Turn that thing off!

Both genders have one thing they really like. For girls, it's horses. For guys, it's video games. The problem is that how much they are into one or the other directly affects their attractiveness to the opposite sex. Guys don't typically like girls who are totally into horses, and girls don't like guys who are really into video games. Girls, don't get mad at me, but it's the truth. I can say these things because I'm really into video games, so that definitely takes away my attractiveness. Girls don't understand what's unattractive about horses, and guys don't understand what's unattractive about video games.

I cannot speak for the girls, but I think I understand why we as men are really into video games. There are three aspects that God put into all men, and video games help us excercise them.

First of all, we are geared to domination. When I play a video game, it's not about growing farms and annoying everyone on facebook about giving me a gift. It often involves an M4, a .44 magnum revolver, and a .50 caliber sniper rifle. I then use those tools to eliminate the other players. It's quite rewarding.

Second, we whole-heartedly respect our avatar. Playing with a character who never tires, never hungers, and who is always dependable is someone to look up to. We lose the sense of our avatar being simply digitized polygons, and they actually become a part of us. Typically, the characters are manly men whom we would like to be like.

Lastly, I think God gave men a sense of imagination. Over millennia, men used their imagination to create art, war, architecture, technology, and civilizations. We receive that as a little lad playing with a hook shaped twig that we called a machine gun. But in recent years, the imagination has been looked down on, and so the video game has become our satisfying stay. How sad that when a man has a dream his hopes are dashed by pessimists (often the people he loves most). If we can only return to the state of thinking in mid-1800's San Fransisco that failure is okay.

So ladies, if you want you're husband to put down the controller, first think about his imaginative needs. Give him ideas about creative models where he can exercise his right-brain. Don't nag him, just tell him he'd be really good at doing x or y. We like being empowered. We might even turn that thing off.

Blame it on the rain

I understand that for the next few days, we are going to have yucky weather. All you have to do is step outside for one minute, and you can be depressed the rest of the day. Rain always makes me avoid being outside. I hate feeling cold and wet. It does not hurt me at all, I just do not like it.

But there is one thing that the rain does for me. I realize that after the rain, the air will smell clean, and the grass will be a brilliant green. The earth itself will come alive.

Now if you have been following my blog, you have come to expect me to find a spiritual application in every situation. I will not let you down this time either.

Even though we are the church of God, we are still human. After a while, we lose our vigor, and seem to die. Our leaves turn brown, even though our roots stay strong. When God wants us to thrive again, he revives us by showering us with the Word. We may not like the harsh message He has for us, but we need it. It is cold, wet, and uncomfortable. But after a while, it feels good.

After the time of this revival, we are once again green and pure. We are alive again, ready to praise him with all we got.

It's agony, my dear friends

Have you ever felt grief over losing someone who is close to you? Have you ever felt torture for finding out that someone you love is about to die? Was the person sick? Was it unexpected? Whatever the case, it's agony my dear friends that you feel; or continue to feel.

But as you might expect, this feeling is ancient, for so is mankind. The feelings that are so closely associated with grief are perfectly represented in Acts 20. PAul is finishing his third missionary journey, and he is lead by the Spirit to return to Jerusalem. He does not expect the Jews to take him in as a friend, and neither do any of the brethren in Asia expect anything like that either.

Paul calls for the leaders in Ephesus. He gives a recap of his ministry, but he also makes a point that they will never see him again. This statement is obviously implies that he expects to die at the hand of the Jews in Jerusalem.

Now put yourself in the shoes of the Ephesian elders. The reason that you know Christ is because Paul evangelized to you. He was a spiritual father of yours. You are receiving news that your father is willingly martyring himself. He will die. You will never see him again in this world. He then commands you what to do as a shepherd when he is gone. How do you handle that?

So that is my question. How do you handle that?

Holy Spirit or Coincidence?

