Once Upon a Time…

I spent my first 11 years living on St. Maarten and Dominica (not the republic). My parents were missionaries to the area. We faced numerous hurricanes that destroyed many of the native houses and some of our homes too. They did destroy almost all of our pictures. Sometimes we flew to the United States for furlough or for medical emergencies since the doctors in the islands were not as educated as the ones in the states.

I remember that all of the toys I received would not stay long since theft was a normal part of life for the area. My favorite toy that I kept guarded for a week before someone walked into our house and took it, while I was gone to get bread in the village, was a white poodle that had a radio in its tummy. My sister got a black one just like it. We learned to have fun with whatever we found. Marbles and rounders (kind of like baseball and cricket mixed together) were favorite games of the area.

We had a maid who helped cook and wash while my mom taught school to us and some native school friends.
We had no modern conveniences like now. For example, to wash clothes, we walked to a river with the baskets of clothes on our head. Then we wet them in the river a few at a time so none would wash down stream. Then we added soap to each one and rubbed them on rocks and then rinsed them in the river and hung them on nearby bushes or rocks to dry.

My favorite dish was fish and dumplings or Chicken and dumplings. My second favorite was dried salted fish or tee-tee-wee patties. These patties were made from hundreds of extremely small fish mixed with some flour and salt and water. They were fried in oil. But my all time favorite, even now, was fresh fruit. Especially passion fruit, mangoes and guava which could usually be picked off trees growing by the road.

It was a much simpler life then but there are good, happy, sad, and bad memories as all people have from their childhood.

When I re-visited Dominica with my oldest son, Nathan, 10 years ago, it seemed much dirtier and the river was polluted and the houses/shacks were crowded so much that only one very thin person could walk between them. It had changed in several ways but stayed the same in others. The innocent romance of remembrance of it is a bit more updated and realistic. But I still love most of the memories and am glad I was able to experience that country as a child.
When we moved to the states in 1981, my eyes were opened to the excesses of Americans and the apathy that came with it. I think anyone who has a chance to take a trip with their kids to another country, should take it and pray over it. Pray for it to be eye-opening and faith building and life changing toward God for all involved.

Mom was a missionary kid; this is her story and she is the reason missions are a big part of me.

Our whole family is going on a two week mission trip to Belize and it is something we are very much looking forward to. I am excited about it because it has long term potential, but that’s for another post. Right now, suffice it to say that we will be taking pictures and I will be enthusiastically posting stories and photos here, and on the facebook page. If you wan’t to have a thumb in this pie, you can subscribe to the blog or follow the facebook page!
In the meantime, help us prepare for this incredible trip, all it takes is a dollar and sharing this post with your friends.










Manly Virtue No. 6: Discipline

Eric Weisz was born in Hungary in 1874 and immigrated to the U.S. at a very young age. The rest of his history is obscure, but he grew into a young man who knew locks. Eric was also very good with sleight of hand tricks and became a big attraction at the local circus dime show. He wasn’t there long because his skill was in much more than just cards and locks, it was in escape. Eric grew in fame as he escaped every pair of handcuffs with which he was shackled. He also got out of strait jackets, coffins, jail cells and six feet of earth. Eric Weisz gained national fame and traveled the globe as the Handcuff King and Escape Artist Extraordinaire. But we know him better as Harry Houdini.

How did he do it? Discipline. The training he put himself through is enough to make anyone cringe, but he could escape because of it. Resolve is a good pre-cursor to discipline because you must have the discipline to carry out your resolve. They are two sister virtues that must come together or not at all. From resolving to read this horrendously long article, to resolving to escape six feet of earth alive, it all takes discipline. But I hope you will do it. There are four parts to discipline: Habit, Will, Focus and Efficiency. Discipline is the difference between escape and death, success and failure, riches and bare existence, Godliness and foolishness, manliness and boyhood. It doesn’t take being a Houdini to be disciplined; it only takes understanding its rudimentary parts.

Discipline through Habit

“This fact applies to everything that we do, and to every relation of our lives. We can make a habit of honesty, of industry, of kindliness, of attention, of courtesy, and of whatever we will. Indeed, Aristotle, one of the wisest men of antiquity, defined virtue as a habit of right doing… Another great advantage that springs from the fixity of habits is found in the fact that, by means of this, our lives may make real progress.” ~ Charles Carroll Everett.

