disciples were not even able to eat. His family heard about this. So they went to take charge of him. They said, "He is out of his mind."' Mark 3:20-21
So, in that, Jeusus' family thought he was a nutbag, and then he died.
Normally that's when any normal story would end, but not this one, this one, Jesus raises from the dead, and not only shows himself to people, but to His family, and His family is now so convinced that not only do they believe, but His brother James, is regarded as the founder of the modern day church by many.
For me, His family thought he was crazy, to the point where it is actually written in the bible, that they thought He was an nutbag, in a more wordy way. Yet, there came a moment where they not only stopped saying that, that they became committed to spreading Jesus teachings, beliefs, and love. 'The apostles all came together to regularly pray. The women joined them too. So did Jesus mother and his brothers.' Acts 1:12-14. Now, for me, if it was just a lie, why would they be committed not only to spread it, especially when his brothers thought he was nuts, if it was a lie, or had they seen a truth that they could not argue with any longer. Had they seen their brother, not only die, but come back from the dead. To the point where they knew the truth so much that they we willing to suffer gruesome deaths to help make sure that truth was spread. I'm just sayin'... I love each and every one of you and God does too.
- James 1:2-4
In going through this verse and researching it, I came in with a whole new thought line, go ADD, I had planned to go into a long sprawling ADD influenced transition about how we must persevere through any trials and hardships to get through life, which is totally true. We all know it, life's hard, and when you make the choice to stand up and be counted, it gets harder, and yet, with the peace that passes understanding, it has an ease to it when you remember who's in charge, and I'll give you a hint, it's not you. Either or, yes, by all means do consider your hardships to be a possibility for great joy, let's face it, we don't remember normalcy, we do remember and tell tales of your escapades. You don't believe me? Ok, think about it, do you remember the times when absolutely nothing happened? Or do you remember those times when you barely got outta there by the skin of your teeth, or I can't believe that happened, it was so crazy and we laughed for hours after wards. Exactly, we remember the traumatic, humorous, tremendous moments, and in that they make us more experienced, and give us tales to tell.
Ok, now, what I re-remembered, I say it that way, because I had learned it before, but since it didn't seem important at the time, I filed it into the back files of my mind. Til now, the thought?
Jesus' brothers thought He was crazy for awhile.
Now I know that James, Jesus' half-brother thought He was crazy until after the resurrection, I always liked to picture James hanging with the others, doing the whole, 'Yeah, that's my brother, yeah, He does do alot of cool stuff, yeah... I don't know though, (and and speaking in a hushed tone while making a circular motion next to his head)...but he thinks he's the son of God... yeah... so... you do the math.' I also would have liked to be a fly on the wall to see what his reaction to seeing the proof. That is part of why I believe what I believe, why would his brother lie? It even says, 'Even Jesus' own brothers did not believe him'. John 7:5, and in that, I get it, I mean, what would you say if your sibling walked up to you and said that, and not only said it to you, but wandered around the south metro saying that. I'm betting there would be some damage control going on in your family. In the book of Mark it talks of it again, 'Jesus entered a house. Again a crowd gathered. It was so large that Jesus and his disciples were not even able to eat. His family heard about this. So they went to take charge of him. They said, "He is out of his mind."' Mark 3:20-21
So, in that, Jeusus' family thought he was a nutbag, and then he died.
Normally that's when any normal story would end, but not this one, this one, Jesus raises from the dead, and not only shows himself to people, but to His family, and His family is now so convinced that not only do they believe, but His brother James, is regarded as the founder of the modern day church by many.
For me, His family thought he was crazy, to the point where it is actually written in the bible, that they thought He was an nutbag, in a more wordy way. Yet, there came a moment where they not only stopped saying that, that they became committed to spreading Jesus teachings, beliefs, and love. 'The apostles all came together to regularly pray. The women joined them too. So did Jesus mother and his brothers.' Acts 1:12-14. Now, for me, if it was just a lie, why would they be committed not only to spread it, especially when his brothers thought he was nuts, if it was a lie, or had they seen a truth that they could not argue with any longer. Had they seen their brother, not only die, but come back from the dead. To the point where they knew the truth so much that they we willing to suffer gruesome deaths to help make sure that truth was spread. I'm just sayin'... I love each and every one of you and God does too.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
I Pray To A Rebel King Part 3
Zombie Savior, that's what I used to call it, I actually used His name in vain, but you get the just of it.I found it impossible to believe that a man would raise others from the dead, and then for the coup de grace, raise Himself from the dead. On my list of possibles, that was top. Raise from the dead, not in a million, and yet here was that claim. That He died and in 3 days rose again. Yeah right, or was it possible?
