Average Guy. Average Life.

Don't Put Makeup on a Dead Man

2012-01-29T13:03:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!

I hope this January Sunday finds you well. Today in church the pastor spoke from Colossians 2 regarding legalism. I went ahead and read chapter 3 when I got home, and I figured I would share a few thoughts I had with you.

In chapter 2, Paul speaks regarding "doctrines of men" that really don't affect our faith at all. He explains how we should not become so wrapped up in man-made regulations that we forget to be wrapped up in Christ.

I suppose you could read this chapter alone, and come away with some good thoughts regarding legalism, but it is important to remember that this is an actual letter. And letters were never meant to be read in part. Some of us probably barely remember the good ol' snail mail days, so let's make this a bit more applicable. If someone sends you a text or a Facebook message, do you only read half of it?

I doubt it. All that to say chapter 3 is extremely important to read.

Chapter 3, verses 1-3 says, "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of the throne of God. Set your mind of things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God."

The reason our lives should not be filled with legalism isn't because there is nothing good about legalism. Honestly, the "rules and regulations" found in legalism are often wise.

For example, some preach against smoking. Surely, there is nothing wrong with abstaining from such an unhealthy habit. Some preach against dancing. Surely there can be no harm in watching how closely you interact physically with someone of the opposite gender.

The regulations that come along with legalism are not the problem. The problem is twofold.

First, when we cling to legalism, we are looking to ourselves instead of Christ for change. Legalism is man-made rules to cover for moral decisions not found in the Bible. Instead of looking to Christ for wisdom in decisions, we turn to men and women who have created rules for us to follow. These rules become equal to Scripture.

Secondly, legalism is an attempt to fix our old body. Legalism looks at our sinful body, and tries to find ways to keep it clean. We are filled in a world of sin, so legalism keeps us from any hint of any sin that might damage the body.

The problem is, that according to Ephesians 2:1 our bodies are already dead. Legalism, in fact, is no more than an attempt to put makeup on a dead face. This may be enough to convince our fellow Christians, or even unbelievers.

It won't fool God.

God doesn't want us to look to our own devices to cure our sin condition. He wants us to "seek those things which are above" (Colossians 3:1).

Only God can give us a new body. Only God can make us into new creatures (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Any hope to live without sin, to live with loving kindness, is found in Christ.

We have been freed from sin (Romans 6:7).

True freedom comes not from seeking the death of sin.

True freedom comes from seeking the life of Christ.

The Power of Weakness

2012-01-12T10:00:00.000-08:00

Think for a moment of how many stories you have watched on your TV or read in a book that are all about overcoming persecution, slavery, weakness, diversity, famine, war, etc. There are a lot of them. There are so many, even true stories, that the term "Cinderella Story" doesn't mean as much as it once did. Even the Bible is full of stories regarding overcoming weaknesses.

The Old Testament reveals story after story of God taking a small number of Israelites and defeating great armies of Gentiles. Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Saul, David, Daniel, and so many others seem to beat the odds almost every single time.

By the time I get to the New Testament, I'm pretty used to the story line. Something great happens - something bad happens - it looks like the character is going to fail - God saves them. Jesus is no exception. His story looks the same. Jesus has a magical birth story. He grows up, and everyone seems to love him. He is performing lots of miracles and saving lots of people. Then the plot twists as usual. He is turned on by his own followers. He goes to court to get tried for blasphemy. Pilot sentences him to die on the cross.

You'd think I would be nervous at this point, but I'm not. I've seen this scenario before. I remember when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego were thrown into the fiery furnace. No harm done. Didn't even smell like smoke. The soldiers can go ahead and try to nail Jesus to the cross. Somehow they won't be able to. His hands and feet will turn to iron. Angels will come and kill all the soldiers. All of Israel will realize that Jesus is the true King of the world, and then I can put my book down and go play catch with my brother.

Then Jesus dies. There is no pulse and no hope. I'm skeptical at first, but three days pass and it becomes impossible to deny. Jesus is dead, and I am doomed to spend eternity in utter darkness. I will be alone, tortured in my own filth.

Now we all know the rest of the story. We know it doesn't end there, but despite the ending, Jesus has raised the bar for stories. What if a story ended with weakness? At the very least, what if - even though a story ended in victory - the greatest victory came through weakness? That's what Jesus did. He beat Satan, Hell through giving up his power. He won the war by putting down His sword. He won the Super Bowl by taking a knee.

In II Corinthians 12:10, Paul says, "For when I am weak, then I am strong."

I'm a pastor's kid, and I am fairly certain I heard this verse ten thousand times growing up. My brother even started a band called "Weakside," their name based off this verse. Needless to say you would think I would understand it. I didn't. I doubt I even fully do now, but hopefully the truth of it is starting to dig into my heart.

Not all pastor's kids fit the stereotype of knowing every verse in the Bible, understanding every theological idea ever created, and not understanding those who do not. I do. At least I'm about as close as it gets. That's not bragging. I would give it all up for one simple gift that it seems like everyone else has but me.

Passion.

I don't have it. Some days I cry out for it, but most days I rely on knowledge. All around me I see believers who seem to be filled with a passion too great for them to control. Why else would people randomly yell unintelligible things during chapel, or a quick amen, or raise their hands so high you can tell they were at a campfire last night? Passion.

I want to experience God in a way I have never. I want to have a vision, see Heaven, hear a still small voice, anything. I'm so sure that will fix everything.

Earlier in II Corinthians 12, Paul shatters that idea. In verses 2-4 he tells of a man who saw visions of Heaven, and most scholars agree that he is talking about himself. Three verses later Paul tells us that he complained to the Lord about a "thorn" in his side. Thankfully, he doesn't say what his thorn is. It allows me to fill in the blank.

I have a thorn too.

Paul begs the Lord three times to take away the thorn, and God's answer is so beautifully terrifying.

No.

He says, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."

God's strength doesn't just work better in weakness. It's "perfect" in weakness. God doesn't just look at me and say, "Wow. James is such an idiot. Good thing I got some power to make his weakness look strong."

God actually wants me weak.

I don't need a vision.

A vision won't fix my weakness.

The power of God will fix my weakness.

God will look down from Heaven and smile at my weakness.

I will look up from Earth and be overwhelmed, not by a vision of God, but by God Himself.

What God Expects of You

2011-12-06T00:18:00.001-08:00

What does expect of me? That is a very prominent question consistently on my mind. Well...mostly consistently. You have undoubtedly asked the same question, though you may have worded it differently. "What is God's purpose for my life?" or "What is my path?" or maybe simply "What am I supposed to do?"

It's a fair question. And it's fair to ask God. I think He likes questions. We don't always like His answers, but that is probably because His definition of "answering" is rarely the same as ours. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

According to the Westminster Confession of Faith (written in 1646), the chief end (the purpose) of humans is "to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever." So, one could argue that God expects me to glorify Him and enjoy doing it. This raises two questions.

1. Why should I think that this document has anything to do with my life? (After all, this isn't Scripture.)

2. If this does still apply to me, what does it mean to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever?

In answering the first question I'm not going to give any history lessons about who wrote it or why. That would probably be very interesting and useful, but I just don't think it's necessary. If we are arguing whether or not this document is Scriptural, let's just take a quick peek at the Bible.

I'm not going to share any specific Bible verses, just stories as a whole. Let's look at the very first story. God creates the world. This is a very interesting story. One day (or however time worked before days were created) God decided to create the world that we know. Maybe it was His first time. Maybe He created 27 worlds before this one. We don't really know. The fact is, on this particular "day," He created the world we know. Earth, Mars, the sun, moons, stars, galaxies, dinosaurs, ants, platypus, and a couple of humans (not all the same day).

You know that story, but perhaps you haven't thought of one thing. What was the original purpose of humans. Adam and Eve. Two sinless, naive individuals who knew no evil. Now, we often talk about how massive the universe is. We likely will never find an end to it. Much of our own planet will undoubtedly never be explored. There are stars we will never see, planets no satellite will locate, sea creatures we will never find in the deepest blackness of the ocean.

Adam and Eve saw the same world we see, without the sin, of course. They saw the stars and the whales and the dinosaurs and the crickets and dogs and cats and bees and cheetahs and mountains and trees and apples and the blue sky. So what was their purpose? They didn't have to tell people about Jesus, because Jesus had not come yet, and even if He had there was no one to tell. They didn't have to fight crime because if a crime was committed they would immediately have known who did it (that and there was no crime anyway).

What I'm getting at, you see, is that they didn't have a purpose in the way we think of having a purpose. God really only gave them two commands. Don't eat fruit from that one tree where the creepy snake lives, and enjoy this wonderful world I have made for you. Neither of those are quotes, but that is basically what He said, and it sounds an awful lot like that document those one guys wrote several hundred years ago.

Genesis records that Adam and Eve walked with God quite literally in the Garden of Eden. They went on walks. They chatted. God asked Eve what her favorite tree was, and she confessed that she couldn't get enough of the smell of the spruce. God asked Adam what he had named the tiny, black, flying insect, and Adam proudly proclaimed that he had named it a "fly." And then Eve said it was a terrible name and God laughed and then Adam laughed and Eve joined in and life was beautiful.

Life is not the same now, clearly. I can only imagine the pain Adam and Eve experienced from no longer experiencing the friendship they had with God. Adam would be out toiling in the fields, wiping the sweat from his forehead when he thought he heard God say something. He would turn excitedly, only to be met with utter silence. Eve would pick fruits from the trees and every day be reminded of the fruit that had separated her from the one who had given her life.

Adam and Eve still had purpose in life, but it was now a scarred purpose. This was the point in life where life became more complicated. There was now evil. There was confusion and God felt distant.

Time passed and the purpose in life changed quicker than the passing of seasons. First the purpose was to simply survive. Then it was to conquer. And then it was peace. And then it was to have a family. And then to be happy. And then to be rich. And then to be popular. And on and on. And here we are.

Here we are. Here I am, wondering what God expects of me. I wonder what major He wants me to have, and who I should marry, and where I should work, and if I should buy an Apple Blast or a Vanilla Latte from Caribou. Big questions and little questions that never seem to go away. And then I think of Adam and Eve. Before the Fall. And I think I have it all wrong.

You see, God's "purpose" for your life, what He "expects" of me, has nothing to do with any of these questions. These things are important, no doubt. So is spreading the Good News of Jesus and His death and resurrection. But that isn't your purpose. It's not my chief end.

God wants to walk with you. That's it. That's all. He wants you to put down your video games, your homework, your pride, your milkshake, your lifestyle, your friends, your family, your relationship, your cheeseburger and hold His wonderful, nail-scarred hand.

Life isn't always easy. It's not always fun. You and I aren't always happy. But then again, God never promised us happiness. Paul wasn't happy while he sat in prison. Jesus wasn't happy as he hung on the cross. Christians aren't happy as they are burned at the stake and skinned alive.

God could care less about happiness, that's why he never offered it to us. Instead, He offers something much greater. Joy. Joy is understanding that life is beautiful, whether you are happy or not. And if you have joy, you can glorify God and enjoy Him forever no matter the circumstance.

Joy is what kept Jesus walking toward Golgotha. Joy is what kept Paul and Silas singing in prison. Joy is what keeps missionaries in war-torn countries, and what keeps you catching snowflakes in our mouth as you walk home from losing your job.

So what does God expect of me? I think He just wants me to wake up in the morning, give Him all my troubles right away, get out of bed, and just live. Life has enough problems. We weren't created to worry. We weren't created to have any concern whatsoever as to what tomorrow would bring. I'm not saying not to plan ahead. I'm saying planning ahead has nothing to do with your purpose.

Your purpose in life is to spend every single breath you have glorifying God, and to love every second of it.

The Life of Daniel - Chapter 1

2011-11-29T12:36:00.001-08:00

Background / Context

Verse One:
Daniel's story doesn't begin with much background or context. I suppose if you are rather familiar with the Israelites' (Daniel was an Israelite) story as a whole, you will have more context. However, if you just picked up this book and read it (which I highly recommend), you will find yourself immediately in the midst of a great siege. It's like going to the theatre and after the opening credits have rolled, you are immediately bombarded with a battle. You don't even know who the "good guys" and "bad guys" are yet. All the first verse tells us is that Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon has besieged Jerusalem - the homeland of the Israelites.

Verse 2
The opening battle scene soon drifts to a glimpse in the past, an explanation for what is happening and why. In this verse we discover that God Himself allowed Israel to be overtaken by the Babylonians. While it is not clear from the text alone, this was done because Israel had chosen to not follow the commandments of God. Their hearts had drifted away from Him. Don't take this verse lightly. Much of the Old Testament is dedicated to God's chosen people - Israel - fighting for a place to call home. If you know the Exodus story - how Moses rescued the Israelites from hundreds of years of slavery - then you know how blessed these people were to at last have a homeland. They had their own king, their own property, and they were free to worship God however they pleased. Yet, they chose to follow their own path, and not that of their true rescuer, God. So God, in an act of punishment, allowed Israel to lose their freedom once again.

The battle resumes. This is the part where you grip your armrests, you forget altogether of the popcorn in your lap, or even that this is just a movie. The choir sings a lamentation as you watch children taken from their weeping mothers - all in slow motion. It's gripping.

Verse 3
The King of Babylon instructs a man by the name of Ashpenaz (unfortunate name) to a select group of people to bring back to Babylon with him (the rest were allowed to stay in Israel under Babylonian rule). These three groups were:

1. Nobleman
2. Royalty (descendants of the Israel's king)
3. Children

Verse 4
This verse gives some specifics on the characteristics of the people brought back to Babylon. Pay close attention to these characteristics.

1. No blemish: Physically they had no (or at least very few) flaws.

2. Good looking: Whatever that meant back in the B.C. days. My guess is about 5'9" with long brown hair and freckles.

3. Gifted in all wisdom: This doesn't mean they were given some vision as children that allowed them to possess all knowledge. It means they went to school. They studied hard and knew their stuff.

4. Possessing knowledge and quick to understand: They were quick learners. They listened well and memorized. You didn't have to tell them the same thing twice.

5. Had the ability to work in the king's palace: Let's face it. Not everyone could work in a king's palace. These young people were very respectable, submissive to authority, and well-behaved.

6. Literate with good speaking abilities: These were young people the Babylonians knew they could teach to read, speak, and write in a new language.

We aren't told this until verse six, but Daniel was one of these men. He had been taken from his homeland, his friends, and his family. He had been thrust into a new country with a new language, a new king, and new gods. Why? He was a smart, good-looking young man. Makes me think twice about whether or not I should care about looks and grades.

Story

We now have the background and context of Daniel's first adventure in Babylon (he had several of them).

Verses 5-16
King Nebuchadnezzar was not a terrible king. He was very powerful, yes, but he treated the nations he conquered with much kindness, allowing them to live in peace, simply under his rule. The people he took captive, such as Daniel, he treated even more kindly. Verse 5 says that he supplied Daniel (as well as the others) with "daily provision" from his own delicacies. It's like being taken away from your mom's great cooking only to find out that your kidnappers are going to feed you Old Country Buffet. You'd rather have Mom's cooking, but this isn't half bad either.

Verse 6 brings Daniel, and three of his friends into the story. There were others, of course, but for whatever reason, the book of Daniel focusses on these four young men.

In the eighth verse of this book, Daniel runs into his first of many predicaments. His religion (if you want to call it that) did not allow him to drink and eat of the food the king was providing. The specifics of why it wasn't allowed aren't important here. The important thing is that he thought he would "defile himself" if he ate and drank the provisions the king was offering. This brings one more part of Daniel's past to light. Despite being part of a nation that had chosen not to follow God, Daniel had purposed to be different. He had chosen the narrow road of following God. Perhaps his parents taught him this. Perhaps his parents' disobedience had caused him to see a better way. We don't know, and quite frankly, it doesn't matter.

Needless to say Daniel is in a pickle. Here he has been presented with the opportunity to serve the greatest king on earth, but his faith in God ( a God the king does not know) has gotten in the way. I imagine two thoughts running through Daniel's mind.

1. I am far away from my homeland, in a country that does not know the laws of my God. Surely God has placed me here for this situation and will understand that it is impossible for me to follow this one simple rule.

2. I am member of God's chosen people. Perhaps God has chosen me for this very moment to live for Him in the midst of a people that does not know Him.

Neither decision is easy. Both have consequences. So what does Daniel do? Initially, Daniel decides to follow God. Don't take that decision lightly, it could have been the death of him quite literally. But something interesting happens next, that sheds a little more light on the character of Daniel.

The overseer of these new captives comes to Daniel and begs him to change his mind. Why? Why didn't the overseer report that Daniel wasn't accepting the king's generosity? Perhaps to save his own neck. Nobody wants to approach the greatest king on earth with ill news. There is a larger reason, however, you will find in verse 9. It says that "God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill" of this overseer. How? Did God magically make the king's overseer like Daniel? Maybe. But I doubt it.

We've already seen how great the character of Daniel was. Daniel was probably good at making friends, winning people over. When Daniel was taken captive to a land far from home he didn't spend his days complaining and crying. He got to work right away making allies within the king's court. This doesn't mean that he was telling everyone about God. He probably wasn't telling anyone about God. He was simply being an outgoing, upstanding, hard-working person. He was attractive. Not just physically. He was a person people liked and wanted to be around.

Being a follower of God doesn't mean we have to be awkward people always holding a Bible and witnessing. We don't have to tell people they are going to hell, hold picket signs, or avoid all things secular. There was very little in Daniel's life as a young man that hinted at anything religious. I'm not saying he didn't have a prayer life. We find out later in this book that Daniel was willing to risk his own life to follow a daily prayer routine. My point is that outside of his time alone with God, his work life had very little "Christianness" to it. He lived in a country that worshipped other gods, worked for people who knew nothing of his God, and the work he was doing had nothing to do with spreading the word about God. He was not known as "Daniel the nice Godly young fellow." He was known as "Daniel, the attractive hard-working young fellow." Let's continue.

All that being said, Daniel eventually had to make a stand for God, but his good standing with the overseer made it easier. Since Daniel had this relationship, he asked the overseer to do him a favor. Daniel asked for a 10-day trial. You've heard of Netflix's 30-day trial. It's a short time-period to test whether or not you want to follow through with a monthly dose of cheap DVD's delivered straight to your mailbox. Daniel asked the overseer to give him and his friends 10 days to consume food and drinks allowed by God instead of that offered by the king. The overseer complied, and I cannot stress enough how Daniel's good standing with this ungodly overseer was vital to anything good that happened from this point on.

