Christmas in Perspective -The Wise Men's Story

Growing up, I always thought the wise men were just these three random guys who were really smart. But then I heard that they were kings. So that made a little more sense. They were rich, smart dues. But then I heard that they were Magi. What on earth is a Magi? Well, apparently a Magi is something like an astrologer. People who studied star patterns and what not. Okay, so they were three smart, rich dudes who liked the outdoors. But then they added something else. We don't actually know there were three of them. That's just a guess based on the three presents.

At this point in my life I was just like "enough with it already." Let's just agree on the fact that these were important people from the East who brought sweet presents. So that is what we are going to go with today. And for the sake of peace, we will assume there were three of them. 

We are first introduced to the wise men as they pull up in Jerusalem.

They get off their camels, buy a coke, and ask the nearest man, 

"Hey, where is the King of the Jews that was born recently? We were following that there star, well, you can't see it right now, but you could earlier. Anyway, the star that we can sometimes see if supposedly in the direction of the baby if we're correct. So all that summed up, do you know where this baby king is?"

Christmas in Perspective -The Shepherd's Story

Hey World,

As I'm writing this I'm sitting on the couch in my dorm room, listening to a Christmas song by Alan Jackson, and thinking about how fast this semester went by (which was fast by the way). I've learned so much this semester and had so many great times, it's going to be very hard to leave. Though I'll admit, it would be much harder if I wasn't going home to a snow covered Minnesota Christmas with family and friends. Christmas. I love Christmas. For that reason, I'm going to try and start a little Christmas themed series. With my consistency on here, I wouldn't bank on much, but you never know.

For this series I want to focus on different groups of people or individuals, and see how the coming of Jesus affected them. Tonight (3 AM so I guess it's this morning) I want to take a look at the shepherds.

  

A Failed Generation

For a long time growing up, really my whole life, I thought that my generation was going to change the world for the cause of Christ. The older I got, and the more I grew in my faith, the more certainty I had that this would prove true. Whether the world ended when I was thirty or thirty thousand years after I was gone, everyone would remember my generation as the one that changed the world. Every pastor and youth pastor and camp speaker told us over and over again that we had so much potential. The world had changed so much since the generation preceding ours. We were born into the age of the internet, and social networks, and cell phones, and on and on. We have every translation of the Bible, concordances, commentary, you name it, all at the click of a single botton. We have so many more tools then our parents ever had. These speakers would tell me these things, and the more I heard this message the more I believed it. My generation was going to impact the world like no time in history before, and I was going to be a part of it. 

 Tonight, my dream collapsed. Tonight, despite my aching for it to be true, I cannot force myself to believe we are that generation any longer. I look around at those my age, those older, and the children I see growing up now, and I do not see potential, as those speakers saw. I do not see hope. I do not see change, and if I see change, I see it for the worse. When I look at my generation I see pride. I see lust. I see hate and arrogance. I see children and teenagers who disrespect their parents. I see a generation that holds grudges and doesn’t forgive. I see a generation on their knees with hands lifted and eyes focussed toward Christ on Sunday night, sitting down with hands on the computer mouse eyes looking at pornography on Monday. I see a generation who sings of God’s kindness, who leave only to talk behind other people’s backs. I see a generation who watches “The Passion of the Christ” with tears streaming from their eyes only to go and with laughter watch “Family Guy” make fun of that same Christ. I see a generation who uses Scripture to justify the freedom they have to do sinful things, when that same Scripture was written to tell them they were free from the bondage of those things. I see a generation too busy on facebook and texting and twittering and playing World of Warcraft to stop for five minutes to talk with their Savior. I see a generation who tells me over and over how badly they want to live for Christ, and I wonder...oh i wonder why they never do. I look at my generation, and all too often I see myself. 

One Nation. One Body. One Church

Happily Holidays Everyone!

Before I begin on today's post, I would like to remind you, as I try to often do, that these are merely my words. I pray that God uses them for His purposes, but that is up to Him. When Martin Luther was told to deny his writings, he told the judges this: "I am but a man and I can err, only let my errors be proven by Scripture and I will revoke my work and throw my books into the fire." Martin Luther was a humble man, and willing to be corrected. He also happens to be one of my biggest Spiritual heroes, and I long to be like him in so many ways. This is one specific area. As I've said before, this site is much like a journal. Many of these things I have not researched adequately, but I do try to share the truths that I do find in my journey with Christ. My hope for you, is that you search the Scriptures for yourselves that you might decide whether my words (and hopefully ultimately God's words) are true. With that said, I will begin.

  

Thanksgiving aka National Diversity Day

Well Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
I hope this one proves better than all the others before. I hope the turkey tastes better, the temperature is nicer, the families are closer, and the Cowboys lose. :)
Today I thought I'd put a little twist on this post and not make it a cliche Thanksgiving post.

For those of you who know me best, I'm not much one for promoting diversity or worrying much about it at all. This is funny considering I chose to go to college in Los Angeles, the melting pot of the world, and the college itself (Biola University) is a huge promoter of diversity. But today I'm going to make up for my past "ignorance"(as my roommate calls it) and focus on this most intriguing topic.

Taking My Own Advice

Well, this blog certainly (for the most part at least) has turned out to be mostly my own journal read

by a few people instead of the daily blog I once hoped for. I'm afraid I'm quite too undisciplined to keep this up anymore than I have. For that, I am sorry. Hopefully, for those of you who do still keep up with my sporadic posts, you are blessed by them. However, I'm afraid that today isn't really much of a post either, but more of a journal entry. 

The Forgotten Act of Being Still

Hey World,

So I got to thinking (rare), and I think I'm going to start a little mini (redundant) series called
"The Forgotten Acts." It's kinda catchy and maybe it will keep me more faithful to posting.
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Well today's forgotten act is the act of "being still." No I'm not talking about sitting somewhere
quietly while not doing anything. Then again. Maybe I am.
"But how can you be serious James! Nobody just sits around under a tree quietly anymore!"
No. No they do not.

The Forgotten Acts Of Worship

Hey World,

This past weekend I had the privilege of housing my uncle at my dorm room for the night. We had a great time staying up til 1 drinking coffee and talking about all that's right and wrong in the world. One subject we touched on especially hit me, and I wanted to share it with you. It is....you guessed it. The forgotten acts of worship. 

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Now most of you that read this are church-going Christians. I don't actually know that...it's just an assumption since this blog is mostly about my faith. So, the act of worship is not a foreign word to you (the word "foreign by the way does not follow the i before e rule because it does not have the ay sound like in neighbor...that ones for free).

Moments Weren't Meant to Last

The definition of "moment" is "a very brief period of time."
That's not exactly a very long time. They say life is full of moments, and they are right.
And at the same time they are 100% wrong. Is life full of moments? You betcha. That is...
in a literal way, life has lots of very brief periods of time. But life is not full of the moments
that we try so dearly to hold on to.

You know what I'm talking about. That moment you watch the girl you could spend forever with as she picks flowers. The moment you are at the very top of the Mount Everest of your faith. That moment you are laughing so hard with your friend you can't breathe. Those moments.
Those very brief periods of time. Life is not full of those. They are rare. Valuable. Precious.

Two days ago I stood in the airport saying goodbye to my dad, mom, and sister. We prayed. I hugged my dad and then mom. And then I looked at my 16 year old sister who was trying to smile away the tears streaming down her cheek.