First I looked at the story, women found the grave empty, uh huh, yeah right. At that time, women were the lower, not only were they not listened to, their word would not have been even considered, and at the same right, there it is. Women found Jesus' tomb empty. That alone was interesting, if there was anything to be edited in the bible along the way wouldn't they have not given women the credit?
Second, the Pharisees bribed people to say that the disciples had stolen the body, that is in both Jewish and Roman account, why would they bribe anyone if the body was still there.
Third, He was laid to rest by Joseph of Arimathea, who was probably a member of the Sanhedrin, an 'honorable counselor who waited for the Kingdom of God'. If Jesus was just a crackpot why did a possible member of the Sanhedrin come to bury Him and claim the body?
So on and so forth, but there was something that I just feel I can't argue with. The disciples, including Jesus' brother James, and the Apostle Paul, their fates. Now James, the half brother of Jesus did not 'believe' until after the resurrection, I often picture James saying, 'yeah, that's my bro, he does alot of cool things for people, but (in whispering tone) he says he's the son of God and he will rise from the dead, so... yeah.' Yet, after Jesus' resurrection he believed so deeply in seeing his brother raised from the dead that he not only preached what he saw, that he was martyred, and not just martyred, but he was stoned, and not in the drug way, he was repeatedly beaten by thrown rocks until he died. Why would someone go to a death like that for a lie? All he would have to say is, we were just kidding, we made it up, and yet, he was stoned and not only was his fate that, but he prayed for them, his final quote, 'I beseech Thee, Lord God our Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.' For me, how could I argue with that, not only did he go to his death, he went praying for them.
So for the short and skinny, that is much of the overview of why I believe what I believe, and some of the reasons of why I believe what I do. In this, I have found an inner peace I have never known, I have found something greater than myself to live for, and I have found something that makes my soul sing. In that, believe whatever you wish to believe, just as long as you believe in it, and remember to love each other.
Nuff said. I love each and every one of you and God does too. LLLAKYFOTPA XD
First I looked at the story, women found the grave empty, uh huh, yeah right. At that time, women were the lower, not only were they not listened to, their word would not have been even considered, and at the same right, there it is. Women found Jesus' tomb empty. That alone was interesting, if there was anything to be edited in the bible along the way wouldn't they have not given women the credit?
Second, the Pharisees bribed people to say that the disciples had stolen the body, that is in both Jewish and Roman account, why would they bribe anyone if the body was still there.
Third, He was laid to rest by Joseph of Arimathea, who was probably a member of the Sanhedrin, an 'honorable counselor who waited for the Kingdom of God'. If Jesus was just a crackpot why did a possible member of the Sanhedrin come to bury Him and claim the body?
So on and so forth, but there was something that I just feel I can't argue with. The disciples, including Jesus' brother James, and the Apostle Paul, their fates. Now James, the half brother of Jesus did not 'believe' until after the resurrection, I often picture James saying, 'yeah, that's my bro, he does alot of cool things for people, but (in whispering tone) he says he's the son of God and he will rise from the dead, so... yeah.' Yet, after Jesus' resurrection he believed so deeply in seeing his brother raised from the dead that he not only preached what he saw, that he was martyred, and not just martyred, but he was stoned, and not in the drug way, he was repeatedly beaten by thrown rocks until he died. Why would someone go to a death like that for a lie? All he would have to say is, we were just kidding, we made it up, and yet, he was stoned and not only was his fate that, but he prayed for them, his final quote, 'I beseech Thee, Lord God our Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.' For me, how could I argue with that, not only did he go to his death, he went praying for them.
So for the short and skinny, that is much of the overview of why I believe what I believe, and some of the reasons of why I believe what I do. In this, I have found an inner peace I have never known, I have found something greater than myself to live for, and I have found something that makes my soul sing. In that, believe whatever you wish to believe, just as long as you believe in it, and remember to love each other.