You see, after the 10-day trial, Daniel and his three friends actually looked better than everyone else, and they were never asked to eat or drink the king's provisions again. If Daniel had not had the relationship he had with the overseer, and he had still chosen to follow God, he and his three friends would most likely have been killed. Food for thought.

Backtracking just slightly, it is also interesting to note that Daniel's three friends (Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah) were not the one's who had good-standing with the overseer. You see, Daniel was a leader. He took initiative. He did the dirty work of befriending this man and asking for a trial - not just for himself - but for his three friends as well. Now, don't think Daniel's three friends weren't Godly or brave. They were, but something they were not was prepared. Daniel was. He had done the "secular work" necessary to complete a religious task.

Ending

Verses 17-21
What was the conclusion to the story? Not only were Daniel and his three friends allowed to eat and drink the provisions of their choice, but God blessed them as well with additional knowledge and wisdom. God blessed Daniel slightly more than the others, however, and gave him the ability to interpret visions and dreams (this proves significant later in the story).

God blesses us when we choose to live for Him, but He also blesses plain ol' hard secular work.

At the end of three years of training, all the people taken from Israel were brought before the king for a final interview. Let me just quote verses 19-20. They sum everything up much better than I can.

"Then the king interviewed them, and among them all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore they served before the king. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm."

This is a very exciting part in the movie you are watching. Your hand is shoving popcorn into your mouth faster than you can swallow. The orchestra is composing a heart-pounding symphony. The music is building and building. Four young men are kneeling before the king who holds the power to kill them or make them four of the greatest men in the world. The king stands and declares in a voice that echoes through the city gates that these four young men, who have received merely three years of training, are more knowledgeable than all the greatest men in the entire kingdom and will serve him directly.

Your popcorn goes flying. Cheers ring throughout the theatre. They did it. They won.

You leave the theatre, get in your car, and drive home excited. It's on the way home that you begin to think of the deeper meanings of this movie, and you discover that there is more to it than meets the eye. This movie wasn't just an inspirational story about four young men rises from the ashes (literally) to attain greatness.

This movie is about one young man, Daniel, who had lost everything, yet had chosen to excel in every area of his life, that those he cared about most, might survive. The story isn't about attaining greatness, or winning friends, or gaining popularity.

You see, if you had stayed through the credits, you would have watched a hidden scene. You would have been taken to Daniel's room in the king's palace. You would see him surrounded by wealth, but you would not see him rejoicing. The camera would bring us to Daniel's bed where he lie weeping, begging God to bring him back to his family. Begging God that this was all a bad dream, and that he would wake up the next day in his bed. That he would wake up home.

Daniel didn't excel in every area of his life to attain greatness. He didn't do it out of some competitive nature to be the best he could be. Throughout this chapter, and throughout his entire life, Daniel did his very best in every single task, because he knew that was what God expected of him. That was what God required.

It's not a happy ending. It's quite bittersweet.

Make the Sacrifice

2011-11-18T08:42:00.001-08:00

This book of Ezekiel's is continuing to amaze me every day. If you get a chance today, read chapter 24. I'm sure it will make more sense if you read the prior 23 chapters, and I would prefer that, but I will do my best just to once again sum up what has occurred up to this point.

To sum up. God is really mad at Israel and is telling Ezekiel why and how He is going to destroy them. Okay, there's more to it, but now you are basically up to speed.

Chapter 24 is no different. Not at first. God is giving judgement to Israel all the way up to verse 15, and that is where we will slow down a bit and attempt to understand what is happening here. Here is what verses 15-17 say (NKJV).

"Also the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 'Son of man, behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes with one stroke; yet you shall neither mourn nor weep, nor shall your tears run down. Sigh in silence, make no mornings for the dead; bind your turban on your head, and put your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips, and do not eat man's bread of sorrow.'"

What in the world is God telling Ezekiel? What is "the desire" of Ezekiel's eyes? What is going to be so sad that God commands him not to mourn or weep? Whatever it is, God commands two things.
1. Don't cry
2. Tell Israel the things I told you

Here's what happens (and don't forget I warned you yesterday that this is a depressing book):

Verse 18: "So I (Ezekiel) spoke to the people (Israel) in the morning, and at evening my wife died; and the next morning I did as I was commanded."

What do you even say to that? What can you say? The desire of Ezekiel's eyes was his wife! God told Ezekiel he was going to lose his wife, and that he wasn't allowed to cry about it in public. All he could do was SIGH in private.

Why? Why why why would God ever require such a thing? Why would God kill the wife of the ONE man on earth who was still following Him? Why would God make Ezekiel continue his work of prophesying the very morning after the dearest person to him died?

Before we answer that question, let's soak in something else first.

Ezekiel had no idea. He didn't know why God killed his wife. He didn't know. But he didn't ask. He didn't complain. He just did EXACTLY as God commanded him to do when He commanded him to do it. Some people say the "heroes" of the Bible aren't really heroes. They are just people like you and me that were placed in significant situations.

I just cannot read the Bible and believe that, especially with this man. I could not do this. I don't care what the situation was. It is hard enough losing a loved one, but how could you honestly expect me to just be okay with knowing that God killed my own wife? It would shake me. Shake my faith.

Ezekiel is one of the greatest heroes of the history of the world.

However, as is always the case. God had a purpose even in this. In verse 19 the people ask Ezekiel (and I'm significantly paraphrasing), "Are you crazy? Why are you acting this way? Why aren't you weeping? Why do you continue to tell us what God says when the love of your life has died?"

You see, here is something that only God would think of. Prophets told the people about God's coming judgement for years and years, but they never listened. They were just words, and the people had more important things to attend to...things like family. Well here was a man who lost his family, and it didn't seem to phase him. What I'm proposing is that the only reason God killed Ezekiel's wife was to get the people's attention. To wake them up. His purpose for this woman's death was to save an entire nation. Whether or not she knew it, she died a very noble death. A patriotic death.

And the important thing to realize here is that this is not about God being a judge. This book and this chapter are COVERED with the mercy and love of Christ. God loved his people so much (even though they were extremely evil people) that he sacrificed his beloved prophet's wife to save them. Sound familiar? Someone dying for the sake of others.

I'm getting off topic. The point is...her death got the people's attention, and they asked Ezekiel what was so important that he would dismiss her death to speak to them. And for the first time in years and years and years something wonderful happened. The people of Israel wanted to know what God had to say.

Ezekiel goes on to tell them about all the judgements to come, but verse 24 really sums up the whole point of this story, this chapter, and really the book. Ezekiel tells the people why God is going to punish them, and why it was so important that He killed Ezekiel's wife, and why it was so important that Ezekiel neglected the mourning process.

Here is what God had to say:

Verse 24: "Thus Ezekiel is a sign to you; according to all that he has done you shall do; and when this comes, you shall know that I am the Lord God."

It was a reminder. All of it. One great big reminder for God's people that He was just that...their God. They had forgotten. They had followed other gods and pleasures. And God wanted them back.

Israel is not the only nation who has fallen away from God. So has yours. So has mine.

I wonder how much we would be willing to sacrifice to remind our nation that God wants us back...

Stand in the Gap

2011-11-17T10:21:00.001-08:00

Read the book of Ezekielsometime.Not some of it. All of it. The whole thing. Start to finish. I’ll warn you.It’s kind of depressing. But that’s never stopped you before. Gladiator isdepressing. Nicholas Sparks is depressing. So, you’re used to it.

The book of Ezekiel (spoiler warning!)is filled with God telling the prophet Ezekiel how He is going to pour Hiswrath on Israel, because they have stopped following Him. And when I say they “stopped following Him,” I mean they went off the deep end. Off the cliff.Climbed the high dive and plunged too deep for the lifeguard to see.

The people of Israel weren’t justbreaking a few rules here or there. They had completely conformed to the waysof the surrounding countries. To list just a few things, they were: robbing,mistreating the poor, burning their children as a sacrifice to false gods, andto put it lightly…sleeping around with whoever they felt like.

It got so bad that God Himself saidthis of the people, “As men gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into themidst of a furnace, to blow fire on it, to melt it; so I will gather you in Myanger and in My fury, and I will leave you there and melt you. Yes, I willgather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst. As silver is melted in the midst of a furnace, so shall you bemelted in its midst; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have poured out Myfury on you.”

Chapter after chapter, God condemns Hispeople for their sins. BUT…verse 30 of chapter 22 shows the grace and mercy andlove and long-suffering (patience) of God so wonderfully. The first word read:“So...” So what? It seems God finally came to a conclusion. After 21 chapters,has he had enough? Is he going to kill them all?

The verse continues. “So I sought for aman among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalfof the land, that I should not destroy it.”

Please read that again. Think about itfor a long time. These people are slaughtering their own children for falsegods. Yet, God is seeking ONE man. One. Just one person. One man who called outon behalf of his people would have saved them all. What mercy. Sadly, the versecontinues.

“…but I found no one.”

Don’t read on until that sinks into your soul.No one. An entire people group. All of them fallen away. Every single person.The more I read this book, the more Israel looks more and more and more familiarto me, and it scares me like crazy.

There’s also hope, certainly. After all, this isthe United States of America. This is Canada. This is Australia. This is…fillin the blank. Certainly there are believers here willing to call on the name ofthe Lord. Stand in the gap. Certainly.

I can’t help but wonder if Ezekielthought the same thing.

"Break Down These Walls" Revisited

2011-01-14T18:44:00.000-08:00

I know that I posted this story about a year ago, but I was just going back over it, and I thought perhaps it would bless some of you.

Break Down These Walls

-CHAPTER ONE-

Four walls. That’s all it takes. Four impenetrable walls. Thick as fog on a cold October’s morning. Haunting like the shadows under a full moon. Fiery red like a sword in the fire. You hate these walls. Four walls. A pity there are not more. Four comforting walls. Safe as an egg under the hen. Beautiful as the ocean, the instant before the sun slips away. Pure white, like a bride on her wedding day. You love these walls.

-CHAPTER TWO-

All your life they told you these walls would protect you. They told you these walls would comfort you. They told you these walls kept out the evil, and held in the good. Liars. They were liars. Every last one of them. Every smile they smiled was a smile of death. Every laugh they laughed was a laugh of Hell. Every kiss they kissed was the kiss of betrayal.

-CHAPTER THREE-

You knew. Someone you always knew. But you didn’t care. You felt safe, and as long as you felt safe, you were not going to change. So I took away your safety. I opened your eyes, ever so slightly. I let you see them for what they really were. Devils. Demons. Dragons from the deep. I let you see their lips turn to worms and their teeth turn to maggots. I let you see the vomit pouring from their mouths when they spoke, and the fire rising when the laughed. I let you see your four walls turn to thistles and knives and thorns all pointing inward. Pointed at you.

-CHAPTER FOUR-

Where is your safety now? Where is your comfort? What has happened to the beauty? Where is the brilliant white? Have they gone forever? No. They never left. They were never there. Lies. A facade. One you so desperately wanted to believe was real. Gone.

-CHAPTER FIVE-

I hear your prayers. I see your tears. I feel your pain. I smell the stench of death. I taste the bitterness on your tongue. Would you like to see me? Would you like me to make those sad eyes see joy? Would you like me to take away your pain? Would you like me to make you alive? Would you like me to fill your mouth with sweet things you cannot imagine?

-CHAPTER SIX-

You are so foul. So black. So drenched in unmitigated evil that the sight of you cannot even enter my presence. And so, I have come down to you. I have drenched myself in your filth that I might look upon your hideous, beautiful face.

-CHAPTER SEVEN-

I have a gift for you. It is rare, and so very fragile. Yet, if used fittingly, extremely contagious and unbreakable. I offer you the gift of hope. Take it. And with it knock down these walls in which you were born. Knock them down and I will cast them into the depths of nothingness, where they will remain forever.

-CHAPTER EIGHT-

I watch. I watch you as the symphonies of angels play a sweet, sweet anthem. Shivers run through all of me. Euphoria clothes me. Joy floods me. Love overtakes me.

-CHAPTER NINE-

I see you scream in righteous anger as you take the weapon of hope and charge toward the eastern wall. Your loved ones, the demons, pursue you, flapping their broken wings. Wretchedly seeking to overtake you. But hope is too holy for them. They cannot come close enough to bring you back. I see you raise your weapon to the skies, and I laugh as the devils cower in their hollows.

-CHAPTER TEN-

You bring down your weapon, and a few bricks fall away. Again you strike, and more falls away. A infinitesimal ray of light begins to steal through from the rising sun. The demons wail and gnash their teeth at the sight. Their eyes burn and they writhe as their skin is singed. But you keep on thrashing, blow after thunderous blow.

-CHAPTER ELEVEN-

I am not fooled by the screams that you scream. I can see the tears falling from your fearful eyes. You are terrified of what lay outside these walls. You are like a child running away from the only home you have ever known. I do not ask you be be unafraid. I ask only that you hold on to that hope and never let go. The light is breaking through, and you cannot fathom the powers of the light. Now strike yet once more, and you shall see. Break down these walls that have kept you in darkness so very long.

-CHAPTER TWELVE-

Do you remember the day you found me? I gave you a weapon of hope, and with it you broke down that mighty wall of fear. Light flowed into your insentient eyes and made them alive. Do you remember the first time to saw me? You ran into my arms and wept, and I held you ever so tightly. And then, I wiped away your tears, and showed you wonders untold.

Thoughts on the Twelve Disciples

2011-01-13T15:59:00.000-08:00

We all know that Jesus came to earth for the worst of sinners. That's been drilled into some of your
heads since you were born. Jesus came for all around bad people. But something came up in my Writing of John class today that made my imagination start spinning.

Think on this for a moment. Jesus very specifically chose each of His 12 disciples. Something my professor pointed out that I wasn't aware of was that Jesus prayed an entire night before choosing his disciples (Luke 6:12). An entire night! I always have the image in my mind of Jesus walking down the street and randomly pointing to people.

"Hey you! Wanna come follow me? And how about you, Peter? Wanna come?" and so on. Now, initially people followed Jesus just because they wanted to. That's another thing I forget. Jesus, at least at the beginning, didn't just have 12 disciples. He had a ton of them. It isn't until think point in Luke that Jesus choosing twelve from the many to be His true disciples. Side note, eventually most the other followers left because following Jesus because he claimed to be the only way (John 6:66-67).

So Jesus picks 12 specific men to follow him. Now, I want to look at a couple different aspects of that.
First, I think it's interesting that Jesus chose 12. Not because of the specific number. Eleven or 13 would surprise me just as much. The thing that surprises me is how many he chose. Now maybe that was the normal number of disciples for a rabbi in those days, but I think it's safe to say that Jesus wasn't a "normal" man. So why did he choose 12?

I'm the kind of guy who doesn't need a lot of friends. A couple really close friends does me just fine. I'm not saying 12 is a lot of disciples, or even a lot of friends. But these weren't just any disciples. Not just any friends. Jesus was going to spend three straight years with these men. 1,095 straight days. Eating. Sleeping. Talking. Laughing. Crying. Except when Jesus left to pray, he was generally with these men. Not a whole lot of privacy.

Now who were these men? Tax collectors. Fisherman. Some say that two of the disciples were zealots trying to overthrow Romans. So, there may be more. But you basically have three kinds of people.
1. People in boats covered in fish and worm slime.
2. A guy who was hated by the Jews for working for the Romans.
3. People trying to overthrow the Romans with violence.

This brings me back to where Jesus spent an entire night praying (most likely for wisdom to pick the right disciples). Was this really the Father's answer to His prayers? Remember, not only were these the men that Jesus was going to poor out His heart to, the men he would be spending day and night with, the men who would become His best friends, but these were also the men who would be writing the Bible, preaching the Gospel, and building the Church (except for Judas Iscariot).

So why did Jesus pick so many men, and more importantly, why these men? I don't think we need to look far to find out why he chose so many. Jesus did not have small expectations of His disciples. The last instructions to the twelve was to make disciples of "all nations" (Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:15).

So Jesus had high expectations for His disciples. It's funny. The same men who constantly didn't understand what Jesus was talking about. The same men who bickered about who was the best disciple. The same men who fell asleep when Jesus needed comfort. The same men who abandoned Jesus in his moment of greatest need. The same men who didn't believe Jesus would raise from the dead.

Don't just read the Gospels to find out what Jesus said. Look at his life. Jesus was human. Like me. Like you. Jesus had friends. Like me. Like you. Some of us make friends easy. One afternoon and you are friends with someone for life. For others of us, it takes time. Either way, as I said before, Jesus spent 1,095 straight days with these men. 26,280 hours. Jesus loved these men. They were his best friends.

It's so easy to think of Jesus as Mr. God who had no feelings. I don't think it's by any accident that the shortest verse in the Bible states that Jesus cried (John 11:35). "Jesus wept." That's it. I think that may be one of the most convincing verses for Jesus' humanity. But that wasn't the only time Jesus wept. Jesus also wept over the city of Jerusalem shortly before his arrest (Luke 19:41). Jesus didn't just cry when people died. He sobbed over a people who had waited thousands of years for a Rescuer. A people who were about to kill their own Rescuer.

All that to say that Jesus' relationship with His disciples wasn't strictly professional. These men were close. Very very close. My best friend Sam and I have been best friends since around 7th or 8th grade. We have shaped each other so much. I would not be the same person today without him. Sam is only up in the summer's though. At most, Sam and I have been in the same state 21 months. 147 days. At most we've hung out half of that. 74 days. That's 1,021 days short of what Jesus spent with His disciples.

I've beat this point to the ground, but maybe we understand how close Jesus and His disciples must have been. And after all that, they abandoned Jesus in His greatest moment of need. Not only that. But one of them (Judas Iscariot) was the very reason the Pharisees were able to arrest Him.

Being abandoned by one person is unbearable. Jesus was abandoned by 12, one of whom claimed to not even know Him three times. Jesus was not just tortured to death. He was not just hung naked for the world to laugh at. That day, Jesus was abandoned by every friend he had ever had.

Application:

So what can we learn from this? I get three things from this. I know what you're thinking. "I read all this for just THREE points." Well, I'll tell you what. Maybe now you can find the other thousand nuggets of gold in that mine. But here are my three thoughts.

1. Jesus is all about second chances. How do I know this? Eleven of the twelve disciples went on spread the Gospel across the nations, reaching untold numbers of people for the cause of Christ. One of the twelve was banished to an island. Ten of the 12 died martyrs' deaths, refusing to deny their best friend. Their Savior. Their Jesus.

