Well I'm beginning this back in my apartment. The good news is that it's still a pretty artistic place, eccentric at the very least. I'm watched over by Optimus Prime and Bob Marley, Spiderman and Dr. King. It's the kind of place a genius child would hang out, or at least that's what I like to tell myself when I wake up and adjust the action figures on my desk.
I'm still in the gospels. I can't get enough of it, for real, one of my favorite things about scripture is that the older I get the newer it feels. It's like reading it for the first time and it's really amazing. That being said, let me tell you what I noticed this time through.
Luke tells a story of Jesus eating at a Pharisee's house. I like this image because I picture this like when James Bond eats dinner with Blowfeld right before their big showdown, both of them pretending to be civil, but knowing that this is really about a conflict that's been long coming.
So there sits Jesus, eating what I'm sure was a much nicer meal that he normally got. When I travel I eat a lot of fast food, so I can only imagine the horrors Jesus ate on the road between desert cities. So even if it was just sandwiches, I'm sure Jesus was pretty pleased to be eating something more substantial than a scorpion taco. Anyway, dinner probably goes pretty well, that sort of cold respect emanating everywhere as Jesus and Simon the Pharisee dine together. All of the sudden in comes this sinful woman, and everything changes.
The bible tells us that she was a sinful woman, which I suppose means she was some sort of prostitute because that's what most people think of when they hear sinful woman, but it also points out that she had lived a sinful life in that town. I've wondered a lot over the last few days about her backstory, if she had a happy life as a respectable young lady once in another place. I like to imagine that she was once very happy and liked by the people around her, but I suppose that might not be true.
So anyway, this woman annoints Jesus' feet with both perfume and tears, which strikes me as kind of a messy combo, but it is of course the thought that counts. Simon the Pharisee is clearly upset by this, since he's a respectable guy, and he tries his hardest not to associate with "sinful" people. Ignoring the obvious lessons be learned from Simon's reaction, I find something beautiful in Jesus' response. First, he defends her with a clever story, which I like, then he turns to her, and with nothing but love he says, "Your sins are forgiven."
Now lets consider this; whatever her past, this woman's present is bleak. It's dark, sinful, and painful. For whatever reasons she decides that the best course of action available to her is to literally crawl to Jesus and wash his feet with her hair. But the key here, the very vital point to all of this is that Jesus chose to love her unconditionally.
For those who don't know, I work at a treatment center for kids with behavior disorders. One thing that I've noticed in the last 8 months working there is that the kids who recover the quickest are the ones whose parents are invested in them, loving them regardless and showing up to help them. These kids with the most terrible pasts, and yet because of the love of a parent, they're able to overcome. I think that that's pretty typical of humanity. I can't really speak with any certainty about anyone else, but I know that a lot of what I do is motivated by the need to be loved by someone or something.
It seems to me like a lot of the problem with the human condition is that we are missing the love and/or acceptance of someone. Donald Miller, one of my favorite authors suggests that this is the love of God we're missing, and I've got to say that he's probably right about it. I say all of this to bring us around to a revaltion I've had recently.
Jesus didn't spend time trying to convince people to join his new religion. He never once told people to subscribe to a certain religious belief. Rather than preach at people about a new system of rituals, he simply gave them their heart's deepest desire; love.
It sounds cliche, but truth usually does, since it's really old and we all tend to find it piece by piece over the years. I've got to just say it, for the longest time I've seen evangelism the wrong way. It's not about convincing people of anything, it's not about selling them something, it's not even about eternal life. It's quite simply about offering them the love that they so desperatley crave, the kind of love Jesus would offer people.
It's really no wonder the Pharisees weren't receptive to what Jesus had to say, they thought they already had all the acceptance and love they needed. My challenge to you? Find an unloved person and give 'em some lovin'. There aren't many better ways to connect with Christ than to follow his example.
(jake)
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Friday, September 7, 2007
There are Worse Ways to Get Superpowers
A few months back I took an Eharmony.com personality test. The matches it gave me were a joke, but the test itself was pretty insightful. One thing it insisted upon was that I am an artistic soul. I have always wanted to be an artistic soul, so I was pretty pleased to find that I already am one. Being artistic of course requires a lot of you, so I did some research, and here I am, filling my niche nicely. I woke up from my nap today, put on some torn up sandals, 2 bracelets, one hemp, one from an activist group, put on my favorite jeans with the left leg held together by safety pins, and headed off to a coffee shop. Not a Starbucks, but a locally owned coffee shop where I can better fight the man.
I rather like being artistic, because on my way in, 2 girls waved at me. I think that they could tell I was an artist, and from what I understand, girls eventually grow out of the athelete-liking-phase and grow into an artist-liking-phase. It's good to know I'll get to be some girl's phase soon.
I've been reading the Gospels a lot lately, both because I want to know Jesus better and because I'm in a class right now on the first three gospels. I recently got the chance to read through one of my favorite bible stories, and I noticed a few things about it.
We all know the story, and if we don't, we need to read it. It's in Matthew 14, and it tells the story of Jesus walking on the water. Now this is really neat, I always love reading about Jesus' superpowers, because I like the idea of Jesus as this superhero in disguise. So Jesus walks on the water, and Peter being Peter decides to get gutsy, and he asks Jesus to call him out. I like to imagine that Jesus loved this, and that he was thrilled to call Peter out, although I suppose it's possible that he was totally emotionless like I used to imagine him when I was younger.
So Peter does the obvious thing and gets out of the boat to walk on the water. But when the waves get pretty intense, he looks away from Jesus, and boom, starts to sink. So Jesus of course pulls him out, but what I kind of want to focus on is just the simple fact that Peter got great power by just looking at Jesus. I love this aspect of the story, that he gets his power from focusing on Jesus.
I suppose I write this because I feel like in the world around me we have looked away from Jesus. All of you at York, you know what I'm talking about. Don't get me wrong, I love York College, and that's why I say this to hold us all accountable: Whether it was coaches, administration, presidents, teachers, students, whoever, at some point we made the mistake of putting our faith in something other than Christ. To be blunt, I feel like we put our faith in the financial power of athletics, and I find it rather ironic that the result was us losing at a lot of sports. Don't hate atheletes, just calling it like I see it.
So where's this going? Well to be honest, it's simply an acknowledgement. As previously stated a few months ago on this page, I feel like a problem becomes a crisis when it's ignored, so here I go pointing out what we all know but don't want to say. Things are on their way back to healthy, but it'll take a concious effort from us the students to make sure that the higher-ups carry through on it.
The moral of the story is simply this: We may have sunk a little last year, but just like with Peter, Jesus is overjoyed to reach out and pull us out of the water. The catch? We're going to have to shift our focus back on him. As atheletes, as students, as people, it's our responsibility to look to Christ, whether you're a freshman or a senior, a trustee or the president, look to Christ, and see what kind of superpowers he gives you.
(jake)
I rather like being artistic, because on my way in, 2 girls waved at me. I think that they could tell I was an artist, and from what I understand, girls eventually grow out of the athelete-liking-phase and grow into an artist-liking-phase. It's good to know I'll get to be some girl's phase soon.
I've been reading the Gospels a lot lately, both because I want to know Jesus better and because I'm in a class right now on the first three gospels. I recently got the chance to read through one of my favorite bible stories, and I noticed a few things about it.
We all know the story, and if we don't, we need to read it. It's in Matthew 14, and it tells the story of Jesus walking on the water. Now this is really neat, I always love reading about Jesus' superpowers, because I like the idea of Jesus as this superhero in disguise. So Jesus walks on the water, and Peter being Peter decides to get gutsy, and he asks Jesus to call him out. I like to imagine that Jesus loved this, and that he was thrilled to call Peter out, although I suppose it's possible that he was totally emotionless like I used to imagine him when I was younger.
So Peter does the obvious thing and gets out of the boat to walk on the water. But when the waves get pretty intense, he looks away from Jesus, and boom, starts to sink. So Jesus of course pulls him out, but what I kind of want to focus on is just the simple fact that Peter got great power by just looking at Jesus. I love this aspect of the story, that he gets his power from focusing on Jesus.
I suppose I write this because I feel like in the world around me we have looked away from Jesus. All of you at York, you know what I'm talking about. Don't get me wrong, I love York College, and that's why I say this to hold us all accountable: Whether it was coaches, administration, presidents, teachers, students, whoever, at some point we made the mistake of putting our faith in something other than Christ. To be blunt, I feel like we put our faith in the financial power of athletics, and I find it rather ironic that the result was us losing at a lot of sports. Don't hate atheletes, just calling it like I see it.
So where's this going? Well to be honest, it's simply an acknowledgement. As previously stated a few months ago on this page, I feel like a problem becomes a crisis when it's ignored, so here I go pointing out what we all know but don't want to say. Things are on their way back to healthy, but it'll take a concious effort from us the students to make sure that the higher-ups carry through on it.
The moral of the story is simply this: We may have sunk a little last year, but just like with Peter, Jesus is overjoyed to reach out and pull us out of the water. The catch? We're going to have to shift our focus back on him. As atheletes, as students, as people, it's our responsibility to look to Christ, whether you're a freshman or a senior, a trustee or the president, look to Christ, and see what kind of superpowers he gives you.
(jake)
Sunday, August 12, 2007
What I Learned This Summer, by Jake Owens, age 21
I've been on the road for a while, and then I had to move, but the dust is finally settling, and I'm back at last, so here I am, to plague you with more nonsense.
