Nightmares are made of these…
Something occurred to me today. I was watching the Rays v Marlins game, and at one point, the camera panned over to a tank containing a sting ray (it was a Rays home game). That made sense. Its their mascot.
So- follow me here- my mind is now thinking about mascots.
My mind wanders over each of the mascots that corresponds to a local team.
The Dolphins have a dolphin.
The Marlins have a marlin.
The Panthers have a panther.
The Heat has… I don’t know what this is.
What is that?! Ugh! Its horrible! Its disgusting! Its an abomination!
The God I worship would never create such a monstrosity (especially such an ugly one). This leads me to believe one thing:
The Miami Heat is the work of the devil. I mean, really. What good has the Heat ever produced? Trading off Shaq and a flurry of injuries to Dwayne Wade?
Devil’s work. I’m telling you.
Great gobbling grackles Batman!
Admittedly, the title of this post has nothing to do with the contents. I just couldn’t think of anything better.
Something has been nagging me lately- especially when I spend time in prayer. Finally, the feeling manifested itself into more than just a feeling. It became a full-on conviction, and a problem I intend to tackle head on (and hopefully come out on the winning side of).
(Thank you Mr. Del Tackett for this wonderfully phrased question):
“Do you really believe that what you believe is really real?”
This question eats me up on the inside. I know I believe the Bible wholeheartedly. I know I believe Christ died for me. I know I believe that it is only by God’s mercy that I have admittance to even commune with Him. That being said- I’m assuming you believe these things too (assuming you had some foreknowledge of what I write about before you started reading).
I know I believe what I believe. Therein lies the problem. If I truly believe that God, in His infinite mercy, would send His son to die for me, why is it so hard to overcome basic temptations? Why do I feel the need to cuss like a sailor? Why do I struggle with procrastinating? Why can’t I manage to lift the shield of faith and extinguish the flaming arrows that Satan fires my way?
If I believe that when I pray, I am entering the throne room of God to speak with Him, why can I not find the time to pray? Why do I pray more out of habit or need, rather than praying because my adoration and awe of God? Why can’t I “find time” to pray, but I can watch T.V. or search for a car to buy for hours?
I don’t have the answers to any of these questions, except the answer that seems most apparent- because I am a sinner. I would more quickly prioritize my own needs before the will of the Lord of the Universe. I would much rather indulge and give praise to what makes me feel good in the here and now, rather than giving praise to the God who ensures me life now and forever. It is because I am led on a leash by the whims of this world, and, having been at the right place at the right time, would probably have been chucking stones at Stephen, or I would have been cheering as they nailed the Word of God to a cross.
[Malachi 1:8] When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the LORD Almighty.
Why do I continue to sin, knowing it is not what the God of the universe would have for me? I believe He knows all I do- past and present- but I would still decide to sin. I let God’s intangibility get to my head. If He is out of sight, He is out of mind is the trap I fall into. If God were a king (Malachi’s mentioned “governor”) I could see and feel, I’m sure I wouldn’t be so quick to sin (until He wasn’t around of course).
There is something that bothers me so deeply about the depravity of man. It is amazing to think that even though we are blessed beyond imagination, beyond comprehension, we would still throw that away. Thank God for God’s mercy though.
I can only pray that God will continue to convict me (and others) to remember His mercy and love, and allow that to transform us from the inside so we might better glorify Him.
I hate being human.
Charlie Brown’s parents.
So lately in my youth group, there has been a hot topic issue going around.
Calvinism.
But the hot button isn’t really Calvinism (though some might say it is), what the problem really lies in is the topic of predestination vs free will.
Apparently, some kids in the youth group do not like the idea of a God who predestines everything, who decided before time began who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. And because of this, there are a handful of the youth who bring the topic up constantly (that isn’t to say that there aren’t a couple of “pro-predestinationers” who do the same).
The problem I see is: why bother? Both sides are steadfast in their viewpoint, either wrong or right. Neither side will really give up any slack. If there is a verse that uses the word “elect(ed)”, a free will advocate will claim that it is faulty translation.