2. Jesus was the perfect friend. Jesus was all about relationships. All about friendships. He described a best friend as the kind who gives his life for the other (John 15:13). Jesus did just that. So what does giving your life mean for me? Taking a bullet for Sam? Maybe. But I doubt it. That means giving every part of my life. Not just my death. My LIFE. The living part. The part where I put his needs above mine. Where I be the best example of Christ I can be. The kind where I get laughed at on his behalf. The kind where I put his desires above my own. His dreams. I support him. I pray for him. I don't know if you've ever read the passage where Jesus prays for His disciples but it gave me a whole new idea of who Jesus was (John 17:6-19). It's beautiful. Jesus cared so much for those men. And ultimately he died for them.

3. Jesus is interested in people who aren't qualified. If there is nothing else we know about the disciples, we know that they were not qualified. Read the Gospels. They never had a clue what Jesus was talking about, even to a comical point. In John 6:60 his disciples say (paraphrased) "This is really hard to understand." They. Were. Not. Qualified. Some of us have desires and goals, but don't feel qualified. We look at other people with the same ambitions and the same dreams and we think, "God must not want me to do this or He would have made me smarter, more brave, more patient, a better writer, more compassionate," and the list goes on and on. The blunt answer to that is no. God is not interested in your qualifications. If God only used "qualified" people, this world would be in a sad place. Abraham Lincoln barely had any schooling whatsoever. I think it was one or two years. You don't get voted president with a Associates Degree. The man who saved our nation did. Never let anyone tell you God doesn't want you to pursue your dreams because you aren't qualified. Please.

God is so much bigger than your qualifications.

Thanks for reading.
God bless you all,

-james

Christmas in Perspective -The Wise Men's Story

2010-12-13T21:42:00.000-08:00

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?"

The guy is thinking to himself,

"I think these 'wise men' were riding in the desert too long."

But instead he says,

"Okay, here's the deal. I have no idea what you are talking about, but you seem like pretty important people so I'll talk to a friend I have who has a friend who has a friend who has an uncle who's grandpa met the king once. Maybe we can get you a meeting with him."

Well, apparently the grandpa and the king were still close, so the wise men ate supper with the king that night. They asked him the same thing.

Now I can't help but laugh when I think about this. I kind of wonder how "wise" these wise men were. Here they are in Jerusalem asking where a king is that could potentially overthrow this king. Either they were fearless or clueless. Well after a while the king says, "I'll tell you what. You go visit this king. Have a good time. Just make sure to come back and tell me where he is so that uh...i can kill....i mean worship him to!"

The wise men are like "oh, yeah. okay. ha. this is a pretty cool king here in Jerusalem. I'd be ticked if 3 rich wise star dudes came into my country looking for a new king. In fact, i would probably tell them to tell me where he was so i could kill...i mean worship him. Good thing this king isn't like that."

So the wise men are back on the road again. Half way to Bethlehem they stop and look around. The small, chubby wise man speaks first.

"Uh....does anyone know where we are."

The tall thin one says,

"Uh....no."

The medium one says,

"When was the last time someone saw the star?"

The short chubby guy looks downward.

"I never actually saw it. Jimmy (the tall thin one) is the one who pointed it out to me but...my eyes aren't very good."

"Great!" said Jack (the medium one). "Not only are we lost, but only one of us knows what the star even looks like."

Jimmy looked at Jack.

"And that's you right?"

Harry (the short chubby one) rolled his eyes.

"I thought you saw it Jack?"

"Well...I thought I did. But then it flew away. So i think it might have just been a firefly."

"We've been following a firefly all this way?"

"Well I didn't realize it until last night!"

The three "wise"men sat on their camels, dejected. But then, all of the sudden, Harry began to laugh. "What is it?" Jimmy and Jack asked. But then they saw it too. One star up above began to shine 10 times more brilliantly than the rest. Harry began to chuckle like a very strange person might chuckle (use your imagination). "Cool." And so the three wise men continued on their journey until they came to the house of Joseph and Mary.

Now these three wise men had visited many kings before, even baby ones. They knew the usual routine of presenting gifts, kneeling, etcetera. And then they would leave feeling quite proud of being important enough to be invited to the King's palace.

But something was different about this baby boy. He was wearing simple simple clothing. His parents lived in a shack, and they were most definitely not royalty. The father was a carpenter for crying out loud. What were they even doing here? They thought this was supposed to be the most special king of all time, but he looked more than the king of the poor at best.

That's when Harry fell to his knees, his eyes locked on the baby's. Jimmy followed suite and then Jack. You see, much like the star had suddenly appeared before their eyes. The message of this baby boy suddenly appeared in their hearts. No book they had read or constellation they had studied would ever have prepared them for this moment. Whether the baby had put this feeling in them, or God, or what. Somehow, they suddenly just knew. This baby. This poor, humble baby, was going to save the world. He was going to save them. They didn't know how, whether by sword or word or love or what. But they just knew he was going to save it.

And so, for the first time in their lives, these three kings not only kneeled, but bowed before this king in complete humility.

"Gold I bring." said Harry.

"Frankincense," said Jack.

"And myrrh," said Jimmy.

They knelt there for a long time, awestruck by the scene. A child had come for the rich, that he might bring them to their knees. And for Jimmy, Jack, and Harry...being on their knees felt quite comfortable.

However, being as how much the three kings were still fond of that Jerusalem king and were completely oblivious to his plan to kill the baby boy, and angel appeared to them in a dream, and told them to go a different way. Maybe the three kings suddenly realized how treacherous the king was. Maybe they complained about not being able to see that nice king again. But mostly...I think they were talking about the baby boy who had brought them to their knees.

Christmas in Perspective -The Shepherd's Story

2010-12-13T03:43:00.000-08:00

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.

Please turn in your Bibles to Luke 2:8-18. I'll let you read that for yourselves, but here is the gist of it (though I'm sure you already know). The shepherds are outside (on what we all know was a cold winter's night). It's probably the middle of the night. They are bored out of their minds. Some of them may have even lost their minds a long time ago. I mean, seriously, if all you do is sit outside all day and watch your sheep, I'm not sure how much can really be going on upstairs. Well, all of the sudden an angel is in front of them. Whoa! The night just got a little more exciting. I think a few of them might have even peed their pants. Probably a couple sheep too...though I doubt the sheep were wearing pants. Then again...the shepherds were really bored.

Anyway...an angel is in front of them. And he probably didn't just look like a regular guy either, since the verse says "the glory of the Lord shone" and "they were greatly afraid." My guess is the night suddenly got brighter than day, and this angel is suddenly in front of them. Pretty cool. The shepherds are thinking, "Whoa! An angel! Is he lost? Why is he here in front of shepherds? Why do I feel wet?"

All of the sudden the angel says something. "Do not be afraid." Yeah, I'm sure that helped a lot. A bright shiny guy appears out of nowhere telling you not to be afraid. Thanks for the invite Mr. Angel, but I think I'm going to go ahead and be scared for now.

Then the angel says, "I bring you good tiding of great joy." Now, the shepherds aren't any less scared, but this makes their ears perk up, and maybe even a sheep or two's. Good news? For shepherds? What kind of good news could angels possibly have for shepherds? It's gonna rain tomorrow so the grass stays green? That would be nice! Yeah. Hopefully that's it.

Then the angel adds, "which will be to all people." Huh. Maybe it's gonna rain all over the world. Strange but...still good. Maybe shepherds around the world could make this a international holiday. "National Day the Angel Came and Brought the Good News About the Rain to All Shepherds Around the World Day." Or the "NDTACABTGNATRTASATW Day" for short. Yeah. That has a nice ring.

Then the angel adds, "For their is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." This is the point where even the deaf little lamb turns toward the angel, eyes wide. You see, even deaf lambs back then could hear the word "Savior." Everyone in Israel knew the word "Savior." Israel had been waiting for a Savior for thousands of years, every generation praying for Him to come while they were alive. For that deaf little lamb. For these less than brilliant shepherds. They were the generation God had chosen.

One little shepherd boy turned to his father. "Father. Does anyone else know this?" The Dad could barely hear his son, his ears still ringing from the voice of the angel. Again the boy asked his father, this time shaking the bottom of his fathers mantle. "Father, does anyone else know this?" This time the Father heard. He turned to his son. "Of course they do. I'm sure we were the last to know. God wouldn't choose us lowly shepherds to be the first to know."

Then the angel said, "This will be a sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger." Praise God! The lowly shepherds were going to get to see their Savior. Their Savior! "Father! Let's go!" the little boy begged. But before the father could respond, the first angel was joined with thousands more, singing, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"

Then shepherds were shaking with fear, and even more from excitement. Nothing like this ever happened to shepherds. Ever. Even the little deaf lamb was jumping up and down, baaing loudly. And just as quickly as the angels had come, they were gone. The shepherds stood motionless for some time, trying to figure out if what they had seen was real. But the look on each shepherd's face told the story. Still, no one moved. But after a second or two, the little deaf lamb began to dash toward the nearest town, Bethlehem. Just behind the lamb was the little boy. Just behind the boy, the Father. And behind the father every other shepherd and lamb, racing as though their very lives were at steak.

They stumbled into the city, gasping for air. They were all a little out of shape. They went from house to house, asking if a baby had been born, but nobody knew. They were all too busy sleeping. Just then the little boy heard something. "Did you hear that Father?" The father listened. And then everyone heard what the boy had heard. The laugh of baby. It was coming from...the barn. The barn? What was a Savior doing in a barn? Well, no time to worry about that. They had to get there quick if they wanted to beat the crowds. Hopefully they at least got to see a glimpse of him.

When they got close enough to see just where the baby was, the sight took their breath away. No one was there. It was only the father, mother, child, and a few animals. They walked the rest of the way, not wanting to scare the parents and child. At last they reached the small family. The baby was wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger, just as the angel had said. The father of the little boy fell to his knees, beginning to weep. "Father?" asked the boy. "What is it son?" replied the father, tears streaming from his eyes. "Is this our Savior?" The father let out a half sob, half chuckle. "Yes. Yes it is." The little boy smiled. The father wept with joy. Some shepherds wept along with him. Some could only laugh. Others just stood or kneeled in awe. The little deaf lamb began to baa. The other sheep joined in.

It's really a beautiful story. The shepherd's story. The Savior of the world had come for the lowest of men. And not only that, they were the first to see Him. Not the rich. Not the kings. Not the religious leaders. The shepherds. Christ came to be our king, but this amazing story is our first glimpse at the fact that He wasn't going to be the kind of King the people expected. He was going to be a humble King. A King born in a manger. A King for the poor. A King for the Shepherds.

But that isn't the end of the story. After the Shepherd's were done visiting the newborn King, which was mostly likely all night long, they didn't just go back to watching the sheep. They didn't just meet their Savior and go about their lives. In the same verse that says they saw the Savior, they began to tell everyone what they had seen. They told them about the angels who had made them pee their pants. And they told them about the baby born, who was going to save the world.

There are two things, and surely many more that we can learn from the shepherd's story.

1. Christ came for the lowliest of people. If you feel unworthy or poor or just too little and unimportant of a person for Jesus than think again. God made a statement when Jesus was born. You were the one on His mind. You were the one he came to save. And if you are rich and proud and feel like you deserve Jesus think again. Jesus came to exalt the lowly and put down the mighty. Jesus didn't come to save you because you are "important." Jesus came to show that none of us are important, and only through him, a baby born in the lowliest of places, can you truly become important. Jesus came in humility to show that we too must be humble if we are to accept him...if we are to be saved.

2. What are we going to do with the Christmas story? Do we just watch the Christmas Eve play at church like every other year and go about our lives? Or...do we tell everyone we can find that a Savior has been born...who changed the world forever?

Let's learn a message from the shepherds. Let's humble ourselves before a Savior who humbled Himself for us, and then let's tell the world.

Merry Christmas everyone!
12 days...

A Failed Generation

2010-12-10T09:08:00.000-08:00

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.

How did it come to this? How did so much potential go to so much waste? Satan? No. I don’t think so. Sure, he has something to do with it, but I think Satan has the world so twisted around his little finger that he doesn’t even have to try anymore. He’s just sitting back watching us tear ourselves apart. So who is to blame? I suppose a little bit of everyone. Our parents? Perhaps. However, I love my own parents too much, as perhaps you do, to even try to write an explanation for how that might be. So I won’t. So while there may be many reasons why we have ended up this way, I will only write of one. The reason for our failure comes from the same stem that our potential did. The world is changing. We have more technology in the past fifty years than the entire history of the world ever saw. However, instead of using it as a tool, it has become our god. Our obsession. We have become obsessed with early things. We have made things of this world our true God, and our Savior Jesus Christ is merely a god, a little idol we sometimes remember to worship. Don’t get me wrong. I go to a Christian University, and a great one at that. I hear people talking about Christ. I see people weeping at chapel. But more than I hear people talk about Christ, I hear dirty jokes. I hear how much they struggle with pornography and lust and pride and the list doesn’t really end. I hear people talk about how hard it is to spend five minutes in their Bibles. Brothers and sisters...FIVE MINUTES!!! Perhaps even more sadly, I do not really hear about prayer (outside of chapel or meals) at all. We have no idea what the power of prayer is or the power of the Word of God. The desire to change the world for Christ is there. Believe me. It’s strong. I think to the passage in the Gospels when the rich young man came to Jesus and said, “What must I do to be saved?” He was passionate. Like us. He got right to the point. Like us. For us believers we might rephrase this, “Jesus! What can I do to change the world?”

“Sell everything you have and give to the poor... Then come, follow me.”

(Luke 18:22)*

That’s what Jesus said. He didn’t tell him to say a little prayer. He didn’t tell him to get all emotional over his sins. He said give everything you hold dear and throw it away, because unless I am all that you care about, it’s not worth even trying. That’s not what the young man wanted to hear. That’s not what we want to hear. Ted Dekker, a famous Christian author, loves to use the word “obsessed” when talking about our relationship with Christ. Obsessed. We are not obsessed with Christ, and the generation that is going to change the world is going to be.

Now, I’ve given you a lot of bad news, and maybe by this time I’ve already lost many of my readers. So, what do we do with this information? How do we undo what’s been done? Many of you may even be asking, can we still turn our lives around so that our generation can still be the one to change the world? I will not put anything past Christ, for with Him all things are possible. However, that being said, I do not find it probable that we have the time left to be that generation. We’re growing up. My oldest brother is married and the pastor of his own church. My other brother is in charge of our youth group. My sister is a graduating High School senior. I am going to be a Junior this year. Some of my friends are already engaged, and some are married with their own children. Before you and I know it, we are going to be diving into the real world of marriage of jobs and raising kids. Now, can adults change the world? Absolutely. But I’m talking about a generation that rises up together and refuses to back down. A generation willing to give everything up for the cross. Our time to be that kind of generation is running out. And to be quite honest, we aren’t making much progress.

So what can we do?! What can a failed generation do? There are many steps, but I believe there is an ultimate goal which is this. We must not let the next generation follow in our footsteps. We must raise up a generation with such a passion for Christ that the world just can’t figure them out. We must raise up a generation that doesn’t care about earthly possessions. That doesn’t care about the stupid popularity contests. But brothers and sisters in Christ, before we can ever hope to raise children to be obsessed with Christ, we must be first obsessed ourselves. If your children do not find you obsessed with the Word, with prayer, and with love, I promise you they won’t be either.

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6)”

A dear man of God whom I greatly respect clings to that verse as a promise, and I believe with all my heart that he is right. If you raise your child in the love of Christ, you can expect results. But don’t expect to wait to change until your firstborn. If you wait, it will never happen. We must become obsessed NOW. Today! We must read our Bibles. We must pray. I know it sounds cliche, but it truth. We will never fully understand the power of the Word and of prayer. Now, there is no magical amount of time that you need to read. But I can guarantee that if you feel rushed, you should keep reading. Keep praying. We spend hours on facebook, in front of the mirror, and playing video games. No, there is no magical amount of time, but two minutes....TWO MINUTES of prayer is not enough. Two minutes in your Bibles is NOT enough. Two minutes isn’t even a hobby let alone an obsession. And I’m seeing my own reflection in the computer screen as I write this. It’s me. It’s me that’s not obsessed.

Now if you are part of my generation there is a good chance you are either not married or are newly married. I want to first address those not married, and before I do I will warn you that you probably won’t agree with me, and even if you do, you probably won’t care. But for those of you currently dating, considering dating soon, or just those who look forward to that day... Do not date someone until you are obsessed with Christ. I will say it again. Do not date someone until you are obsessed with Christ. And secondly, do not date someone who is not obsessed with Christ themselves. Now, I have very good friends who are not obsessed with Christ who are dating. I have friends who are dating unbelievers, and in no way am I belittling you, or loving you less than I ever have. But unless you are dating them with no expectation of possible marriage, how can you ever hope to love them like Christ loves you, if you have no idea what the love of Christ is like? How can you become truly obsessed with them, if you and/or they don’t know what true, obsessed love looks like?

Also, and this is speaking mostly toward men. Do not date, or even consider marrying someone if you struggle with pornography. And I’m not just talking about sitting in front of your computer type of pornography. You don’t have to be. You can be staring at the same images in your mind as you are sitting in Church singing “Give Me Jesus.” I believe Satan has no greater stronghold on men today than lust. He has made us obsessed with lust, because when we are obsessed with lust we have no idea what love is. With lust, not just pornography, but every form of lust, Satan has us by the back of the head, shoving us into an ocean of mud. And the first thing drenched in the muck is the light from the candle we hold. “But James! I’m addicted!” Addiction. Satan’s favorite word. A man who is addicted is a man who does not understand the cross. The entire point of Christ coming to earth was to set us free from the bondage of sin. So why are so many of us still slaves? Why is my generation a generation of slaves to sin? It’s because a generation with so much “potential” has missed the most central part of the Gospel. Christ defeated the power of sin.

Romans 6:5-14 says, “For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”

There is no room for addiction in the life of a believer. The power of the cross is too great.

1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

The cold, hard reality is that if you are a believer and you are “addicted,” it isn’t Jesus’ fault and it isn’t Satan’s fault. So why are we still addicted? If we can look at these verses and still be addicted, we can only remain addicted if we choose to be. We can somehow try to justify it and say that we have freedom in Christ, when He was never talking about that kind of freedom. Believe me, if you are a follower of Christ you are ANYTHING but free. You have merely been set free from the bondage of sin, only to give yourself right back into the bondage of righteousness.

1 John 3:5-6 says, “And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.”

We are so afraid of this passage, and until this semester I have never heard anyone take it literally. Why are we so afraid of these two verses? We are petrified because they hold the implication that we have the potential to never sin again. Let me say that again. A follower of Christ has the potential to never sin again. “That’s ridiculous James! That would mean we would be perfect!” That’s exactly right.