I have good news. Jesus was a human. I know, you've heard it before, but let's do some considering here. I spent the last two weeks teaching the book of Hebrews to high school kids up in Wisconsin, and I'm pretty convinced that I got a lot more out of it than they did. I have weeks worth of blog material, but I want to focus on this first. Let's have a look:
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin." Hebrews 4:15
First of all, I'm not going to directly quote scripture again in this blog, but I will be referencing it, feel free to look it up and check my sources. That being said, re-read that up there. Jesus Christ was God incarnate, and yet he was tempted in the same way we are. That's a verse that never meant a lot to me, because the reality is that Jesus was God, and it never occured to me that he was actually tempted. But consider a few things.
First of all, to quote Nate Cleveland, Jesus was on a different pay scale than the rest of us. To be tempted with money or lust probably wasn't a big deal for him. But when Satan tempted Jesus, he went straight to the top. He promised Jesus the world. Now me, I wouldn't worship someone to rule the world, because we all know that a Jake-ruled world would implode on itself very quickly. Don't believe me? See my new bedroom.
But Jesus was seriously tempted to take this! Think it over, if Jesus came to Earth and there was no risk, if there was no chance that he would fail, then this salvation thing is not what we think it is. For this to work, there had to be a chance that Jesus would give in and would bow down to Satan and take the world. When I think about it, it makes sense. Jesus Christ, praying in the garden was begging God to find a different way to save the world. When Peter offered to make Jesus a king, Jesus rebuked him and yelled at him, he fled from people who tried to give him a crown, Jesus Christ was genuinely tempted to take an Earthly throne and try to save the world his own way!
Now consider that: I don't for one second think that Jesus ever considered going to the Dark Side and doing bad things, I think that he considered different ways of saving humanity, ways that wouldn't suck nearly as much as being nailed to a death stick. But the reality is that in the final moment, in the greatest temptation, in the garden, Jesus Christ answered the question once and for all by saying, "Not my will, but yours be done."
My sins have never been so major as to consider screwing up God's great scheme to save the world, but I think I can sympathize with Jesus. At the end of the day, all of my sins basically boil down to the fact that I am completely convinced that I know better than God, and I'm deciding to do things my own way, not his. My prayer for myself and for anyone who reads this is that we can be possessed by the same spirit of wisdom that Jesus was, and that we can have the foresight to give God his way. He knows better.
(jake)
I have good news. Jesus was a human. I know, you've heard it before, but let's do some considering here. I spent the last two weeks teaching the book of Hebrews to high school kids up in Wisconsin, and I'm pretty convinced that I got a lot more out of it than they did. I have weeks worth of blog material, but I want to focus on this first. Let's have a look:
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin." Hebrews 4:15
First of all, I'm not going to directly quote scripture again in this blog, but I will be referencing it, feel free to look it up and check my sources. That being said, re-read that up there. Jesus Christ was God incarnate, and yet he was tempted in the same way we are. That's a verse that never meant a lot to me, because the reality is that Jesus was God, and it never occured to me that he was actually tempted. But consider a few things.
First of all, to quote Nate Cleveland, Jesus was on a different pay scale than the rest of us. To be tempted with money or lust probably wasn't a big deal for him. But when Satan tempted Jesus, he went straight to the top. He promised Jesus the world. Now me, I wouldn't worship someone to rule the world, because we all know that a Jake-ruled world would implode on itself very quickly. Don't believe me? See my new bedroom.
But Jesus was seriously tempted to take this! Think it over, if Jesus came to Earth and there was no risk, if there was no chance that he would fail, then this salvation thing is not what we think it is. For this to work, there had to be a chance that Jesus would give in and would bow down to Satan and take the world. When I think about it, it makes sense. Jesus Christ, praying in the garden was begging God to find a different way to save the world. When Peter offered to make Jesus a king, Jesus rebuked him and yelled at him, he fled from people who tried to give him a crown, Jesus Christ was genuinely tempted to take an Earthly throne and try to save the world his own way!
Now consider that: I don't for one second think that Jesus ever considered going to the Dark Side and doing bad things, I think that he considered different ways of saving humanity, ways that wouldn't suck nearly as much as being nailed to a death stick. But the reality is that in the final moment, in the greatest temptation, in the garden, Jesus Christ answered the question once and for all by saying, "Not my will, but yours be done."
My sins have never been so major as to consider screwing up God's great scheme to save the world, but I think I can sympathize with Jesus. At the end of the day, all of my sins basically boil down to the fact that I am completely convinced that I know better than God, and I'm deciding to do things my own way, not his. My prayer for myself and for anyone who reads this is that we can be possessed by the same spirit of wisdom that Jesus was, and that we can have the foresight to give God his way. He knows better.
(jake)
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Tai-Bo for the Soul
Rather than a normal devotional thought, today I have a challenge for you. Since the purpose of this blog is to exercise in honesty and transparency, I of course will be sharing with you a challenge I've made for myself. Before we get to that though, let's go ahead and have a devotional thought.
One thing that never ceases to amaze me is the fact that people can honestly look me in the eye and claim that they're not affected by their music, their movies, their tv, anything. Video games, television, movies, books, all of it, culture and art affect us as people. If it didn't, we wouldn't buy it. End of story.
So the funny thing is that we as Christians continue to buy and feed our brains poison. It's really quite similar to alcohol or smoking when you think about it; we do it simply for kicks the first time, and pretty soon we're force feeding ourselves a steady diet of spiritual and intellectual death. I'm not going to harp on brainless music and whatnot today, that's not the point. The point is, I have a terrible habit of feeding myself garbage.
Lately, I've been trying to diet. There. I said it. I want to lose weight. You'd be amazed how hard that actually is to admit when you've lived a certain way for a long time. At first, I feel almost ashamed that I'm working on this problem. (See previous posts about honesty. I like the one back at the beginning of the blog myself.) However, as my body responds to my change in diet, I can't help but notice a huge change in my energy level, my disposition, just about everything. Anyone who doesn't believe that what you eat matters has clearly never tried to eat right.
So here we are, coming full circle again. I've begun to wonder what would happen if I were to take a mental diet. If feeding myself only healthy food changes my body, what would feeding myself only healthy thoughts do for my mind? It is with this in mind that I have decided to put myself on a brain diet.
Now bear with me here. I own R rated movies. In fact, I just bought a season of The Sopranos. It's not that I think that all art needs to be G rated, it's just that I need to approach my entertainment with pure motives. Am I watching V for Vendetta for the gratuitous violence, or am I reminding myself of all the difference on person can make? Art has a point people, please don't miss it.
Still, I have lost my focus, my motives are tainted. And so for one week, I will not watch any television, movies, listen to any music, anything that is not completely and totally pleasing to God. Like with all fasts, the criteria of what is "pleasing to God" are completely up to whoever is engaged in the fast. I for one am just going to turn the dang thing off.
One week, that's the challenge. See if your perspective changes. I'll report on what happens to me, I'd love to hear what happens to you. Think of me as a media Shaq.
(jake)
One thing that never ceases to amaze me is the fact that people can honestly look me in the eye and claim that they're not affected by their music, their movies, their tv, anything. Video games, television, movies, books, all of it, culture and art affect us as people. If it didn't, we wouldn't buy it. End of story.
So the funny thing is that we as Christians continue to buy and feed our brains poison. It's really quite similar to alcohol or smoking when you think about it; we do it simply for kicks the first time, and pretty soon we're force feeding ourselves a steady diet of spiritual and intellectual death. I'm not going to harp on brainless music and whatnot today, that's not the point. The point is, I have a terrible habit of feeding myself garbage.
Lately, I've been trying to diet. There. I said it. I want to lose weight. You'd be amazed how hard that actually is to admit when you've lived a certain way for a long time. At first, I feel almost ashamed that I'm working on this problem. (See previous posts about honesty. I like the one back at the beginning of the blog myself.) However, as my body responds to my change in diet, I can't help but notice a huge change in my energy level, my disposition, just about everything. Anyone who doesn't believe that what you eat matters has clearly never tried to eat right.
So here we are, coming full circle again. I've begun to wonder what would happen if I were to take a mental diet. If feeding myself only healthy food changes my body, what would feeding myself only healthy thoughts do for my mind? It is with this in mind that I have decided to put myself on a brain diet.
Now bear with me here. I own R rated movies. In fact, I just bought a season of The Sopranos. It's not that I think that all art needs to be G rated, it's just that I need to approach my entertainment with pure motives. Am I watching V for Vendetta for the gratuitous violence, or am I reminding myself of all the difference on person can make? Art has a point people, please don't miss it.
Still, I have lost my focus, my motives are tainted. And so for one week, I will not watch any television, movies, listen to any music, anything that is not completely and totally pleasing to God. Like with all fasts, the criteria of what is "pleasing to God" are completely up to whoever is engaged in the fast. I for one am just going to turn the dang thing off.
One week, that's the challenge. See if your perspective changes. I'll report on what happens to me, I'd love to hear what happens to you. Think of me as a media Shaq.
(jake)
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Beauty/Wisdom
Beauty: It has been at least a year since I last saw a sunrise. In the last 48 hours God has blessed me with the opportunity to see two.
Wisdom:This is sort of a repeat. Still, I feel it's important. I got to thinking about that upper echelon of Christianity, those people that just walk into a room and light it on fire with their spirit. You know what I'm talking about, the kind of people, you probably even just thought of one or two or more. There are people out there that seem completely possessed with the Holy Spirit, people that are capable of doing unbelievable things. The sort of people who decide that they're going to change something for God, and make it happen.
So what's the point? Well I began wondering why all Christians aren't like that. For lack of a better term, let's say that these are the Christians that Paul suggests should be eating meat, and I'm the sort of Christian who should be drinking milk. I started considering the differences between them and myself. As I thought it over, I realized one stunning difference between us. The people that I am looking up to, the people that I want so desperately to be like, these people are not perfect. They are open about their sin, and open about their brokenness.
