Easter

What a day of rejoicing. I have such fulfillment from hearing of the Lord's resurrection. That is the reason I live the way I do, and type what I am typing. It is lunacy to say that the has covered me and I love Him, and then turn around and say my life is my own, I can do as I please because I am saved. What love is in that? It is deceit. Praise God for saving me. Praise God for raising me from the . Praise Him for nourishing me and developing me into the Christian I am today. The Lord has been with me despite my running away from Him. I too have sought to be my own man, and live my own lifestyle. I realize now that my own way is the way to . Since He has saved me, I am forever indebted to Him. I cannot live without Him now that I have found Him. I have tasted the Living Bread and cannot depart from Him. It is wonderful serving Him. I am not a perfect doer of the word and follower of His commands, but He has made me whole, and I seek to lift up His name for all to see His mighty power. To God be the Glory. Let us focus on Him this glorious day, the next day, and every day that follows as long as we live. Amen.

On Homosexuality

Are men meant to be given in to each other? Are men to try to seduce each other? Are women supposed to act as if they are attracted to each other? If you asked me one semester ago, I would probably say no to the first two and then yes to the latter question. However, as I look at our community of believers from an outside perspective, I am now questioning the idea. We admit that it is fun when we treat each other in this way jokingly. One person has pointed out to me the lunacy in this thought by saying something to the likes of this following sentence: "We look at the fallen of Sodom and the fallen of Gomorha and say, 'it is a shame that people thought this way', then we turn around to our brothers and say, 'come here so that can hump you'." It is not that we truly seek a ual relation with people of the same , which is obviously wrong, but we seek to jokingly portray an symbolic action. Has our idleness led us to a deeper sin, especially as christians? Should we, in light of the command that Paul gave to live blameless lives free from any hint of immorality, do such things? If you say yes, then approach the thrown with fear, for you are in danger of denying the Spirits guidance in instructing believers. This only points again to the prevalent American Christian's thought, our intentions justify our actions. Let us not look at this as a light matter. If you listen to this argument and view it logically in light of God's Word, you will be attracted to it.
We should remember that in a certain sense we cannot determine what is right and wrong by our own power. The spirit guides us. We then choose between what is naturally wrong and what has been shown to us as good and worthy. Remember that a wise man will seek purity in all he does, but the foolish man will seek to bring down the kingdom with his words and actions.
Such things should be questioned in our lives. I must say that what is appropriate must be observed. I place myself as guilty of the same notion that I can do it if I mean no harm. I have admitted that in a past entry. The fact that I have joined the called means that I have given my rights over to the Lord. Many things that I even thought as decent is not decent anymore. I cannot succeed in righteousness. I have sought to do fight the good fight, and now I realize that I haven't the power. So I surrender; I put up the white flag; I forfeit; I no longer seek to live out the good life, but to allow Him who is holier than I to dwell in me and be me so that I can as a result be good and live the good life. That is the idea of living as reflections in a mirror.
So let us surrender our right to enjoy sins and take part in the pleasurable. It is not like us. We have been covered in grace, so why do we still live like we have not been covered. If he has saved us, then the only sane thing to do is to love him for doing so. In our love, let us seek to serve him in all we do. What is appropriate my brothers. What is pleasing to God. We seek what is pleasing to God and others before pleasing ourselves.

The Bogus Beliefs of Religion Majors

What has become of my community that I currently exist in? Why is it that I have more faith in the future of some of the students who are seeking things other than ministry, and that I have been dissapointed in the beliefs and actions of the some in seeking to be in the ministry? I do see that we are imperfect. But are we not held responsible for the actions and words we say? Our actions affect people. Some of us religion majors have neglected that fact. We see ourselves on a pedistal that brings us closer to the sun, yet we do not stop to think that this closeness can burn us. If I say to a brother, F*** You, what is it to me? It is probably nothing. I probably meant nothing by it if I said it to a friend. What if I flipped someone off that I knew, meaning to say hey and bring a laugh at my course joking? Am I justified by what I meant to say? I answer this by giving a history lesson on the criminal mastermind, Adolph Hitler.
Hitler believed in the Aryan race of blonde hair and blue eyes. Everyone knows that because he too drastic measure to kill the Jews. Hitler believed in something else that not many people hear of, and that is reincarnation. If you combine the two beliefs and the Holocaust, you have a man who had good intentions to the uttermost. Our intentions have become powerless in this argument for freedom. We follow the Spirits guiding, and nothing else. Every good decision we make can be credited to the Spirit, since it shows us and we choose to follow. Also, if we degrade people in the way I meant, then we degrade Jesus. God will say this to all when we approach His judgement, "What ever you have done the lowest in the world, you also did to me." These words should draw us to act in ways not only lifting in Jesus eyes and to act as if we were lifting Jesus. For in all lies Christ image. God loves them and, as any lover feels about their beloved, we are in danger if we degrade the life of any man.
I am also guilty of things similar to this. To all those that this blog applies to, you are not alone. I have even ignored and spited some in the past. I am guilty just as you are. However, I am striving everyday to remember that in every man I meet, I should meet them with love. This is my prayer for ministers here, that we will wake up, for our revival will not be in the sweeping growth of the church, but the surge of action by those who were dead in their faith and have decided to act as if they believe in him, that is revival.

Open your mind to learning

I was sitting in class today and couldn't help but notice the amount of a certain man beside me endlessly complaining that he wanted to go over the homework and see if he made a good grade. This in and of itself may be ok, but the professor was trying to show us a way to search online in a more scholarly manner. This was brought up due to a question asked by a student. As I think upon our college years, I have to ask the following question: is our experience a learning experience, or do we only seek to qualify for things in life. Two things arise from this question. One is the idea that we are existing only to qualify for the next level. We exist in a world where our success is measured by our gains, our riches, our fames, and our power. However, our lives are meant for so much more. Yes, we do need to strive for bigger and better things in this life, but we should focus on living for the glory of God. God's plan is superior in thought and reason. It is perfect. Our finite minds alone cannot even beginning to fathom its perfection. Let's not seek to destroy it through our own selfishness, but live it through love and sacrifice. In the end, we will see that our sacrifice has given us more than we could have dreamed. This baffles even the most intellectual minds, but to the heart that has been surrendered to the spirits guidance, all of this is common sense.
The second issue that arises from this is the idea that we go to school to get the highest score. The merit system that has been put into place is somewhat at fault. It shows what we know, and not what and how we have learned. The word how is key in that statement. These schools have been turned into grading centers. A place to make a man a number on a list. However, this is a learning center. It is a place to grow in knowledge. If our time here was meant for achieving the highest score there could be factors that could taint the system for the unprivileged individuals, they key factor being prior knowledge to certain subjects that others do not have. Instead, we should seek to learn. If we truly seek to learn, we will excel. If we seek to do things as unto God, we will prevail in many ways. It is selfish to forever to only seek the highest grade. For in seeking the grade alone, we lose the base of the education. We end up memorizing letters and numbers and never see the entire picture. This time is too short and our minds too finite to throw away on criteria alone. We should seek to understand concepts.
To the students out there with the highest grades, I rejoice for you. However, I implore you to consider the nature of you learning. Is it merely the books, or is it the understanding of books?