Colossians 1:19-23 says, For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.”

Reconciled. Holy. Blameless. Synonyms of perfect. I want you to know right now that contrary to the conviction I feel in what I have written, I am not a sober Christian. I can’t stand when people spend their Christian lives wallowing in their failures and shortcomings. When I think of my relationship with Christ (especially more recently) I think of it as a joyous thing. I may feel unworthy sometimes, but I am never unworthy. Christ has made me worthy. When Christ looks and me and when He looks at you He sees perfection. Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying; there is great joy in the Christian life. There should be great joy in all of our lives. I write what I am writing now because I believe we are missing out on so much MORE joy. The kind of joy we can’t comprehend.

1 Peter 1:8 says, “whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.”

We were meant to have so much joy. Where has it gone? Paul wanted to know the same thing of the church in Galatia.

Galatians 4:8-11,15 says, “Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you... What has happened to all your joy?”*

What has happened to all your joy?! What a heartbreaking question. And look at the cause of the loss of joy. The people were re-enslaving themselves to sin...just like us today. And perhaps our parents and our pastors and our speakers are thinking the same thing as Paul. “I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.” In order for the next generation to change the world, they must have Christ-obsessed parents. To be Christ obsessed parents we must have inexpressible joy. To have inexpressible joy we must be slaves to Christ. And to be slaves of Christ we can no longer be slaves to sin.

So can our generation still change the world? Yes. But like a father lives his high school basketball days through his son who now plays, so we must change the world through our children. For some of us, that is a long ways away. For some of us very soon. For others, it is already here. For those of you who are parents...“train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Train your children by being the example he or she needs to follow. Your children can’t see Jesus. They see Jesus through you.

For those of you married, without children, make sure your marriage is strong. My heart breaks for children who grow up in broken homes. Make a strong foundation before you ever bring children into this world. Husbands, love your wives with every ounce of love you possess, and be the leader she deserves. Wives, love your husbands with every ounce of love you possess, and support your husband (he needs it) as he leads you.

For those of you dating or who will one day, make sure you are obsessed with Christ first. Make sure that the one you date is obsessed with Christ first. If you are not both obsessed, it will not survive.

And for all of us. For all of my generation whether married with children, married without children, dating, or not dating. PRAY! Pray for the children you will one day have. Pray for strength to lead them to the cross. Pray for wisdom as you teach them. Pray that they do not suffer the same addictions as you. Pray that they will understand the love of Christ. Pray that they will be obsessed with Christ.

Maybe I am wrong. Maybe my generation will change the world. But in the event that we do not, let us not be the reason our children’s generation doesn’t change the world. Let us cling to the promise that if we train them in the ways of Christ, they will not depart from that way.

I believe there is a generation that is going to radically change the world. I believe there is a generation that the world is not going to understand. I believe there is going to be a generation so obsessed with Christ that they won’t even be able to understand how our generation could possibly have been distracted by earthly things. I believe there is a generation who will sell all their possessions, give them to the poor, and follow Christ. I once thought that this was my generation. I no longer believe that. But with all my heart, I believe that we can be the ones to raise up that generation. Oh, I pray we are the ones who no longer tolerate the way Christianity has been falling. I pray we are the ones who raise our children in such a way that they have never been raised. No, I do not believe we are the generation that is going to change the world, but I do believe we are the generation who is going to watch our children change it.

* These passages were from the New International Version. All other passages were from the New King James Version.

One Nation. One Body. One Church

2010-11-25T22:58:00.000-08:00

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.

My two passages today are Romans chapter 12 as well as 1 Corinthians chapter 12. Specifically Romans 12:4-5 and 1 Corinthians 12:12. However, as always we will use context to back them up. Romans 12:4-5 says this: "For as we have many members in one body; but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another." Similarly 1 Corinthians 12:12 says, "For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ." These verse contain so many implications it will knock your socks off, and I hope to get to each (or at least several) of them in the future. For today, however, I just want to address one. That is the implications these passages have for every Bible Believing church, regardless of denomination.

Now these passages are often (and rightly so) spoken of concerning individuals. For instance, let's say a church has 100 people. One of those people may be a teacher. One may be missions-minded. One may be charity-minded, a giver of money, theologian, AWANA leader, music leader, and so on for all one hundred. We usually use this Scripture to show that in all our different areas of blessing (talents), we are all of the same body. None is higher than the other, and certainly none is lower. Paul gives a great example of this in the 1 Corinthians passage, in verses 16-20: "And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,' is it therefore no of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body."

I know you have all probably heard this before, so you will be happy to know I am not going in depth in this (though some might call it so). What I am proposing, and I am not the first, is that these passages are not in fact talking to individuals, at least not in whole. Let's take a look at the context, specifically of the Romans passage. All three chapters leading up to Romans 12 are talking about the same thing; Israel and the Gentiles. Paul shows the Romans how the Gentiles came to Christ because of the Jews unbelief, and how one day the Jews will come to belief because of the Gentiles belief. That in itself is a beautiful message, but I will hinder myself from expanding on it for now.

My point from this is that the context is talking about people groups, Jews and Gentiles. Paul then opens chapter 12 with a "therefore." Now, as the age old question goes, what is the "therefore" there for? The "therefore" means Paul is taking everything he has talked about and is now telling his readers what to do about it. Now, has Paul been talking about people groups for three chapters only to suddenly switch to individuals? Maybe. But I think there is much more to it.

You see, verse 5 does talk about individuals, but not first. There is an "and" before the individuals which can only mean that the part before the "and" did not refer to individuals. Verse 5 says, "So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually member of one another." This verse does not say we are individually members of the body of Christ. Well wait a second, if we aren't individually the body of Christ, who is?

The Church is the body of Christ. Therefore, what I am suggesting is that, perhaps, the individual is in fact not the body of Christ, but of each other aka a denomination. Now this could be read wrong, so please stay with me. I am not saying that we belong to denominations before Christ, or that if you don't have a denomination you aren't saved or anything like that.

Now, ideally, there wouldn't be any denominations, right? We could all live in peace and harmony with each other with our different gifts. Well, I'm not hear to talk about denominations. The fact of the matter is there are denominations and that likely will not change barring an audible message from the heavens. I want to dive into the realm of uniting these denominations into one...you guessed it...body of Christ.

You see, the problem with thinking of the individual as the body of Christ is this. As individuals, we seek churches that "fit" us. In other words, we end up at churches that promote the gift we have. People who are great great theologians go to churches that teach sound doctrine. People that like to help the poor go to churches more focussed on helping the poor. Missionaries go to churches that promote missions. It's very simple. But therein lies the problem. If each individual is the body of Christ, it is so easy to get lost in the idea that the body parts (individuals) make up the Church, singular. They don't make up all churches, but simply their own single denomination. I believe that is why churches who all are sharing the Gospel of Christ are still at enmity with each other. How could that church possibly be the body of Christ when my church is, after all, THE body of Christ?

You see, no individual church has every gift. Some churches focus primarily on helping the poor, but their doctrine is slightly questionable. Others have terrific doctrine but don't ever help the poor. Some churches sing hymns and some sing rock songs. Some people worship with their hands in their pockets (me) and others worship by jumping up and down, hands raised high. Well do you want to know something ridiculous? Every church that teaches the central message of Christ has people in it going to Heaven. So why the fighting? Why, when we are told again and again, that the world will know us by our love for each other, do we continue to hate? The (or as least one) answer is quite simple. In all our arrogance for defending what we believe, we have forgotten the very Author who's Word we are defending.

We cannot go on living our lives as if we are a Church divided. Like a body, and like a nation, we must be one and undivided. A body without legs is still a body, but it is a broken body. That is not the way it was created. Humans were made to walk and run. A divided nation is still a nation, but it is a broken one. Untold thousands of soldiers have not died so that we might be a divided nation, but a united one. That is why it is said "United we stand, divided we fall." If you cut the legs from under a man, he will fall. The Church must not, and cannot, continue to be a broken body, and a divided nation. As followers of Jesus Christ we have our differences, of course. Some Christians do things that others can't stand, and some don't do things that the other finds vital. Just like our body. Just like our nation. But that doesn't pull our body apart, and it doesn't pull our nation apart. Rather, it strengthens the body. It strengthens our nation. California is different than Minnesota in nearly every category. Minnesotans shake their heads at "liberal California" while California rolls their eyes at "ignorant Minnesota." But that doesn't pull our nation apart. The foot thinks the eye useless. You can't walk anywhere without legs. The eye laughs at this. You can't see where you are walking without the eyes. That doesn't pull the body apart.

We too have feet and eyes in the Church, and legs and arms and hands and brains and ears and on and on and on. Too often we wonder, "Why oh why is the Church of God so divided and so broken?" It's because we are breaking it ourselves! We kick at our legs with our feet, we gouge out our eyes with fingers, we bite our tongue with our teeth, and we claw at our arms with our fingernails. And all the while we forget it is not our body in the first place. We are destroying the body of Christ over things that don't matter in eternity.

Brothers and sisters, as a Church, we must let our differences strengthen our testimony, not destroy it. But what does a united Church look like? Where do we start? I think it's very simple. We start with love. From there it works itself out. We must stop fighting before we can ever start rebuilding.

I'm afraid I don't have a great conclusion for this, and I'm sorry if this is a bit of a downer for you, but I can't stress it's importance. The Body of Christ is what a lost world looks to. No wonder they hate us! We hate ourselves, our own body. Before the world is ever going to believe a word you say (I don't care if you have a doctorate in evangelism) they are first going to believe the way you live your life. We hold a message of love in our hands, extended to the world. But the world doesn't see a message of love. They see a message of denominations and rules and hate.

Perhaps that is the reason Jesus stressed love so much. Perhaps He looked into the future and saw what we would do with the Gospel. He knew the thing we needed to remember above theology and works and even loving sinners, was to love each other. "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid (Matthew 5:14)." We are that city. Let us so shine that the world will have cover their eyes not to see us.

I pray with all my heart that God unites this Body, that we love each other as Christ loves us, and that through this, the world might see Christ.

God bless you all. Please pray for me as I pray for you.

-james orlando knoop

Thanksgiving aka National Diversity Day

2010-11-24T20:56:00.000-08:00

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.

For those of you who may not know, the first Thanksgiving was held in 1621 in Plymouth by the Pilgrims and the Indians (am I allowed to say that?). Anyway, what you may or may not have known was that only two of the Indians spoke English (Samoset and Squanto). And I can pretty much guarantee none of the Pilgrims knew the Indian's language.

So imagine with me for a second that you are sitting at home when all of the sudden a big van of people pull into your yard, and declare that land to be theirs. What is your first reaction? Get the gun? Ask them what on earth they are doing? Call the police? Throw a party? Well the Indians decided to throw a party.

Now imagine you are searching for a new home. At last you find a beautiful place. Then you find out it's already claimed. What do you do? Get your gun? Go to war? Throw a party? Well the Pilgrims threw a party.

Think about it. Two people groups from opposite sides of the world, who could barely communicate with each other. People always think of America as the country that murdered all the Indians. That big bully John Wayne. But regardless of where it all ended. Let's not forget where it began. The first Thanksgiving was the greatest diversity movement of all time. Not only were their lives completely different, they spoke different languages, knew virutally nothing about the other, etc. So what did they do?

They chose to celebrate those differences. They didn't need a speaker to come in from both sides saying how they felt belittled by the other group, or how they needed to construct a building in rememberance of the importance of diversity. They just partied for a week straight. They ate, had tournaments, played games, laughed, and just had an ol' American good time.

They chose to love, to help eachother, and to live in peace with one another. I'm not ignorant of the world's problems when it comes to diversity. And sure, buildings and speakers and all those things have their place. But on this great clelebration we call Thanksgiving, let's just straight up party with everyone, regardless of race, culture, language, or favorite football team. And above all, let us give thanks (like the Pilgrims) to our Heavenly Father who has blessed us with these differences.

God bless you all today, and Happy Thanksgiving!

-james orlando knoop

Taking My Own Advice

2010-11-17T16:27:00.000-08:00

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.

You may have read my previous post entitled "The Forgotten Act of Being Still." In that post, I basically wrote about how we often (often as is basically always) forget to turn to God in our distresses. We seek guidance from our friends, parents, boy/girlfriends, facebook, or even our pastors (or other Godly men). We turn to everyone and everything except the One who actually has the answer. I wrote about how we need to seek God for guidance. That doesn't just mean forcing yourself to sit down for 5 minutes out of your crammed busy day to read your Bible and then go on with your day hoping that will help somehow. Think about it for a second. Is that what you do with your friends? How would that look?

"Hey Sam, I could really use your advice on something, so I'm going to sit down on my couch really quick in between a chat on facebook and a physics test to read a paragraph of a letter you wrote me once. I doubt it will help me at all, but my pastor told me it would help so here I am. I was right. That didn't help at all. I knew it. Time for that physics test."

See what I mean? When you ask for advice from a friend what do you do (hopefully)? It's pretty simple. It only includes two very very very simple steps.

1. Ask for advice (this one is pretty easy to remember).

2. LISTEN!!!

Why do we NEVER do this (I am speaking of myself). If you want an answer, you aren't going to get it by continually asking. And even if you take time to listen (rare), you aren't going to get it by expecting not to hear it. That's not true listening. That's asking God for advice and then plugging your ears in case he answers you.

Anyway, I guess you could have just read the post about being still, but there it is again. All this to set up a very simple post about a real life example. But before I give the real life example, you need to realize something. Real life isn't like the books. It's not like the movies. And it's not like the testimonies you hear in church (at least extremely rarely). That's what makes those stories so interesting. It's like the news. You never hear a breaking new story about a family who treated each other nicely for an entire week. That's boring. Well, I'm afraid my story may be boring as well.

But you see...a miracle happened this past week. I took my own advice. I'm dealing with questions of my own and have been going everywhere to find an answer. Parents, friends, little irish gnomes at the ends of rainbows. Everywhere except God. So I tried going to God. That consisted of a ten second prayer as I tried to keep from falling asleep. I tried reading my Bible (maybe 5 minutes worth at a break i had during the day). So this week I finally put my foot down, and decided I needed more.

So, I bought a bag of gummy bears and a vitamin water and walked to a nearby park with nothing but my bible (and the gummy bears and drink of course). For about 15 minutes or so I did nothing. I just sat there in the grass under the tree (yes...california does have grass and trees) and listened. I heard a lot of things. Birds, an annoying crow, a dog from a nearby house who though I was intruding, traffic, fire trucks. Just about everything except for the voice of God saying, "Hello James. Would you like to know the answer to all your problems?" So after about 15 minutes of listening, I read my Bible for another 30 or so.

The next day I did the same thing, heard the same things, and didn't hear the same things. Today, I did the same thing, heard the same things, and didn't hear the same things. And as I walked back to my room and got on my computer, I came to a conclusion which is not a novel one. In fact, I've written about it before (you can read about it here). The conclusion is this (copy/pasted from the previous blog).

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.

You see, in my reading and listening at the park, God spoke not a word regarding my question. But he did speak through his word and through the silence in so many other points. In my most recent readings of the Bible he has taught me humility. A word which my dad has instilled in me, and which I believe is vital unlike nearly every other word (except love perhaps) to the Christian walk.

So, I took my own advice and sought silence, stillness, and the Word of God. And now I am taking my own advice again and letting God take the reigns. I will concern myself only with my dad's favorite verse (at least I'm 99% sure it is). That verse it Micah 6:8, and it says this:

"He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?"

The Forgotten Act of Being Still

2010-09-11T00:31:00.000-07:00

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.
-
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.