I think a lot lately about how hard I try to hide my sin. I re-read this blog, and I see so much about unity and about the importance of openness, and I realize how those two things go hand in hand. We can't be unified if we keep secrets from each other. We can't defend each other from Satan if we don't understand how he attacks each of us.
I make a great effort to hide my sins from the world. I wallow in shame and I stay buried in my own thoughts, doing all that I can to overcome myself on my own. There were people just like me in the bible, and once again, my greatest fear has come true. They were the Pharisees.
I am not saying that we should have hours upon hours of confession in church. I'm not saying we shouldn't. I'm saying that God doesn't want to wait for another perfect human to come to him, he's asked for the imperfect. God isn't waiting for us to put ourselves together before we come to him completely, he's asking us to give him what we have and he'll do something with it.
I cannot stress this enough: God loves imperfect people. He loves to work with them, through them, and in them. Your sin is terrible and hurtful to God, but the only way to make things right and to be set free from it is to be open about it, and to be healed.
If I am ever going to be a champion of the faith, if I am ever going to change the world, I have to learn to quit covering up my sin, and to let God work through my brokenness. His grace is sufficient, and it always will be.
(jake)
Wisdom:This is sort of a repeat. Still, I feel it's important. I got to thinking about that upper echelon of Christianity, those people that just walk into a room and light it on fire with their spirit. You know what I'm talking about, the kind of people, you probably even just thought of one or two or more. There are people out there that seem completely possessed with the Holy Spirit, people that are capable of doing unbelievable things. The sort of people who decide that they're going to change something for God, and make it happen.
So what's the point? Well I began wondering why all Christians aren't like that. For lack of a better term, let's say that these are the Christians that Paul suggests should be eating meat, and I'm the sort of Christian who should be drinking milk. I started considering the differences between them and myself. As I thought it over, I realized one stunning difference between us. The people that I am looking up to, the people that I want so desperately to be like, these people are not perfect. They are open about their sin, and open about their brokenness.
I think a lot lately about how hard I try to hide my sin. I re-read this blog, and I see so much about unity and about the importance of openness, and I realize how those two things go hand in hand. We can't be unified if we keep secrets from each other. We can't defend each other from Satan if we don't understand how he attacks each of us.
I make a great effort to hide my sins from the world. I wallow in shame and I stay buried in my own thoughts, doing all that I can to overcome myself on my own. There were people just like me in the bible, and once again, my greatest fear has come true. They were the Pharisees.
I am not saying that we should have hours upon hours of confession in church. I'm not saying we shouldn't. I'm saying that God doesn't want to wait for another perfect human to come to him, he's asked for the imperfect. God isn't waiting for us to put ourselves together before we come to him completely, he's asking us to give him what we have and he'll do something with it.
I cannot stress this enough: God loves imperfect people. He loves to work with them, through them, and in them. Your sin is terrible and hurtful to God, but the only way to make things right and to be set free from it is to be open about it, and to be healed.
If I am ever going to be a champion of the faith, if I am ever going to change the world, I have to learn to quit covering up my sin, and to let God work through my brokenness. His grace is sufficient, and it always will be.
(jake)
Forest/Trees
I'm a big thinker. I don't really waste time thinking about what I'll wear or eat tomorrow, I don't give a lot of thought to the week ahead, I spend my time considering the next several years. I spend my time brainstorming about how I can reach the most people in the biggest way. I don't really consider where I'd like to teach, I consider which foreign country I'd like to go do relief work in first. It's just how my brain works.
Maybe that's why I have so much trouble hearing the voice of God sometimes. I'm not saying that the Lord doesn't think big. In fact, God thinks in huge ways. You know, redeeming the souls of all humanity kinds of ways. But God doesn't let himself get consumed by the big things.
I recently spent some time reading the parable of the talents. It's interesting to me that in this story the master gives more to the people who are faithful with a little. Or maybe we could jump back to Elijah on the mountain? He doesn't hear God in the miracles and disasters, he hears God in the whisper.
I tend to spend a lot of my time seeking God in the big things. I spend my time looking for miracles and revelations, when my day to day life has plenty of miracle in them in the first place. Or maybe my problem is that I don't feel like I'm adequately serving God unless I'm involved in some major project. If all I have going for me is the everyday worship, I tend to feel like a failiure. The irony in this is that God wants to see me doing the everyday worships before he's going to bless me with the big projects.
I need to stop worrying so much about the big things. Not that they aren't important, but simply because if I can't bring God my best in the everday aspects of my life, how can I be expected to bring him my best in the international world saving crusades I want to do?
Maybe it's a little simple, this idea. But maybe that is the idea.
(jake)
Maybe that's why I have so much trouble hearing the voice of God sometimes. I'm not saying that the Lord doesn't think big. In fact, God thinks in huge ways. You know, redeeming the souls of all humanity kinds of ways. But God doesn't let himself get consumed by the big things.
I recently spent some time reading the parable of the talents. It's interesting to me that in this story the master gives more to the people who are faithful with a little. Or maybe we could jump back to Elijah on the mountain? He doesn't hear God in the miracles and disasters, he hears God in the whisper.
I tend to spend a lot of my time seeking God in the big things. I spend my time looking for miracles and revelations, when my day to day life has plenty of miracle in them in the first place. Or maybe my problem is that I don't feel like I'm adequately serving God unless I'm involved in some major project. If all I have going for me is the everyday worship, I tend to feel like a failiure. The irony in this is that God wants to see me doing the everyday worships before he's going to bless me with the big projects.
I need to stop worrying so much about the big things. Not that they aren't important, but simply because if I can't bring God my best in the everday aspects of my life, how can I be expected to bring him my best in the international world saving crusades I want to do?
Maybe it's a little simple, this idea. But maybe that is the idea.
(jake)
Monday, June 11, 2007
Would You Like to Play a Game?
I support our troops. Political beliefs aside, forgetting a few soldiers I have actually known and what tools they were, I actually do have a lot of respect for people who are willing to make that kind of sacrifice, that are dedicated enough to put their life on the line for something they believe in. All that aside, I think that Army Recruiters are downright funny. I spent a whole year trying to convince a guy that yes I was in fact happy with my college choice and no, I wasn't interested in fighting in Iraq so I could go to college. (It was a painful conversation.)
My favorite army slogan to date is, "An Army of One." I think this is really really funny, because an army of one is probably the safest bet you've got. With the exception of Bruce Willis and Superman, an army of one is ALWAYS GOING TO DIE. And yet I think it is very telling of our culture, both as Christians and as Americans.
I have trouble sometimes being a team player. It's not that I don't want other people involved or that I want the credit, it's that I have trouble remembering to let others help me with myself. It's not exactly an ego thing, it's more of an insecurity thing. That line of thinking says that if I don't let anyone help me, no one can hurt me, which is absurd, but easy to slip into. Ironically enough, when I forget about my brothers and sisters and slip into Army of One mode, I tend to slip out of the real battle that I should be in as a Christian, and instead I get caught up in what I'm going to cleverly refer to as War Games.
War Games aren't the real deal. In a war game you get dressed up, you put on your army garb, you even get a replica gun, and then you go and fake fight. Worse yet, in a War Game you don't even fight enemies, you fight your friends. Maybe me slipping into War Games is a safeguard God put in me to pull me out of the real fight so I don't hurt myself. Maybe it's just that I can't find the courage to get in the real fight without friends. Either way, the fact remains that without a full army, I become ineffective, and instead of fighting enemies I fire blanks at my allies, hurting the people that are supposed to be helping me.
I hope you can follow the metaphors here, because the fact is important. At the end of his life, in the book of John, Jesus gets on his knees and ends his prayer career by praying to the Father that his children will be united, and will be one in spirit. He even says it plainly, "So that the world may know you." There is an obvious reason why Jesus wants us to fight together: The end result will be that the world will know the Father.
I need to let people into my heart, and I need to openly share my life so that I don't slip out of the fight. 80 years of War Games just isn't as thrilling as a real battle, and I need some good war stories if I'm ever going to be a proper old man.
(jake)
My favorite army slogan to date is, "An Army of One." I think this is really really funny, because an army of one is probably the safest bet you've got. With the exception of Bruce Willis and Superman, an army of one is ALWAYS GOING TO DIE. And yet I think it is very telling of our culture, both as Christians and as Americans.
I have trouble sometimes being a team player. It's not that I don't want other people involved or that I want the credit, it's that I have trouble remembering to let others help me with myself. It's not exactly an ego thing, it's more of an insecurity thing. That line of thinking says that if I don't let anyone help me, no one can hurt me, which is absurd, but easy to slip into. Ironically enough, when I forget about my brothers and sisters and slip into Army of One mode, I tend to slip out of the real battle that I should be in as a Christian, and instead I get caught up in what I'm going to cleverly refer to as War Games.
War Games aren't the real deal. In a war game you get dressed up, you put on your army garb, you even get a replica gun, and then you go and fake fight. Worse yet, in a War Game you don't even fight enemies, you fight your friends. Maybe me slipping into War Games is a safeguard God put in me to pull me out of the real fight so I don't hurt myself. Maybe it's just that I can't find the courage to get in the real fight without friends. Either way, the fact remains that without a full army, I become ineffective, and instead of fighting enemies I fire blanks at my allies, hurting the people that are supposed to be helping me.
I hope you can follow the metaphors here, because the fact is important. At the end of his life, in the book of John, Jesus gets on his knees and ends his prayer career by praying to the Father that his children will be united, and will be one in spirit. He even says it plainly, "So that the world may know you." There is an obvious reason why Jesus wants us to fight together: The end result will be that the world will know the Father.