Discipline through Will

Check out the full article here

 

Strength in will is intense. You can tell just by looking at the kid’s faces. Those who persevered struggled visibly. But that is nothing compared to what Houdini did…

“I want to be first. I vehemently want to be first. First in my profession… For that I give all the thought, all the power, that is in me. To stand at the head of my rank: it is all I ask… so I have struggled and fought. I have done and abstained; I have tortured my body and risked my life, only for that – to have one plank on the stage where they must fall back and cry “Master!”… I am strong, as you see; strong in flesh, but my will has been stronger than my flesh. I have struggled with iron and steel, with locks and chains; I have burned, drowned, and frozen till my body has become almost insensible to pain; I have done things which rightly I could not do, because I said to myself, “You must”; and now I am old at 36. A man is only a man, and the flesh revenges itself. Yet the will is its master when the will is strong enough.” ~ Harry Houdini

Discipline through Focus

There are two parts to focus: doing but one thing at a time and being one in purpose and action. In a letter to his son, Lord Chesterfield wrote:

“A man is fit for neither business nor pleasure who either cannot, or does not, command and direct his attention to the present object, and in some degree banish, for that time, all other objects from his thoughts… There is time enough for everything, in the course of the day, if you do but one thing at once; but there is not time enough in the year, if you will do two things at a time… This steady and dissipated attention to one object is a sure mark of a superior genius; as hurry, bustle, and agitation, are the never-failing symptoms of a weak and frivolous mind.”

Second, you must be one man; one in purpose and in action:

“My man, first of all consider what kind of thing it is: and then examine your own nature, if you are able to sustain the character… different men are formed by nature for different things…You must be one man, either good or bad. You must either cultivate your own ruling faculty, or external things; you must either exercise your skill on internal things or on external things; that is you must either maintain the petition of a philosopher or that of a common person.” ~ Epictetus

Discipline through Efficiency

Houdini was a master in physical efficiency. He tied knots with his toes and worked a deck of cards while conversing with guests. He also took ice baths and submerged himself under water to where he could hold his breath for four minutes. Because he was physically efficient, he was the best in what he did. But what about being mentally efficient? Here is the kicker. We are notorious for all of the diets and work outs we put our body through to get it in shape. However, we are sorely lacking in having our mental faculties as sharp as they should be. Being mentally efficient is just as important as being physically efficient in discipline. Here are a few tips from a 1911 article by Arnold Bennett:

“A strange thing – was it not? – That I never had the idea of devoting a quarter of an hour a day after shaving to the pursuit of mental efficiency… Your conscience tells you that your mind is less active and less informed than it might be… you say to yourself that you will take your mind in hand and do something with it. Wait a moment. What precautions are you going to take against failure this time? For your will is probably no stronger now than it was aforetime… What are your precautions? Have you thought of them? Failure in the past was due to one or more of three causes. And the first was that you undertook too much at the beginning… do not form an elaborate programme. Simply content yourself with a preliminary canter, a ridiculously easy preliminary canter… The second possible cause of previous failure was the disintegrating effect on the will-power of the ironic, superior smile of friends… Therefore don’t go and nail your flag to the mast. Don’t raise any flag. Say nothing. Work as unobtrusively as you can… The third possible cause was that you did not rearrange your day… Robbing yourself of sleep won’t help you, nor trying to ‘squeeze in’ a time for study between two other times. Use the knife, and use it freely. If you mean to read or think half an hour a day, arrange for an hour. A hundred percent margin is not too much for a beginner… We come now to what I may call the calisthenics of the business… [first exercise] There are few mental exercises better than learning great poetry or prose by heart… The chief, but not the only, merit of learning by heart as an exercise is that it compels the mind to concentrate. And the most important preliminary to self-development is the faculty of concentrating at will… [second exercise] the exercise of writing is an indispensable part of any genuine effort towards mental efficiency. I don’t care much what you write, so long as you compose sentences and achieve continuity. There are forty ways of writing in an unprofessional manner, and they are all good… After writing comes thinking.”

… And proficiency in thought is our ultimate goal.

Wrapping it up, I was particularly struck by the words of Harry Houdini in his quote under “Discipline through Will.” His words reminded me very much of Apostle Paul’s creed and I decided to re-phrased Houdini’s quote to reflect Paul’s thoughts and turn it into something we can declare as well.

I want to run well. I vehemently want to run well. For that I give all the thought, all the power that is in me. To stand before my King and hear Him say “Well Done!” It is all I ask… so I have struggled and fought. I have done and abstained; I have tortured my body and risked my life, only for that – to hear the praise of my Maker. I am strong, as you see; strong in flesh, but my will must be stronger than my flesh. I have struggled with iron and steel, with locks and chains; I have been beaten, spat upon, and harassed till my body has become almost insensible to pain; I have done things which rightly I could not do, because I said to myself, “You must”; because of Grace; because of faith; because of my King. I am only a man, and the flesh revenges itself. But the King is the master of my will, my will is the master of my flesh and my flesh will run this race well.

Amen

Be strong and courageous. Be disciplined.

(As has been demonstrated in the previous posts, my cents might not make sense unless you add your sense. So please comment and tell me what you think)

College!!!!….

One week down…. a lot more to go.