Nuff said. I love each and every one of you and God does too. LLLAKYFOTPA XD
I Pray To A Rebel King Part 2
To rewind a little, I was on a mission to point out the church's hypocrisy so that I could get back to my usual Sunday morning. Laying around, leisurely cooking a big breakfast when it was about 1 pm and so on and so forth. Yet in my first experience in a long time, I had found some of what I searched for, and yet I found so many more questions.What was the deal with the truly happy people there? Instead of the 'holier than thou' minister, I had found a real man who spoke of heroin and cocaine addiction and had testified that it was Christ who had given him peace. I had met people who seemed genuinely interested in meeting me and instead of imposing some unattainable law they had just offered me their friendship. I was confused and irritated, I was convinced that there was something that they were hiding or it was a cult.
As I started to form my attack, I had it all planned, I would attack with science, I would attack with facts and figures and statistics. As I brushed up on my studying of evolution and how I was going to prove science over 'idiocy', I found an article on tomatoes in Japan. Now, it may not seem like much, but it delved into the subject of excessively oxygenating tomatoes and that they would not only grow so much more healthy, but to enormous size. As I pondered that, I was handed some DVD's by a man named Ken Ham, a scientist who inquires on the biblical with scientific hypothesis. As I repeatedly watched the DVD's I became fascinated with disproving his theories, and yet no matter where I went, it seemed that many of his theories had valid merit. It confounded and confused me more, and honestly, pissed me the frick off.
I looked in historical documents, to try and take it apart, and yet, I found myself arguing with the documents I found. This was beginning to shake everything I had once believed in, I was finding puzzle pieces that could not fit into my puzzle, at least what I thought the puzzle was. I looked in Greek history, Macedonian, Hebrew(holy crap do they keep an accurate account of everything), Roman, and so on and so forth, even reading some of Marco Polo's journeys for my own quest on dinosaurs. Yeah, well, that's how far out I was going. Yet, I came back to the same things, over and over again. I then studied how the bible as it is accepted today came out within the same generation that Christ himself lived. That even when there was the possibility that it was just some handed down chain of stories, that, ok, look at it this way. If you are an adult, and the children are reading a story that is all in all fallacies and lies, wouldn't there be something to contradict it, over and over again? Yet, even Jewish history has much of the stories in their books, as for Paul who was roman, there is document after document from the roman government since he was a citizen, that tell the same tales, and in that, each time the words are exactly the same, not one difference or deviation. Now I was getting furiously annoyed.
Then it happened, long story short, I found my truth, I found the missing piece of my puzzle, I gave my life to Christ. Long story short. In that, I found a whole new breed of Christians, people who didn't use the title as a shield, people who actually studied the teachings of Christ and practiced it. People who loved one another as He loved us. Real people, with real problems, real lives, and everything that goes with it. People who didn't pray to a perfectly adorned savior with blow dried flow back hair, perfectly trimmed beard, flowing white robe, with powder blue pageant sash perfectly in place. People who followed the teachings and principles of a man who came to earth, was hated by many, constantly chased by authorities, unwelcome in his home town, called every name in the book, hung with the lowest of the low, and spoke out against the government and those who perverted beliefs to outfit their own wants. My Jesus was an outlaw, He was hated, he was persecuted, on the run, and in time killed for His beliefs and willingness to stand up for them. He spoke of love, true love, unadulterated love, Agape, the true love of God. The bulk of those he reprimanded were not those downtrodden, they were the governing rulers and religious majority. He was crowned the King of the Jews and he suffered one of the most horrific deaths that the world ever knew. A death so horrible that a word came from it. The word excruciating, it's latin root excruciare, from cruciare, to crucify. Think about that the next time you use it.
Which brought me to my final arguement, what I used to call Zombie Savior, because even though I was believing in the teachings of Christ, I found it hard to believe that not only did He raise people from the dead that He Himself raised from the dead. (to be concluded).
As I started to form my attack, I had it all planned, I would attack with science, I would attack with facts and figures and statistics. As I brushed up on my studying of evolution and how I was going to prove science over 'idiocy', I found an article on tomatoes in Japan. Now, it may not seem like much, but it delved into the subject of excessively oxygenating tomatoes and that they would not only grow so much more healthy, but to enormous size. As I pondered that, I was handed some DVD's by a man named Ken Ham, a scientist who inquires on the biblical with scientific hypothesis. As I repeatedly watched the DVD's I became fascinated with disproving his theories, and yet no matter where I went, it seemed that many of his theories had valid merit. It confounded and confused me more, and honestly, pissed me the frick off.