I need to let people into my heart, and I need to openly share my life so that I don't slip out of the fight. 80 years of War Games just isn't as thrilling as a real battle, and I need some good war stories if I'm ever going to be a proper old man.
(jake)
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Consumer Theology, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
What are you doing for the Kingdom of God?
Yeah, I know, twelve people just closed the browser all at once. I'm sure at least one person just unsubscribed to my Blog. Don't worry though true believers, I'm not going to give you any guilt trips, just some insight from my own life. No, "Jesus died for you, what are you doing for him?" no, I'm going to get straight to the nuts and bolts here.
Church and I have an interesting history. At the moment I'm kind of shopping around for a permanent church, kicking around a few ideas for bible studies and whatnot, since I recently resigned as Youth Guy at Hastings. Before now though, I've been an employee at two churches, and spent most of my youth hanging out at one. Growing up the Youth Group defined me, gave me hope, and gave me a place to belong. At the same time though, that very same youth group gave me insecurities, disillusionment and disappointment. I'm not placing blame anywhere, I honestly couldn't tell you why I don't feel at home at Liberty anymore, the point is that it is what it is.
As I shop around for a church I've talked to a few other people about their churches, or about what they look for in a church, why they haven't picked one yet. The thing that I hear a lot is something along the lines of, "They just don't have what I'm looking for." I find it interesting that people like me can choose a church based on the same criteria used to select a restaurant. "It's just not my style, I just don't care for that sort of thing."
So I must now ask myself, and in the process you, a question: When in history has church ever been about getting something?
Not Jesus, not Peter, not Paul, no one ever set church up to be what it's become. I'm not talking about instruments and ceremonies, I don't give a crap one way or another about that nonsense, if it gets you closer to God do it, whatever. I'm talking about the selfishness, the way that I've managed to make church into a social club. Church is about giving back, it's about existing in community with others, and bringing my gifts to the family of God.
So maybe you're like me, and maybe you're not getting a lot out of church. That could be because you're like me and you're not putting a lot into church. In fact, I'm willing to say it's the number one likely reason.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching. - Hebrews 10:24-25
See that? Right there. Mr. Hebrew doesn't say, "Don't give up on meeting because you might miss communion or a really good sermon or you just can't be a good person without church," he says it plain and simple, don't stop meeting because others need your encouragement!
I need to get this through my skull, whether I'm in a church or searching for one, I need to quit looking for something that suits my needs and I need to find a place where I can contribute. I need to humble myself before God and find a family to help, because others need me. They need you too.
(jake)
Yeah, I know, twelve people just closed the browser all at once. I'm sure at least one person just unsubscribed to my Blog. Don't worry though true believers, I'm not going to give you any guilt trips, just some insight from my own life. No, "Jesus died for you, what are you doing for him?" no, I'm going to get straight to the nuts and bolts here.
Church and I have an interesting history. At the moment I'm kind of shopping around for a permanent church, kicking around a few ideas for bible studies and whatnot, since I recently resigned as Youth Guy at Hastings. Before now though, I've been an employee at two churches, and spent most of my youth hanging out at one. Growing up the Youth Group defined me, gave me hope, and gave me a place to belong. At the same time though, that very same youth group gave me insecurities, disillusionment and disappointment. I'm not placing blame anywhere, I honestly couldn't tell you why I don't feel at home at Liberty anymore, the point is that it is what it is.
As I shop around for a church I've talked to a few other people about their churches, or about what they look for in a church, why they haven't picked one yet. The thing that I hear a lot is something along the lines of, "They just don't have what I'm looking for." I find it interesting that people like me can choose a church based on the same criteria used to select a restaurant. "It's just not my style, I just don't care for that sort of thing."
So I must now ask myself, and in the process you, a question: When in history has church ever been about getting something?
Not Jesus, not Peter, not Paul, no one ever set church up to be what it's become. I'm not talking about instruments and ceremonies, I don't give a crap one way or another about that nonsense, if it gets you closer to God do it, whatever. I'm talking about the selfishness, the way that I've managed to make church into a social club. Church is about giving back, it's about existing in community with others, and bringing my gifts to the family of God.
So maybe you're like me, and maybe you're not getting a lot out of church. That could be because you're like me and you're not putting a lot into church. In fact, I'm willing to say it's the number one likely reason.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching. - Hebrews 10:24-25
See that? Right there. Mr. Hebrew doesn't say, "Don't give up on meeting because you might miss communion or a really good sermon or you just can't be a good person without church," he says it plain and simple, don't stop meeting because others need your encouragement!
I need to get this through my skull, whether I'm in a church or searching for one, I need to quit looking for something that suits my needs and I need to find a place where I can contribute. I need to humble myself before God and find a family to help, because others need me. They need you too.
(jake)
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Who are you? (Who who)
I have been running a lot lately. By a lot, I mean about 3 miles every night. It's not something that is exactly characteristic of an overweight 21 year old. It hurts, it's hard, it's sweaty, and it requires great patience to get anything out of, unlike the alternatives, which are sleeping and over eating. Still, I love it. Not just because I'm going to be the sexiest man on campus next year, but because it's a great time to reconnect with God. It's become a daily staple for me, something I crave on my weekend rests, something I get hungry for.
All of that is going somewhere, but put it on hold for a few minutes. Paul writes about the man he wants to be, and the man he is, about how he is caught between who God wants him to be and who his sinful nature wants him to be. Tonight while running, I considered this, the nature of sin, and the nature of humans.
I have come to a revelation, one that I believe is actually from God. God created us. God made us. And whatever we have become, God had something else in mind, something better. Does that jump out at anyone else? In our inception, in the moment of our creation, we were not created to succumb to sin and to fall from the love of God, we were created to revel in God, to live in his presence and to live for him. It is very true that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but consider that! We are not sinners trying to change our ways, we are saints trying to reclaim our identity!
The point to be made tonight is subtle but oh so important. Whether it is when dealing with yourself, or when sharing the gospel to others, the thing to remember is this: The goal of Christianity, of life, is not to change ourselves, it's to remember who we are. We are not monsters learning to be good, we are saints trying to recover our lost heritage, we are the lost children of God trying to return to the home we've forgotten.
I could go on and on about the implications of this, but there's no time for that. Maybe that could be more blogs for more days, but tonight, consider this: Who does God want you to be? Who did he have in mind when he made you? I've spent the last few years trying to seek out the man that God has in mind for me to be, and it's been an uphill battle, but by his grace I discover myself a little more every day. God has great plans for you, don't waste time changing and reshaping yourself, get to work on rediscovering yourself and the God that made you perfect, who loves you perfectly.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11
(jake)
All of that is going somewhere, but put it on hold for a few minutes. Paul writes about the man he wants to be, and the man he is, about how he is caught between who God wants him to be and who his sinful nature wants him to be. Tonight while running, I considered this, the nature of sin, and the nature of humans.
I have come to a revelation, one that I believe is actually from God. God created us. God made us. And whatever we have become, God had something else in mind, something better. Does that jump out at anyone else? In our inception, in the moment of our creation, we were not created to succumb to sin and to fall from the love of God, we were created to revel in God, to live in his presence and to live for him. It is very true that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but consider that! We are not sinners trying to change our ways, we are saints trying to reclaim our identity!
The point to be made tonight is subtle but oh so important. Whether it is when dealing with yourself, or when sharing the gospel to others, the thing to remember is this: The goal of Christianity, of life, is not to change ourselves, it's to remember who we are. We are not monsters learning to be good, we are saints trying to recover our lost heritage, we are the lost children of God trying to return to the home we've forgotten.
I could go on and on about the implications of this, but there's no time for that. Maybe that could be more blogs for more days, but tonight, consider this: Who does God want you to be? Who did he have in mind when he made you? I've spent the last few years trying to seek out the man that God has in mind for me to be, and it's been an uphill battle, but by his grace I discover myself a little more every day. God has great plans for you, don't waste time changing and reshaping yourself, get to work on rediscovering yourself and the God that made you perfect, who loves you perfectly.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11
(jake)
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Roses are Red, Cliches are Blue...
Ever had a crush? Don't deny it. Even I have. And I'm an enigma.
I have a lot of trouble most days reconciling my own desires with God's. I'm sure that that's a normal human problem, or at least I assume it is. I dunno, could just be me. Still, it's something that happens, I get completely reversed in my thinking, and I realize that I want something totally different than God. It's kind of a frustrating way to live, considering that I claim to be a follower of God. As a matter of fact, it gets downright disheartening.
Back to the crush thing. I hate it when people know that I have crushes or am even the least bit attracted to a member of the opposite sex, it's like my one little corner of my brain I try to keep from the world. Still, it's true, even I am susceptible to the charms of some females (some). Ever developed a crush on someone and then suddenly found that you like what they like?
I mean, let's say you hate a certain band or style of music. We'll say Emo, since Emo embodies 90% of what's wrong with the world. You find out that this person you're interested in is really into Emo music. Suddenly Emo's not so bad.
I think that our relationship with God should be like that. I need to learn to focus on God himself, and on loving him, and as I get to know him better, I think I'll be more inclined to love the same things as him. This of course begs the question, "How do I love God more?"
Well, here it is, that hated openness I try to practice. I'm not the sort of guy that can glance at a girl once and suddenly be into her. I have to get to know a person, and on a deeper level than laughing about a movie. For a person to be truly attractive, I have to get to know her and what she loves, what she hates, what she struggles with, what she's passionate about, etc.
I love the fact that the Bible describes Jesus as a groom pursuing his bride. It puts so much into perspective, and helps make sense of the madness that is relationships and why God would want us to put ourselves through that sort of thing. If we want to fall in love with God, we have to spend time with him. If we want to love the things he loves, we have to spend time getting to know him.