That was legitimately the longest week of my life, but I can’t wait to do it again.

A short synopsis:

Professors…

My favorite would have to be my history Prof. On the first day of class, he sourly informed us that he was a grouchy old man and then proceeded to tell us the details of what we could expect from him this upcoming semester.

The second day was when I decided I liked him; He’s a story teller. In fact, he did the first lecture, which was on the events preceding Columbus’ voyage, in story format.

He was clear enough to follow and take notes on, but what made him my first impression favorite was that he was sarcastic, and asked us questions. He somehow involved all eighty of us students in the story he told. It was entertaining, interesting and intense ( I sat in the front row).

Housing…

I am blessed to be living in my Aunt and Uncle’s house for this semester and most likely the next. I room with my cousin Philip, and Catherine (other cousin) is right across the hall. But most importantly, Philip and I now occupy one of the most epic Man Cave’s you ever saw.

Yes. Be jealous.

Dad and I built this beautiful red loft and I built an oak bookshelf, which we put in Philips room. They turned out very well. The loft functions as our Man Cave (we do have sharp pointy objects to mount beneath it, and snacks ) And my bookshelf (the first of its kind) now holds my growing library.

Classes…

College is presenting a new kind of challenge that I am starting to look forward too. So far, the professors I’ve met are here because they love to teach and they expect a lot from us. My favorite class is Technical Writing. The lady who teaches it is quirky and a no-nonsense kind of professor. My not-so-favorite class is biology. The text book jams evolution down your throat and I didn’t care for that at all. If they were going to teach it, they should teach it like it should be taught: as a scientific THEORY, but they teach it as if it is a law. I was starting to flow my arguments (yeah, the debater in me came out) and I prepared to ask the professor about it, but I was relieved to find that she didn’t teach it like the textbook did. This put most of my concerns to rest. The others, I made sure to vocalize through inquiry in class.

Fun stuff, if done correctly and with the right attitude. So far, no conflict…

Most Memorable Moment…

… Was probably last night. I found a great church to go too and joined one of their home groups. Last night was our group’s Circus Party. One of the many contests involved a water balloon *toss* and we had all the water balloons ready in a cooler. Ben pilfered a water balloon and had it hidden in his pocket for some sinister end. We were standing in a circle and preparing for the pie fight (yes. We chunked pies at each other… ) , when all of a sudden, a waterfall exploded out the bottom of Ben’s pants! There was a VERY awkward silence for a second before we realized what had actually happened. But before we could say anything, someone snickered: “he, he. Ben’s water broke!”

We nearly died laughing, while Ben stood grinning in his puddle.

Good times.

…In conclusion…

I am enjoying college. New challenges are all over the place and God’s blessed me with some awesome people to tackle them with. I have been looking forward to college for some time, and now that I am here… I don’t quite know what to do with myself. But, that shall soon be remedied, once I learn the ropes.

Meanwhile… as a parting note. College IS all that it is made out to be, but my advise to you is this…

Come prepared.

There is evolution, atheism, discovery, excitement, fun, depression, suicide, belief, growth, and friendships out there; there are challenges in college, but my gosh… I am having the time of my life. So don’t come afraid of who or what you’ll meet…

Come prepared to meet them.

The Good Life Series, Part 5: The Next Name in the Toledoth

Today, hopelessness is easy to find. So many people are living their lives just getting by because they have no hope, and you can see it in their faces. Today, Hopelessness is easy to find. So many Christians are living their lives just getting by, as if the hope that they have is for their inner most thoughts only, not to be manifested by actions or simply a smile on the face. That is So Wrong. We have been given The Light and In Him is life, and that life is the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. John 1:4 Hopeless and dead Christians walk around in our world today and I am tired of it. That is why I wrote this series on The Good Life, so that it might spur on who ever read it to live a life that reflects the light of Christ and the hope that we have in Him. The last few posts have been aimed at adding to our spiritual armor, now I want to look at how to fight; practical ways of living to let your light shine. Before we get started though, I need to explain what the word Toledoth means; it is Hebrew for ‘Genealogy.’ We are a member in God’s Toledoth because we have been saved by His sacrifice. So what does that entail? How do I take my place in the Toledoth? What it entails is that we need to live a life of Excellence and Joy, because we have been saved. How to take your place in the Toledoth is what my four points are derived off of. To take our place there, we need to think clearly, think proactively, think minutely, and think generationally. By actively living these four mindsets, we will no longer look like the rest of the world because we will be living out the hope that we have; we will be taking the basket off the candle to reveal a city on a hill.

-Think Clearly.