Moment.

That was a moment. The rare kind. The precious kind. Maybe not the kind you like or expect. But the kind that mean the most. My Rachel and I are so close. Best friends. We were both pretty busy this summer, but we made the most of the time together. We had a lot of great times. Times we laughed our heads off and couldn't even remember why. But those weren't moments. We've been doing that for 16 years.

But as I stood in that airport and tried to be the tough older brother holding back the tears, a moment happened. All of summer. All of our lives were wrapped into that one moment. I was leaving for college in California, 1,966 miles away, and a guy that never cries was fighting like everything to hold back a flood of tears.

So what's the point?

Hold on to those moments? No. In fact, don't. Relish every second of the moment, but don't try to hold on. Because a moment is brief. Very brief. If you try to hold on you will be disappointed. But thank God for every second of that moment. Because brief as they may be...they will happen. And that moment is a glimpse into eternity.

A Song I Wrote Based on 2 Corinthians 5

V1
I think I see a storm coming ahead
These heavy winds are too much for this tent
They're taking me to a faraway land
A beautiful place that isn't built by hands

My body's groaning like a man lost at sea
This naked body is shivering, freezing
Mortality will be swallowed by life
And this Spirit is gonna be my eyes
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CH
I'm almost home, the place where I belong
I'm almost home, and I'm hearing the sweetest song
I'm almost there, singing right along
And I swear, I'll be singing loud and strong
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V2
Picking up my bow and taking my aim
Whether present or gone, I'm shooting the same
The archers lining up as they wait for the judge
I tried to my best, but it still wasn't much

I'm not gonna boast in things I've done
But you are free to tell them what we've won
It's not up to me, my body's compelled
What can I do when even the dead can't be held
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Bridge
For we walk by faith and not by sight
And I see just fine when I am blind
I am confident, ready to leave this place
To be held so tightly in the arms of grace

Concerning the "Love Chapter"

Hey World.

I hope your Sunday's were all restful and encouraging. I just woke up from a nap so the restful is for sure there, and my dad had an excellent sermon on the parable in Luke 19:11-17, talking about how we need to be about the work of Christ, and not wasting the time we are given on earth. So encouragement and rest I have both received.
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I reckon I gave away what this post is about in the title (unless of course you have not heard of the Love Chapter). However, hopefully these thoughts will give you a new look at the chapter. Not unscriptural of course, just new. Well, just as some background information, you should probably know that I use the New King James version (and no...not just because that's my name). That being said, on occasion I will also use the Old King James version. I grew up reading regular ol' KJV, and slowly transitioned into the new, so for fun or for deep study I will use the KJV. That may seem pointless to you, but don't worry, it all will soon make sense.
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You see, if you read 1 Corinthians 13 (the love chapter) in KJV you will notice that "love" is not mentioned once in the entire chapter. Instead, the editors/writers/translaters (whatever they are called) of the KJV translated the word "charity." Now, few people probably know this since most people no longer read the KJV due to it's old language. But it's a very interesting thought. The "Love Chapter" has now become the "Charity Chapter." Now hopefully I won't make this TOO long, but I'd like to take a little time to say why I like the word "charity" in place of "love" in this chapter.
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When you hear the word "love," what do you think? Now I know this isn't speaking for everyone, but most people tend to think of romantic kind of love. And there's nothing wrong with that. Love is a very romantic word. Some might think of the kind of love you have for your family. Or maybe the very spiritual ones will think of the love Jesus had for us. None of those are wrong answers. I think a big problem with the English language is that we really only have ONE word for "love." Well, that is until "charity" comes into the picture (but that's getting ahead of myself). The first problem with how we read 1 Corinthians 13 (at least people like me) is that we read it with a "wedding mindset." After all, this chapter is read many times at weddings. And for good reason. It's about love. But I begin to wonder how many couples listen carefully to the words being read.
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• "Love suffers long." That's the first thing Paul says about love. You know what that means. Love brings SUFFERING. You will suffer. But IF you have love, you will endure that time of suffering. No matter what comes up against you, you will choose love.
• "Love does not value itself." Think of that for a moment. You don't even consider yourself when you are loving someone else. It's all about them.
• "Love is not easily provoked." When you love, you put on the skin of a rhinoceros. Nothing gets to you. Nothing makes you "explode" when you are wronged. 
• "Love hopes all things." Love looks on the bright side. Love knows it's going to be okay.
• "Love never fails."Paul saved the best for last. Love NEVER fails. Well what about divorce? People who were once in love are now divorced. Why? 

Did their love fail?
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This is where I believe the word "charity" comes in. You see, I believe many people get married who are madly in love, but are NOT madly "in charity." You see, your English teacher was wrong. The English language has TWO words for love, and one of them is charity. But just like France has 1,508 different words for love all covering different kinds of love, so charity and love are not necessarily the same thing.
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What is the first thing you think of when you hear the word "charity?" Generally giving, right? Helping the poor. Giving money. So, for love we picture romance, and charity we see giving money. Paul writes 1 Corinthians 13 to give us a brand new understanding of both words. Yes, love is romantic. Yes, charity is giving. But they are both so much more as well!
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The biggest problem with reading 1 Corinthians 13 is that we often read it out of context. In chapter 12 Paul was talking about spiritual gifts (prophesy, speaking in tongues, faith, etc). He culminates this topic by saying that it doesn't matter if you have ANY gift if you do not have charity. But like I said, charity is not what we often think of. Why do I like the word charity? Because love is often thought of as a feeling. That is why sometimes "love" fails. Because its nothing more than a fleeting feeling. But charity is "giving." Giving and expecting nothing in return. Yes, charity is still love, but it's a different kind. It's not romantic. You can show charity to someone you absolutely HATE. But you show it because it's what Christians do. "Charity suffers long." Paul isn't talking about marriages suffering. He's talking about that guy or girl that you absolutely cannot stand. The one that makes you SUFFER. But charity keeps on giving even when that happens. Charity hopes. Yes, things are looking down in this relationship, but you have hope. Charity is not easily provoked. Charity has thick skin. The list goes on and on. But most importantly, charity never fails. How can it? What could possibly go wrong, if you are constantly showing charity to others no matter what they do to you?
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Well, this was both longer and more jumbled than I was hoping for, but hopefully something stood out to you. The point was not to make you read the KJV or say charity instead or to stop having this in weddings. :) The important thing is that others will know us by our love for each other. So let's love each other with charity. :)

What it Means to "Be Different"

Hey World.