I looked in historical documents, to try and take it apart, and yet, I found myself arguing with the documents I found. This was beginning to shake everything I had once believed in, I was finding puzzle pieces that could not fit into my puzzle, at least what I thought the puzzle was. I looked in Greek history, Macedonian, Hebrew(holy crap do they keep an accurate account of everything), Roman, and so on and so forth, even reading some of Marco Polo's journeys for my own quest on dinosaurs. Yeah, well, that's how far out I was going. Yet, I came back to the same things, over and over again. I then studied how the bible as it is accepted today came out within the same generation that Christ himself lived. That even when there was the possibility that it was just some handed down chain of stories, that, ok, look at it this way. If you are an adult, and the children are reading a story that is all in all fallacies and lies, wouldn't there be something to contradict it, over and over again? Yet, even Jewish history has much of the stories in their books, as for Paul who was roman, there is document after document from the roman government since he was a citizen, that tell the same tales, and in that, each time the words are exactly the same, not one difference or deviation. Now I was getting furiously annoyed.
Then it happened, long story short, I found my truth, I found the missing piece of my puzzle, I gave my life to Christ. Long story short. In that, I found a whole new breed of Christians, people who didn't use the title as a shield, people who actually studied the teachings of Christ and practiced it. People who loved one another as He loved us. Real people, with real problems, real lives, and everything that goes with it. People who didn't pray to a perfectly adorned savior with blow dried flow back hair, perfectly trimmed beard, flowing white robe, with powder blue pageant sash perfectly in place. People who followed the teachings and principles of a man who came to earth, was hated by many, constantly chased by authorities, unwelcome in his home town, called every name in the book, hung with the lowest of the low, and spoke out against the government and those who perverted beliefs to outfit their own wants. My Jesus was an outlaw, He was hated, he was persecuted, on the run, and in time killed for His beliefs and willingness to stand up for them. He spoke of love, true love, unadulterated love, Agape, the true love of God. The bulk of those he reprimanded were not those downtrodden, they were the governing rulers and religious majority. He was crowned the King of the Jews and he suffered one of the most horrific deaths that the world ever knew. A death so horrible that a word came from it. The word excruciating, it's latin root excruciare, from cruciare, to crucify. Think about that the next time you use it.
Which brought me to my final arguement, what I used to call Zombie Savior, because even though I was believing in the teachings of Christ, I found it hard to believe that not only did He raise people from the dead that He Himself raised from the dead. (to be concluded).
I pray to a rebel king. Part 1
We all too often get wrapped up in perception, what do I mean? We tag things in so many ways to attempt to put them in a box. Say, religion persay. In my belief, everyone has religion. One of Webster's dictionary defines religion as 'a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith', ok, now which one of us can say that some part of our life can not be defined by that. Sure, some of us worship a higher power, and some of us do not, but in that, both are measures of faith. In my view, either way, you either have a faith in a higher power or you have faith that there is not one. My choice, I pray to a rebel king.
I have been following the teachings of Jesus Christ right now, but still I cringe at calling myself a Christian. I am all too often disgusted in the way that so many label themselves as Christians, almost like a 'Get out of jail free' card, they use it as a implement to overlord over others, and spy down from a tall pedestal and chastise, judge, hate, and blame. The sad part, they have created a image of what a 'Christian' is. If you ask many people to define Jesus Christ, you will get words like peace, love, prophet, son of God, for the people, crucified, saved me from myself. Then, when you ask to define Christian, and if it is quite the opposite, hateful, angry, judgmental, and so on and so forth. For me, there is no hate, there is no judgement, only love, in that, you don't have to like, you just have to love. So, for the next few minutes, I am going to spout on what it means to be a servant of Christ, and what does it mean to me.
First of all, for anyone new, I am not a lifelong Christian, haven't been, I have prayed to Odin, I have prayed to Satan, so many other transient beliefs along the way, and I have had faith that there was no existence of a higher power at all. In that, when I began my trip into the church, I went in with total skepticism and in the way that I was reintroduced to church, I went in looking for a way to find fallacy and fault so I could get back to my Sunday morning schedule of sleeping in until I was good and ready to get out of bed, usually at the crack of noon. I had become accustomed to that life, and I quite enjoyed it, either way, with everything I had done, if there was a God, with everything I had done to spit in his face, He was going to be in no mood for me, since all I remembered from when I was young was smoting and hell fire and brimstone, or so I thought. My last time at a church for a service other than Christmas for my mom had been in my early teen years, where I was told, 'either cut my hair or don't come back' , to which I replied, 'Deal', and that's where church left off for me.