Evaluate who you are and what your calling is. We need to get down to the basics and clear up any confusion, so we can have a strong base. To start out, how do we think clearly about our nature? Well, think about it this way. Satan is always coming at you, looking for and taking advantage of your weaknesses. If you have ever read the Screwtape Letters, then you probably have a good picture of what I mean. He is scouting you out, how do we counter that? In professional sports, specifically football, one of the things teams do is send out scouts to rival team games. These scouts watch the games and get to know the teams habits so well that they can predict what play the coach will call in any circumstance. Satan knows your habits like the back of his hand, and since he knows your nature like that, he is going to exploit it. Those scouts go back to their home teams, and when ever there team plays the rival team they scouted, home team can effectively counter every play rival team makes, because they know before hand what they are going to do. Satan knows how you respond to certain situations, so when you happen to experience them he knows exactly what to do to twist it to his purpose. How do we counter that? We could send out scouts of our own to scout satan, right? That works to an extent, but it is not the main line of defense. We could mug rival scouts so they can’t watch our games. As much as I would like to mug satan, tie him up, and stick him in a closet, that just doesn’t work. How do we counter these attacks successfully? Scout yourself. It is that simple. Today in professional football, not only do teams send scouts to rival games, but they also send scouts to games that they play in so they can scout themselves. The purpose being to get to know their own habits well enough to predict them, like an enemy scout would. Once they know their rivals habits and their own then they can exploit both, by doing something unusual, not following their normal habits and throwing their rival off balance because they can no longer predict anything. Think clearly about your nature, scout yourself, ask others about your weaknesses, so that you will be prepared to give old nasty a twist that he hasn’t seen yet. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Second, think clearly about your calling. What am I called to do? There are several questions you can ask that will help to clear this up, they are: What do I enjoy? What am I good at? Where have I been complemented? What do wise people say about me? Where do I see a need? Our ultimate purpose lies with God, but he gives you certain gifts to fulfill that calling, when you examine the gifts, you get a lead as to what your calling is.

-Think proactively.

Get started today and write your Eulogy… my what? Your Eulogy, you know, the speech people make at your funeral… I am not kidding. The reason this is part of thinking proactively is not because you are going to die sometime soon and you want to prepare for your death, but because it gets you thinking proactively about your character. When you are dead, what do you want people to remember you for? This Eulogy is like a guideline that you are setting for yourself that you are making a commitment to live by. It is thinking proactively about the way you are going to live the rest of your life. Think proactively about your character. Next, think proactively about your marriage. Get married TODAY!

***

Okay, okay, just kidding. I was seeing if you were paying attention. No really, you can get out from behind the chair now, its okay. But I do mean this in a sense. We need to start today, being the kind of spouse we want our spouse to be. Since most of the home school population reading this post is not married, this may seem a little difficult to do. But there are ways of accomplishing it. For example… guys, yall need to check out my page called
a Real Man. It was put together by a group of Godly teenage girls, and it has a whole plethora of great Biblical tips for being a man of God, and preparing yourself to be a spouse worthy of feminine affection. (I am starting to creep myself out.) Girls… er… well uh… I am a guy so I don’t really know what yall would have to do to prepare for being a woman of God, and I was trying to write something useful for yall to work by. I thought I had better stop before I got myself in trouble.  Maybe sometime I can get together a group of guys and we can compile a list of the 24 traits of a real woman. That is actually a good idea, I think I might do that, any way, one thing at a time. Think proactively about your marriage. Finally, think proactively about your children. Have children today! Okay that joke is probably dead by now; I bet you saw it coming. Anyways, moving on, we need to start practicing being the kind of parents our children will need. I will talk extensively about this topic in my last point, so just hold on. Think proactively about your character, your marriage, and your children.

-Think Minutely

What are your habits? This is pretty crucial, because habits are unavoidable, they are difficult to get out of, and they take you places. Think minutely about your habits, so you can change them for the better before it is too late.

-Think Generationally

This is where I continue talking about thinking proactively about your children. I made the last point short because I knew you were so excited to get to this one!!!… right… er… continuing on. Think Generationally, prepare for your great, great, grandchildren. When doing this we need to think beautifully. We don’t want to raise obedient children, we want to raise loyal children. After all what are jails filled with? Obedient people. The guards tell them what to do and when to do it, and they do it. They broke the law because they were not loyal to their country, they were loyal to themselves. We need to teach our children to love the rules, standards, and wisdom. To demand complete obedience is to create robots. Human beings were not created with robot capabilities, we are rebellious, stubborn, creative, loving, unique individuals, and that’s why socialism doesn’t work (amen?) and that is also why we must instill loyalty into our children. There is value in pain and consequences, they teach us the hard facts about life and they teach us what to value. With complete obedience, there is no pain, no consequences, no free will, no learning experiences, no scraped knees, no mud puddles, only a puppet. I feel like I am wading in dangerous territory with this discussion, because what do I know about being a parent? Also doesn’t the Bible say, “Children OBEY your parents”? This is true, so I want to make a clarification and I will leave the rest of my logic to your discretion. Obedience is mandatory because God calls us to be obedient in many circumstances, but to teach obedience is more loving than to demand obedience, Eph 6:1 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”-which is the first commandment with a promise-”that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” Honor you father and mother, to honor is to also respect and with honor and respect is Loyalty.