So tonight (and not just tonight) I was thinking about how Christians are supposed to "be different." I'm sure you've heard that term at sunday school or church or youth group. Be Different. After all, that's what being a Christian is all about right? Matthew 5:14...being a shining light/city on a hill. All that. But when you really stop to think about it, what does "being different" entail? Because the truth is...we are human. We tend to do the same things as other humans. We eat, sleep, read books, play sports, talk about girls/boys, sleep (i like this one so much i put it twice), eat (that one too), go to school, build friendships, go swimming, get sunburnt, listen to music. You know...every day stuff. So what do they mean by being different? Are we supposed to fast our whole lives? Stop talking about who we like? Wear four layers of sun screen? I surely hope that's not what it all entails. After all, I love eating, four layers of sun screen is nerdy, and what else is there to talk about if not girls?
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So my family (well...my mom and dad and I at least) were watching the movie "Invictus" tonight. It's a phonomenal movie about the 1995 World Cup champion team from South Africa. But more than that, it's about the country itself and it's leader Nelson Mandela. Mandela spent 27 years in prison for fighting for the rights the blacks. He later went on to become the president. This story is remarkable in itself. But after he was released from prison and placed in the highest position of authority, Mandela chose a rather strange path. He chose a path of forgiveness, never retaliating for what people did to him. Think of that. I'll be 20 in a couple weeks. That's me living my entire life so far PLUS another 7 years in a tiny prison cell. I cannot imagine. And after all of that having the power to do whatever I wanted to the people who did that to me. But choosing to forgive. Choosing not only that, but to keep some of those same people on my staff and as my bodyguards.
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Now I don't know whether Mandela was or has since become a Christian. But this I do know, that his actions are the definition of "being different." The sad truth is that in the past year I have met so many Christians who are not different. Who talk behind backs, complain about everything, refuse to forgive, and then somehow go to bed at night with a clean conscience. "Being different" doesn't mean that you look different. In fact, at first glance one might not be able to tell. Maybe not even second glance. But those that know you will know. Not by the things you say necessarily, but perhaps by the things you don't say. When you are having a bad day and your boss/parents/brother/random person just really get on your case for no reason at all, and you choose to forgive long before they ask for it. You walk back to your dorm/house and your friend is ready to be a shoulder for you to cry on as you "vent" about all your problems, but they are surprised to find you note how beautiful the stars are tonight instead.
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So what exactly does it mean to "be different." Well I would sum it up in one verse. 1 Thessalonians 5:18. "In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." You want to be different. Be a city of joy on top of a hill surrounded by a valley of complainers.

The Only Thing

The only thing I have ever been afraid of is fear.

For surely if you were unafraid of fear 

There would be very little to fear.

~

The only thing I have ever loved is Love.

After all, if you fall head over heels for Love

What on earth would there be left to love?

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The only thing I ever complain about is people that complain.

You see, if the people were stopped who complain,

Then we could stop listening to this nonsense about which they complain.

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There is only one thing on earth that will make me cry.

That thing is the sight of watching my best friend cry.

For what is there to be sad about if nothing is making my friend cry?

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My favorite gift which God has given mankind is music. 

Because all other gifts derive from the gift of music.

For love and creativity and hope and forgiveness are all remembered in music. 

~

Revival IS Coming

Hey World.

So, first of all. I realize that ultimately revival is up to God, just as everything else is in this world. But...bear with me as I tell you why I believe we the people are the reason revival is "escaping" America (and the world for that matter). And don't worry. This won't take long. The answer is very simple.
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Answer:
Nobody believes in revival anymore. Sure...revivals are happening....SOMEWHERE. Somewhere over the rainbow where little munchkins kill wicked witches from the west. Just not in the United States. I mean, who are we kidding? "We have an evil president, and a corrupt government, and a joke of a judicial system, and our generation is a bunch of little devils, and all our thoughts are evil." At least that's what everybody is telling me. I don't know (or care) enough about politics to know, and I am in the "evil" generation so i guess I wouldn't even know if i was evil. Do evil people know they are evil? Who knows?
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All I know is what I hear. And all I hear is that this country is destined for destruction. Now, I only have one question and I think it's a very fair and simple one. What happened to the faith we used to have in our country? "Well times are looking really down right now." Of course they are! When haven't they been? When Britain had an army 100 times more experienced than our own? When brothers were fighting brothers in the civil war?  During the Great Depression? When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor? When the Trade Towers were hit? When? When has everything been honkey dorey in the US? That's never been the point. The point is that we endure. We fight back. We fight for our freedom. For our families. For the things we stand for.
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What happened? Why all of the sudden now do we have no hope left. When did we become a people who resorts to preaching that NOW is the end times because this world is so evil, instead of preaching revival? I think this has happened for 2 reasons.
1. Nobody wants to take the time out of their day to start a revival. Maybe we write a little blog about it, but we are too afraid to actually do anything in the REAL world. Too afraid to witness. Too afraid to stick up for our beliefs. After all, nobody wants to be the weird guy on the street corner in New York preaching the grace of Jesus Christ. What will people think of us? Might lose your job. A friend. Nobody wants to be that person.
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But the second reason is even bigger. So much bigger.
2. Nobody believes revival is possible anymore. We might pray for it. Maybe...MAYBE even in church. But if a mustard seed kind of faith could move a mountain, prayers for revival are about as big as half an atom split in two divided by four. Maybe. If you KNEW that God would answer your prayers, would revival be your first prayer? Or would it be a little extra cash? A good job. A wife. Husband. Friends. Glory. Oh that we would believe again that God is who He says He is. A God of mercy and grace. A God willing to bless a people who cry out to Him, no matter what their past may be.
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Well let me tell you something. Revival IS coming to my country. Let me say it again. Revival is coming to the United States of America. Say it out loud. Believe it. Beg God for it. Beg on your knees til your jeans rip to shreds. Revival is coming. I know it. But before it comes, a whole lot of people are gonna start praying. Before it comes a whole lot of people are gonna start making fools of themselves on street corners. Before it comes Aeropostale is gonna make bank off of you because you have to keep buying jeans. Before it comes there is gonna be a whole lot of witnessing. Just think. Just think if every believer fell to the ground and wept for their country. Revival would come. That day is coming.

Glorify God In Your Body

Hey world,

Yes. I do realize that three posts in one night is a little over-board. Forgive me. I promise this is my last thought. I'm still in 1 Corinthians 6. Verses 12-20. Verse 12 starts out by saying, "All things are lawful for me." So many people take this verse to mean that Christians are no longer under any laws. But they forgot to finish the verse. The whole verse reads, "All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful." Now, I admit I don't understand this completely. I know it doesn't mean we can do whatever we want, but it does obviously give us freedom. But Paul also assures that not everything that is "allowed" is good for us. I try to live my life in a way that if I cross the boundaries I have set, I am still quite far from the cliff. Example: Dancing. I have no problem with clean dancing. But I don't do it because I don't want to go too far ever. Therefore, I don't care if you do. I just don't. Not dancing doesn't pull me away from Jesus and it's keeping me safe. Maybe you have something different that I do that you don't. That's just the way it works sometimes. But there are two things Paul stresses that I want to relay onto you.

1. In verse 15 Paul tells us that our bodies are members of Christ and in verse 19 that they are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Think about that for a second. In your body lies the HOLY SPIRIT. GOD HIMSELF! When we use our bodies for thing not of Christ (sexual immorality), our bodies become harlots. Or...members of Satan! There is nothing you can do that is something in between. What you do with your body is either to the glory of God or to the glory of Satan. Let me repeat. EVERYTHING you do with your body is either to the glory of God or to the glory of Satan.

2. Verse 20 says, "For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." Your body is not yours. It's God's. He bought it at the price of His own body. So I'm not condemning any certain thing (though rest assured I have my opinions)! :) But I won't push those on you. Ask me in an email sometime if you are THAT curious. I just want to encourage you to think about the things you do with your body. Are they glorifying to God? Don't just say yes. Think about it long and hard. We will answer one day for our actions, as well for the people who our actions affect. Is your body glorifying God? If it makes it any easier for you...mine often is not. It's something I'm working on so hard. Maybe there is something you aren't sure about. A certain kind of dancing "other Christians do" that is PROBABLY okay. You are either glorifying God or Satan. I think it's worth taking 10 minutes to figure it out.