-
I got a question for you. How many of you have those days where you are just like....
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
You know what I'm talking about. Those days when school is just too much, or the bills are
being to stack up, or your boyfriend dumps you, or you don't have any friends, or the
Vikings lost, or you feel lonely, or your marriage is going rough, or your kids are unbearable,
or your parents are unbearable, and God just doesn't seem to hear you? He doesn't seem to care.
-
Yeah. I have some of those. Not the one with the kids. But I mean, after all, none of us have seen
God. We haven't talked to Him face to face. It's easy to fell like He's not there. It's easy to lay
in bed praying, and feel like your just talking to the ceiling. A ceiling that doesn't talk back.
I don't know about you, but those are the days when I tend to cry,
"LET ME SEE YOU!!! Please...just let me see You once, so I'll never doubt again."
-
Well, believe it or not, you and I aren't the only ones in the history of the world that have felt this
way. Nope. We are in good company. Let's go back for a second. Time travel back to a couple
thousand years ago. A little place called Egypt. A little people group called the Israelites. Man,
if you think you have problems...THESE people had problems. They were in bondage for hundreds
of years. Let me say that again. HUNDREDS of YEARS!!! Well along comes Moses, God's chosen
hero for the Israelites. By God's grace Moses delivers the people from the evil ruler of Egypt, and the people walk away...free. But then something happens. The people wind up in front of a great river. And just there luck, the evil ruler decides he made a mistake and chases them down. The people have waited hundreds of years for this moments, and just when God seemed to show up, they are trapped. Hundreds of years of waiting, just to be let down. Now, I've only been alive 20 years.
That alone makes me feel like I have nothing to complain about...for about five seconds until
I go back to my selfish old self. And like me, you probably want a solution to your problems...
not just to think about people that had it worse thousands of years ago.
-
But before we get to that solution, let's travel to another time in history, not too much later.
A man called Elijah. If you aren't familiar with this man, he was an Old Testament prophet
who dedicated his life to telling the people of Israel messages that God had given to him. But
sadly, the people rarely listened. You see, the people had stopped worshipping God, and begun
worshipping false gods. Well, in chapter 18 of 1 Kings, Elijah finally has a victory. He defeats
the prophets of Baal (their false God), and the True God triumphs. The people of Israel turn back
to God and everything is well and good. But when the Queen finds out. She swears to kill
Elijah. Now Elijah has lived his whole life on the run, a death warrant on his head. Talk about
a short lived victory. So Elijah finally runs to a mountain, falls to his knees and cries out to God
saying (paraphrase)
"Just kill me! I'm done. I lived my life for you. Today we won. Just let me go home, please!"
Sound familiar? You ever gotten to the point where you were just ready to "go home?"
I have, and my life isn't even close to a thousandth as bad as Elijah's.
But what happens to Elijah? Well, he goes to the top of a mountain, waiting to hear from God.
First, there is a great wind, breaking the very rocks of the mountain. But God is not in the wind.
And then there was an earthquake. But God was not in the earthquake either. And finally, there
was fire. What does that mean? Fire from the sky? Who knows. But there was fire, and again God
was not in the fire.
-
So where is He? Where is God when Elijah needs help. Where is God when the Israelites are trapped?
Where is God when you and I just can't take the card we've been dealt anymore? Well believe it
or not, the answer is in your Bible in three particular passages.
1. Exodus 14:14
2. 1 Kings 19:12, and
3. Psalm 37:7
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First, turn to Exodus 14:14. When the Israelites were trapped and all hope seemed lost,
God spoke through the deliverer Moses. He did not give instructions how to defeat the
Egyptians. He didn't tell them them not to be afraid. He didn't even tell them to pray. Moses
just said this: "The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still." Imagine the scene.
In fact, put yourself in it. You have been a slave your entire life. A man comes promising
that God is going to free you. At first you don't believe him, but then, against all odds, you
find yourself walking away from the great country where you were a slave. Walking to
freedom. And just when you convince yourself it's not a dream. An army of highly trained
soldiers are racing toward you, and there's nowhere for you to run. And the man who brought
you here has the audacity to say, "Be still." But what can you do? Fight? Yeah right. Maybe
you could throw a rock at someone. Try to swim across? Now a chance. You'll drown.
Maybe being still is the best option. Close your eyes. Imagine the rest that comes with death.
And then something happens, in your stillness. The water begins to...no...it couldn't be.
The water is parting! Right down the middle! It can't be. You can even see the ground all
the way across! People begin to run into it, sprinting for the other side. Maybe God IS
doing something, though, the Egyptians will probably still catch you. After a while you get to
the other side, and something strange happens. The waters cave back in. The soldiers die.
You are...free.
-
Turn to 1 Kings 19:12. Elijah is at the end of his rope. All he wants is some hope from
God. And it seems like he's going to get some. But even when the supernatural events start
happening, God is not there. But read verse 12. After all the crazy events, Elijah hears
"a still, small voice." God wasn't shouting from Heaven. He was whispering. Whispering words
that would change Elijah's life forever (read the rest of 1 Kings to find out how).
-
The last verse is Psalm 37:7 (my favorite chapter in the Bible by the way). In the
NIV (forgive me Dad) it says,
"Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men
succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes."
-
Now, maybe there are no "evil schemers" chasing you down, but I'm pretty sure we
can all relate this to our present day lives in the situations I mentioned at the beginning.
You see, I kind of have a system of what I do when life just stinks.
1. Complain to people.
2. Complain to God.
3. Tell God I'm sorry for complaining.
4. Try to come to a place with God where I can "hear" him.
Now I attempt number 4 in several ways. Praying really hard. Reading my Bible.
My favorite is probably going to singsporation here on campus. Trying to "hear"
God through songs. Try to get enough of a "spiritual high" to get a "word from the LORD."
-
Now is there anything wrong with praying? No. Reading the Bible? No.
Singing? No. But maybe there is something better. An act which has been forgotten
(I can't speak for you, but at least forgotten for me). The act of being still. The act
of getting away from EVERYTHING. Going to a quiet spot. And I meant quiet as
in you can't hear ANYTHING. And not praying. Not reading. Not singing. Just
listening. Maybe you'll hear God, maybe you won't. But God said to do it, so you can
bet your bottom dollar that you'll be blessed. Take the time to just soak in how GREAT
your God is, and how small your problems are in comparison. Just try it.
Just be still.

The Forgotten Acts Of Worship

2010-09-07T20:56:00.000-07:00

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.

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).

If you go to church, worship is a weekly event. Now, thinking church-mindedly, what do you think of when I say the word "worship?" If you are being completely honest, I would assume you think of song time. Right? And that answer would be correct. The pastor says, "the worship team" may now come up.

In our churches we have 1. worship time (a time to worship God), 2. sermon time (a time to hear from God), 3. offering (a time to give back to God). There's more to it than that, but those three usually always exist in any church.

So is church the only place we can worship God? Absolutely not. And that's not a new revelation to you. Of course we can worship God anywhere. We can walk out into the woods (if you are from the sticks like me) and worship through prayer or song. You can sing along to the radio or ipod in the car in worship. None of these are new ideas to you. But let me share some thoughts that you may not have dwelt on before.

If you want to turn in your Bible's to Colossians 3:17, and 1 Corinthians 10:31. These are extremely familiar passages, but I would argue often read over without soaking in the possibilities they bring about.

1 Corinthians 10:31 (as you are following along in your Bible) says, "Therefore, whatever you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." Read that again. Do you notice what word shows up, not once, but TWICE here? The word "whatever." According to the 1828 Noah Webster dictionary (that one is for you Dad) the definition of "whatever" is "being this or that; being of one nature or another; being one thing or another; anything that may be." I'd say Mr. Noah pretty much covered it. Whatever is ANYTHING. Any way you look at it.

So, Paul tells us that "whatever" we do should be to God's glory. Now, since Noah wasn't around to tell the Corinthians what the word "whatever" meant, Paul gives some examples. He says whatever we "eat" or whatever we "drink", to do so to the glory of God. So in other words, he's just agreeing with the Webster man by saying it includes everything we do. But what about this "glory" word? What does it mean to give "glory" to God? Let's ask Mr. Webster what he thinks.

Well, Webby has a lot of definitions for this word, so I'll just give you one noun definition, and one verb definition. The noun definition is "praise ascribed in adoration." And one verb is "to exult with joy; to rejoice." Hmmm....so I'm catching a whiff of something here that might have implications of gigantic proportions. "Glory," if I'm reading Noah right, is the same thing as worship. Worship is bringing glory to God. Bringing glory to God is worship. Stay tuned folks, this is turning exciting way quicker than theorists predicted.

So, what have we established?

1. We are to bring glory to God is anything and everything (whatever) we do.

2. Glory is the same as worship.

So, using deductive reasoning, we can gather from this that

3. We are to WORSHIP God in everything we do.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am on the edge of my seat right now. My hands are shaking and my forehead is perspiring. Do you see what I am getting at here. Everything, and Paul, Noah, and I mean EVERYTHING you do in your daily life is done as an act of worship toward God.

So when you smack your head against the ceiling as you climb into your bed (done it twice), the next words out of your mouth are an act of worship to God. When you eat a bowl of cereal, THAT is an act of worship toward God. When you guys open the door for a girl that is an act of worship (its also brownie points if you are trying to win her heart). When you go to a movie, that is an act of worship. When you do school, that is an act of worship. When you watch the Twins game, when you go bowling, when you play Xbox, when you drink coca cola, when you go to the bathroom, when you take a shower, when you eat pretzels, when you go swimming, snowboarding, hiking, fishing, text, laugh, cry, vote, read, write, put on your sunglasses, drive, listen to music, sleep, get married, kiss your girlfriend, cut your finger nails, pick your nose, teach sunday school, listen to the sermon, to camp, stand on your head, play with your dog, chat on facebook, read your bible, pray, sing, ask questions, fall in love, wink, shop, try on clothes (the girl form of shopping), swat mosquitoes, mow the lawn, do the dishes....EVERYTHING. Everything is an act of worship to your Savior and redeemer Jesus Christ.

Is this meant to be convicting? No. It's meant to bring a smile to your face, brighten you day, and make you look at life in a whole new way. Why? Because I lived so much of my life thinking that the only way to worship was to sing or pray or read my Bible. I sometimes wondered why we bothered so much about anything else. Why didn't we have church every single day? Wouldn't it make sense to spend our entire lives worshipping God? Yes. It would make sense, and we should spend every day of our lives worshipping God.

But what I never realized...was that I DO. When I write this blog I am worshipping God as I use the skills he has given me to write. You are using your ability to read, or listen. And even though we may not realize it, it's an act of worship. God made us to live our lives, not just sit in church. But He also made us to worship and "glorify" Him. So, He granted that we might be able to do both.

Let me give you one example and let your mind do the rest. I went to a movie once last semester called the Lovely Bones. I went by myself because no one else wanted to see this not very popular movie. The movie was kind of weird and stuff, but there was so much imagination involved in the movie. So much. Things that "can't happen" on earth in the real world. But imagination is something the youth of this world are forgetting. A trait we are losing. Now as some of you know, I write fiction novels. I am currently writing a fantasy trilogy about another world. You have no idea how many ideas I got for my books from this movie! So the ideas from the movie generate to my book and my book is based off God's gift to me (a desire and love for writing). So did i worship God in going to that movie. You betcha it did!

I hope you realize that this post isn't about rethinking your daily activities. If you feel convicted than don't neglect that, but also make if a freeing moment. A moment to realize...WOW...my entire life is an act of worship. Maybe you hate your job. Well guess what, every day you muster up the strength to make it through another day...that....that right there is worship. If you can't stand a certain person...every time you smile at them is worship. If you are sick of school but you do it anyway...that is worship. Oh, I should stop writing because this is so long. I guess anything else i say would be repeating myself anyone. But I hope this is as encouraging to you as it is to me.

Thank for reading, and God bless.

James Knoop

Disney Land. I love that place.

2010-08-25T01:04:00.000-07:00

Hey World,

So today was disneyland.

Let me take this moment to say that that place is quite possibly my favorite place of earth (outside of home). There is so much amazingness there. From laser shows to water shows to indiana jones rides to talking with Crush to Toy Story to etc etc etc. Well, today i went there with three friends...abe, steph, and kim. at least i think her name was kim. i just met her today and i'm horrible with names. but i DO know the other two were abe and steph. anyway...this blog is pointless, but i just wanted to brag and say that the last day before classes was amazing. Hope you all had a great tuesday. And hope the beginning of school for you all is awesome and this is your favorite year of learning ever. :)

James

Moment Weren't Meant to Last

2010-08-23T17:43:00.000-07:00

Hey World,

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

2010-07-30T00:25:00.000-07:00

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
-
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
-
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
-
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

Why I Blog...

2010-07-30T00:07:00.000-07:00

Hey World.

I find it amusing that I usually wind up on my blog site at 1:53 AM. Probably because it's always these kind of nights where I'm just not tired. Or if I am, I have something I need to say (or type rather). Well as it is, I once again have something to write about tonight, but I also wanted to right a quick post to explain why I blog. After all, blogging is kind of a nerdy thing to do, and believe me, I am not a nerdy guy. Just weird. Big difference.
-
So why do i blog? Because I love writing? Yeah. I suppose that's one reason. But why do I get a website for the world to see (or at least 30 of the people in it)? Well, I suppose it's for two reasons.
-
First of all, I have an enormous imagination. Really take my word for it. I was that kid sitting upside down in the cardboard box pretending i was an astronaut on my way to Mars until my face turned purple from the blood rushing to my head. I was scared of being downstairs by myself because I thought Indians would shoot me with arrows (too many John Wayne's as a kid). I once ran in a circle around my living room for 45 minutes just to see how long i could do it (i was in 9th grade). :)
The point is, I have a big imagination. I'm constantly writing stories in my head, wherever I am. Maybe even as I talk to you. I have written a lot of stories, but most of them never reach paper. And that's okay. I enjoy it. But a mind can only hold so much before it blows up. So I suppose the first reason I blog is because I have so many thoughts, ideas, stories, etc, that I just have to write them somewhere. I have never been good at journaling (to my dad's dismay), but for some reason I really like blogging. So, I guess it's pretty much just my version. No, there's no "Dear Diary, I'm fine, how are you" entries, but those are over-rated anyway.
-
Reason number two? Simply put, maybe my ideas, thoughts, stories, or whatever will bless someone. And I have pretty thick skin so I really don't care what people think of my writing, so why not let them read it and see what they think, huh?
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Well, you learned nothing from this blog (except maybe several reasons never to meet me in person), but at least you now know why I blog...if for whatever reason you cared. :)

God Bless

God Uses Our Weaknesses

2010-07-19T15:23:00.000-07:00

Hey World.

So a couple of sundays ago I had the privilege of preaching at my church. My dad (who is the pastor) asks me to every once in a while, and since he was at a conference that week, he had me speak. Originally, the sermon was going to be about 1 John and the importance of fellowship with other believers, but I changed the thursday before to this topic. I had written this sermon a couple months back at college and was saving it for a rainy day. But I really don't think it was a "back up" at all, but that God planned on using this one the whole time. Anyway. All that being said, my sermon is online at the church's website HERE if you care to listen to it. I will warn you though. I got a little long-winded and it wound up being 45 minutes (which is about 20 minutes longer than my dad usually preaches). :) I hope you enjoy and are blessed by it. Have a great day.

-jAmes

Concerning the "Love Chapter"

2010-07-18T15:39:00.000-07:00

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.
-

"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?
-
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"

2010-07-17T23:11:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-16T19:28:00.001-07:00

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?

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.

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?

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

2010-07-16T18:27:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-13T00:49:00.000-07:00

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?

2010-07-13T00:32:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-13T00:24:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-11T22:11:00.000-07:00

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?

2010-07-10T22:36:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-05T16:46:00.000-07:00

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.
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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

2010-04-22T02:56:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-22T02:53:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-20T20:17:00.000-07:00

Apology

2010-04-11T23:13:00.000-07:00

hey everyone.
sorry for my lack of posts as of late. i have been so busy you have no idea.
i'll write all about it later. hopefully tomorrow. but school starts again tomorrow (just got off spring break) and i need to double check to make sure I'm all caught up. :) Hope you all have been amazing!!!
I have been learning so much recently and i am super excited to share it with you all. Also, if anyone has any questions about anything, you'd like to hear my opinion on just write me at signoffire@yahoo.com
and I'd love to do research and try to find the answer. From my opinion of french fries to hobbies to scriptural things to whatever. skies the limit. but i can only come up with so many ideas. need your alls help. :)
have a good one
jAmes

The End of the Story

2010-04-04T01:05:00.000-07:00

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!!!

jAmes Knoop

2010-03-26T18:16:00.000-07:00

So Called "Christianity"

2010-03-24T23:00:00.000-07:00

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).

So..."Christians." Does the term sound familiar? Most likely. Either you are one, or you know what they are. But does anyone actually know what the term means or when it originates from? Well, pick up your Bibles or go to biblegateway.com because we are gonna read some Scripture. YAY! We are going to go to Acts 11:26. Are you there? Better be. It says "...and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch." So, one question was answered. The disciples were given the name pretty much IMMEDIATELY after Jesus left earth. That makes sense once we check out the definition. The definition of Christian is EXTREMELY long and complicated so stick with me. It means "little Christ." Phew. You still with me? Little Christ. Those first century pagans who came up with the name were pretty original if you ask me. It was actually a derogatory term, just meant to make fun of the disciples. And as I mentioned earlier, this happened shortly after Jesus resurrected, so the people calling them this would have known who Jesus was (and maybe even seen and heard Him). However, the disciples didn't mind at all and 2000 some years later we are still called that today.

Now, "according to recent polls" (whatever that means) 76% of people in the United States today are Christians. Wow! Who knew! 76%? Really? Tell me this...if you are talking to a complete stranger, do you REALLY think that there is a 3/4 chance that he or she is a Christian? I'm not that optimistic. At least I wasn't. But you know...I really got to thinking about long and hard, and I am convinced that the poll is ACTUALLY 100% accurate. You wanna know why?

The term "Christian" means DIDDLY SQUAT!!! Let me redirect your attention to the "who" and "what" of the term.
Who: The disciples.
What: Little Christ.
Would you like to know what 70% of those 76% of "Christians" are NOT?
1. They are not disciples of Jesus.
2. They are not little Christ's.
BUT...they are still Christians. Why? Because Christian no longer has the same meaning. You know how some words change over time? Well, today Christian means "little Christ" about as much as gay means "happy."

You call someone gay (who is not) and they will be offended. Well, pretty much it's the same with "Christian" today. A recent "research" (whatever that means) asked random people to say the first word that came to their minds with the word "Christian." Here were the responses (not in order).
1. Hypocrites.
2. Old-fashioned.
3. Judging.
The list went on. Now, these aren't in the right order I don't think but all the top results were negative. The word "love" was not mentioned. Is your heart sinking yet?

Honestly, the more I think about it...the next person that asks me if I am a Christian...I'm gonna say no. Because back in the 60's, I would would have been gay right along with the Flinstones.
Today...I am not.
Back in the 80's I would have been a Christian right alongside Gospel Bill (you probably never saw it).
Today I am not.

You see, the disciples did not call themselves Christians. They were "followers of the Way." Imagine if we all started calling ourselves that! Can you imagine the responses of people? Try to create this scene in your mind. You are in a discussion about the world, evolution, faith, whatever...the person finally asks sarcastically, "well you're a Christian aren't you?" You answer....
"No."
Guaranteed if this person thought you were he will be taken back.
"What?" he asks. "Well, what are you...cuz you definitely aren't normal."
"Oh, I'm a follower of the Way."
"Follower of the what?"
"The Way."
"Which is...?"

BAM!

What a great opportunity to tell this person about Jesus and His great compassion, mercy, love; and the hope that knowing Him brings!
But then of course this person asks.
"Isn't that a Christian?"
And you say...
"No. Most Christians judge people and are too caught attending church, and picketing abortion clinics, winning "witness" awards, and spreading the good news that homosexuals go to Hell.
Followers of the Way are MUCH different. We just plain ol' love Jesus and love other people.

But why not just call ourselves Christians, and explain what that really means? Seriously, that has about as much of a chance of working as "gay" being turned back to meaning "happy." It's just not gonna happen. Am I changing my faith? No. Am I denying Jesus? No. Am I ceasing to tell others about Him? No. Do I condone abortion? No. Do I condone being homosexual? No. I'm just loving other people like Jesus told me to. And you wanna know something? You remember how Jesus hung out with the "sinners" and "tax collectors" when He was on earth? Well, translated 21st Century that would be homosexuals, and abortionists. And you know who you and I would have been? The Pharisees. Be very careful readers that you are not a modern day Pharisee. I cannot stress enough the importance of just loving people. Just loving People. Loving people. Love people. Love.

My eyes were opened during Missions Conference last week here at Biola. One of the speakers is a missionary is India. You what "Christianity" means over there? "White American's religion." Wow. Try to let that sink in for a bit. "White American's religion." So much for John 3:16. Guess that's been rewritten to "For God so loved the United States of America..."

I'm getting extremely depressed writing this, and I don't even know how you've made it this far. And to be very honest I am not even sure what my point is. A wake up call maybe? Though that is pretty cliche, and wake up calls never work anyway. Do I care if you call yourself a Christian or not? No. My point isn't just to get everyone to stop calling themselves Christians. Well, If I had every believer's attention that might be my point, but to all 30 of my followers my point is just this.
Whatever you call yourself, don't be today's "Christian." Keep the title. I don't care. But strive to be a little Christ. A Disciple. Jesus gave two requirements (maybe more) for being a disciple...not a "Christian". A disciple.
1. Abide in My Word. Readers, I know you are sick of hearing this but READ YOUR BIBLE!!!
2. Love one another. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE.

