He woke up one morning. The room stunk of cigarettes, something introduced to him by friends. The TV is turned on, and images are imprinted into his head. Clothing labels, brand names, sex and booze, subtle reinforcement that if you buy those products, you'll look good, you'll get laid, and you'll have a fun time. He dismisses them as ordinary; this kind of stuff is played all the time on every channel. Who gives a crap?
He walks off to classes. It's a nice day, and it's Friday! Already his mind is plotting about the night's activities of absolute importance. After all, what's more important than enjoying yourself. He'll go out with friends and get smashed and hang around and do stupid stuff, maybe hit a club. It's all fun and games, really.
Classes go by quick. Liberalism, evolution, secularism all crammed into this future historian's brain as he studied earnestly. He doesn't even know why he wants to do this other than that it's cool, he's good at it, and it'll make him money. Classes let out, and bam, he's free! He calls a couple of his friends, they agree on a time, phone's hung up, and he heads out.
He briefly passes by a bunch of Christians advertising their group. He dismisses them as stupid, reinforced by today's lessons, and from the example of his folks, who barely attended church and never really listened to it anyways. Why do they take Jesus seriously, anyways? Dismissing them as stupid, he ges back to his apartment, plays some Call of Duty, watches more of the clothing/booze/whatever advertisement-laden programming on the TV about stupid drama that entertains his whims. Whatever.
Him and a few of his friends go out to someone's place. There's even girls there! Alcohol and cigarettes parade all around, getting folks into some sort of chemical stupor. Who cares, it feels great, it's fun, whoo! They decide to go to another friend's house, folks pile into cars, off they soar down the street.
The last thing he remembered was the driver reaching for a cigarette and trying to light it, and then a loud noise, followed by vague memories. Growing up, living his ordinary life, going through what he did in spite of the warnings because everyone else was, all to become a moneymaker. The money didn't matter now, though. He couldn't take his money with him where he was going, and the fun of it all was moot. He was dying... those things weren't going to save him. What really did matter?
The news report made mention of the crash on the 6 PM news, and folks from all over, especially the school, attended the funerals. It was a tragedy of the greatest kind, burned into the memories of all who knew him. Nobody ever listened to the questions in their head of where he went, though, and what happened to him. A month later, and life went on as usual, students attended their classes and watched their TV, went on and made their money and their families and lived their lives, and in time met their end too at various ages, never knowing that there was more to this life, never taking a hold of it.
"Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun." --Ecclesiastes 2:11
"People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction." --1 Timothy 6:9
"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'" --Hebrews 13:5
"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
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time." --1 Peter 1:3-5
"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." --Romans 10:9
Monday, February 28, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
A Bigger, Beautiful Picture
A watery void existed called Earth. God took it, and He decided to do something good with it other than turn it into a demon prison, which was the result of His perfect law... He lifted land up, pushed waters aside, crafted creatures and plant life, set a world into motion and decided to make a little gem in a sea of stars and giant planets that, according to research, continuously output a melodious noise through electromagnetic vibrations, a song to Him.
He then went and took some of the dust and made humans to love and be with Him, going so far as to breathe life into them, bestowing them with the spirit. He left them imperfect, likely due to being a jealous God who didn't want or need another perfect being in existence... this imperfection ultimately would clash with His perfect law, but He Himself would eventually go on to break that curse through a perfect sacrifice, a beloved Part of Himself, to annul our infinite imperfections. Considerate and loving, though, He did not force Himself upon us; He gave us the option to choose to be with Him, or be apart, and respects our free will, even if He does know the path we will eventually choose.
We are a blessed creation with a loving God who has paved our way to be with Him as His children, given individual personalities, purposes, talents and futures, simply asked to help give people the option to choose Him.
Never be so ignorant as to forget who you are, and why you're here.
He then went and took some of the dust and made humans to love and be with Him, going so far as to breathe life into them, bestowing them with the spirit. He left them imperfect, likely due to being a jealous God who didn't want or need another perfect being in existence... this imperfection ultimately would clash with His perfect law, but He Himself would eventually go on to break that curse through a perfect sacrifice, a beloved Part of Himself, to annul our infinite imperfections. Considerate and loving, though, He did not force Himself upon us; He gave us the option to choose to be with Him, or be apart, and respects our free will, even if He does know the path we will eventually choose.
We are a blessed creation with a loving God who has paved our way to be with Him as His children, given individual personalities, purposes, talents and futures, simply asked to help give people the option to choose Him.
Never be so ignorant as to forget who you are, and why you're here.
Friday, November 26, 2010
The Root of all Evil
Crap happens in life. Sometimes it happens for no reason, sometimes it happens for a multitude of reasons. Being a Christian is no promise of a happy life; if anything, seeing you as a redeemed child of God, the devil only wishes to make your life worse, and so, between a multitude of factors, things will more than likely go wrong in some way. I'm not writing this in a fit of pessimism, but the enemy and his ploys need to be understood.