So there it is, plain and simple. If we want to do God's will, we have to change our own desires. The only way to do that is to fall in love with God by spending time with him. The message today? Get into the word. Pray. Sing. Do whatever it is that gets you closer to God, just do it now.
Seriously, right now. Stop reading this, go fall in love with Christ.
(jake)
PS - Hey, tell your friends about this. Make them leave comments or something, I decided I want more people to read this, it'd be good for me to know that I'm being open to a lot of people.
I have a lot of trouble most days reconciling my own desires with God's. I'm sure that that's a normal human problem, or at least I assume it is. I dunno, could just be me. Still, it's something that happens, I get completely reversed in my thinking, and I realize that I want something totally different than God. It's kind of a frustrating way to live, considering that I claim to be a follower of God. As a matter of fact, it gets downright disheartening.
Back to the crush thing. I hate it when people know that I have crushes or am even the least bit attracted to a member of the opposite sex, it's like my one little corner of my brain I try to keep from the world. Still, it's true, even I am susceptible to the charms of some females (some). Ever developed a crush on someone and then suddenly found that you like what they like?
I mean, let's say you hate a certain band or style of music. We'll say Emo, since Emo embodies 90% of what's wrong with the world. You find out that this person you're interested in is really into Emo music. Suddenly Emo's not so bad.
I think that our relationship with God should be like that. I need to learn to focus on God himself, and on loving him, and as I get to know him better, I think I'll be more inclined to love the same things as him. This of course begs the question, "How do I love God more?"
Well, here it is, that hated openness I try to practice. I'm not the sort of guy that can glance at a girl once and suddenly be into her. I have to get to know a person, and on a deeper level than laughing about a movie. For a person to be truly attractive, I have to get to know her and what she loves, what she hates, what she struggles with, what she's passionate about, etc.
I love the fact that the Bible describes Jesus as a groom pursuing his bride. It puts so much into perspective, and helps make sense of the madness that is relationships and why God would want us to put ourselves through that sort of thing. If we want to fall in love with God, we have to spend time with him. If we want to love the things he loves, we have to spend time getting to know him.
So there it is, plain and simple. If we want to do God's will, we have to change our own desires. The only way to do that is to fall in love with God by spending time with him. The message today? Get into the word. Pray. Sing. Do whatever it is that gets you closer to God, just do it now.
Seriously, right now. Stop reading this, go fall in love with Christ.
(jake)
PS - Hey, tell your friends about this. Make them leave comments or something, I decided I want more people to read this, it'd be good for me to know that I'm being open to a lot of people.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Concerning Mustard Seeds
I've been doing a whole lot of thinking lately. It's kind of the norm for me, but lately it's been even more out of control. I think that self-examination is only natural for someone like me. I'm 21, my best friends are all getting married and starting careers, and I still play in cardboard boxes. I'm not saying I think I'm immature or that I regret my way of life, I just think that it's natural to examine yourself and try to figure out what makes you tick when you're not falling in line with the normal way of doing things.
All this thinking has led me to consider myself and my vision for the future. Most people tend to picture themselves settling down and getting a job in some nice suburb and raising a family. A few people picture themselves doing all of that in a bigger house, but the American Dream rarely changes from person to person. Me? I think I'd rather be eaten by a shark than live the normal life.
I'm not about to suggest that what other people have planned is sinful, is wrong, or is even small plans. It takes a lot of work to raise a family, and I respect that. What I'm saying is that for me, for Jake, the average life just isn't going to cut it. If I were to settle for something like the conventional wisdom then I think I'd be thinking small. I serve a big God with big plans, and to think that human plans can stack up to his is just plain silly. Maybe I belong on the plains of Africa with James taking care of orphans. Maybe I need to go to the ghettos and preach the word. Or maybe I need to get off my butt and finally become a true Christian, not just the American Christian that our culture has created.
One thing that is always scary to do is to share your dreams. So with that in mind, be gentle on me. There is so much I want to do with my life, I want to spend at least a year in another country doing relief work, I want to help kids in the ghettos find some hope, I want to help stop child soldiering in Africa, I want to see China, I want to help start a revival in the church, I want to teach, I want to come back to York, and at some point I'd like to get a masters and a doctorate in something so that I can do my own research on humans.
Big list, I know. There are nights where I literally lose sleep trying to figure out how I'm going to get it all done. The thought that I keep coming back to is that faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains. But what bugs me is that anyone can move a mountain. The real challenge is moving a human heart. It's dang near impossible sometimes to motivate people, especially yourself. I wrestle with this thought, wondering how much faith is it going to take to move myself. I wonder if it should be easy because of the mountain thing, or if Jesus was being ironic and saying humans are tougher to move than mountains.
When it's all said and done, I find peace in this: faith is a self-sustaining thing. If you have just a little bit of it, it will take care of itself and motivate and multiply itself. Maybe the mustard seed itself isn't what moves mountains, maybe it's the big mother plant that grows out of that seed. If you lack faith, pray for more. The fact that you realized you lack faith means you have more faith than you thought in the first place.
(jake)
All this thinking has led me to consider myself and my vision for the future. Most people tend to picture themselves settling down and getting a job in some nice suburb and raising a family. A few people picture themselves doing all of that in a bigger house, but the American Dream rarely changes from person to person. Me? I think I'd rather be eaten by a shark than live the normal life.
I'm not about to suggest that what other people have planned is sinful, is wrong, or is even small plans. It takes a lot of work to raise a family, and I respect that. What I'm saying is that for me, for Jake, the average life just isn't going to cut it. If I were to settle for something like the conventional wisdom then I think I'd be thinking small. I serve a big God with big plans, and to think that human plans can stack up to his is just plain silly. Maybe I belong on the plains of Africa with James taking care of orphans. Maybe I need to go to the ghettos and preach the word. Or maybe I need to get off my butt and finally become a true Christian, not just the American Christian that our culture has created.
One thing that is always scary to do is to share your dreams. So with that in mind, be gentle on me. There is so much I want to do with my life, I want to spend at least a year in another country doing relief work, I want to help kids in the ghettos find some hope, I want to help stop child soldiering in Africa, I want to see China, I want to help start a revival in the church, I want to teach, I want to come back to York, and at some point I'd like to get a masters and a doctorate in something so that I can do my own research on humans.
Big list, I know. There are nights where I literally lose sleep trying to figure out how I'm going to get it all done. The thought that I keep coming back to is that faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains. But what bugs me is that anyone can move a mountain. The real challenge is moving a human heart. It's dang near impossible sometimes to motivate people, especially yourself. I wrestle with this thought, wondering how much faith is it going to take to move myself. I wonder if it should be easy because of the mountain thing, or if Jesus was being ironic and saying humans are tougher to move than mountains.
When it's all said and done, I find peace in this: faith is a self-sustaining thing. If you have just a little bit of it, it will take care of itself and motivate and multiply itself. Maybe the mustard seed itself isn't what moves mountains, maybe it's the big mother plant that grows out of that seed. If you lack faith, pray for more. The fact that you realized you lack faith means you have more faith than you thought in the first place.
(jake)
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Heroes Get Remembered...
Nothing in the world would be more open and honest than to share the one song that has impacted me most. By my personal hero Reese Roper, performed by my favorite band Five Iron Frenzy, got it when i was in 6th grade, listened the crap out of that cd and even now on my ipod. I would love to be able to write like this.
Hope you hate it.
When I was young, the smallest trick of light,
Could catch my eye,
Then life was new and every new day,
I thought that I could fly.
I believed in what I hoped for,
And I hoped for things unseen,
I had wings and dreams could soar,
I just don't feel like flying anymore.
When the stars threw down their spears,
Watered Heaven with their tears,
Before words were spoken,
Before eternity.
Dear Father, I need you,
Your strength my heart to mend.
I want to fly higher,
Every new day again.
When I was small, the furthest I could reach,
Was not so high,
Then I thought the world was so much smaller,
Feeling that I could fly.
Through distant deeps and skies,
Behind infinity,
Below the face of Heaven,
He stoops to create me.
Dear Father, I need you,
Your strength my heart to mend.
I want to fly higher,
Every new day again.
Man versus himself.
Man versus machine.
Man versus the world.
Mankind versus me.
The struggles go on,
The wisdom I lack,
The burdens keep pilling
Up on my back.
So hard to breathe,
To take the next step.
The mountain is high,
I wait in the depths.
Yearning for grace,
And hoping for peace.
Dear God... Increase.
Healing hands of God have mercy on our unclean souls once again.
Jesus Christ, light of the world burning bright within our hearts forever.
Freedom means love without condition,
without a beginning or an end.
Here's my heart, let it be forever Your's,
Only You can make every new day seem so new.
(jake)
Hope you hate it.
When I was young, the smallest trick of light,
Could catch my eye,
Then life was new and every new day,
I thought that I could fly.
I believed in what I hoped for,
And I hoped for things unseen,
I had wings and dreams could soar,
I just don't feel like flying anymore.
When the stars threw down their spears,
Watered Heaven with their tears,
Before words were spoken,
Before eternity.
Dear Father, I need you,
Your strength my heart to mend.
I want to fly higher,
Every new day again.
When I was small, the furthest I could reach,
Was not so high,
Then I thought the world was so much smaller,
Feeling that I could fly.
Through distant deeps and skies,
Behind infinity,
Below the face of Heaven,
He stoops to create me.
Dear Father, I need you,
Your strength my heart to mend.
I want to fly higher,
Every new day again.
Man versus himself.
Man versus machine.
Man versus the world.
Mankind versus me.
The struggles go on,
The wisdom I lack,
The burdens keep pilling
Up on my back.