I need to give you a few more guidelines on this subject before we finish, I apologize for the length of this post, but there is so much to cover. The Code of the Toledoth for thinking Generationally is this. Teach your children about the nature of God. Teach them about the nature of love. (Delighting one’s self in the delight of another) Discipline and sharpen your children with love. Incarnate your love and your worldview into your children and your children’s children. Make it alive.

John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” Jesus Christ came to earth as a man, He taught us the nature of God, He showed us the nature of Love, He disciplined and taught with Love, and God made His love and His word alive, by sending it down incarnate, literally alive, in the form of Jesus Christ.

Today, hopelessness is easy to find. So many people are living their lives just getting by, because they have no hope, and you can see it in their faces. Hopelessness is easy to find. So many Christians are living their lives just getting by, as if the hope that they have is for their inner most thoughts only, not to be manifested by actions or simply a smile on the face.

That is So Wrong.

Live the life of excellence, because we are part of God’s Toledoth. Make your life shine, and make your life vibrant and forceful. Create a family that resembles a city on a hill that no one can ignore because you, your children, and your children’s children shine with the hope that you have.

Here me now

And listen closely,

God did not make me

To live a life of apathy and complacency

I have a dream

We all have a calling

And that calling is to shine the light

With

All

We’ve

Got

Thanks guys, yall have an awesome bunch of readers.

And I want to thank the Jibenow staff for featuring my series, it has been an honor.

God Bless All of You,

~Nathan

The Good Life Series, Part 4: The Problem of Pain

Bad things happen to good people. Why? Thousands of children die each year from starvation and disease. Why? How could God allow such pain and suffering? After all, He is all powerful isn’t He? Why? The most heart ripping problem that Christians and the world face today, is the problem of pain. Horrible things happen, disasters occur, people die, and if God is all powerful and loving why does He “allow” it to happen? If you have not already read my earlier post called “The Good Life” I would strongly recommend that you do. It will give you a background for why I am writing this post. I want to dig into the problem of pain by setting up the foundation for the arguments in my first point, The Nature of the Problem. Second, we will look at the possible answers to that problem. Then finally we will look at “why?” where we will boil it down and find the answer, to the problem of pain.

Pain and the characteristics of God clash, because of the nature of God and the nature of the problem. The bible tells us that…

-God is omnipotent, all powerful.

-God is omni benevolent, all good and desiring the best for us.

-Evil and suffering exist.

Looking at these truths we can automatically see conflicts. If God is all powerful and all good, then why do Evil and suffering exist? This leads us to the possible answers for the problem.

The Girl in my post on the “good life” had been through some horrific things in her life, and she was feeling pain from those experiences. She looked at the three truths in the previous point and asked the logical question, “If God is all powerful, and He wants the best for me, then why am I suffering?” My first line of thought would go something like this. “God is not causing this pain to happen to you, evil and suffering entered the world through our own choice, (Adam and Eve in the garden + bad choice = Fall of all mankind and the introduction of pain into our lives). Furthermore, the pains that we are experiencing in the present are consequences of past choices, Good choices have good consequences, and Bad choices have bad ones. Her follow up question to this was, “but why does God allow me to make bad choices? Why did He even allow the possibility of evil in the first place? (Tree of the knowledge of good and evil)” God made us in His image, therefore we have free will. If He had not created us this way, we would be the equivalent of robots and puppets, and He could not have a real relationship with us. Just a side note to this, that would not make life thrive. The best possible world is a world that involves love. True love demands free will. This is the first possible answer to the problem.

-  The best possible world is a world that involves love. True love demands free will.

The other possible answer was that…

- This was the best possible world to demonstrate all of God’s attributes.

But to me this makes God seem narcissistic, wanting to revel in his own attributes and Glory. I don’t like it because of that… But then again, isn’t He entitled to it? He made the world and who are we to condemn His actions? After all, our finite little minds can’t even comprehend the God concept. So, who are we to step in and judge the infinite? To do so would be illogical and stupid. This leads us to the final point which is “Why?”

Why must love necessitate free will? Why must God demonstrate all of His attributes? This reveals the answer to the problem of pain…

There is no answer.

That’s right, there really is no answer. You can try to theologize a little further, but this is where our knowledge ends. It’s a scary thought isn’t it? This was the turning point for the girl in my youth group; she wanted an answer, just like everybody else who has felt pain. When ever we are torn or hurt we feel entitled to know “why” so we can justify the way we feel or the way we respond.