In an age when believers are more concerned with complaining about abortion, homosexuals, and Obama, and less concerned with loving them and praying for them; remember these two things.

1. Reading God's Word will change your life.
2. Loving other people will change their lives.

I could ramble on and on, but I'll be done. Goodnight.

God bless you all,
James Knoop

The Area of Sinning

2010-03-23T00:36:00.000-07:00

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.
I will spend more time on the first issue, because I'm guessing that's the one that's making you want to slap me. ;) Am I condoning sinning? No. Here's my point (I have several actually). You know how everyone freaks out about certain sins, and not others. Let's say purity for one. If someone has sex outside of marriage (especially a Christian) we cover our mouths, gasping aloud. Or if someone is addicted to things on the internet we shake our heads and promise to pray very hard that the addiction will be taken away. But what about people who judge? If you've ever read the teachings of Jesus (you may have heard of Him), pretty much the biggest thing He tells us not to do is judge. Over and over he warns that the sinner is closer to the kingdom than the one who judges. But there aren't any conferences held for those struggling with judging. I guarantee you, that if you are sharing problems with a group of people, and one person struggles with internet and the other with judging...the biggest reaction will happen after the one with the addiction confesses. That makes zero sense.

You know all the problems our generation is having (probable)? One HUGE reason is because I feel like sexual desires is the only sin anyone talks to us about, while that is talked about so little in the Bible. Is it a huge problem? Yes. But of the one million sins possible, that should receive about 1/1 millionth of our attention. What about pride? My Dad (who is pretty much amazing) always tells me that pride is at the center of every sin, "i" is at the center of pride, and pride is not caring about what Jesus wants. Am I alone on this, or does anyone else feel like teens are JUST being taught to be pure? Be pure all you want, but I'd rather be impure than a judge. I'd prefer neither. But who am I to judge. My favorite passage in the Bible is John 8:1-12 (the woman caught in adultery). Read it. It changed my life. Adultery was one of the worst sins possible back then, and when the Pharisees tried to get Jesus involved guess how He responded? He IGNORED them. Why? Because think about what THEY had just done. The passage says that the pharisees had caught her IN THE VERY ACT of adultery. Think about that for a second. MESSED UP! And yet...I am amazed at how similar "Christians" (I'm disliking that term more and more every day) are to the Pharisees. We have conferences for that woman, and give the Pharisees pats on the back and say, "try not to judge so bad next time."
Point 1 of this post. Stop freaking out about ONLY purity and realize the sins Jesus hated so much.

-PART TWO-

Moving on (this is gonna be longer than I thought)...
In the previous paragraphs I pointed out how similar we are to the pharisees. Let me point out even MORE similarities. Not only were the pharisees enthralled with exposing the "major sins", they were obsessed with exposing sin, period. The pharisees took Moses' commandments and built commandments even around those so that they wouldn't even come close to sinning. Is that bad? No. But...the pharisees took it so far that they believed they were attaining their own ticket to Heaven. But all along, the point of the 10 Commandments had been to POINT OUT sin....not avoid them. The point of Israel's rules was for TEMPORARY covering of sin. COVERING...not washing away of.

Now, we all know that Jesus came to save us from our sins, but I think we are forgetting a major thing. Jesus did not die so that He could wipe away our sins every time we sinned. Think about that...read it again. I'll even say it again. Jesus did NOT die so that He could wipe away our sins every time we sinned. He died to wipe away our sins...period. Every single one...EVER. We are completely righteous now and forever. Satan has really tried to make us forget. You don't have to ask forgiveness after sinning. Why would we ask? It was already forgiven. Asking is assuming that WE have to do something to earn forgiveness. You are completely white in God's eyes. The devil says to us, "Look at what you did!" But we say, "Jesus took that sin on Himself a long time ago."

Why do we freak out so much? Of course we are going to sin. That's why Jesus died! We are born into sin. It's a curse. We are a bunch of cursed people. BUT. Jesus cured us of the curse...once and for all. You don't get cursed again when you sin, and have to say, "Whoops! Hey God, can you take away this curse again...I accidentally got infected again." We were once dead. But Jesus made us alive. We don't keep dying. He doesn't have to keep raising us from the dead. God is bigger than that. Jesus' death means so much more than that.
Point 2 of this post. Maybe sin isn't as "bad" as we thought it was.

-PART THREE-

Now...with all this in mind. How in the world do we keep sinning??? Jesus (God) left the perfection of Heaven to die. WORSE yet...God turned His back (which is a really big deal)! For you. For me. So...why do I keep sinning? Because I am fallen. I'm human. It's kinda what humans do. We mess up. We think bad thoughts without even trying. It's completely natural. Now, do we ask God to take away these thoughts? Yes. And I am convinced that once you are saved God will begin to direct your thoughts toward Him. But you will continue to mess up. It stinks, but it's true. That's why Heaven is gonna be so amazing, and I'm pretty pumped to get there. But remember. Every sin you have or will commit is already in the past. Scientists won't agree with me, but it's true. So, don't let sin get you down. Let your mistakes prove that Jesus is greater than you and them.

BUT. Don't keep sinning. :) I know...it's confusing. Let me explain. What about addictions? Now, get out of your 21st century minds and remember that addiction doesn't just mean sexual like they want you to think. Judging is addictive, pride, hate, selfishness, lying, etc. Every sin can be addictive. And I'm pretty sure every Christian at one point has struggled with some kind of addiction. I definitely have struggled with several. Judging being one. But like I said...John 8:1-12 (did you read it yet) completely changed my mindset around age 16 or 17. I mean, come one. I am a PK. I'm like the highest level of Christianity, right? Bad as it is, that was my mindset for 17 years. I knew I was a sinner, but I was a as good as sinners come. Until I started reading the Bible daily (highly recommend it). I began to realize how bad I was. David called himself a worm. WOW! The man after God's own heart a worm? That makes me like....a handicapped worm. And then I read John 8:1-12 (among other similar passages about judging). Let me tell you what, in no other area of my life have I had such a 180 turn-around. Jesus really must have a plan for my life that requires me to not be a judge, because I ran from my former thoughts so fast. But my eyes were just SO opened to how SINFUL judging is. Judging isn't a problem of thinking too less of others, but too much of yourself.

But other addictions did not go so easily. And I cried, "God...take this from me!" And yet, like Luke Skywalker said "I can't shake him" (only Star Wars fans will get that)! Roughly 8 years I prayed that prayer. "God...why can't I stop?!" I made altar commitments (something I don't do anymore), I made vows to myself and God, I had accountability partners. None of it worked. So one day I sat down and asked myself instead of God. "Why can't you stop?" And it hit me pretty quick. I love sin more than God. After that it didn't take long. I don't really remember that as the day I was "freed", but rather as the day I fell in love with Jesus. So, I don't judge others one bit...but if someone tells me they are addicted...(from personal experience) my first thought is "have you fallen in love with Jesus yet?" We are set free from the power of sin. No temptation is too great. And so...if we are consistently surrendering to sin, have we truly fell in love with Jesus? Paul tells us to examine ourselves. This is something we all need to be doing. If I keep sinning over and over and over, I need to stop and say, "wait a minute! Am I really following Jesus? I prayed the prayer, but do I really desire to follow him?" My final point of part three. If you are struggling with sin, don't try to stop sinning...it won't work. Try falling in love with Jesus. It's not hard. He sweeps you off your feet pretty easy.

Point 3 of this post. Stop sinning by falling in love with Jesus.

In closing, I am not saying by any means that if you suffer from addiction of anything that you are not following Christ. Some great men of God suffered from addictions their whole lives. BUT....remember

1 Corinthians 10:13 (no temptation is too great). And dwell on Matthew18:9. If you are addicted to something, get rid of the temptation by WHATEVER means. If you saw Fireproof (amazing), you remember when Kirk Cameron smashed his computer? Really ask yourself, would you be willing to do that? If your friends are causing you to sin...stop hanging out with them. I mean it. It's hard, but are you really willing to follow Jesus? If you "don't have time" to read your bible, sell your Xbox. It's worth it. Whatever your struggle is, there are normal, everyday ways to help remove it. Don't just pray...if you really care do your own part. Now, just because our sins have been washed away does not mean we won't experience earthly consequences. Because if you haven't noticed...you will. And the greatest consequence of sin is more sin. Also, remember not to judge. It's easy if you view yourself as a worm. But above all, remember that Jesus died for you, and took it all away. :)

PS. As always I speak on my own behalf as well (that sounded very 1800's). :)

Good News

2010-03-21T15:19:00.000-07:00

So hey all. I'm really excited cuz I had a really good night and morning this morning.
I went to a new church today (I've been looking for one I like since August). I loved it, and am pretty sure I will be staying there. So that was cool. Plus...it only takes about 15 minutes to walk there and about half of the walk is straight through that park I told you about. :) Just awesome...but even cooler news is what happened last night.....

(can you feel the suspense?)

still?

I'm supporting a kid through Compassion!!!
The second warm-up band was speaking for
them, and really believes in this organization
(they even have a song called "Compassion").
I had already been planning on it (since everyone
else in my family has done it), so this was a good
reason to just do it. So they had a table and I picked
up this guys packet. His name is Matiya Nsamba.
He is from Uganda, Africa. He is in an HIV-AIDS
affected area. His birthday is February 16, 2003.
I am so excited to get to support him, write him, get
his letters, and pray for each other! I was just so
pumped I wanted to tell you all! :)

Hope you had a great Lord's Day.

jAmes

A Long Weekend

2010-03-20T23:25:00.000-07:00

Yes. It has indeed been a really long weekend. School and work on Monday, school on tuesday, Missions Conference on Wednesday-Friday. And then, today Biola hosted the band Anberlin. My ears are still ringing. :) But in fact, I enjoyed the warm-up band even more. A band I saw two years ago in South Dakota at Life Light Festival. They are an amazing band (and the lead singer is younger than ME)! I won't tell you who they are until I put my videos on here. Oh boy you guys are lucky! Once I get all the videos on here that I am behind on, you are going to have nothing to do for hours but watch all they amazing things happening here at Biola. :)
Well, for now I'm gonna try to catch up on a bit of school. ugh. oh well.

peace out

The Boy In The Park

2010-03-20T02:21:00.000-07:00

Just a warning. This is a weird story. :) Not that all my others aren't too but...just keep that in mind. I'm not really sure how I feel about this one.

Once upon there was a young boy.

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

2010-03-18T23:45:00.000-07:00

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.

SoCal Beauty

2010-03-18T23:05:00.000-07:00

Hey....so i was gonna finally post of videos of Missions Conference, but I'm out at the fountain listening to one of my friends sing live. So i didnt wanna have my headphones on working on IMovie. So...those will have to wait. So for now...I'm going to post some pictures of me at the park. I did my devotions there the other day and it was just incredible. So, while it's true that I'm like in suburbs of LA...its also true that SoCal is BEAUTIFUL!!! Here's some proof.

So I took about a bajillion more than this but I thought I'd just give you a taste. :)

More About Missions Conference

2010-03-17T22:56:00.000-07:00

Hey all,
so this post is kinda pointless so i will make it REALLY short. I just wanted to inform you that Missions Conference is going above and beyond how great I thought it would be. I really think God is doing big things. Thank you so much for your prayers!!! Tonight's service was just amazing. Later on when I have my camera cord (i'm outside right now) I will upload some photos and video I took. Tonight one of the leaders of YWAM spoke and God really spoke through him. Great stuff. Right now I'm just sitting outside listening to some live music as I write this. :) Good stuff. I doubt anyone not in the pacific time zone is still up and you won't read this until tomorrow anyway, but i just thought I'd post it now. :)
God Blesss!
James

New Shoes

2010-03-17T00:30:00.000-07:00

Okay...so I know I blog way too much. But there is something i HAVE to show you!!!

My NEW shoes. I paid $40 for them which is too much. That's like 2 years worth of haircuts (based on my normal two cuts a year. :) But...it was still totally worth it, and let me tell you why...

Because they are Converse! :) The bestest brand EVER. :) I have two other pair of Converse shoes too, except those are the cloth kind. The reason I needed these was because both my others are getting really big holes in them. :( Anyway...
the end.

Missions Conference

2010-03-16T20:44:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone...
in case you are wondering, yes i am stilling thinking about how weird it is that I was in an earthquake. :)
Nothing crazy ever happens in Minnesota so give me some slack! Well...it gets 60 degrees below zero but thats normal. :)
Anyway...I'm hesitant to post what I'm about to, because I know personally if someone else posted this I would tend to shrug and go about my day. But Biola is having their annual Missions Conference this week.
This is cool for two reason.
1. I am done with school until next monday. :) (thats the selfish reason)
2. The awareness for the need of Christ across the world is really going to be stressed.
I simply ask that you please PRAY for the conference as a whole. Pray for individuals be be convicted of their need to reach others. Pray for the speakers. Pray for the leaders and helpers, and everyone involved. I realize that this doesn't impact you personally, but by prayer you can take part in this great conference. I believe with all my heart that all things are possible, and prayer is the means by which all possible things happen. You want Scripture evidence of that? Jesus prayed ALL THE TIME for everything He did....and He was JESUS...the one WE pray to. We also have a prayer chapel where people will literally be praying around the clock 24 hours. I have a couple 30 minute slots, but pray that others will understand the need for prayer. Going to a conference is all well and good. You can get that emotional high you love so much (which won't last the night), but without prayer nothing will happen.

All that to say, please pray for Biola this Wednesday-Friday. Just a quick prayer now is amazing. Prayer is prayer. Whatever you are led to pray for and however long. This world needs Jesus Christ and His love. I'm not a huge fan of conferences because I feel like all that happens is people nod their heads, raise their hands, and make vows they do not intend to keep (been there, done that). SO...pray that this will NOT be one of those conferences.

...this was way longer than i intended. Thanks for reading and praying.

your friendly neighborhood blogger,
James Knoop

Earthquake!!!

2010-03-16T12:07:00.000-07:00

Okay...so i'll keep this really short. But I experienced my first earthquake last night!
It was 4:04 AM and I was just falling asleep (don't ask why i didn't go to bed til 4). Suddenly everything just starts shaking. It was probably the weirdest feeling i've ever experienced. And I didn't feel too safe on my loft bed either. :) Well, I was only a 4.4 on the scale and it only lasted 4 seconds so it wasn't that bad...but it was still really scary! I couldn't fall asleep for like an hour.
There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home. :)

Well, I'm off to my favorite place in the world. Let's see who can guess where it is!!!

P.S You know what I just realized. The earthquake took place 4 minutes after 4 (exactly). It was 4.4 on the scale, and it lasted 4 seconds. CREEPY

The Very Last Day: Real

2010-03-16T01:50:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-15T14:58:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-14T17:58:00.000-07:00

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.

First of all, as most of you probably already know, I am very proud to be a conservative. I'm pretty sure I grow more conservative every day. Now, as a conservative, I also tend to go back to the old black and white days when wives were submissive and not all about the feminist movement.

But I'll get right to the point. The man is the head of the home (or at least he should be). This should not shock you or anger you. In fact, females, you are really very lucky to not be given this role. The leader, though given advice by his wife, ultimately makes the decisions (fyi...i HATE decisions). And so...when the decision is made, it is also the husband on whose shoulders the weight of the consequences are laid, good or bad. If families are having problems, outsiders wonder what the husband is doing wrong. He is the leader, protector, and shepherd. He is responsible for everything. So, if you haven't thought of it that way before I hope that makes the females more grateful and the men more wide-eyed to what marriage will mean for them.

Also, the role of the submissive wife is to accept her husbands decision, even if she knows he's doing something really stupid. :) Guys have a tendency do stupid things every once in a while if you didn't notice. The wife gives her opinion of why it's stupid, but after he doesn't listen to her, she sits back and smiles as he bears the consequences. Now, hopefully you aren't that evil about it, but you get the picture. :)

Lastly, the wife is the encourager of her husband. The Ephesians 4:29 wife. When the husband comes home depressed from the stupid decision he just made, or getting laid off work, or his football team losing, or whatever...the wife is there to build him up. She gives everything of herself to make sure her husband makes it through the day. The husband is also the spiritual leader of the home, but when the weight becomes to great, the wife picks him up.

A great example of this is Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee. Frodo is the husband. Samwise is the wife. Frodo carries the ring over his neck that Samwise cannot carry, but it is Sam who is encouraging Frodo all along the way. (I could also point out that Sam does the cooking. :) kidding). And at last, when the two come to Mount Doom, Frodo is completely unable to take another step. That's when Sam says what is probably the best quote from Lord Of The Rings. "I can't carry it for you. But I can carry you!" That is the perfect example for wives. You cannot carry the burden we (will) carry, but you can carry us.

And in return for a submissive wife, I will promise her this. I will give everything of myself to do what it best for our family. I will protect my family spiritually, emotionally, and physically as best I can. And I will love my wife with every ounce of love inside of me. I promise to be her best friend. I leave you with this quote from probably my biggest hero of the past, Martin Luther.

"Let the wife make the husband glad to come home, and let him make her sorry to see him leave."

Meatatarian again

2010-03-13T23:35:00.000-08:00

hey folks...
ill keep this one really short, but I just wanted to let you know that I went an entire week without

POP

MEAT...OR

FRENCH FRIES

YAY for me!!! :)

Day 4 of "Future Wife Week": Trustworthy

2010-03-13T15:10:00.000-08:00

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.

Trustworthy

Now you are probably sitting at your home or coffee house or hotel (that'd be intense if people followed me on their trips) thinking....."well duh!" And I would agree with you. This is a rather duh characteristic to be in a wife...at least on the surface. So, I will go into a little more depth so you can understand my point.

I'm not just talking about someone I can trust not to go sleeping around. But going one step beyond that I want someone I can trust not go be flirting. "Well, how do you know if she'll flirt?" you ask. Well...is she flirting now? "Well that doesn't mean she'll flirt when you are married!" Doesn't it? Does something magical happen at the "I do's?" All desire for popularity and acceptance and what not from the opposite gender suddenly vanishes? You can talk to probably any married couple and they will tell you that getting married does not change who you are magically. If anything....it gets harder.

Now, I'm not a tyrant. I'm not looking for someone who has NEVER flirted...well, i wouldn't say no to that but...you get the point. But I am looking for someone who isn't known as a flirt.