So hard to breathe,
To take the next step.
The mountain is high,
I wait in the depths.
Yearning for grace,
And hoping for peace.
Dear God... Increase.
Healing hands of God have mercy on our unclean souls once again.
Jesus Christ, light of the world burning bright within our hearts forever.
Freedom means love without condition,
without a beginning or an end.
Here's my heart, let it be forever Your's,
Only You can make every new day seem so new.
(jake)
Friday, April 6, 2007
Phalanx
It's 5:30 AM. I've been at work since 11 PM. I get off in an hour and a half.
Brace yourselves.
So I've been reading this book all night about the battle of Thermopylae. You know it better as that one thing they made 300 off of. Spartan culture is very interesting, especially as a history nerd. The thing that I find so fascinating about the Spartans is that they understood what we as Christians try to understand everyday; no fight is won physically. Everything is about the will to succeed.
The thing that I marvel at about the Spartans is not that they figured out the true nature of the fight, but rather that they figured out how to make it happen. They figured out how to develop and maintain the will to succeed, the will to overcome any challenge. It wasn't through rigorous training and insane methods to toughen up, although that all happened. It was through each other.
The key to Spartan battle rested in the shield. A helmet, a breastplate, these things guarded yourself, and they were expendable. But under NO circumstances were you to lose your big round shield, because with that shield you defended your brother. From day one Spartans were trained in one simple fact: Nothing will ever matter as much as the person standing next to you.
I think that one thing I do terribly wrong with my faith is I individualize it. I'm not saying it shouldn't be personal, between you and God. I am saying that it shouldn't be private, just about you getting to heaven. My faith needs to be more of a group effort. When I think back, the times that I've found courage, perserverence, all of the things that I seem to lack in my weaker moments was when I was standing up for someone else, trying to help them.
Jesus understood it, so did the Spartans. You'll never win any fight that you fight alone, you'll never win if you fight for yourself. But if you fight for the man next to you, then there isn't a force that can stop you.
Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival. - C.S. Lewis
(jake)
Brace yourselves.
So I've been reading this book all night about the battle of Thermopylae. You know it better as that one thing they made 300 off of. Spartan culture is very interesting, especially as a history nerd. The thing that I find so fascinating about the Spartans is that they understood what we as Christians try to understand everyday; no fight is won physically. Everything is about the will to succeed.
The thing that I marvel at about the Spartans is not that they figured out the true nature of the fight, but rather that they figured out how to make it happen. They figured out how to develop and maintain the will to succeed, the will to overcome any challenge. It wasn't through rigorous training and insane methods to toughen up, although that all happened. It was through each other.
The key to Spartan battle rested in the shield. A helmet, a breastplate, these things guarded yourself, and they were expendable. But under NO circumstances were you to lose your big round shield, because with that shield you defended your brother. From day one Spartans were trained in one simple fact: Nothing will ever matter as much as the person standing next to you.
I think that one thing I do terribly wrong with my faith is I individualize it. I'm not saying it shouldn't be personal, between you and God. I am saying that it shouldn't be private, just about you getting to heaven. My faith needs to be more of a group effort. When I think back, the times that I've found courage, perserverence, all of the things that I seem to lack in my weaker moments was when I was standing up for someone else, trying to help them.
Jesus understood it, so did the Spartans. You'll never win any fight that you fight alone, you'll never win if you fight for yourself. But if you fight for the man next to you, then there isn't a force that can stop you.
Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival. - C.S. Lewis
(jake)
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Saturday Morning Theology
Tonight I went with Steve to see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I'm going to get this out of the way: It was amazing. If someone tells you otherwise, someone is being too analytical and ignoring the fact that it is a freaking sweet revival of the single greatest franchise in history. Now, let's get down to business.
I grew up on stuff like this. Seeing it all in action again, well it just reminded me of all the things that I loved growing up and why. Sure, the dialogue is corny, the plots are predictable, but dang it I love it. At the end of the day, no matter how big and nasty Shredder's plans were, no matter what kind of secret weapon Krang had developed, it just didn't matter, I could always count on the Turtles to come through and win. It could sometimes be an intense 30 minutes, but when it was over, I always knew that the good guys would win. The only thing that I ever really worried about was finishing my cereal before it got soggy.
To be honest, I wish they still had those cartoons on. No matter how rough got for me as a kid, I always had Saturday morning to cling to, that wonderful 3 hours when the good guys were at their best. Working where I do, seeing just how terrible humans can be to each other, it'd be nice to have 3 hours a week where the good guys always win.
Today on the hour long drive back from church, I sat and went through the gospel story in my head. I know that sounds a little strange, but I just started to wonder, how often to we just listen to the story? Sure, we know how to break down individual pieces of scripture and make them say what we want, but how often do we just listen to the story and let it speak for itself? So I did just that, I considered the life of a seemingly ordinary human, and how he performed miracles, how he cared for everyone, loved the unlovable, and did everything possible to change the world, how he was murdered, how he came back from the dead. It's straight out of the cartoons man.
I'm serious about that; the gospel, it's a story that contains the same basic message as the stories that I clung to as a kid. It's full of hope, and of a very simple message: The good guys win. No matter how bad it gets, it pays to be someone who cares. No matter how bad the bad guys are, the good guys are better.
It's a message I needed to hear, maybe one you need to hear too. Cowabunga dudes.
(jake)
I grew up on stuff like this. Seeing it all in action again, well it just reminded me of all the things that I loved growing up and why. Sure, the dialogue is corny, the plots are predictable, but dang it I love it. At the end of the day, no matter how big and nasty Shredder's plans were, no matter what kind of secret weapon Krang had developed, it just didn't matter, I could always count on the Turtles to come through and win. It could sometimes be an intense 30 minutes, but when it was over, I always knew that the good guys would win. The only thing that I ever really worried about was finishing my cereal before it got soggy.
To be honest, I wish they still had those cartoons on. No matter how rough got for me as a kid, I always had Saturday morning to cling to, that wonderful 3 hours when the good guys were at their best. Working where I do, seeing just how terrible humans can be to each other, it'd be nice to have 3 hours a week where the good guys always win.
Today on the hour long drive back from church, I sat and went through the gospel story in my head. I know that sounds a little strange, but I just started to wonder, how often to we just listen to the story? Sure, we know how to break down individual pieces of scripture and make them say what we want, but how often do we just listen to the story and let it speak for itself? So I did just that, I considered the life of a seemingly ordinary human, and how he performed miracles, how he cared for everyone, loved the unlovable, and did everything possible to change the world, how he was murdered, how he came back from the dead. It's straight out of the cartoons man.
I'm serious about that; the gospel, it's a story that contains the same basic message as the stories that I clung to as a kid. It's full of hope, and of a very simple message: The good guys win. No matter how bad it gets, it pays to be someone who cares. No matter how bad the bad guys are, the good guys are better.
It's a message I needed to hear, maybe one you need to hear too. Cowabunga dudes.
(jake)
Thursday, March 15, 2007
500
So I have car trouble. It's funny, for about ten years now, it seems like whenever anyone in my family gets at least a hundred dollars more than we need to survive, something goes wrong with a car, and everybody gets cleaned out.
Now I'm hardly a car expert, but the nice man at the repair place said something to the effect of, "Your timing belt grumble grumble zig zag, *unintelligable sounds*, durka 500 dollars."
500 dollars. Count 'em. It's a lot. I'm a college student/youth minister who aspires to be a teacher. So your 500 dollars and my 500 dollars are extremely different. My 500 dollars is acheived by being bit, kicked, scratched, spit on, and then gets squandered on rubber belts. Seriously. Every word of it is true.
So where am I going with this? Why right into my own flaws, as usual. I have this terrible "Why Me?" attitude whenever I have money troubles. Seriously, it's a stupid way to live, especially for someone who should basically be accustomed to money problems by now. I always react the same way; run right home, sit down and whine to God about how nothing works out for me.
James makes it clear though. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds." That's pretty cut and dry. He doesn't say to consider it joy when I get an easy fix to a big problem. He doesn't say to consider it joy when everything's going my way. He simply says it. Even when nothing is working out, even when things suck, even when I'm being drug right back down into debt yet again, there's no excuse for behaving anyway other than with joy.
So the point? I'm going to try to be more joyful this week. 500 bucks worth of suffering; that's a lot of joy.
(jake)
-If you'd like to make a donation to the Jake Owens Car Relief Fund, send all donations to:
Ghetto Ride
1125 E 8th Box 651
York, NE 68467
Now I'm hardly a car expert, but the nice man at the repair place said something to the effect of, "Your timing belt grumble grumble zig zag, *unintelligable sounds*, durka 500 dollars."
500 dollars. Count 'em. It's a lot. I'm a college student/youth minister who aspires to be a teacher. So your 500 dollars and my 500 dollars are extremely different. My 500 dollars is acheived by being bit, kicked, scratched, spit on, and then gets squandered on rubber belts. Seriously. Every word of it is true.
So where am I going with this? Why right into my own flaws, as usual. I have this terrible "Why Me?" attitude whenever I have money troubles. Seriously, it's a stupid way to live, especially for someone who should basically be accustomed to money problems by now. I always react the same way; run right home, sit down and whine to God about how nothing works out for me.
James makes it clear though. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds." That's pretty cut and dry. He doesn't say to consider it joy when I get an easy fix to a big problem. He doesn't say to consider it joy when everything's going my way. He simply says it. Even when nothing is working out, even when things suck, even when I'm being drug right back down into debt yet again, there's no excuse for behaving anyway other than with joy.
So the point? I'm going to try to be more joyful this week. 500 bucks worth of suffering; that's a lot of joy.