A quick disclaimer: Although it seems like I’m ragging extra on free will advocates, this is only because I side with the viewpoint that believes that God predestined everything (including who goes to heaven). There are definitely a couple of kids who side with this view who attack the opposite side just as much.
So I say again- why bother arguing? The Bible is clear on such matters.
The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Timothy 1:3-6…
As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God’s work—which is by faith. The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk.
The youth who persist to argue each side of the free will vs predestination debate have turned to meaningless talk. The knowledge of whether or not God elects people to salvation or not will not affect your ability to love your neighbor. God commands you to love your neighbor regardless of the status of their faith- saved or not.
The closest thing I can liken the situation to is: those people who keep talking about God’s sovereignty (in the sphere of predestination), the freedom of the will, or the lack thereof- you sound like Charlie Brown’s parents to God.
Mwamp mwamp mwamp. Your debates bring God no glory. And I am confident in assuming that they do not edify your faith, because you continue to argue about it.
You know who you are- whether you are a part of my youth group or not. Turn your eyes solely on Christ, and emulate Paul when he wrote
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you Jesus Christ and Him crucified. [1 Corinthians 2:2 ]
I love DMX.
Seriously, I love DMX. Not only is he one of the greatest rappers of all time, he is also one politically aware homie.
<3 ya’ D.
XXL interviews rapper DMX, covering many topics, including the current American presidential race:
XXL-“Are you following the presidential race?
DMX-Not at all.
XXL-You’re not? You know there’s a Black guy running, Barack Obama and then there’s Hillary Clinton.
DMX-His name is Barack?!
XXL-Barack Obama, yeah.
DMX-Barack?!
XXL-Barack.
DMX-What the f**k is a Barack?! Barack Obama. Where he from, Africa?
XXL-Yeah, his dad is from Kenya.
DMX-Barack Obama?
XXL-Yeah.
DMX-What the f**k?! That ain’t no f**kin’ name, yo. That ain’t that nigga’s name. You can’t be serious. Barack Obama. Get the f**k outta here.”
Obama: Ladies Man (and Men’s too)
Don’t be misled by the title of this post. This isn’t an endorsement of Obama (well, at least not for President). I just had to put something out there. Regardless of his crazy socialist/communist views, and his relationship to racist preachers, Barack Obama is cool.
Lets lay out the evidence…
Note the look in Obama’s eyes. Sure, Hillary might be his sworn rival, but even soulless she-devils need lovin’, right? I can just imagine what Obama has planned for Mrs. Clinton. A little smooth jazz, then he’ll read her a few of his amazing speeches (where he will use the word “change” in excess of 23 times), then light up a smooth Black & Mild, and it’s on. Little Obama/Hillarys running around.
Oh, but thats not it…
Whats this? Not even Mr. McCain can resist the charm of a strong willed, metrosexual black man. Whispering sweet nothings, eh John?
Creepy? Heck yes. But that is half the reason Obama is so cool. He’ll do whatever (or whoever) he needs to in order to secure his seat in the Presidency (which better positions him to give up the country to Muslim extremists).
Oh yeah, Obama smokes. Now, I don’t care what anyone says. Smoking looks cool. Would I do it? A resounding heck no. I value my health and my lungs, but whatev. Smoking is boss. I mean, Bono smokes, and Bono is the epitome of cool. He saves African ophans and is the front man for one of the most successful rock acts in history.
Seriously Mr. Obama, you’re cool. You’re an idiot- but a cool one.
A reign ended…
So, maybe this is nerd material but I don’t care.
Jeff Hardy lost his Intercontinental Title this past Monday to Chris Jericho. I’m heart broken. I mean, I love Jericho, but Hardy is my number one, forever and ever (as is evident by any one of my Myspace pictures).
I just hope this is clearing the way for Hardy to gain the World Heavyweight Title.
One can hope, no?
Pray.
Pray for me.
I’ve taken a big step (for me), and made a promise to God. I’m not going to go into detail describing what I promised, because I don’t think it is of Blogdom’s concern. I’ve never been too comfortable with something of that magnitude, because plenty of “what ifs?” go through my head.