Why Do We Care So Much About Ourselves?

Hey world.

This post is really short. It's just another idea I got from tonight's devotions. This one is in chapter 6 of 1 Corinthians. Paul is talking about how Christians were taking fellow brothers in Christ to court. Just think about that for a second.

We are trying to show the light of Christ to a very very dark world. Why in the world are we wasting time bring other "lights" to court!!! It's so ridiculous. Never taken any Christian to court? Well I'd bet my lucky silver half-dollar that you've talked behind their backs, belittled them, made jokes about them, etc. I sure know I have, and I see others do it all...the...time.

What a poor example we are. In verse 7 Paul asks the questions burning on his heart. "Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated?" If you are a Christian you obviously understand this world is not about you or your happiness.

If you've read my posts about suffering you know that I don't believe this world is about our happiness at all. Our purposes are sometimes 100% full of suffering. God made some people for the purpose of dying at the stake, being lynched, cut to pieces, etc.

So what on earth could be so upsetting that you have to take your fellow brother in Christ to court, talk behind their back, etc.? Give it up! Here's a brilliant idea that no one understand anymore. LET THEM WIN! Let them cheat you! Let them wrong you! You want to know why? Because that's exactly what Jesus would have done, and I'm pretty sure that's reason enough.

Call It Judging If You Want

Hey world.

Judging. In my opinion this is the greatest of all sins. For it is looking down on a creation of God as inferior to you. It is the worst kind of pride. I hate judging so much. Read the book of John and try to judge someone after reading that (especially ch. 8). But there is a problem. Judging has become an excuse for so many Christians. You see, as brothers and sisters in Christ we are also called to look out for each other. We must help other believers stay on the straight and narrow. But Christians have made it "unbiblical" to do so anymore. If you try to show a believer their faults they pull out Scripture on you saying, "Hey idiot! Pull that plank out of YOUR eye first!" or "Judge not lest you be judged!"
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But sadly...this person does not know that they are
1. Quoting Scripture out of context
2. hurting themselves.
Judging and pointing out "planks" are only wrong because PRIDE is always at the center of them. However, sometimes people just care about you and don't want you to hurt yourself. OR...sometimes you are doing Christianity more harm than good and you need to be stopped (speaking for myself too).
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I was reading in my devotions last night in 1 Corinthians 5 (please turn there). Paul is writing to the church in Corinth because, quite frankly, they are screwed up. The people are LITERALLY more immoral than people OUTSIDE the church. Paul is frustrated because the people completely misunderstood what he meant when he last wrote them. Paul had told the people of Corinth to stay away from sexually immoral people. So, the people in the church never associated with sexually immoral people outside the church when many of they themselves were even more sexually immoral. Paul writes this chapter to tell them they are 100% wrong. He never meant for them to stay away from sexually immoral unbelievers, but to stay away from sexually immoral CHRISTIANS!!! This is completely the opposite from what we think today. After all, isn't that judging? Everyone has their mistakes after all. But think about. This is pretty much the one sin that people can SEE! Christians (even leaders of the church) were having obvious sexual relations that were completely unbiblical, and nobody cared. In verse 11 Paul says that we shouldn't even eat with a sexually immoral Christian. NO ASSOCIATION. Why? Isn't that harsh? Isn't that prideful? No. No it is not. Yes. We all have our mistakes. I have plenty of them. But Christians are supposed to be different from the world. That is the WHOLE POINT! If unbelievers look at us and see our LEADERS doing the exact same things as them, why in the world would they believe ANYTHING we said?
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Is it easy to disassociate from other believers? No. Is it out of pride? No. Do we still try to help them? Yes. Because they are our brothers and sisters and we love and need them. But if someone is on fire you don't let them hang around with people that are not. You take them out, push them to the ground, and get rid of the fire. And you do it in love. So call it judging is you want, but when someone approaches you with your faults. Listen. Listen carefully. They have a better view than you. Read your bible. Figure out if they are right. But you know what...even if you find nothing wrong about what you are doing. Maybe it's still time to stop. Better to not have a good thing, than to lose your relationship with a brother or sister. Remember...it's not about you. It's not about me. It's not about this world. It's not even about Christians. It's about love. It's about Jesus.
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Lastly, don't be afraid to tell others about areas of their lives that need attention. As long as it's in love. It will help them. It will help all Christians. And it most assuredly will help the unbelievers. And if they get mad at you. It's not your fault. They just have some growing up to do. And don't we all.

If Today Was Your Last Day

Greetings World.

So, straight to it. Question of the ages. What would you do if today was your last day? I suppose you could be realistic and say "well we will never know, will we?" But who cares about realists anyway? So what would it be? Say your apologies to everyone you've wronged? Tell that guy or girl next door you are crazy for him or her? Go witness to the world? Jump out of an airplane? Get married? What? If this was your last 24 hours. 1440 minutes. 86,400 seconds. That's it. That's all you have left. What are you going to do? 

-

I think about death every once in a while. No. Not because I'm suicidal. Just because it's gonna happen and i might as well get used to that. And I got to thinking. Okay James. There is no tomorrow. You just woke up. You got today left. That's it. What are you gonna do? My first thoughts were probably typical of most people. 

Do something crazy! Something I would never be brave enough to otherwise. Jump off Niagara, try to run into the White House...something like that. :) Or, I could get spiritual and say I would witness to everyone I saw. After all, that's not a bad idea. But then I thought this. What do I enjoy most about life right now? 

-

Answer? The little things. Sitting down talking to my sister Rachel about the girl I like. Playing tennis in the pouring rain with my best friend Sam. Playing catch with my brother Jonathan. Talking to my dad about the Bible. Road-tripping with my sister (in-law's sister) Tara to Nebraska to visit my brother Jeremiah and his wife Liz. Planning out my future with my mom. Sleeping in. Going for a walk. Having my devotions. Playing fetch with my mentally handicapped dog. Writing a story. Listening to music. 

-

So thought. Why would I have my last day be any different? No. I wouldn't call up friends from the past asking forgiveness for things of the past. I wouldn't go on a witnessing spree. I wouldn't really do anything out of the ordinary. I'd do those little things that so often go unnoticed, over-looked and under-rated. I'd sleep in, go play catch, talk about girls, play fetch, have deep conversations, go for a walk, and plan my future that wasn't going to happen. 

-

So what would I do if today was my last day? I would simply pretend I had 1 billion days left. What would you do?

Who Do You Imitate?

Hey everyone,
so it's 12:21 AM and i have church in a couple of hours, so i'm gonna keep this short. But i was just reading my devotions and i found something interesting i thought i'd like to share.
Okay, so you know all those books about like "100 keys to success" and "how to spend your money" and just blah blah blah about handling your money, and how to become successful and what not? Well, that makes sense right? Nobody wants to be in debt. Everyone wants to be rich, or at least in good standing or what not. And at bare minimum you want to be respected...even if you are poor. I mean...as a Christian we need to be respected by the world, right? Otherwise they won't wanna be Christians?
Well, please turn your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 4:8-16. But just in case you don't have a Bible nearby here's what it says....