I have a silly little story for you. There's no climax, but hey. What do you want? I would like you to analyze the situation, and tell me if the end result was the Holy Spirit's doing, or just a coincidence. I will let all you common sense theologians discern for yourself.

Early this morning, I was getting ready for school. Right before I left, I felt something tell me to take an extra pair of pants with me. I thought this was weird, but I thought, "what the hey." So I went upstairs and looked for my comfy sweatpants. I couldn't find them and settled for my starchy sweatpants. When I opened my backpack to put them inside, my comfy sweatpants were already inside... creepy?

Well then I was off to school in my jeans. I had a pretty uneventful day until lunchtime. If anyone knows Angelo, they know him for his outgoing personality, and his ability to raise a ruckus. Well he was telling a story, and in true Angelo fashion, it ending in his laughing uncontrollably with his entire body. While flailing his arms, he managed to knock over a glass of milk. Low and behold that glass of milk fell right on my lap, drenching my right leg. He felt sorry, and I was mad for a split second. But then I remembered, "Oh wait, I have an extra pair of pants in my car (which never happens)." So I got them out of my car, and now I am typing this dry, warm, and comfy.

Now tell me my little theologians. Was that an act of the Holy Spirit, or was that just a stupid coincidence? I am not sure, so tell me what you think.

Wake Up San Francisco

This semester has demanded my getting up very early in the morning. I hated it at first, but now my body clock is set to get up at 5:45 AM... sort of. But anyway. For the past two days, I have taken advantage of breakfast time. I love drinking a cup of tea with honey after I gobble up my egg. And typical me, I sit there contemplating how I can effectively use my time that I am wasting as I passively sip the steaming drink. And like the true genius I am, I thought, "Oh. I can read my Bible."

For the past two days, I have been reading and contemplating 1st and 2nd Thessalonians. I have questions about traditional eschatology, so I thought the Thessalonian epistles would be a good place to find answers. Though I have not come to any conclusions, I have been blessed otherwise. During my quiet time, I have learned to prayer better. I have been specific in my requests, and my praise has been more truthful. But just so you know, I am not patting myself on the back for any of it either. Because I have started my day off with contemplating the scriptures and talking to God, He has taught me how to properly be with Him, praise Him, love Him. He has given me more love to share with others, and so a direct application of that in my life is that I can feel myself loving Steph more.

I would encourage anyone to find a time day of day that cannot be interrupted, and just spend it with the Lord. You will learn so much, and your life and attitude will change.

Do the Helen Keller

A general question given by many atheists is, "How can you believe in a God you don't see?" To be completely honest, most of the time my answer is as general as the question: "By faith." But there is a lot to that faith, much more than I used to understand.

God is a spiritual being. You cannot experience Him via your five senses (even though I argued in a previous post that your emotion can be considered a sense). I cannot taste God, see Him, hear Him, etc. All I know about Him is what I glean from the scriptures, and the happenings in the world around me. Sometimes it is frustrating to have a relationship, and not get to sense Him as I could another friend.

But now I think I know a reason why God makes it impossible for us to sense Him physically.

God is the God of all men. Weak and strong, rich and poor. He has compassion on the able-bodied, as well as the handicapped. If God were tangible, I could experience Him through my senses. But a blind man would miss out. He could not see the awesome glory of God that I do. Someone who lost his limbs in battle would not be able to reach out and touch God. A deaf man could not hear God's voice. Only those who are physically capable would properly worship.

Now let us come back to reality. God cannot be touched, seen, or heard. But because God is not sensed, the handicapped man has the same opportunity for experiencing God as I do. God plays no favoritism.

If you still are not buying my argument, ask a blind man why he believes in God if he can not see him.

Whitey Syndrome

I love working out. I also love saving money. So, I go to Planet Fitness because I get to do both. Now, I am not very strong (or athletic, flexible, coordinated, etc.) so my best is not as great as most of the other muscle machines that go there. My lift is only a little over 100 pounds, and I have seen baseball bats bigger than my arms. I have been this way my whole life, so I have just accepted it. It does not bother me.