What if I can’t keep my promise?
What if this isn’t what God wants me to be promising? (Calvinism can sometimes get in the way of loving God)
But, I have been consistent in my prayer and worship time as of late, and feel really good about this. Sometimes I wonder if I should start out smaller with what I am promising God, but I figure- If He has started a good work in me, He’ll see it through so long as I don’t let sin start creeping in.
But please friends (or even people who I don’t know), please pray for me.
Pray for God to strengthen me, renew me, and bring me into a deeper state of worship than ever before.
Thank you yall. (I like to pretend to be Southern every now and again)
All you need is love.
1 Corinthians 13 is having a huge impact in my way of thinking right now.
Its the “love chapter”.
I encourage you to read it before you continue reading this. Don’t have a bible? Then use this awesome site called Biblegateway.
When I look at my life, I can see plenty of relationships that are strained, or worse yet, broken. Some of these relationships are easier to work on than others. This is due primarily to me not being the best team player (although I’m really trying to work on it). In some cases, these relationships take hard work or patience to patch up- and apparently, I’m unwilling to wait.
If I’m trying to patch up a relationship with someone that I can honestly say I love, why is it so hard? Why do I end up feeling like if I do one thing for that person, they should somehow repay me in kind- as if we are supposed to meet each other half way? Why can’t I walk the extra mile to fix it?
I need to firmly commit myself- equipped with all of the love and patience God will give me- to fix these broken relationships.
Going to be a rough time, but I feel good about it.
Psalm 18:1-3
These are some of my favorite verses in the Bible.
Psalm 18:1-3
1 I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.
He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and I am saved from my enemies.
I love those three verses. Sometimes I think deep affection can only be described in simplicity. Those three verses show what I feel for our God. It is stark and bare, it isn’t powdered and puffed with fancy words and metaphors. It is simply “I love you O Lord…”
It is incredible to think that God can reduce me to not knowing what to say. I can think of no earthly words that describe what God means to me. Even if my actions might not always show it, God is what I want to live for always. He is mighty, and He is gracious. He is loving, and He is simply amazing. He saves me when I am weak, and strengthens me when I am down. He is my shelter in my dark times, and He is the Father that every little boy wishes they had.
I love you God.
Under construction.
It occurred to me yesterday as I drove back from my school’s Senior Breakfast(which was awesome), that the Holy Spirit is an incredible carpenter. It hit me when I looked over as my best friend and I drove through Liberty City (we were straight up lost) and saw a completely run down building that had a sign out front that read : “Coming soon- Publix!”
As I looked at the building, a few things ran through my head. Will they just demolish the building and start from scratch? Would it be more cost effective to just renovate the already existing building? If it isn’t more cost effective, how badly is the building screwed up?
As much as I hate it when Christians use extended metaphors, here goes…
People are a lot like buildings, with the Holy Spirit acting as the construction crew. When I let sin start to crawl into my life, its a slow deterioration. A leaky faucet here, a few glances too long at a girl there. Its the little things that start to crack at the paint job and the foundation of the building. When we start to neglect the responsibility we have to maintain ourselves, things start to go haywire.
I’ve been in my share of houses that looked perfectly fine from the outside, but upon entering, there is so much clutter and general disorder. Then again, I’ve been in a few houses that look rickety from the outside, but are quite pimplicious (copyrighting that word) inside.
Sometimes when we need the Holy Spirit, he has to tear everything down and start from the ground up. He has to rebuild us because what we made ourselves to be is a complete loss. Sometimes we have some good qualities down, and its just easier for the Holy Spirit to change a few pipes, throw on a nice paint job, and viola!
It amazes me (as I think it does any Christian) when I look back and see the person I was and the person I am now. When I look at that, it makes my faith so much stronger. I become a testimony to myself to how powerful our God is. I am also able to see the person I can be for God, and avoid the misgivings that lead me down the path to being a disheveled mess of a building again.
I think every Christian can take a hard look at themselves and see where sin has crept into their lives (however small it may be). Of course, we’ll never be perfect (thank God- too much pressure for that), but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try our doggone hardest to make God proud.