^"8 You are already full! You are already rich! You have reigned as kings without us—and indeed I could wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you! ⁹ For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. ¹⁰ We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ! Weare weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored! ¹¹ To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. ¹² And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; ¹³ being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now.¹⁴ I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you. ¹⁵ For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. ¹⁶ Therefore I urge you, imitate me."


 Wait a second!!! Paul has just gone on rambling about how the people of Corinth are rich (like kings), strong, and distinguished, and how he himself is dishonored, weak, poor, persecuted, defamed, and FILTHY! And Paul has the nerve to tell the people of Corinth to follow HIM?
Let me ask you a question? If you are witnessing to someone? Do you usually begin like this...?
"Hey, can I tell you about being a Christian? You will be poor, defamed, weak, and persecuted! So what do you say? Wanna pray and get started?"


I laugh when I think about the people who say Christianity is a crutch. If Christianity is a crutch, it's a crutch that keeps hitting you in the head until you are bleeding to death. No friends. Christianity was not meant to "help you" in this world. It's gonna hurt. You are going to lose friends. You are going to cry. You are going to hurt. Feel weak. Become disowned. Defamed. Is this for everyone? I used to think no, but I'm not so sure anymore. In the last verse Paul "urges" the people of Corinth to "imitate" him. 


I'm not really saying anything here. Not saying being rich, popular, or powerful is wrong. Pretty much just thinking out loud here. But who are you imitating?

The Consequences of Freedom

Hey everyone,
First of all I just want to apologize for how long it's been since I was on here.
Well now that we got that out of the way...:)
Well, as you may have noticed, yesterday was the 4th of July. So theoretically, since today is the 5th this post is kind of late. But that's just the story of my life so i guess we will all just have to deal with it. I'm sincerely hoping today is the start of blogging regularly again (but now i'm getting off track).
The Fourth of July is probably one of the most over-looked holidays there are. Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter pretty much all take precedence over this holiday. After all, besides a couple of fireworks there is nothing much to it. However, the 4th is one of my favorites. And no...not only because i happen to love fireworks more than oxygen, chocolate, and mac'n'cheese combined. But because my dad raised me a patriot. I love this country very much, and singing patriotic songs, watching fireworks (remembering the bombs bursting in air), and hearing that star spangled banner sung is just amazing. But people don't get as excited about this anymore. Why is the celebration of the greatest country on earth the least celebrated?
I'll tell you why...
People no longer love America like they used to. Sure they talk about it a lot. All the time in fact. But mostly they are complaining. Complaining about the economy, about the leadership, about politics, about the war, about the border, about taxes, about pretty much everything there is to complain about. You know what I hear very little of? I rarely hear people just sigh and say, "Boy I love the United States of America!" Sure, people thank God for freedom. But you don't hear people thanking God for the current economy, taxes, leadership, etc.
The problem...?
You see, freedom is important. It's amazing. I love it. I praise God for it. But freedom also makes us forget. It makes us forget that sometimes you have to fight. It makes us forget that God is the one who gave it to us. It makes us forget to be grateful. It makes us forget to thank God for people who give their lives for it. It makes us forget to be grateful for those who sacrifice to lead our country. It makes us complain...complain...complain. One could say that I am now the one complaining. Yes. I am. But I'm NOT complaining about my country. Because I love it. I praise God for it. I am only complaining that the people God has BLESSED to live in this great country are not grateful enough to say thank you.
~
It's a lot like our faith. We live in a free country where we are free to worship. Am I thankful for this? Yes. But it's just the same. Christians just complain about others Christians! They complain that they are too liberal, too strict, they dance, they don't dance, their hair is too long, they are republicans, they are democrats, and on the list goes. It's like the 50 states all hating each other when they are all living under the same flag. You see...Patriotism and Christianity have a lot in common. We are misusing our freedoms. One of two things must happen.
1. We must suffer persecution. When in U.S history have we come the most together? Trade tours falling, World Wars, fighting the depression, The War for Independence. And where are Christians not only standing firm but growing in numbers uncontrollably? Christianity spreads the most where it is persecuted. Now...I do not desire war for my country or my faith. But it seems sometimes like it is necessary to pull us back together. Hopefully their is an option #2.

2. Realize the place we are in. Realize that we must unite before persecution forces us to. Before you focus on loving your unbelieving "neighbors", make sure you are loving your brothers and sisters in Christ. LOVE them. Don't talk behind their backs, persecute them with your judgments, and ridicule them. DO things for them without expecting anything in return...especially for those other Christians who you can't seem to get along with. Pray for them. Praise them when they do right. And the same goes for our nation. Love your nation. Praise God for it. Pray for it. Pray for your leaders. Write them and tell them you appreciate their sacrifice. Write to a soldier. Hang a flag outside your house. God put you here, and don't forget how blessed you are!

This doesn't mean you can't stand up against things you don't believe in. I realize things are happening in this country that are NOT Godly. But this nation was founded on God, and it will only stay that way if we keep living Godly lives, and showing this nation the love of God THROUGH our love for the United States of America.

God Bless

Questions

Questions
Questions that need answering.
Things we need to know.
Things that cannot wait.
Time is of essence.

Questions
Questions that need answering.
Or do they?
Perhaps there is no answer.
At least no right answer.

Questions
Life is full of so many of them
Easy ones. Hard ones.
Mostly hard ones I think.
I'm starting not to care if I make the right choice.

Questions
Perhaps they are pointless.
Perhaps I should just answer them however I wish.
Who cares about the consequences.
No consequence could outweigh this weight on my shoulders.

Questions
Dear God answer them now.
If not now then in my dreams.
If not in my dreams then tomorrow at latest.
For if not tomorrow then I shall be undone.

Questions
Questions
Questions
Questions
Questions

Questions
Psalm forty-six ten.
Oh! Now I see.
Now I understand.
The answer is found.

God's Ways are Perfect

So I'm gonna make this short and sweet because the time is 2:30 AM and I have class in the morning. But i did want to write this while it was deep on my mind. To make a really long, complicated story short and simple I am in a real pickle. I'm debating heavily between two colleges. I want to stay here in Cali but a school back home has a way better program. There's also other complicating things like my job, housing, and stuff like that. Anyhow, I've been trying to figure out what I want to do for months, and I HAVE to know by 2 PM today (cuz its my interview for work). Now, in case you didn't think it through....this is a really big decision as it could effect my future job, wife, family, people i meet, EVERYTHING. So...pretty much I've been freaking out (which is rare for me...i'm usually a no worry guy).

Anyhow...tonight i left for a walk at 1 AM. Around 1:30 AM i wound up at the prayer chapel here on campus where i stayed until 2:10. I spent a few minutes praying...begging God for a sign, an angel, a bright light...anything supernatural to tell me what to do. And you will not believe what happened....
absolutely nothing.
Figures.
Same as usual.