(jake)
-If you'd like to make a donation to the Jake Owens Car Relief Fund, send all donations to:
Ghetto Ride
1125 E 8th Box 651
York, NE 68467
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Blood Stained Tounges
I bought a new movie. It's called, "Stranger Than Fiction," and it's by far Will Ferrel's best movie. Not his funniest, but his best. Without ruining the ending, because I hate that so much, I want to share some thoughts it put in my head.
There are two lines that I want to delve into, the first one being, "I'm supposed to knowingly face my own death?" Consider this; Jesus Christ had to face his own death. That's incredible. All I could think about throughout this entire movie was what it would be like to face my own death. How would I handle it? If I knew exactly how long I had left, if I knew that the end were approaching, how would I do it? Would I try to stop it? Would I try to live the most I could in a few short weeks? What on Earth would I do?
But this question is nothing compared to the second line. "I've Killed." It's so simple, it's so blunt, and it's so powerful. I don't know if you could say those two words without any finality; they close the book on so many things. To admit not to another, but to yourself that you are a murderer would have to be a very hard process.
So I tell you these two thoughts to help you understand the admission that I'm making right now. Ready?
I've Killed. And because I've Killed, Jesus Christ had to knowingly face his own death.
Because of my sin Jesus died. I'm no better than Charles Manson, or that guy that killed hookers. I'm just another murderer, just one more guilty conscience trying to escape justice. My own weapon wasn't a gun or a cross, but a tounge. With my mouth, with my complete lack of concern for others or their feelings, I Killed.
Jesus Christ, knowing that I Killed, knowing that my tounge was going to put him on a cross, STILL knowingly and willingly faced this fate. Understanding that I was judge, jury, executioner and perpetrator, he still walked right into death, and he did it for me. He did it to save me.
I try to keep my posts relevant to my life, which means keeping it relevant to the world around me. Life is rough right now where I live, up at Yorkland where there's trouble in paradise. It's easy to point fingers and get mad, and even when that's done you still have to admit that there's no easy way to fix things.
I write this when I do for a reason. I write it to remind myself, to remind my friends, to remind the world of the thing that is of first importance. Jesus Christ willingly died for his own murderers. Don't lose sight of that.
(jake)
There are two lines that I want to delve into, the first one being, "I'm supposed to knowingly face my own death?" Consider this; Jesus Christ had to face his own death. That's incredible. All I could think about throughout this entire movie was what it would be like to face my own death. How would I handle it? If I knew exactly how long I had left, if I knew that the end were approaching, how would I do it? Would I try to stop it? Would I try to live the most I could in a few short weeks? What on Earth would I do?
But this question is nothing compared to the second line. "I've Killed." It's so simple, it's so blunt, and it's so powerful. I don't know if you could say those two words without any finality; they close the book on so many things. To admit not to another, but to yourself that you are a murderer would have to be a very hard process.
So I tell you these two thoughts to help you understand the admission that I'm making right now. Ready?
I've Killed. And because I've Killed, Jesus Christ had to knowingly face his own death.
Because of my sin Jesus died. I'm no better than Charles Manson, or that guy that killed hookers. I'm just another murderer, just one more guilty conscience trying to escape justice. My own weapon wasn't a gun or a cross, but a tounge. With my mouth, with my complete lack of concern for others or their feelings, I Killed.
Jesus Christ, knowing that I Killed, knowing that my tounge was going to put him on a cross, STILL knowingly and willingly faced this fate. Understanding that I was judge, jury, executioner and perpetrator, he still walked right into death, and he did it for me. He did it to save me.
I try to keep my posts relevant to my life, which means keeping it relevant to the world around me. Life is rough right now where I live, up at Yorkland where there's trouble in paradise. It's easy to point fingers and get mad, and even when that's done you still have to admit that there's no easy way to fix things.
I write this when I do for a reason. I write it to remind myself, to remind my friends, to remind the world of the thing that is of first importance. Jesus Christ willingly died for his own murderers. Don't lose sight of that.
(jake)
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Plankeyed
Reality check. Not for you, for me. This blog is just my attempt to keep my spritual journey in the plubic eye so I'll be held accountable. But the reality check, it's time to stop and evaluate that ever important organ, the heart. Specifically, is my heart in the right place?
See, the road to Hell is in fact paved with good intentions, but Hell has a crappy department of transportation, and they only paved it about a third of the way. After that it becomes real choppy and dirty with spoiled motives and lost passions. In fact, when you think about it, the only difference between the road to Heaven and the road to Hell might just be the direction you're travelling. Hm. Another blog perhaps.
Still, the point I'm working towards is this; I have a bad habit of forgetting who the enemy is. As I sit here with my newfound love Flogging Molly, I have to wonder just who I'm fighting. See, I'm very big on rooting out hypocrisy, especially in my own heart, but sometimes I forget that the issue is my heart, and I start focusing on other people's hypocrisy.
First off, I have no idea of knowing if anyone else on Earth is a hypocrit or not. Me? I am. I'm a freaking Pharisee. What happens is I get all fired up to fix my own heart, then I notice something in me, then I realize that maybe the rest of the world has the same problem as me, then I figure they must, then I attack them for the thing that I was trying to get out of myself, completely forgetting to remove the plank in my own eye.
I suppose what I'm trying to get across is that I need to stop attacking my brothers and sisters. I've said before that grace covers hypocrisy, but do I exhibit that same grace? The answer is a resounding no. I do not. I attack the pharisees and forget completely that the whole issue was my own hypocrisy. I have no motive to help, just to hurt. All I want is to destroy what I saw in myself. I think it's called projection.
My prayer for myself is that I can learn to focus on myself. I've got a lot of ground to cover. My prayer for anyone unfortunate enough to read this mess is that you will be blessed with wisdom to see the sin in your own heart, and that we can all just start trying to fix ourselves, and end up helping each other as a result.
(jake)
See, the road to Hell is in fact paved with good intentions, but Hell has a crappy department of transportation, and they only paved it about a third of the way. After that it becomes real choppy and dirty with spoiled motives and lost passions. In fact, when you think about it, the only difference between the road to Heaven and the road to Hell might just be the direction you're travelling. Hm. Another blog perhaps.
Still, the point I'm working towards is this; I have a bad habit of forgetting who the enemy is. As I sit here with my newfound love Flogging Molly, I have to wonder just who I'm fighting. See, I'm very big on rooting out hypocrisy, especially in my own heart, but sometimes I forget that the issue is my heart, and I start focusing on other people's hypocrisy.
First off, I have no idea of knowing if anyone else on Earth is a hypocrit or not. Me? I am. I'm a freaking Pharisee. What happens is I get all fired up to fix my own heart, then I notice something in me, then I realize that maybe the rest of the world has the same problem as me, then I figure they must, then I attack them for the thing that I was trying to get out of myself, completely forgetting to remove the plank in my own eye.
I suppose what I'm trying to get across is that I need to stop attacking my brothers and sisters. I've said before that grace covers hypocrisy, but do I exhibit that same grace? The answer is a resounding no. I do not. I attack the pharisees and forget completely that the whole issue was my own hypocrisy. I have no motive to help, just to hurt. All I want is to destroy what I saw in myself. I think it's called projection.
My prayer for myself is that I can learn to focus on myself. I've got a lot of ground to cover. My prayer for anyone unfortunate enough to read this mess is that you will be blessed with wisdom to see the sin in your own heart, and that we can all just start trying to fix ourselves, and end up helping each other as a result.
(jake)
Sunday, February 25, 2007
A Flowery Post
Enough fighting the man, it's been a long, painful series of weeks here at York College, and it's time to smile a little.
Jesus had a thing for outcasts. Lepers, adulteresses, tax collectors, murderers, he attracted them all. And even though the religious leaders of the day thought they weren't saving, Jesus Christ did. What bugs me a lot is that I think I'm more like a pharisee than a murderer, and honestly, I'd rather be a murderer.
I've always loved the story of the woman caught in adultery as an example of Jesus' grace, but I think that the one I need to be reading is a couple books later, in the book of Acts. I think that the story I need to read is about a young man named Saul, who was so absorbed in what he thought God wanted that he had lost sight of what God really wanted.
On the road Saul saw Jesus face to face, and Jesus Christ made it clear that he had plans for Saul. We all know how it goes; this murderous hypocritical monster becomes a loving, gentle apostle, teaching and redeeming across the world, sparing no expense to share the gospel of Christ.
I've never killed anyone physically. I've never commited adultery, heck, I don't even download music. What I've done is far worse. I've killed spiritually. I've abandoned my God of love for a God of my own creation, one who smiles on people who sit in pews and say Amen at the right time, who attend youth rallies and go to Christian Colleges. I've shunned those who won't fall in line with my idea of a Christian, and I've shunned those who needed my help.
I suppose that one of my greatest failings is my misunderstanding of grace. I could take the easy way out here and blame the Church of Christ and it's bitter reactionary stance on once-saved doctrine, but the reality is that I beat myself up and treat myself like crap, and it doesn't do anyone a bit of good. In fact, it's like I'm telling Jesus that his sacrifice isn't enough.
Read this next line carefully. Re-read it. Pay attention.
Grace covers even hypocrisy. Even a Pharisee can be born again.
It's easy to get angry and throw my fist up in the air. Being mad at myself is simple. Being frustrated with my friends is no problem. The hard part is sitting down once in a while and remembering that no matter how messed up I am or my world is, God died for me, and he's strong enough to create this Earth, strong enough to forgive a bald kid with a sharp tounge. It even covers the sin of underestimating grace.