But every once in a while, it gets to me. One Thursday night, I was lifting weights in the back room of Planet Fitness. As I was struggling with 100 pounds, I looked around and watched all the superhuman, non-white people. I saw Ving Rhames and the guy from the Green Mile lifting the entire machines themselves. I saw Bruce Lee lift eight pounds for every pound of muscle he had on his body.

Then I looked at my own pasty white self and thought, "Why did I have to be white? I wish I was black. Then I could be stronger. Or at least Asian..."

At that moment, Colored People by DC Talk came on my ipod. I then realized that God was trying to tell me that he made me white for a reason. He purposely decided to make me a pasty white boy with no athletic ability to keep me humble. Well, it worked.

"I tip my hat to the colorful arrangement, 'cause I see the beauty in the tones of our skin.." May I remember these words lest I ever again come down with whitey syndrome.

School of Hard Knocks

Yesterday was Easter. We had a beautiful service at church. Shelly sang a beautiful song on a concept I never thought of before. My mom sang the song I have been listening to her practice all week. The pastor gave an exceptional gospel invitation. And how did I feel? As nervous as a fat guy on a tight rope. You see, I have a pastoral polity class that required me to observe a communion service. I hate the word observe. My pastor knew that, so he let me officiate half of it. I knew the words I had to say, but I had no idea what I was supposed to do.

I went up front when it was time for invitation. I am leading the singing during the month of April so it is my job to lead us all in two verses of "Just as I am." The easy part of leading singing is that I get to be on stage, towering over everyone else. It's easy to be in front of people when you get to look down at them.

Well when communion started, I had to get down off the stage. I have been going to the same church for nineteen years, and I never noticed the elevation shift from the back to the front of the church. The back of the church is higher than the front. I was standing in the front. So now, everyone was looking down at me. If I wasn't nervous enough before, I was definitely nervous enough now.

I had a simple job. Read verses from 1 Corinthians 11 and pray to God I don't mess up. My next job was to ask Eric to pray for the bread. When I asked him, I wasn't sure if I was supposed to ask him to bless the bread, thank God for it, or what. So my question came out, "Eric, would you mmslll rrrgggnnn."

With the smirks of everyone who was trying to listen, my humility grew.

Afterward, when I was assessing my failure, I realized that I was thankful for the experience. I was thankful that my pastor doesn't mind sharing the spotlight for a student. I'd rather mess up now as an intern than later as a pastor. The last thing I need is a lesson from the school of hard knocks.

The gospel + me

There are quite a few Christians where I work. They all come from different walks of life. They believe in all sorts of varying doctrines. Sometimes there is debate. I try to stay out of it, but sometimes it is just too hard not to join in. It is hard to hear bad theology and just let it go. Sometimes when I do not join in, they ask me for my view anyway.

This is the constant struggle that goes on when work is slow. But it is my life, and it is not too bad. I have learned how to come half-way with people, and I think that is how the apostle Paul must have been.

There is one thing we can agree on. The only way to Heaven is to believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became a man, died, and rose again to pay our wages of death. The problem is expecting people to accept everything else we believe before they are saved.

For example, we might view homosexuality as wrong. We have good scripture to back that up in Romans 1:18-32, and 1 Corinthians 6:9. But it is not up to us to convince a person to change his life before accepting Christ. All that a person needs to go to Heaven is the gospel. If they are truly saved, Jesus will work the rest out; not you. We have the duty to instruct them after they are saved, but not before.

Does a person have to accept young earth theology to go to Heaven? Not at all. They are wrong, but it is not part of the gospel. Hopefully by the grace of God their eyes will be opened to the truth, but don't bring that along with you when you spread the gospel. Are you saving the people, or is Christ? If they believe in the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, they are saved. It is not up to you to make sure they like Bill Gaither first.