I got off my knees and just sat in the pew (pretty much just moping). Suddenly, I got an idea. I sang a hymn. I can't remember what it's called, but the lyrics are
"I love you Lord, and I lift my voice to worship you. Oh, my soul rejoice. Take joy my King in what you hear. May it be a sweet sweet sound in Your ear." I sang it again. Then I sang "When we all get to Heaven." And then "Amazing Grace." Then "The Doxology." One of the best worship sessions I've every had. Add in some background angel's voices from Heaven and it sounded amazing. :)

It was a very peaceful time...singing those songs....short as it was. But I had gotten off track of worrying, so I went back to my begging. "God! Speak to me!" Psh...as if I can tell God what to do.
Well, He did tell me what to do. No...not audibly. But I just figured the thoughts that came to mind were from Him. But they were also confusing. My first thought was...

"Are you loving people, James?"

Am I what!? What does that have to do with anything? But I really didn't have to ask. That's all that matters in life. That's what Jesus came for. That's what the New Testament is all about. Shoot...that's what the entire Bible is about. Love.
Love.
Love.
Love.
Love.
"Yes God. I believe I am loving people. At least I am trying."

"Do you love Me, James?"

"Uh...can you just tell me if I am supposed to stay or not?"

"James...do you love Me?"

"Yes."

"Then read My Word."

That was the last thing I "heard" from God tonight.
Love and read. Hmmmm...that has nothing to do with my problem. And everything.
You see....I have a hunch about life, and the hunch is this:
Maybe God doesn't need to start "lighting my path." Maybe he lit it before the foundations of the world. Maybe what i choose to do doesn't really matter. Maybe I'm just supposed to focus of loving and getting closer to Him. After all...what could be more important than that? Maybe I don't need to keep asking if I'm "supposed to be here." I KNOW I'm supposed to love. So I'm just gonna focus on that.
As for my future. I'm just gonna stay the course and let God shut and open doors as He wills.
I guess I don't really care what He does.
God brought something to my mind as I walked back to my dorm tonight...and it wasn't even Scripture. It was from a very unlikely place.

Veggie Tales.

"God made you special, and He loves you very much."

For some reason that brought me so much peace. :)

Anyway...maybe this will speak to one of you in your current situation. :)
God bless you and make His face shine upon you, and give you peace.

James Knoop
Psalm 18:30 (This was a verse I read in the prayer chapel. The Bible in the chapel was opened to this page).

Live Like Your Dying

The End of the Story

Hey everyone...
First...let me please please please apologize for the great amount of time that has passed since my last post. I've been decently busy, though that probably isn't the best excuse. But alas here I am. I keep wanting you write you guys but I keep learning new things in my faith and i want to share all of them and then because I have so many ideas none of them ever come. However, today was easy because it's Easter! :) What else is there to write about? :) 
Well, because we all know that it is impossible for me to write something positive, I will do my best not to break my streak. ;) However, I will do my best to put a twist to it to change it from negative to a POTENTIAL positive. Let us begin...


Do we belittle Easter? Hmmm...good question. Terribly easy answer. Yes. Guaranteed. We may go to church today, read the chapter about Jesus raising from the dead, change our status on facebook to something emotional about the significance of the day...but in our hearts...there is little joy. We put on our Easter smiles, but deep down there  we’re still upset about the way the world is. We still grumble and complain. And we still aren’t really excited for Heaven at all. 


Well to give it away...they entire point of this post is recapturing the mystery of Easter. What exactly it means. And just a clue...it’s not about marshmallow bunnies and fake grass inside of plastic eggs. You see...Easter is not an isolated event. So many times we don't prepare for this monumental day at all, and if we do, we don't prepare right. 


"Nu uh! I prepare right!" you say. I read the part about Jesus dying, even his ministry, shoot...I read the whole New Testament. Well...you may have. So, I don't wanna rule you out if you have. Let me put you to the test. I will list a series of tasks which you must have done in order to have satisfactorily prepared for Easter. Don't worry...there are only two steps. I hope you pass!!! Here goes...
1. You must have read the entire Bible this week.
2. You must have read every books about every event in history since the beginning of Earth.
Yeah...I didn't pass either. "Well, that's a stupid test!" "It's impossible to fully prepare!" Aha! You are correct. How could we ever prepare for such a day? But there is something you must realize. While this test is impossible, it is also true. Why? I love when you ask that question. Here is a small statement which HUGE implications. Ready?...me neither.


-Since the fall of man, every single event in history led to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ-


Did you get that? Read it again. EVERYTHING led to the Easter story. And I'm NOT just talking about the Bible. Everything. Gen. 3:15 (pretty much the beginning of your Bible) is the first prophecy of Jesus. God already had it planned. His story was already written. He knew that the Romans would be the rulers of the world at the time of Jesus. They had to be. If they hadn't of been, Jesus wouldn't have died on a cross (which was also prophesied). Just think of all the event leading up to the Romans gaining control. I could go on and on, but the point of this blog isn't to inform you but to open your eyes. The Easter story didn't begin the day Jesus raised. It didn't begin the day He was born. The Easter story begins in Genesis. Man sinned and someone had to pay the price. So often we break the Bible into a bunch of stories about different things. Not so. You can't even dare break it into two stories (New Testament and Old Testament). Don't you dare let anyone tell you the OT isn't VITAL to Christians today. Amid all the boring genealogies and weird commandments is a beautiful story playing out, the ending of which just maybe saved your life, and did save mine. 


I'm sorry for the density of this is such short writing. There is enough topic here to write a collection of books on, and I will be having a Bible study this summer wholly devoted to this topic, but maybe this will at least be enough to get you thinking. Genesis 1-2 is our prologue. We learn all the background info we need to understand what's going on. The fall is our major conflict. Man has sinned and needs a savior or they will be forever separated from God (anyone else got goosebumps at this amazing conflict). Plot...a man must come to save the day. But this didn't happen in a week, a month, a year, or a hundred years. Rather, for thousands of years the people of earth waited and waited and waited for the One who would defeat the antagonist (Satan and Sin) and save the maiden in distress (us). 


At last the prince rides to the towering castle to save the beautiful maiden. The reader is shaking with anticipation. But we freeze when we find out that the princess doesn't believe that he is the one who will save her. In fact, she tells the dragon guarding her to kill the prince. The reader is shocked, screaming at the idiot the princess is being. Is she blind? This is exactly the man she's always read about. But the dragon comes and fights a mighty duel with the prince, and eventually the prince drags the dragon over the edge of a cliff, and they both fall to their death. The reader is weeping. Yes, the dragon has been defeated, but so has the prince. 


But then...just when all hope was lost, we see the prince's right hand come over the edge of the cliff; then the other hand; at last the whole body. He has risen from the depths to save his princess. 


You see? The story didn't begin when the prince rode in. It began when the princess was enticed by the dragon, and captured (when Adam ate of the fruit). And we today are not waiting for the end of the story. Easter was the end. Today we are celebrating a happy ending to a horrible story. I hope this encourages you. So many people tell us that we are living in the "end times." In some senses sure...we are. But Jesus...He was really the one living in the end times. The end of the story. He defeated sin and death. There's nothing left to defeat. You and I are just in one great big epilogue. You know like a romance story when the guy and the girl go through lots of dramatic stuff...but on the last page of the last chapter, they kiss romantically under the moon? That's the part where you sigh, and grab a kleenex. The epilogue tells you that they got married, but you could really have closed the book without knowing that. You knew it was gonna happen anyway. 