But hear me now,
And listen closely

Job was a righteous man in God’s sight. When all the troubles befell Job he started out in submission, but later on he began to ask the question… Why? Why were these things happening to him? Had he done something wrong? He examined himself and asked God for a day in court to prove his innocence, so he could justify himself.

He challenged God…
Hear me now
And listen closely

Do not ever try to justify yourself before God when troubles befall you, for it is an arrogant thing to do.

We work off of what our finite little minds feel.
Not the way things really are.
We feel that we deserve to know why we must suffer.
Here is a question for you…
“Why” Do You need to know?
“Who?” Do you think you are?

Job 38:1 Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm. He said:
“Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!

Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone– while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?

“Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt’?

“Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place, that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it?

The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its features stand out like those of a garment. The wicked are denied their light, and their upraised arm is broken.

“Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?

Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?

Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?

Tell me, if you know all this…
…

Job 42:3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”

Hear me now

And listen closely,

We are an arrogant, fallen, and finite race

Never question your maker

What do we know?

Always justify Him before yourself.

Who are we to question?

Who are we to ask why?

Answer me that.

This approach, though true and powerful, is not what people want to hear. So there is another way to look at it. Some one who leaves the faith because there is no answer to that question should consider this. How does Atheism answer the question? Well if there is no God period, then you’re stuck with…

That is just the way it is.

Well that is a rather harsh way to look at things, so how about Pantheism? Maybe they have the answer. They believe that everything is God so that still leaves you with…

That’s just the way it is.

Okay, Pantheism was kind of odd anyways. How about Polytheism? In Polytheism there are many gods, and they all do what ever they want, just like in the Greek Pantheon. Well that stinks because that brings us to the same conclusion…

That’s just the way it is.

There has to be some answer. What about Trinitarian Monotheists?

That’s just the way it is.

Now if you were paying attention you may have caught the fact that Trinitarian Monotheism is the belief that there is one Trinitarian God, which happens to be what Christians believe. Did I just shoot myself in the foot? No, this actually points out another important point. We did end up, at the very end, with no answer didn’t we? Well, here is the catch, not only do other religion not have the answer, but Trinitarian Monotheists that is based on what the Bible says, is the only religion that has that extensive of an explanation. All the other religions don’t even get past the “nature of the problem.”

I will wrap it up with this. Pain is not something to be mocked, which I feel may be the result of dumping all this theology on some one who is suffering. So the only way to help a friend through it, in the end, when it all boils down…

Is to suffer with them.

See you in the next post!

The Good Life Series, Part 3: The Trinitarian Life

Here on earth we have several things that constitute life. We live, love, work and play… or at least we try too. What I want to look at today is how these seemingly simple topics are actually amazingly and beautifully complex. I will split this up into four discussions, Life, Love, Work and Play. I think that God has a specific way each of these activities are supposed to work, and that’s what I want to talk about in this post, what the truly good life is made of.

Life…

To start out I want to give you this passage from John 17:20-26 This is Jesus praying “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

After you read that, just stop and let it sink in… It sounds almost repetitive, and a little complicated but it really isn’t. This idea of being one with Christ is beautiful. There is a Greek word that I want to introduce you to that brings this concept to a whole new level. It is Perichoresis, and it means… to dance along with, a mutual indwelling of distinct identities. When Jesus is praying about the unity that He wants us to have with him, He is asking that we would become one in the way of dancing along with him, or mutually dwelling in Him. This is the Good life. What could be better than dancing in the glory of God, and being one with him in all his power and might? It is indescribable and amazing, but that is what Jesus is talking about.

To be one or have Perichoresis with God is literally to dance along with The Life. Because Jesus is literally the life as it says in John 14:6 “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life…” It is a mind boggling thought, but it is possible. If we want this type of relationship with God, we need to enhance our actions from the simple does and don’ts we talked about in the previous post. The Life of God is abundant, overflowing, and giving to whoever asks. Our life needs to imitate that by being Dynamic, and Rhythmic. When I say dynamic I mean vigorously active or forceful; energetic. God’s life is overflowing and powerful, we can imitate that by making out lives vigorous and energetic. The same goes for Rhythmic, I could not find an adequate definition in the dictionary that fit this scenario, so we will go with the given. We can live our lives to be continually dancing in Rhythm with His life.

Love…

1 John 4:16 says that, “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.” So if Jesus is the Life, like it said in John 14:6, and he is also Love as we just read, then Life and Love are inseparable. To love is to make life flourish, to find delight in the delight of others. God did not create the world because He needed us, but because He is love and love makes life flourish. He just couldn’t help himself. His love overflowed and there was creation. That love and life spread and continues to spread. When there is love, there is life… and life in abundance.