When things go wrong, take a step back and realize there are only three true sources of problems in life: you, others, and the devil. God has made all things for good, and while trials allowed by God do occur, these are only to build you up, and not bring you down, and consist primarily of you learning to overcome what the enemy has to throw your way. God will never put you through more than you can handle, according to 1 Corinthians 10:13: "God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with your testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it."
There are three steps to remember when crap happens.
--Check yourself, first and foremost. Make sure you are lined up with God's word, and if you are not, then fix yourself with God's aid, and others if they are needed.
--If you are not the source, /then/ (not before) look to the others around you to see if they've faulted you, and love them enough to help them out of it, don't simply beat them over the head for faulting you. Get others to help if you cannot resolve this yourself. Remember humility, as you are not without sin yourself; give correction and kindness, not a first stone thrown.
--If nobody is to blame, look to the situation and strive to resolve or weather it as is appropriate. God has given you an opportunity to rise above hardship; call to Him for aid, curse down the devil and his works, and use the authority God has given you, as a spirit-led believer, to speak resolution into existence.
Do not whine, do not simply play blame games, and remember above all else to be thankful, and that God loves you through your hardship. Go, and triumph!
When things go wrong, take a step back and realize there are only three true sources of problems in life: you, others, and the devil. God has made all things for good, and while trials allowed by God do occur, these are only to build you up, and not bring you down, and consist primarily of you learning to overcome what the enemy has to throw your way. God will never put you through more than you can handle, according to 1 Corinthians 10:13: "God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with your testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it."
There are three steps to remember when crap happens.
--Check yourself, first and foremost. Make sure you are lined up with God's word, and if you are not, then fix yourself with God's aid, and others if they are needed.
--If you are not the source, /then/ (not before) look to the others around you to see if they've faulted you, and love them enough to help them out of it, don't simply beat them over the head for faulting you. Get others to help if you cannot resolve this yourself. Remember humility, as you are not without sin yourself; give correction and kindness, not a first stone thrown.
--If nobody is to blame, look to the situation and strive to resolve or weather it as is appropriate. God has given you an opportunity to rise above hardship; call to Him for aid, curse down the devil and his works, and use the authority God has given you, as a spirit-led believer, to speak resolution into existence.
Do not whine, do not simply play blame games, and remember above all else to be thankful, and that God loves you through your hardship. Go, and triumph!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Selah
The majority of you reading this would probably agree on the fact that our society is speed-centered; we live in America in a heightened age of technology, where our cars zoom at breakneck speed, our internet is delivered seamlessly, work is a pressure to get things done swiftly and properly and Type A personality seems to reek from our nation. Not to say that things done swiftly and in order always a bad thing, but it seems to have also permeated into our lives; we grow up quick, we fall in love quick, we snatch up a job or a car or whatever we want to buy on impulse, our marriages burn out quick and I know very few people who could appreciate a "slow life" so to speak. People live on the edge, play fast and hard, hate to deal with what's slow, and it leaves me wondering...
Why?
Take a second and stop yourself. Look at the room around you. Look at your hands, realize how they move, take a look outside and enjoy the view. A lot of people take these minor things for granted, but I'm encouraging you... stop for a second every once in a while and smell the roses. Or daffodils or lilacs or mold whatever you've got growing around your home. Just stop for a moment in time and realize what it is you could be appreciating. God made a beautiful world and He put us in it to tend for it and take care of it, originally, and unfortunately many of us get sucked into a fast-forward machine of work and play and errands and business, quick to trample one another along the way or blow folks off or not care for one another.
I don't write this to encourage laziness, but I do write it to encourage you all to take a step back from things once in a while and see. Take a second to help each other and to realize where you at, and even to take care of your own needs as well. Sure, chase the bigger picture and go fast when it's appropriate, but don't forget to remember to, every once in a while, take a step back and check yourself, and remember God, lest you lose sight of what's important.
Why?
Take a second and stop yourself. Look at the room around you. Look at your hands, realize how they move, take a look outside and enjoy the view. A lot of people take these minor things for granted, but I'm encouraging you... stop for a second every once in a while and smell the roses. Or daffodils or lilacs or mold whatever you've got growing around your home. Just stop for a moment in time and realize what it is you could be appreciating. God made a beautiful world and He put us in it to tend for it and take care of it, originally, and unfortunately many of us get sucked into a fast-forward machine of work and play and errands and business, quick to trample one another along the way or blow folks off or not care for one another.
I don't write this to encourage laziness, but I do write it to encourage you all to take a step back from things once in a while and see. Take a second to help each other and to realize where you at, and even to take care of your own needs as well. Sure, chase the bigger picture and go fast when it's appropriate, but don't forget to remember to, every once in a while, take a step back and check yourself, and remember God, lest you lose sight of what's important.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Hope of the Afflicted
"But the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish." --Psa 9:18
"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." --Jer 29:11
"Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail." --Isa 51:6
"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" --Matt 6:26
"'Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,' says the LORD, who has compassion on you." --Isa 54:10
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." --Phil 4:6-7
"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." --Jer 29:11
"Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail." --Isa 51:6
"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" --Matt 6:26
"'Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,' says the LORD, who has compassion on you." --Isa 54:10
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." --Phil 4:6-7
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