That should be our attitude today. Our lover...Jesus...went off to war. But He won. He's back. The end. Prologue (James is sitting in Arizona on Easter break writing a bunch of people about how cool the end of the story is). :)
Given...it's a VERY long epilogue. But I think anything is worth the wait for my wedding ceremony with Jesus. 


Well...these were a bunch of jumbled thoughts and I hope some of them made sense. I really hope amid all today's activities you just remember the love of Jesus. Cliche as it is love is so amazing. Love. Love. Love. Wow. There's no way I'm falling asleep tonight. 


Happy Easter everyone!!!

So Called "Christianity"

So this is something I've wanting to write about for a long time, but school got in the way. Okay, I thought of it monday night...but when you have a blog that is FOREVER to wait. I actually should be starting my paper for English that's due tomorrow, but I don't even remember what it's supposed to be about and its not due for 15 hours so I can put that on the back burner for now. Okay...enough jokes. Put on your serious faces, cuz this is actually kinda a heavy issue (in my humble conservative opinion).

The Area of Sinning

I love posts like the this one because I am going to sound like I am completely contradicting myself. I don't know why I enjoy that...I just do. But as you know from previous posts. I am actually not contradicting myself. You just may have to read closely. :)

My main two points of this post are:
1. Don't worry so much about your sinning.
2. For Pete's sake...STOP SINNING!

-PART ONE-

:) Told you they are contradictory. Let me explain.

The Boy In The Park

 

Immature. Foolish. Proud. Arrogant. Like most boys I suppose. He seemed nice, a little reserved, yet intriguing. If you simply passed him by you might not notice him. You probably wouldn’t, and if you did it would most likely happen because you ran into him. You see, he walks slower than most others. Not slower as in his pace. He walks life slower. That’s the only reason I noticed him. It’s strange the things you notice if you take the time to look. I’m not sure why I took the time today. Perhaps it was simply from God. I don’t know. But I noticed this young man walking through the park. I walk through the park because I like parks. I think he walks through the park because he finds something magical about it.

A bird flies over and he cocks his head to watch it fly over. He turns around and watches it disappear over the hill and out of view. The bird has been gone for some time now and yet he watches. As if in pain at the loss. As if saying a last farewell to a creature he has just met. I then saw as he knelt down to a small patch of red flowers. I wasn’t sure what had grabbed his attention until i saw his hand reach out and touch one of the flowers. But the one he touched was yellow. The only yellow flower among all the red. I would not have noticed. But he had. He touched that flower so delicately. As if a rough touch from his finger would shatter it. Slowly he raised to his feet. He took one last look at the flower, sighed, and continued walking. I ran up to the young man, thinking to myself that I must meet him. 

“Hey!” I said as I approached him.

He turned. Almost in slow motion it seemed. His blue eyes met mine and he smiled. 

“Hello.” 

I cannot explain that moment. My eyes were locked on his. No. Not on. Through. I believe this young man controlled time itself, because it did not exist for this moment. I took a journey, in a way I cannot explain, past the space between us, through his eyes, and into his soul. I fell into a land of peace. I would tell you of it, but I’m afraid it would be easier to explain the feel of the wind.

However, peace was not all that dwelt in there. I also saw a land of darkness. Incredible darkness that was advancing toward the light. I then flew over the space between where a great war was waging, and if I was not mistaken the darkness was prevailing. Suddenly time resumed, and the boy turned and walked away. I was shell shocked.

Who was this boy? Against my better judgement I followed him through the park, and to his house. I dare say he did something with my mind, for never would I on my own behalf follow someone to their own home. I saw him go to his mailbox, grab the letters inside, and walk into his house. I ran to the window, and saw him sit at his desk. He flipped through the letters one by one, until he stopped at a certain envelope. His eyes grew wide. And then, once again, time changed. It didn’t stop. It just...changed. My gaze seemed to zoom in on his fingers.

They moved ever so slowly. His left hand held on firmly to the bottom of the envelope. His thumb made the slightest dent, and he loosened his grip. The four fingers of his right hand were on the backside of the envelope, while his thumb slowly broke the seal. Slowly, because if the envelope were to rip ever so slightly, the letter inside would simply vanish. I had never seen such care taken with such a simple thing. His hands were shaking slightly. I would have thought the letter brought ill news, but he showed no signs of sweating. And yet he did not seem excited either. What was it? The sound of the tearing seal filled my ears. The hands began to shake more noticeably, but soon the seal had been completely broken. My heart beat fast, anticipating the removal of the letter inside. But he did not remove it. I wanted to scream.

“Just take out the letter!”

But I thought better of it. After all, which is more strange. A man who opens an envelope without reading the letter, or a stranger outside the window yelling for him to do so? Therefore, I decided to wait. My gaze shifted to his eyes once again. A strange look they had. At first I thought it was fear, but I quickly dismissed that idea. Sadness was next, but no, nothing was the matter.

A mix of joy and fear it seemed to me. But what word describes that? And then I knew. How? I don’t know. Perhaps he silently told me. After all, he did control time. It was hope. Not in it’s original form, but hope all the same. Slowly (just like everything else) he removed the letter. Now my hands were shaking. I began to feel as if this letter was mine. Jealousy began to course through me. I watched in agony as he fully removed the content and began to read.

What business did he have reading that letter? Oh how I did wish I knew what it said. I watched as a smile crept across his face half-way through. The more he read the brighter the smile grew. He finished the letter. I know this because he closed his eyes and sighed. I think he did so just to spite me. And then, when I thought my hatred for him could not grow more cold; he read the letter again.

The same immature smiling. The same arrogant closing of his eyes. The same prideful sigh. The fool! To think he could ruin my perfectly good day by simply reading a letter from some mystery person. He had indeed ruined my day. I watched as he propped up the letter, just to his right. And then he began to fill out some papers. For what, I do not know. But occasionally, he would glance over at that paper...and smile. 

March Seventeenth -A Poem

Today I went for a walk.

Eventually I found myself

In a peaceful little park.

The wind was blowing gently,

And I could hear the sound of

passing cars up the hill.

Just then a golden retriever 

runs up to me, wet from the small river.

She drops her slobbery tennis ball, asking to be pet. 

I oblige, because God knows I love dogs.

A second retriever walks in circles several feet ahead

Obviously chasing something invisible to humans.

A small, chirping bird flies just over me

landing on an abandoned fence post, the remains 

of which must have once been a boundary; yet no longer.

Beyond that fence, about a hundred yards perhaps

is a bench where two young lovers sit,

Watching the boy in the green shirt and small black helmet 

Ride past on his bike. One day he too

Will sit on that bench

With a beautiful, young lady.

God must love the colors green and blue.

And I suppose brown as well. The trees, the grass,

the sky. Perhaps those are the colors of Heaven. For surely today

I have caught a glimpse of that Celestial City though some small window. 

The Very Last Day: Real

Well here we are. Day 7. It's actually only an hour and 16 minutes into this day, but I'm not tired. I also have no idea what my 7th character trait is. I really had those 6 in mind, and I am struggling with #7. So, I will play the delay tactic for a while and tell you all that I got a care package from home today! It was so amazing...lots of candy. I was happy. :) Oh...and flinstones vitamins. I always wanted those but we always got the cheaper brand. I just had one and they were totally worth the wait. I can now die a happy man.