This Love also deepens our knowledge of the trinity. Remember how I told you that to love is to delight in the delight of others. Well, what do you think the Son and the Holy Spirit were doing when the Father created the world? They were delighting in His delight which was His creation! And just like how a man and a woman become one flesh in marriage, so the Father, the Son and The Holy Spirit are one in the trinity, their love brings them together and makes them one. We become one when we love. Love is one of the great mysteries that is so beautiful, only God knows its true depth. So… how can we imitate this? The love of God is living and giving, therefore we need to be receptive and harmonious to that love.

Work…

Guess what you are doing when you work. You are making life thrive. You should have a revelation right now. To love is to make life thrive, and to work is to make life thrive, therefore, in a sense, work and love are synonymous! We were created to work, that is why we started out in a garden. And when we work we are making life flourish, which is love itself. In this way we are imitating God’s work, because He made life flourish in creation. And God said it was good. You may be hitting a mental speed bump right now, what if you don’t like to work? Well that is generally called laziness , but true enough, sometimes work is hard and it hurts. Is that truly what God created us for? The reason work hurts is because it requires sacrifice, this sacrifice came from the fall when God cursed the ground because of Adams sin. It is still making life flourish, but because of the curse it has become uncomfortable for us.

Finally, how can we imitate God in his work? For starters the work of God is creation, redemption, providence, sanctification, and glory. That is a long list but the things that we need to strive for are simply Sacrifice and Glory. But why sacrifice? Romans 12:1-2 , “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship.” We will always be under the curse of the fall until we die, but we still need to work hard for the Glory of God, and this requires sometimes painful sacrifices. But in the end, when we go home, if we did work hard and love truly, the master will say “well done good and faithful servant, come and join in the happiness of your master,” and you can’t put a price on that. Work is built into us, I find fulfillment in a shovel and a challenging job. When we get to heaven we will still work, but it will be without the sacrifices that make it painful. Right now we are imitating God’s heaven, this little fulfillment we find in a job will be enhanced to unexplainable measures in heaven because we will be doing what we were created to do in our perfect form, without the curse, without the sacrifice. Before I move on to the last topic I need to point out one more thing, on the seventh day God rested. God glorifies in His work and that is why he made the Sabbath, we should therefore stop and glorify in our work as well, and we will find even more fulfillment in it.

Play!!!!

In Matthew 18:3-5 we are given the  story of how the disciples asked Jesus “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” At this Jesus calls a child into their midst, “And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Why does Christ say this? If you read the verse, it is because the child was humble. This idea is very popular in the new testament for many reasons, young children are the epitome of innocents and humility, but there is another thing that children are good at doing. Play. I think that Jesus loves children so much because they play. What do they play at? Work. These children were imitating God more perfectly than us grownups could because they were imitating work in a joyful and perfect way. Ephesians 5:1 says “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children…” We need to be like children because they imitate God’s work through play.

A more practical way to do this is to look at the play of God, which is mystery and imagination. In creation we find many of Gods mysteries, which he is beckoning us to explore and be surprised at, like some treasure hunt that He has set up for us. Imagination is his laughter and his play. The biggest practical joke in history is the Resurrection. I mean, who would have thought of that. “Ha ha! You killed him, but now he is alive again. sike! Not only that, but now he going to turn around and save your sorry skins!” What makes us laugh is the perception of irony. What makes us cry also is the perception of irony, but we cry because we know it wasn’t right. God’s play is mystery and imagination. Our play in God should be Imitation, and Joy. To play is to imitate.

Well, those are the four subjects that build the framework for what God considers a good life. This topic is so deep that the little I have said does not do it justice. Life, Love, Work and Play are in heaven, right now we are imitating God’s heaven hear on earth. I hope this gives you a new and deeper understanding of what it really means to live, love, work and play, because these things make up our lives. And by enhancing our understanding of them, we enhance our life over all, and we come one step closer to God’s Good Life. (stay tuned this next post is going to be really cool, I am excited. )

See you Monday!

The Good Life Series, Part 2: The excellent Life

Today most people live with indifference as to what makes life excellent. They feel that they know what works for them and they like the way it works, for the most part. This is also the case with today’s Christians. In fact, I believe that this mentality is what is largely responsible for how the public views Christians today. An overwhelming amount of Americans call themselves “Christians” but they take no interest in living the excellent life that it implies. That is why we are thought of as hypocrites and weaklings, because we profess one thing and do another, while using the parts that we like as a crutch for our bad habits. I despise that. This whole problem falls under the titles of Apathy and Complacency, we are comfortable where we are and we don’t care enough to change the problems around us .

At least… most of us don’t. The Excellent life is so much more than a collection of rules and guidelines, it is a mentality, and where this mentality stems from, and a few other points of interest, is what I want to look at in this post. First, what role does the gospel play in the way we live? Second, what should we reject in our daily lives? Third, things to pursue. Fourth, things to be. And finally, things to do. These five points are aimed at restoring the remarkable life God has for us, and vaporizing the Apathy and Complacency that could potentially kill those possibilities.