Secondly, I want to know that she will never leave me. How will I know this? Well, I can't know it for sure...but I can look for signs of it in her past. How many boy friends has she had? 1? 2? 3? 17? Now, I don't presume to tell God who I am going to marry, but I will tell you this now...if you have had more than about 2 boyfriends...your chances are slim to none. Because either one of three things has happened.

1. You weren't willing to wait.

2. You don't know who you are looking for, and you picked the wrong kind of guys.

3. You just need someone to love you until you find someone better.

Now, I'm not picking on females, but since I'm a guy talking about my future wife it wouldn't make sense for me to address the guys here. Here is my question. If you can't keep a relationship now? How will you keep one in a couple of years when you get married? Like I said. It gets harder.

Thirdly, I want someone who will not lie. Someone who accepts only truth in all respects. Because here is the thing...if a couple EVER lies to one another...a little trust is going to fall away no matter how many "sorrys" are said. Now...I realize marriages aren't perfect. I'm not expecting one. But you get the point. And once again...I will look at her now. Does she lie? Even little lies? Does she say one thing to a friend and another to her parents? (Keep in mind all these things are directed at me as well). I guarantee you...if my wife has the same standards I have, I'm gonna have to work pretty hard to get up to shape by the time we meet. :)

Lastly, I want to be able to trust my wife with everything I tell her. I want her to be completely open with me, and I with her. I have a treasure chest with only one key. And that key is deeply hidden in my heart where no one can find it. She has a similar treasure. I want to share a treasure chest with wife, where all our secrets, hopes, and desires lie. When I give her my heart, and she gives me hers, we will give eachother our keys as well. I want someone who will guard that key.

That last paragraph was kind of cliche, but its true for me all the same.

Have a splendid Saturday everyone. I will speak to you tomorrow after church.

Male Modesty???

2010-03-12T18:25:00.000-08:00

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.

Day 3 of "Future Wife Week": Traveler

2010-03-12T16:32:00.000-08:00

Greetings fellow humans,

Welcome to the weekend. My weekends really start on thursdays but...yeah.

So, here we are at day three of future wife week, and i thought i'd tame things down just a tad. I've been going at the pretty serious stuff....so day 3 is gonna be a little more chill (i never say that word by the way).

So...on to characteristic #3 of my wife....

Traveler

Yes. My wife must be someone who loves taking vacations. On top of that she must be willing to be very "last-second" oriented. I grew up in a family that not only traveled all over the US, but we would do so based on last second decisions. We went on a three week train trip that we planned less than a month in advance i believe.

Now, the reason I say this is not selfish...cancel that...its not ONLY selfish. Being a family that vacationed a lot is the #1 reason my family is so close i believe. We have driven half way across the nation without stopping. My brother, sister-in-law, sister-in-law's sister, actual sister, and I drove from Florida back to Minnesota without stopping for more than gas or McDonalds.

Let me tell you something, you learn a thing or two about your siblings when you live in a little box for a long time. A LOT...let me stress this...a LOT of fighting takes place. :) But, those are some of my favorite memories. And the honest truth is that you grow very close because of it. You also begin to do random things. My dad had pastor's conferences in New York, and my sister and I would play a game where we would scratch the top of the other person's hands with our finger nails. We would do this until the other person quit. We also played a game where we would slap each other softly, getting harder and harder. The only person I've ever slapped is Rachel. :) But she won, because after she slapped me nearly as hard as she could my dad wouldn't let me slap her back. I'm still bitter about that one.

The times my family has had hanging out at the Great Lakes, Pacific, Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico beaches has been incredible. My brother's and I did a week hiking trip by Lake Superior (where we almost died cuz we ran out of water). I've been to Washington, California, Florida, and Maine, Mexico, and even though no one cares....Canada. :)

The point is...my family is so tight because of all our trips. And so...it is my dear hope that my future wife wants to travel as well.

PS. The picture is of London. The place I want to go more than anywhere on earth.

Characteristic #2 Bible Addict

2010-03-11T14:26:00.000-08:00

Well, here we are at future wife week, Day 2. Right now, I'm really roughing it as i write this post. It's sunny...a frigid 70 degrees with no clouds in the sky. :) I'm just sitting in front of the fountain in my khaki shorts, t, converse shoes, and sunglasses. I'll try to help set the scene...

Hope that helps. :) Just so you know...choosing 7 specific things is rather hard for me. Modesty is easy, but after that...it's hard. I could go on about how i hope she's athletic, is a Vikings fan, loves dogs, etc...but I'll try to stick with things that I REALLY care about. So, let's get on to characteristic #2.

-BIBLE ADDICT-

I worked at a Christian Camp this last summer as a counselor/lifeguard. The summer was flat out amazing, and I saw many many kids come to Christ, and was blessed enough to lead some of them in prayer. Two of the weeks at camp I also had the opportunity of speaking at chapel. I also had the opportunity this last January of bringing that same message to my Church. No, I'm not a pastor. :) But my dad is and he's always excited if I ask to preach. ANYWAY...the message I brought was on the importance of reading your Bible. Im not going to go way into all the reasons why it's so important right now...maybe sometime I'll post my sermon on here.

But I'll just give you a little of my history on the topic and why its so important that my future wife be this way. Growing up a PK I obviously also grew up reading my Bible. My dad would often randomly ask me where I was reading. "No where" was NOT a good answer to have. :) Neither was "Psalms". He caught onto that one fast too (the Psalms are really short). So, I did have a good foundation in reading my Bible. But family is family and dad's are dad's. As such, we often obey in order to obey, and not because we really think about why we are obeying. Well, a man by the name of Sam Dodd really helped open my eyes to what my parents had been pounding at me for 16 years.

"Read your Bible." he said. Simple enough I thought. I do that all the time. But I wasn't even close to understanding what he meant. Sam has read his Bible every day for like 20 years or something. Blows my mind. But what he stressed is that the Bible can change your life. While at camp there was a competition that those who read their Bible every day for a year got a free trip to Valley Fair (amusement park in MN). Well, I (along with my sister) was one of the winners. But by the time I got my prize, I had already won the true prize. I cannot tell you enough how much being constantly in Gods Word changed me that year. I was a prideful, judging, 16 year old punk when I started. The worst part is that I had no idea. Am I still prideful? Yes. Judging? Yes. A punk? Yes. 16? No. :) The point is, I have grown so much in those areas. You know how every preacher tells you to make sure that your faith is your own, and not just your parents or whoever else's? That year was when my faith "became real."

You could say it was just because I was working at camp and getting older, but you'd be very wrong. Reading the Bible changed my life, and I'm not just saying that as a catchy phrase. It did. And working at camp I have seen it change others. I've seen high school freshman brought to tears by the Word of God. I cannot stress enough the power of God's Word.You want to measure how you are doing in your walk with Christ? How much time are you spending with him?

My goal (as I have stated before) is to only date two people in my life. And it's not one wrong person and then my wife. The only two people I want to date are my future wife and Jesus. I decided this at about year 18. If I had a girlfriend, I'd be spending time with her, thinking about her, calling her on the phone, and spending money on her. So, right now, I spend time with Jesus, I think about Jesus, I "call" Jesus, and I spend money on books that might bring me to a better understanding of Jesus.

Sorry...this was way longer than I meant it to be. All this to say, I want a wife addicted to Jesus and His Word.

Have a great Thursday folks!

Modesty Is Attractive

2010-03-10T21:30:00.000-08:00

Okay...I know every girl reading this is probably sick of hearing about modesty. "That's all I ever hear!" Don't worry. This post is NOT about pointing the finger. I'm not going to tell you that you are immodest. I'm not even going to tell you to BE modest. It is my hope that this post will make you WANT to be modest. And remember...this is from a guy....the species you are trying to impress. ;)

Okay...let's jump right in, and make sure this thing doesn't get long. The question on your mind is
"How in the world can modesty be attractive!" I know this because I have psychic powers, and I read your mind. The answer is simple. Modesty shows that a woman doesn't need to dress a certain (revealing) way to feel important or loved. Now, females, don't freak out at me. I'm not saying that is what you are doing. Remember, I'm not condemning. I know many people that are modest many days of the week. So, even if you are not every day, the fact that you don't dress to be noticed EVERY DAY shows quality.

Many times, I think females don't even know they are immodest. So, I would like to give you one very easy guide to measuring the extent of your modesty. Scratch that. Two easy guides.
1. The more skin showing....the worse (that's probably obvious).
2. The more the clothing has to stretch to be put on....the worse. So...if you are debating if your shirt is too tight before you put it on. Ask yourself this question. Would this fit my 3 year old sister? If the answer is yes...it MIGHT be too tight. Stay away from stretchy. Stretch=bad. :)

Awesome. Moving on. Now, I can probably guess another thing that you are thinking. "This is just one of those moron guys who just likes telling females what to do, but really likes immodest females. Ha! Gotcha. I KNEW that's what you were thinking. But fear not. I have an answer. Yes. I love telling females what to do! who wouldn't. :) (that was a joke). And am I some super human that isn't attracted to females. Uh...no! If you dress immodestly...yes I will be attracted. I'll also be looking at your forehead when I talk to you. :) But here is the difference. My BODY is attracted to immodesty. My SPIRIT (that part that actually matters) is NOT. My spirit is attracted to modesty.

Now, there is a GREAT DANGER ladies in dressing modestly. Us lizards (commonly called males) may not be attracted to you as quickly. You may be the last of your friends to date. But eventually, some guy who is concerned about his spirit more than his body, will wake up one day, and God will BAM!...open his eyes. And he will say, "JOLLY RANCHERS that girl is attractive!" haha....lame scenario...i know. but bear with me.

So yeah...I know this is familiar to those who read my dating book, but it is a big characteristic I'm looking for in my wife. It may seem legalistic or something but...your opinion is your own. Again...i'm not judging anyone. Just what I"m looking for.

"My Future Wife" Week

2010-03-10T21:26:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! How are you on this bright winter's night? I have a splitting head ache, and I'm hating this no pop/meat/fires diet I'm on, and i'm having withdrawals from deactivating my facebook account. Other than that though...I'm doing awesome!!! :) Random thought of the day...why do we say "splitting" head ache? No idea. Mine actually isn't that bad. I just felt like complaining. But anyway...on to the point of this post....

So, I was just thinking (rare...i know) and I decided I've been lagging a bit on this blog. So, I need motivation. So...I have henceforth decided to dedicate each day to a characteristic I am looking for in my future wife. Let me clarify....IF i have a future wife. The longer I live the more I begin to realize I may have been granted most graciously by God with the gift of single-hood. I think the August 3rd, 1990 babies had all been born except me and the angels were like "oh no...we forgot to hand out the magic "gift of single-hood" dust. And the other angle was like "look...there's one left...give it to him." So they dumped it all on me. :)

BUT...if by some powerball odds, some human of the female species is indeed out there that is compatible to me...this week is dedicated to characteristics that I am looking for in her.

PS. The chances of her not only tolerating my sense of humor, very conservative ways, emotional rollar coaster, AND fitting these characteristics.....are not in my favor. :)

Break Down These Walls

2010-03-08T00:20:00.000-08:00

Break Down These Walls

Once upon a time, there was a human. You.

-CHAPTER ONE-

Four walls. That’s all it takes. Four impenetrable walls. Thick as fog on a cold October’s morning. Haunting like the shadows under a full moon. Fiery red like a sword in the fire. You hate these walls. Four walls. A pity there are not more. Four comforting walls. Safe as an egg under the hen. Beautiful as ocean, the instant before the sun slips away. Pure white, like a bride on her wedding day. You love these walls.

-CHAPTER TWO-

All your life they told you that these walls would protect you. They told you these walls would comfort you. They told you these walls kept out the evil, and held in the good. Liars. They were liars. Every last one of them. Every smile they smiled was a smile of death. Every laugh they laughed was a laugh of Hell. Every kiss they kissed was the kiss of betrayal.

-CHAPTER THREE-

You knew. Someone you always knew.

But you didn’t care. You felt safe, and as long as you felt safe, you were not going to change. So I took away your safety. I opened your eyes, ever so slightly. I let you see them for what they really were. Devils. Demons. Dragons from the deep. I let you see their lips turn to worms and their teeth turn to maggots. I let you see the vomit pouring from their mouths when they spoke, and the fire rising when the laughed. I let you see your four walls turn to thistles and knives and thorns all pointing inward. Pointed at you.

-CHAPTER FOUR-

-CHAPTER FIVE-

-CHAPTER SIX-

You are so foul. So black. So drenched in pure evil that the sight of you cannot even enter my presence. And so, I have come down to you. I have drenched myself in your filth that I might look upon your hideous, beautiful face.

-CHAPTER SEVEN-

I have a gift for you. It is rare, and so very fragile. Yet, if used correctly can be extremely contagious and unbreakable. I offer you the gift of hope. Take it. And with it knock down these walls in which you were born. Knock them down and I will cast them into the depths nothingness, where they will remain forever.

-CHAPTER EIGHT-

I watch. I watch you as the symphonies of the angels plays a sweet, sweet song. Shivers run through all of me. Excitement covers me. Joy floods me. Love overtakes me.

-CHAPTER NINE-

I see you scream in righteous anger as you grab the weapon of hope and sprint toward the eastern wall. Your loved ones, the demons, chase you, flapping their broken wings. Desperately trying to overtake you. But hope is to holy for them. They cannot come close enough to bring you back. I see you raise your weapon to the skies, and I laugh as the devils cower in their holes.

-CHAPTER TEN-

You bring down your weapon, and a few bricks fall away. Again you strike, and more falls away. A infinitesimal ray of light begins to steal through from the rising sun. The demons wail and gnash their teeth at the sight. Their eyes burn and they thrive as their skin burns. But you keep on striking, blow after mighty blow.

-CHAPTER ELEVEN-

I am not fooled by the screams that you scream. I can see the tears falling from your scared eyes. You are terrified of what lies outside these walls. You are like a child running away from the only home you have ever known. I do not tell you be be unafraid. I ask only that you hold on to that hope and never let go. The light is breaking through, and you cannot fathom the powers of the light. Now strike yet one more time, and you shall see. Break down these walls that have kept you in the dark so very long.

-CHAPTER TWELVE-

Do you remember the day you found me? I gave you a weapon of hope, and with it you broke down that mighty wall of fear. Light poured into your lifeless eyes and made them alive. Do you remember the first time to saw me? You ran into my arms and wept, and I held you ever so tightly. And then, I wiped away your tears, and showed you wonders untold.

Vegatarian week (and pop and fries)

2010-03-06T22:59:00.001-08:00

Hey guys….it’s Saturday. Which is cool. Random fact for the day. You cannot snore and dream at the same time. Um….how about one more? The largest and strongest known predatory fish in the sea, the Great White shark (also called White Death), can grow up to 30 feet long and is the only fish that lifts its head out of the water as if to investigate surface objects. Its jaw is six times stronger than a wolf’s and has about two-thirds the biting strength of a Tyrannosaurus Rex’s jaw. The Great White is responsible for 30-50% of all deadly attacks on humans. The reason that one is interesting is because I have a ginormous phobia of sharks. Seriously…i don’t go out more than about knee deep in the ocean…in case there is a really small shark that eats me.
Now…on to the point of this blog. Okay…so as many of you may know…i really really really like coca cola. What you may not know is that I also love french fries (both of which the Biola caf has unlimited of). What you also may not know is that I am a meatatarian. I don’t believe in eating anything but animals. Okay…maybe not quite that far…but close. So…I decided to be really mean to myself for an entire week and only eat unmeaty things, no fries, and no pop (that’s “soda” or “coke” for those of you not from Minnesota).
Anyway…this is gonna be really hard for me, but YOU CAN HELP! That’s right. Just post a comment on here encouraging me! Haha….I know. I’m desperate for comments. But that’s because they are so fun. If you got a new haircut wouldn’t you want me to comment on it? Well…I would, but then again I am very self conscious of the way my hair looks.
Have a splendiferonious weekend!!!

Just a little update

2010-03-06T00:45:00.001-08:00

Hey folks.
Sorry its been like a week. no excuse really. just thought i'd update you with whats going on.
It's a visit weekend. So, there are 45 prospective students on campus and i get to house one guy for
the three nights. we are on night two right now. He's from Minnesota too so it's been awesome having him. It's pretty much like talking in my native tongue again. :) but yeah....just got gone playing some pool and Rook with him and two other guys from Miami. Super fun. But....i'm really tired so i'm gonna head.
Oh....1 thing before i go though. Anberlin is coming to Biola on the 20th and i'm stoked. I bought my tickets first day.
have a good one
jAmes

Dear Monday

2010-03-01T02:50:00.000-08:00

Dear Monday,
Hi. It's me. James. Your evil opponent. Well, I come to you on even grounds today. Today, let's be friends. Not enemies. It has been your day for nearly 3 hours as I write this. Therefore, when I awaken in six hours I will most likely hate you. I will take up arms against you. There will be blood. Lots of it. Mostly psychological blood, but blood nonetheless.
*RANDOM THOUGHT ALERT*
The word "nonetheless" is actually three words in one. Cool.
Anyway...my dear monday. In exchange for my treating you so well before I depart for sleep I ask only one thing in return. I ask that you deal fairly with me today, that you do not bring about much grogginess and depression, and that if you are to do such things...that you pass quickly that I may soon forget about the evil you have bestowed upon me. I hereby offer a truce, a treaty, a handshake, a...uh...deal.
i nice to you. you nice to me.
Sincerely your ever present foe and enemy,
James Knoop
P.S. If at any point you break our treaty...it will end badly for you. i may even remove you from my calendar. however, i will have trouble explaining to my tennis coach why i no longer believe in mondays. this could end more badly for me that you. what a pickle. hmmmm

Sunset. Sunrise

2010-02-27T01:00:00.000-08:00

Sunset

Oh how I fear you.
You are tricky. Deceptive.
Beautiful colors. A covering.
Disguising the coming darkness.

Just before you disappear i understand.
Your light spreads across the ocean floor
Like a blanket. A blanket of death.
Putting me to sleep with your lullaby.

A brilliant flash of light.

One last photograph of life.
And then its gone. No warning.
Then again, that's all you were.

Darkness. That's all I see.
And really, can you even see it?
Perhaps I am even blind.
Scales on my eyes like a bandage.

I pray for light, or even the hope of.
The sun laughs from beneath the horizon.
"He he. Ha ha. You fool!"
I cover my ears, but it does no good.

How did it come to this?
I knew what was happening.
I saw the world growing darker.
But the colors. Those beautiful colors.

Beautiful colors singing a beautiful song.
A melody of death and evil.
Beautiful colors writing a beautiful book.
The prologue of Hell.