So, when I was told it was time to attend church once again, I was not a fan, when the morning came, I proceeded to put on my 'Hellraiser's Ball' T-shirt, every single one of my rings (making sure I didn't forgetmy 'victim' ring, and it was on tight, a large silver ring with 'victim' in raised letters printed backwards, just in case you wanted to make your mark), my darkest set of Loc's (sunglasses), and my dirtiest pair of jeans and boots. To church we went. As we entered in through the door I had planned to have everyone stay away from me, and just suck it up and get through it. That's not what happened, sure there were the usual stay aways, but then there was Russ. One of the founders of the church, if you picture a Disney grandfather, that's Russ, with the happy-go-lucky attitude to boot. It confounded and confused me. On top of that, there were all of these 'happy' people, in my life, I had gotten good at reading people, I was used to the fake smiles and how to do's, but this was different, sure there were the fake smile folks, but there were also people who really seemed to just glow, it confused the crap outta me. I had planned to point out the hypocrisy and go, but it was going to take a little while longer than I expected. (to be continued)
I have been following the teachings of Jesus Christ right now, but still I cringe at calling myself a Christian. I am all too often disgusted in the way that so many label themselves as Christians, almost like a 'Get out of jail free' card, they use it as a implement to overlord over others, and spy down from a tall pedestal and chastise, judge, hate, and blame. The sad part, they have created a image of what a 'Christian' is. If you ask many people to define Jesus Christ, you will get words like peace, love, prophet, son of God, for the people, crucified, saved me from myself. Then, when you ask to define Christian, and if it is quite the opposite, hateful, angry, judgmental, and so on and so forth. For me, there is no hate, there is no judgement, only love, in that, you don't have to like, you just have to love. So, for the next few minutes, I am going to spout on what it means to be a servant of Christ, and what does it mean to me.
First of all, for anyone new, I am not a lifelong Christian, haven't been, I have prayed to Odin, I have prayed to Satan, so many other transient beliefs along the way, and I have had faith that there was no existence of a higher power at all. In that, when I began my trip into the church, I went in with total skepticism and in the way that I was reintroduced to church, I went in looking for a way to find fallacy and fault so I could get back to my Sunday morning schedule of sleeping in until I was good and ready to get out of bed, usually at the crack of noon. I had become accustomed to that life, and I quite enjoyed it, either way, with everything I had done, if there was a God, with everything I had done to spit in his face, He was going to be in no mood for me, since all I remembered from when I was young was smoting and hell fire and brimstone, or so I thought. My last time at a church for a service other than Christmas for my mom had been in my early teen years, where I was told, 'either cut my hair or don't come back' , to which I replied, 'Deal', and that's where church left off for me.
So, when I was told it was time to attend church once again, I was not a fan, when the morning came, I proceeded to put on my 'Hellraiser's Ball' T-shirt, every single one of my rings (making sure I didn't forgetmy 'victim' ring, and it was on tight, a large silver ring with 'victim' in raised letters printed backwards, just in case you wanted to make your mark), my darkest set of Loc's (sunglasses), and my dirtiest pair of jeans and boots. To church we went. As we entered in through the door I had planned to have everyone stay away from me, and just suck it up and get through it. That's not what happened, sure there were the usual stay aways, but then there was Russ. One of the founders of the church, if you picture a Disney grandfather, that's Russ, with the happy-go-lucky attitude to boot. It confounded and confused me. On top of that, there were all of these 'happy' people, in my life, I had gotten good at reading people, I was used to the fake smiles and how to do's, but this was different, sure there were the fake smile folks, but there were also people who really seemed to just glow, it confused the crap outta me. I had planned to point out the hypocrisy and go, but it was going to take a little while longer than I expected. (to be continued)
The Soapbox
Lately, I have been writing more edgy stuff, kinda like the old stuff from the REALLY old blog, unfiltered, uncensored, but at the same right, different, since my life has changed a little since then. So there will be more wanton ramblings between two new blogs, I already have some things written in which I will deposit each one in it's own special spot when it is deemed time. Either or, there is gonna be 'The Soapbox', where I will spout upon my personal beliefs and wonderments, and why I believe them, and there will be 'Crags and Crevices', which will be more of the old 'randoms' stuff.(and will be written mostly free flowing, so for you grammar nazi's, beware, you will have a seizure with my lack of punctuation and spelling phonetically at times) Either or, that's how it's gonna be, I will still post other stuff on old blogs from time to time, but I just feel driven to write like I used to write, cept different. I love each and every one of you and God does too. LLLAKYFOTPA XD
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