The Greek word for Gospel is “Euangelion,” which means “good message.” You may have already known that, but when I first heard it at Worldview Academy it gave me the foundation for the mentality behind an excellent life. What motivates us to live well is the Gospel itself, the good message. What is the good message? That there is Salvation for us and that (here is another one for you Latin and Greek nuts out there) Christus Rex, Christ is King. What this entails is that we can be good, because of His Justification, and we can live the good life through His sanctification. This also means that we will be held accountable for the way we live. Just like the servants in Jesus’ parable, we have been entrusted with talents and we need to use those talents wisely. The Gospel is all about how to live a life of excellence.

Speak’n of excellence lets look at things to reject. Most of these “don’ts” can be found in 1 Peter 2:1-12. I feel like Do’s and Don’ts is such a negative way to put it, these are not just rules that we need to abide by, they are life enhancers. If we can avoid these don’ts we can avoid a lot of pain and heartache. First on our list of things to reject is malice, which quite simply means hatred. Then there’s guile. If you have ever had a sneaky sibling that was really into trickery, then you know how much trouble this guile, trickery, trouble making, causes. Hypocrisy, not only is this word fun to say in a British accent, but it also has a short and sweet definition; lack of integrity. You can split this integrity into two areas, Internal Integrity, and External Integrity. Internal integrity is being trustworthy. External Integrity is being one person all the time, not acting different around different people. Envy… gosh if that isn’t the best way to grow discontent. Another thing that I found interesting that stems from this topic is that boredom is, in a sense, blasphemy. Boredom is being discontent with the things God has given us. It kind of makes sense doesn’t it? Come to think of it, its kind of scary considering how many times I have been bored. Last but not least is slander. I think this is rather self-explanatory, but it helps to remember that the mouth is the strongest muscle in the body. Reject these things.

On that note, what things should we pursue? Once again we can look at 1 Peter 2:1-12 for guidance. First and foremost, we need the “pure milk of the word.” The Bible tells us about ourselves, our habits and our weaknesses, it is our story. We should be coming to it daily to be fed and refreshed. So we need to pursue the word of God. We also need to search for the Living Word of God; Jesus Christ who gives us the relationship that helps us grow in our faith. You may have noticed that there are more things to avoid than things to follow. The cool thing about this however is that when you focus on the do’s, the don’ts become less of a problem. In fact they almost become non existent, because we are so focused on God and His word, that we become full of Him, and the don’ts no longer have any appeal to us.

Fourth, what should we be? Put simply, we have a calling. The Bible calls us a “chosen Race” and a “Royal Priesthood” which basically means we need to be mediators for everyone we come into contact with. Christ came and intervened for us, we need to imitate Him and shine His truth and His love so that others may be saved. We need to be mediators.

Finally, things to do. Proclaim His excellence, and behave Excellently.

Wow, my points kind of got shorter and shorter. Anyway, these topics will be expanded on in the upcoming posts. This was just the foundational post for the series, so if you found it boring (bwahahahaha!)  take heart, it gets better from here! These are the simple guidelines for living an excellent life, as we saw in the beginning the gospel is all about how we should live, and it is pretty clear about it too. We looked at things to reject, things to pursue, things to be, and things to do (it rhymes… I never noticed that before). And in the upcoming posts we will add to these topics.

I look forward to seeing you in the next post!

The Good Life Series, Part 1: Intro

As I was looking over the material that I wanted to make a series on, I was trying to resolve the issue of what I would name it. I ended up calling it “The Good Life Series” obviously, but what was giving me trouble was the broadness of the title and the few topics I actually covered. I finally decided that because all the topics were about life, its questions, and its enhancements I should name it “The Good Life” and just put a nice little disclaimer in my intro. You have just finished the disclaimer.

I am really excited about this series. The inspiration for it came from Worldview Academy’s assortment of speakers, and the things that they taught me. It was just too powerful to keep to myself, and that is why I am so excited! I hope that you will follow along, starting Monday, as we look at…

- The excellent Life

~ Life 101, the starting foundations for what makes life good.

- The Trinitarian Life

~ Looking at Life, Love, Work, and Play. The way they connect, and the ways they can enhance us.

- The problem of pain.

~ Where we will look at pain, and the question of “why?”

- The next name in the Toledoth

~ Practical and revolutionary ways of putting our new knowledge to action.

Through these four posts, I hope to share with you the excitement and inspiration that I received when I first heard them at Worldview Academy. You may have noticed that one of my earlier posts is also called “The Good Life” you may want to take a look at it, because it outlines the reason these particular lessons hit a chord with me. What I found at Worldview Academy helped resolve many of the issues that were brought up in that experience. The following Series is my two cents on what God has taught me about Life.

See you in the next post!