Okay....characteristic number 7. I have it. I actually had this one in mind before, I just forgot. Here goes...

REAL

Muahaha! This one is not self-explanatory which means you will have to read my post to find out what I mean. Wow. I am a sly one. :) However, I won't waste anymore of your time and we'll just get to the point. I have a lot of pet peeves. Getting wet. Loud noises. People touching me. Normal stuff like that. Those are probably my three worst ones that will bring out the worst in me. But the fourth is this. I hate fake people. Well...I don't hate them...cuz I'm not allowed to hate people. So...I greatly dislike that they are so fake. That's even too far. I don't know them, so I don't know if they are being fake. I hate the appearance of fakeness (not a word) in people. 

I'll help you understand this a little. Here at college we have singporation every Sunday night. It's a great hour of worship where about 1000 students come together for the sole purpose of worshipping Jesus. However, I often feel out of place, and here's why. This college is filled with emotional people. Now...I am extremely emotional in some senses, but not really in most. You can rarely find any emotion in me. Outside of my sister (after watching Marly and Me), I honestly don't remember the last time someone saw me cry. Ten years old maybe? No idea. I'm not proud of this. I just never cry. And when it comes to worship I'm not much different. I sing with all my heart, but outwardly, you wouldn't know. I'm not the type to raise my hands, clap, or really move anything but my lips. SOMETIMES I'll close my eyes. All around me are people weeping, lifting their hands, dancing, swaying back and forth, etc. I'll admit, this is a hard time for me because I'm trying really hard not to judge. But I sometimes wonder if this is really "real" to them at all, or if this is just a Sunday night fill up to get them through the week, and it's the only time they spend with Jesus. I fear this generation is so "emotionally" oriented, that we have forgotten the sweetness of being still, and knowing that He is God (Psalm 46:10). The time I feel closet to Jesus is by myself, quiet...just listening. I wish I had a "just listening" time every day, but sadly I'm not there yet. 

Sorry...that was a huge tangent. And I'm sure I didn't have to write all that for you to get the point. I'll give you two more quick examples though in case you missed it. First, drama-oriented people are NOT real. They live in their own little fake world blowing everything out of proportion. I'm sorry if you are one of these people. I'm not judging. I just feel bad for you. The last example is people who are hypocrites. I'm pretty sure everyone on this planet is a hypocrite to some extent. We act different around certain people (and that's not always a bad thing). But I'm looking for someone who knows who they are, and isn't ashamed of it. There aren't many people like that. But it's so refreshing when you do meet someone like that. They don't act differently around you "just because you are a boy". They don't pretend to be overly nice when with people they want to impress. They are just the same person all the time. The way I like to say it is "what you see is what you get." 

Now, I understand that there is room for being more timid around people you like, or just more awkward or whatever. But I'm talking about once you actually get to know the person. So there it is. In her praying, singing, speaking, and everything else...I want my wife to be real. No mask.

And so concludes my Top 7 Characteristics for a future wife. I do hope you know that there are so many many more...but that would have to be a yearly blog or something. :) So let's review. In my future wife I am looking for...

Modesty, Bible Addict, Traveler, Trustworthy, Submissive, Loving, and Real. The acronym would be 

"Start MLB" Hmmm....must be a sign it's time for baseball season. ;) So now the question arises...what if you could only have one of these? Well, for the answer to that question I would direct you to the last verse of 1 Corinthians 13. 

Hope you enjoyed this week of blogging, and thank you so much for all your wonderful comments!

James Knoop

Day 6: Loving

Okay...so here we are at day 6. I don't really have anything interesting to say before we get into the point of this so i'll just jump in.

Loving

I want a loving wife. Now...yes....i realize this is another one of those "duh" things. I don't know many guys that want a wife that hates people. If you do then you might need psychological help. I probably could use that kind of help, but at least not in this area. What I don't mean by this is just a wife that loves me. Yes...I want that, but I would hope that's obvious. I want a wife that loves other people. 

The greatest thing a man or woman can do in their lifetime is love. It is the single-most greatest thing we are called to do (Luke 10:27). God made humans to glorify (love) Him. Jesus died for us because He loves us. Jesus wants us to be with Him one day because He loves us. And he wants us to love other people just as much as we love ourselves because He loves them. Love. Love. Love. Love. If you aren't a hopeless romantic you will not enjoy the Bible. That's all It's about. 

Quite simply I want my wife to be someone who loves people with all the love she possesses. Someone once said "I'm not giving my heart to anyone but Jesus, if He wants to share it with others that's up to Him." Jesus did NOT say the greatest commandment was to love other people. LOVE GOD! Focus on loving God more than ANYTHING...more than loving your friends, spouse, kids, neighbor, or dog. If you love others more than anyone in history but do not love God....you are a failure. 

BUT...if you love God with all your heart, he WILL share it with others. If you give your heart 102% to God, then you will naturally love those around you. It's impossible to truly love God and not others. It is for this reason that I want my wife to be a loving individual. The world was made and saved by love. To not love is to not live. I could write a book on the subject of love but there's this bestseller that already came out on the topic. You may have read it. 

-1 Corinthians 13-

Day Five: Submissive

Okay....so whats up? You know what I like about Sundays? I dress up. I really enjoy dressing up, so I'm not sure why i never do. Well...let me clarify. I'm always dressy. I am very self conscious of what I am wearing...but I'm talking about button-up type dressing up. Well...that was my random thing for the day....on to the fifth characteristic of my future wife. Wait...before I go into that I just want to warn you that it MAY not be incredibly popular among females. So...let me know what you think (though I doubt it will change my mind anyway. :) )

SUBMISSIVE

Yup...I said it. :) Now is the part where you delete this page from your history so you don't even remember it. :) Go ahead...I understand. :) But for those of you still here, as always, I will explain myself.

Day 4 of "Future Wife Week": Trustworthy

Greetings fellow Earthians,
Welcome to Saturday. The day after Friday and the day preceding Sunday. What have I done so far today? Well....let me dig into my memory bank and try to remember. Ah yes. Not much. :) I woke up just before sunrise at 12:30 PM and ate my chewable kids vitamin, took a shower, and tried in vain to remove a stain from one of my favorite zip up hoodies. I've already spent more money on stain remover and the laundry than it is worth. Frustrating. I now have a cup of mac and cheese in my hand and I'm writing you. Okay...so the cup isn't literally in my hands...but I like the way that sounded. Enough of this jargon though....on to DAY FOUR.

Male Modesty???

Hey everyone...
someone recently asked me about what i thought about male modesty?
my answer is simple. I have no idea. :) This is for two reasons
1. I'm a guy so how am i supposed to know what isn't modest. I need girls to tell me.
2. Secondly, i don't even like wearing shorts, so i'm constantly in jeans (not tight) and a shirt (or more often a hoodie).
It's something i guarantee you guys NEVER think of. If girls find us immodest than that is a wake up call like crazy. Now...obviously if we walked around shirtless or something....which
1. i wouldn't do
2. dont have abs to show off anyway.
but other than that...its not like that many guys wear speedos swimming or anything. at least no one i know.
But....I wanna hear from the females out there. Do you find immodesty in guys?
OR...what is the one thing that turns you off the males the most. Modesty is mine for girls. What is yours for guys?

Leave comments and feel free to do so anonymously if you'd feel better that way.