Even if you hate snow, smile a little tonight. Jesus died for you, and his blood is powerful enough to forgive Saul, it's powerful enough to forgive Jake, and it most certainly is powerful enough to forgive you. I've prayed that everyone who reads this gets a special blessing straight from the Father, so keep your eyes open, you never know what might happen.
(jake)
Jesus had a thing for outcasts. Lepers, adulteresses, tax collectors, murderers, he attracted them all. And even though the religious leaders of the day thought they weren't saving, Jesus Christ did. What bugs me a lot is that I think I'm more like a pharisee than a murderer, and honestly, I'd rather be a murderer.
I've always loved the story of the woman caught in adultery as an example of Jesus' grace, but I think that the one I need to be reading is a couple books later, in the book of Acts. I think that the story I need to read is about a young man named Saul, who was so absorbed in what he thought God wanted that he had lost sight of what God really wanted.
On the road Saul saw Jesus face to face, and Jesus Christ made it clear that he had plans for Saul. We all know how it goes; this murderous hypocritical monster becomes a loving, gentle apostle, teaching and redeeming across the world, sparing no expense to share the gospel of Christ.
I've never killed anyone physically. I've never commited adultery, heck, I don't even download music. What I've done is far worse. I've killed spiritually. I've abandoned my God of love for a God of my own creation, one who smiles on people who sit in pews and say Amen at the right time, who attend youth rallies and go to Christian Colleges. I've shunned those who won't fall in line with my idea of a Christian, and I've shunned those who needed my help.
I suppose that one of my greatest failings is my misunderstanding of grace. I could take the easy way out here and blame the Church of Christ and it's bitter reactionary stance on once-saved doctrine, but the reality is that I beat myself up and treat myself like crap, and it doesn't do anyone a bit of good. In fact, it's like I'm telling Jesus that his sacrifice isn't enough.
Read this next line carefully. Re-read it. Pay attention.
Grace covers even hypocrisy. Even a Pharisee can be born again.
It's easy to get angry and throw my fist up in the air. Being mad at myself is simple. Being frustrated with my friends is no problem. The hard part is sitting down once in a while and remembering that no matter how messed up I am or my world is, God died for me, and he's strong enough to create this Earth, strong enough to forgive a bald kid with a sharp tounge. It even covers the sin of underestimating grace.
Even if you hate snow, smile a little tonight. Jesus died for you, and his blood is powerful enough to forgive Saul, it's powerful enough to forgive Jake, and it most certainly is powerful enough to forgive you. I've prayed that everyone who reads this gets a special blessing straight from the Father, so keep your eyes open, you never know what might happen.
(jake)
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Unfortunatley, Crazy Pills do Come in Suppositories
I believe that The Tick said it best.
"You're not going crazy, you're going sane in a crazy world!"
I feel that way sometimes. Actually, I feel that way a lot. Before you read any further into this, you need to know that this is not a political thing I'm about to write. It's just my reflections on the madness around me. Now that the guns are being put away we can get down to business.
Today I saw on the news that roughly 12 Billion Dollars in United States money was "misplaced" in Iraq. Now if that's not quite the red flag you were looking for, consider this: The people being blamed for this have used the following two arguments to defend themselves.
1) It's not our fault, Iraq has poor bookkeeping, and the real doozie,
2) $12,000,000,000 isn't that much. (I put all the zeros there to make it look silly.)
Wait! We're not done yet! In other news, earlier today television executives declared that American Idol, the show that gave us such memorable artists as Ruben Studdard and that 80 year old lounge singer who claims to be 20, is in fact, "The most influential program in the history of television." Seriously. This show is just churning out one worthless pop diva after another, and they ALL SOUND THE SAME. CRAPPY.
There are days where I look around at the world around me, and then retreat into my room to scream into a pillow with frustration. But what kills me is that when I point this out to people, they nod and say, "Yeah, someone should do something about that."
Listen up fools, it's time to break this thing down.
A friend/mentor of mine once said, "The thing that killed Nixon wasn't the crime, it was the coverup." It's a good point, one we could all learn from. The problem at hand is that we're all looking to coverup our problems and let them go. Sin in our hearts? Hide it. Church not meeting your needs? Grumble at lunch. Double standards all around you? Ignore it.
Problem is, eventually those things will fester and grow in the dark until they strangle us and finish the job. But bring them in the light and they'll melt like a Nazi with The Ark.
Stop hiding things, let's be honest and let's be open. Please. I'm getting really sick of feeling insane.
(jake)
"You're not going crazy, you're going sane in a crazy world!"
I feel that way sometimes. Actually, I feel that way a lot. Before you read any further into this, you need to know that this is not a political thing I'm about to write. It's just my reflections on the madness around me. Now that the guns are being put away we can get down to business.
Today I saw on the news that roughly 12 Billion Dollars in United States money was "misplaced" in Iraq. Now if that's not quite the red flag you were looking for, consider this: The people being blamed for this have used the following two arguments to defend themselves.
1) It's not our fault, Iraq has poor bookkeeping, and the real doozie,
2) $12,000,000,000 isn't that much. (I put all the zeros there to make it look silly.)
Wait! We're not done yet! In other news, earlier today television executives declared that American Idol, the show that gave us such memorable artists as Ruben Studdard and that 80 year old lounge singer who claims to be 20, is in fact, "The most influential program in the history of television." Seriously. This show is just churning out one worthless pop diva after another, and they ALL SOUND THE SAME. CRAPPY.
There are days where I look around at the world around me, and then retreat into my room to scream into a pillow with frustration. But what kills me is that when I point this out to people, they nod and say, "Yeah, someone should do something about that."
Listen up fools, it's time to break this thing down.
A friend/mentor of mine once said, "The thing that killed Nixon wasn't the crime, it was the coverup." It's a good point, one we could all learn from. The problem at hand is that we're all looking to coverup our problems and let them go. Sin in our hearts? Hide it. Church not meeting your needs? Grumble at lunch. Double standards all around you? Ignore it.
Problem is, eventually those things will fester and grow in the dark until they strangle us and finish the job. But bring them in the light and they'll melt like a Nazi with The Ark.
Stop hiding things, let's be honest and let's be open. Please. I'm getting really sick of feeling insane.
(jake)
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Of Church Pews and Motel Beds
Here it is, post # 1, hope you hate it.
So here it is, openness. It's hard, and it's humiliating, but by the grace of God someone will learn from it. Like everyone else who grew up in the church, I spent a lot of time isolated from the "real world." I was given a sort of sub-culture in hopes that I would get so wrapped up in it that I would never even have to be tempted to do drugs or vote Democrat. I am extremely grateful that I never did drugs, but I worry sometimes that this had a completely disastrous effect on us.
See within this Christian sub-culture, there were a few unspoken rules. For example, sex and drugs are sins that you must distance yourself from at all costs, even if it's your best friend who falls into a trap of that sort. I'm not proud of it, but I've abandoned more than a few comrades over the years because they started to slip into a different sin.
Thing is, while I was making such a strong effort to stay pure of those terrible influences, I was still listening to and occasionally telling gossip. I was still judging people, and I was still falling short of the prize. I'm not proud of those things, but I know that God's grace is more than enough to cover my petty sins. But that's just it; God's grace is enough. The people who fell into the trap of sex? No worse than me and my petty little judgements. We still sinned, and we still needed Christ.
Now here's what's terrible about this whole scenario. I'm 21 years old, and it's not stopping. I'm still guilty of the same things. I still judge people and try to distance myself. Oh sure, I've gotten much better about coming off as a forgiving person, but the reality is that I don't treat 'sinners' the same way I treat 'saved.' Donald Miller calls it like it is: I'm treating Love like it's a commodity, something that needs to be earned from me.
I can't speak for you, but I know I need to fix this problem. How about you? One of the best things about our Jesus is that he gives us a fresh start every day. He forgives murderers and rapists, and he can even forgive us Pharisees. So I for one choose to make a fresh start. Love is undeserved by all, needed by everyone, and will be given freely by me. Try it yourself, if you've got the guts to humble yourself.
(jake)
So here it is, openness. It's hard, and it's humiliating, but by the grace of God someone will learn from it. Like everyone else who grew up in the church, I spent a lot of time isolated from the "real world." I was given a sort of sub-culture in hopes that I would get so wrapped up in it that I would never even have to be tempted to do drugs or vote Democrat. I am extremely grateful that I never did drugs, but I worry sometimes that this had a completely disastrous effect on us.
See within this Christian sub-culture, there were a few unspoken rules. For example, sex and drugs are sins that you must distance yourself from at all costs, even if it's your best friend who falls into a trap of that sort. I'm not proud of it, but I've abandoned more than a few comrades over the years because they started to slip into a different sin.
Thing is, while I was making such a strong effort to stay pure of those terrible influences, I was still listening to and occasionally telling gossip. I was still judging people, and I was still falling short of the prize. I'm not proud of those things, but I know that God's grace is more than enough to cover my petty sins. But that's just it; God's grace is enough. The people who fell into the trap of sex? No worse than me and my petty little judgements. We still sinned, and we still needed Christ.
Now here's what's terrible about this whole scenario. I'm 21 years old, and it's not stopping. I'm still guilty of the same things. I still judge people and try to distance myself. Oh sure, I've gotten much better about coming off as a forgiving person, but the reality is that I don't treat 'sinners' the same way I treat 'saved.' Donald Miller calls it like it is: I'm treating Love like it's a commodity, something that needs to be earned from me.
I can't speak for you, but I know I need to fix this problem. How about you? One of the best things about our Jesus is that he gives us a fresh start every day. He forgives murderers and rapists, and he can even forgive us Pharisees. So I for one choose to make a fresh start. Love is undeserved by all, needed by everyone, and will be given freely by me. Try it yourself, if you've got the guts to humble yourself.
(jake)
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