What is left for me now?
Am I to quake here forever?
Hands shaking. Cold. So cold.
How long? How long will you forget me?

"Turn" says a voice.
But I cannot turn.
If I turn I may miss the sun.
When the sun returns.

Laugher. Laughter fills my ears.
Oh that God would silence them.
They must be evil indeed.
I shall keep them behind me. Behind.

"Turn" says the voice.
"No!" I will not.
I will see the laughing ones.
Those evil laughing ones.

I waited. Years passed. No sun.
"Turn."
"No."
Laughter. "Shut up!"

I waited. Years passed. No sun.
"Turn."
"Why?"
Nothing more. The fool!

I am so cold. So alone. Dead.
There is nothing left for me.
I have been forgotten. I turn.
What could be worse than this Hell?

I fall to my knees. Of course!
How had I not seen? Oh Lord!
Tears flood my eyes. Warmth.
Life enters my nostrils and I weep.

Sunrise.

Dear You

2010-02-25T23:07:00.000-08:00

Dear You,

i think i saw you today, but i can't be sure.
Your eyes were closed, but your lips were moving.
Whispers of prayer floating upward like a balloon.
Well let me tell you darling that i hope the day is coming soon

i will wait because i am willing, not because i am patient.
Your absence is like hole in my glass
i try to fill my my heart but everything just falls through
And to say my glass is half empty is only half true

Why is it that the wind is so romantic?
i swear it causes the world to spin in slow motion
Your hair tossed about like a flag at the end of a pier
Beautiful as the sunset, more graceful than the deer

And you did not see me, though i did naught but stare
And you did not hear, though my heart screamed hello
For now, our worlds are separate, a wall between each heart
But hold on. It won't be long. We're almost at the start.

A Message From James

2010-02-22T16:56:00.000-08:00

Hey....so I couldn't get the link to work here...but if you wanna see a very inspirational video (not really) click here. Okay..it's actually of me rocking out to Hannah Montana....but still!!!
CLICK HERE

Sin, Love, Boys, Girls, Parents, and Kids All Summed Up In One Poem

2010-02-20T00:43:00.000-08:00

Sin is like a Dinosaur

It looks cool

But really

It eats you.

Kids are like puppies

They poop and smell

And make loud noises

But parents still keep them

Parents are like wax

When it's hot it hurts

But that's okay because

It keeps the fire going

Boys are like bugs

They buzz around

And are really annoying

And then girls hit them

Girls are like cell phones

They cost lots of money

Take up most your time

But are still totally worth it

True love is like a mouse

At first you are scared

But once you hold it

You want to keep it forever

"Ice Boxing" AKA Summer Sledding

2010-02-19T16:05:00.000-08:00

Okay...have you guys ever heard of Ice Boxing??? It's amazing. We did it last night, and it is so much fun.
It's kind of like the opposite of sledding. If you live back home in Minnesota or somewhere that actually experiences winter you will have to wait to do this until the snow melts. Here's how it works...

You go to your local gas station or grocery store and buy a bag of ice. Not chopped. It has to just be one big chunk of ice with at least one flat side. Then, you find a really steep hill. Take the bag out of the ice. Sit on it or if you wanna be crazy, lay on it...and go down the hill. It sounds like it wouldn't work but it totally does and its amazing!!! Here are a couple pics!!!

Finding James in "The Scar"

2010-02-17T22:57:00.000-08:00

So I just wanted to write a quick tid bit on the meaning of "the scar"...in case you missed it. The first thing

my sister told me after reading it was "I don't get it" so maybe no one did. If you haven't read the story yet, read that first.

So here we go:

1. The island is just like earth

2. The people are just like us

3. The people seemed to be good people just like we think we are good people.

4. A messenger came to tell the people that destruction was coming like Jesus came to tell us. However, the scarred man was not meant to be Jesus. Don't confuse that.

5. The scar meant he was chosen.

6. The part of the sand and the rock was meant to confuse you. You see...many of us know the song "the wise man built his house upon the rock". So, usually we think of the rock as the safe place. I made the sand the safe place because that didn't make sense to us. In the same way, Jesus didn't make sense to the Pharisees when he came. The Pharisees knew what they thought was safe (like the island people thought they knew the rocks would be safe).

7. The children represent the need for us to become children as Christ commanded (Matthew 18:3)

8. The wave represented coming judgment.

9. The adults represented those who hold on to what they think will save them but reject Jesus.

10. The X was not an X at all, but when the scarred man's hand was turned, the boy saw that it was really a cross.

Hope that makes sense.

The Scar

2010-02-17T17:38:00.000-08:00

The Scar

-CHAPTER ONE-

Once upon a time there was an island. This island was divided into two equal sections.
One section was made up entirely of sand, and the other of solid rock. Long ago, a ship of
people landed on this island, though, none remembered where he or she had come from. They
simply lived on this island, unaware of any other lands. Now as they people entered the island, they chose places to dwell. Some chose the sandy land, some chose the rocky, and some lived so close to the line between the two that one could not pinpoint exactly which side they lived on.

-CHAPTER TWO-
Now, these people lived on this island for many years. Many generations were born, and the number of those who dwelt there increased greatly. Everyone lived in peace, and there were very few quarrels. But one day, something happened that would change the island...forever. A baby was born. Now, this in itself was not strange. What changed history, is that this baby was born with a sign. A black "X" was found on his left hand. Murmurs filled the island as people wondered what this could mean. Something would be special about this child, whether for good or evil.

-CHAPTER THREE-
Years passed, and all too soon people forgot about the child. He, after all, was just a child. The scar was no more than an accident. A one in a million chance of luck. The child grew, and was a favorite of many people. Kind, compassionate, and quite talented. He dwelt with his father, mother, and two sisters on the rocky side of the island, though close enough to the sand to be known by those folk as well. And, as often happens in one life, time passed right before everyone's eyes. Before one could say Jiminy Cricket, the boy was grown. He had chosen a respected profession as a teacher, and though favoritism was frowned upon, everyone knew that he was the children's favorite.

-CHAPTER FOUR-
Change. If there is one thing that is true in every world, it this this. Change does not come without sacrifice. WIthout pain. Without someone being persecuted for the change they wish to bring. The Island had never experienced change. The lived every day just as they had the first. Happily. Joyfully. Contentedly. And above all...peacefully. But somehow, someone, at some point decided to change all that. The man with the scarred hand.

-CHAPTER FIVE-
Now don't let me get too far ahead of myself. The scarred man did not simply wake up and decide to change things. It was slow. A process. It crept upon him...like a hunter creeping in the wood.

-CHAPTER SIX-
A dream. It began with a dream. A short dream. Uncomplicated. The end of the world. The scarred man dreamt that he saw a wave, taller that the width of the island. It came with great haste toward the island, horrid cries coming from its depths. This wave crashed upon the island, destroying ever tree, every house, everything in his path. However, when the waters came, those who stood at the edge of the water, on the sandy side of the waters; these men and women were saved.

-CHAPTER SEVEN-
The scarred man did not begin his mission by telling the entire island his dream. He simply began with his father. He asked what it could mean. But his father dismissed the story, assuring his son it was just a dream. His mother said the same thing, as did the man's friends. The scarred man eventually gave up the idea, and said nothing more on the matter. But the very next night, he dreamt the dream again. This time the dream was more vivid, and it ended with a voice proclaiming, "Forty Days." That's all the voice said. "Forty Days."

-CHAPER EIGHT-
Nights passed, and each night the days lessened. 40-39-38-37-36-35...down to 20. But still the scarred man told no one else. But on the dream of the 20th day, the voice spoke on. "Twenty days and the island will fall. You. You alone can save them. You were chosen, and now is the time.

-CHAPTER NINE-
The scarred man could remain silent no longer, but he did not know where to begin. So, he started with the first people he saw. His class. "I'd like to tell you a story..." he began, and he went on to tell the whole story. He did not tell the children this would happen. He merely told it as a story. But children do not keep silent the things which they have heard, and soon every man and woman on the island knew the story of the wave that destroyed the island.

-CHAPTER TEN-
Immediately, a meeting was held, and the scarred man was brought before the leaders of the island.
"What is the meaning of this?" the asked. "Why have you chosen to scare our children with
such fables?"
"I had a dream." said the scarred man.
"I have had many dreams," said one man. "But this does not mean that I am inclined to spread them throughout the island."
"A voice told me to tell everyone."
"And I am telling you to stop." said a parent.
This quarreling went on for some time before another leader spoke.
"Silence! Look at us. Here we are a peaceful island since our forefathers came, and one simply story has turned us into this. Do not let this small thing be our undoing. For I warn you, if this quarrel is not stopped, than it will indeed be the wave the man spoke of. I suggest that there may be some truth to this dream, though it is not literal. Perhaps this dream is a warning that peace will end if we are not careful."
The scarred man looked at the leader.
"No. I do believe this dream was talking about a real wave destroying our island. We must listen to the voice and assemble on the 20th day where the water and sand meet."
Another leader raised his voice.
"I have heard quite enough of this foolishness. A wave has never attacked our island,
and one never will. "
"Agreed." Several men answered.
And as soon as the meeting began, it ended. No one, including the scarred man, was ever to speak of the dream again.

-CHAPTER ELEVEN-
But the scarred man did not heed the voice of the people, and spoke of it again in the classroom. And again. And so, he was removed from his position. A few days later, he was cast out of his own home. "You've made a reproach of our family!" his father cried.
To this, the scarred man held out his hand, revealing the black X. "I am chosen, Father!"
The father sighed. "You are taking away our peace. You are cursed."

-CHAPTER TWELVE-
Day by day the scarred man proclaimed his dream. On the porches, the shore, the rocks, wherever he found people, there he proclaimed his message. "Enough!" cried the people. But there was never enough for the scarred man. "Two days!" he proclaimed. "And the island will fall." At last, the people had heard enough. The children were afraid, some even running to the shore, leaving their parents without a word. "This man will be our undoing!" the people cried. And so, the people took the man with the scar, and tied him to a wooden post. Placing the post on the shore of the sandy beaches they said,
"Here you will stay until you see that your wave does not exist."

-CHAPTER THIRTEEN-
Two days passed. On the second night, the island was quiet. The people were scared. There was no doubt. No one ate. No one slept. Each family stayed in the house, waiting. Begging for the morning to come. But as you have guessed. The scarred man was right. Just before the moon had fully risen in the sky, a horn blew heard all across the island. And the cries of the people filled echoed throughout. The wave had come.

-CHAPTER FOURTEEN-
The leaders gathered all the people together, and ordered that every man, woman, and child flee to the rocks. "We will hide in the caves. Surely, no rock shall be moved by any size a wave!"
The families immediately ran for the rocks. But what no one expected, is that the children did not follow. Every child chose instead to run to the sandy shores. Mothers screamed for them to come back. Fathers chased after. But some magic gave speed to the children, and no father could catch his child. At last, a decision had to be made. The wave was very close. There was not enough time to get the children and return safely to the rocks. And so, on an island that had never known pain, or calamity, or greed, or anything of the like; every father abandoned his child, and ran for safety.

-CHAPTER FIFTEEN-
All the children gathered around the scarred man, still tied to the post. One girl, skinny, with carrot hair, took the right hand of the scarred man in both of her hands. Another boy, chubby with freckles looked up at the man. "I sure hope you're right mister."
The wave was close. Seconds away. Ever child's eyes were closed, waiting. Except one child. He was tall and had a limp in his walk. He stared at the scarred man's left hand. The hand was at an angle the boy had never seen. And just before the wave hit the island the boy exclaimed,
"Why that isn't an X at all!"

The End.

So I wrote this entire story over texting! So you better read it!....and comment

2010-02-14T23:53:00.000-08:00

The King’s Knife

Once upon a time there was a great and vast kingdom reaching from the great mountains of the far east to the sea of the distant west. No man dared make war with this kingdom. For some had tried, and their Kingdoms are all but forgotten. This kingdom ruled the world with a rod of iron, Conquering every nation that it entered. All that is....save one. Shechem, the northernmost kingdom of the world. And so the king of the great kingdom gathered all armies of all nations which he had conquered unto himself that he might destroy this last standing kingdom. Now when the king of Shechem heard the news that the armies of all the nations were upon him, he fled to the mountains of the west. Shechem fell in one night, ad the king was never heard from again. Years passed, and the king of the world grew old. The day came when he was to appoint an heir to his kingdom.
Now the king had two sons. The elder was a foolish man, and the younger had wisdom even from his youth. Yet the king chose the elder, for such was the tradition in this time. The king took the elder son with both arms, and with his dying breath he told his son not to follow his own footsteps. “Bring peace to the world i have destroyed” said the king. And then he died. But the older song, whose name was Victor, did not heed the words of his father, and he became an even fiercer man. He brought all nations unto submission, built an idol, and proclaimed himself to be the god of the universe. Now around this time, the younger son, called patrick became engaged to a beautiful woman from the south. The woman’s name was jocelyn and she was said to be the most fair of all women. But Victor became jealous of his brother and took Jocelyn for himself that he might marry her. Patrick tried to intervene, but was banished to an island in the sea of the west. And so victor took jocelyn as his bride. However, Jocelyn never forgot patrick, and prayed every day as she walked through the gardens of the palace that he might return and rescue her. But time is not a friend to impatient heart, and slowly days turned to months, and months to years, until the memory of hope was all but lost. Now Victor became a very proud king, forgetting the ways of his youth. He cared not for battles or peoples. He cared only the his food and entertainment. But because of this, talk of revolt began to spread thought the world. men began to rise up and oppose Victor. Before Victor could clench his fist the kingdom began to slip from between his fingers. the world was at war. For some time nation fought nation with no clear connection to Victor’s kingdom. But suddenly, like the sunrise at dawn, a man came forth from the west uniting all nations to himself for one common purpose...returning peace to the world over the dead body of Victor. The King tried desperately to find this man that he might slay him, but no spy of Victor’s could find the man. He was like a ghost. Here one moment, gone the very next. Rumors began to spread about the man. Some said he was an ancient king from the dead. SOme said he was Victor’s own father returned. Some said he was a mere peasant, for he dressed in a simple hooded robe. Never was his face shown. Regardless of who he was, one thing the people knew. A hero had come at last.

Part Two

After many battles, King Victor grew restless and called all loyal nations to gather together. “We cannot win a war in which we don’t know who we are fighting!” the king declared. “Now that we have gathered, we know who is loyal.” and so the king purposed to send out these soldiers to defeat the kingdoms of the world one by one as they had once done. But Victor’s armies were not as strong as he had thought, nor his enemies as weak. And battle by battle the rebellion gained numbers on the armies of Victor. After more than two years of war the world was covered in blood. And though the hooded mans army had won countless battles, the number in their army would not last much longer.

But the rebellion pressed on until one day a messenger came bearing a message from King Victor. He had called for the hooded man to come to the palace, that a treaty might be signed. The hooded man left that same day to meet with the king. The King and the hooded man met in a dark room alone. “Surely there need be no more blood shed.” said the king. The other man said nothing. “A gift perhaps? I can make you rich. Famous. My best soldier. You will be a ruler of many nations if you will but bow to me this one time. Look at the great calamity we have cause one another! Think of what we could do together!” The hooded man said nothing. “Well what is your answer?!” cried the king. At that moment the man removed his hood, revealing his face. It was Patrick. “I would rather be slain, cut in a thousand pieces than join you. You took everything from me. And very soon, i will take everything from you.” The king was taken back. Dumbfounded. He tried to speak but could only stutter over the question, how? That is a question that will haunt you as my armies come crashing down on you. You will forever wonder how the younger brother escaped the island to which he was abandoned. And you will never know.” With that, Patrick returned to his army, hood once again covering his head. The war was nearly over. Two remnants remained. The countless numbers of evil, and a small band of rebels, fighting for peace. They chose a strong fort to the north and waited for the army of Victor to come. After the sun had gone down, the rebels could hear the marching of the approaching army, like a thunderstorm in the night. Men prepared themselves in what way seemed best to each. Some prayed. Some sang. Some wept, and others simply waited. And then, too soon, the army was at the gates. Patrick stood at the topmost point of the fort where he called out to his soldiers. He praised them for the battles they had won, and thanked them or the lives they had left behind to fight. “This is your last battle.” he said. “Our last battle. A battle was fought here not long ago. A people much like us, rebels. Standing in the way of a tyrant. But their king abandoned them in their greatest time of need. They were utterly destroyed. but tonight, tonight we will not be defeated. Tonight, your leader is with you. Tonight, we make sure that those who have died, did not do so in vain. Tyranny ends tonight!” And so began the last battle of this world. The rebels were greatly outnumbered, and many times it seemed as if they would indeed be defeated. But always, when all hope seemed lost, a new man would arise and bring back hope. By all reasonable means the rebels should have been defeated that day. But while the army of Victor had everything to fight for, they had nothing to die for. And its only when you have something worth dying for, that you have found a reason to live. THe rebels had something worth dying for, and thus everything to live for. Peace. Honor. Hope. Country. Family. and Love. Patrick fought for love. For Jocelyn. And so it was that the rebels won that battle and drove Victor’s army into his very castle. But that is when something happened which had not entered the darkest of nightmares for Patrick. As Patrick led his army to the castle, he stopped just before the front gate. There stood his brother, King Victor. Jocelyn stood by his side, a knife to her throat. “I’m at the end of my rope dear brother. “ said Victor. “You have defeated me. However, I have one last move to make. You can save her life, but you’re going to have to five up your own to do it. Patrick did not hesitate, and began to walk to his brother. Victor’s eyes grew wide as he commanded Patrick to stop. “Would you really give your life for her?” he asked. “I would.” Patrick replied. Slowly, Victor moved the knife from Jocelyn’s throat. With his opposite hand he gently pushed her toward Patrick. Jocelyn ran into Patrick’s arms, but his eyes were still on his brother. Victor let out a small chuckle. He pointed to Patrick. “I give to you your new king.” Victor brought the knife to his own throat, and with the hint of a smile on his face he winked at his younger brother and whispered, “Long live the king.”

The end.

A Very Thoughtful Tuesday Indeed

2010-02-09T23:04:00.000-08:00

Okay, thoughtful tuesday....here we go.

First I'll start out with the basics of what today is supposed to be about...provoking thoughts of things we haven't thought about before. I had in mind what I was going to write about, but I changed my mind after a theology class I had tonight. By the way, this is the best class ever. Anyway, the pastor was talking about evangelizing. Something I don't even come close to doing enough of. In fact, I probably haven't done true evangelism since 2nd grade.

Anyhow, you know how sometimes when you evangelize people ask questions like,
"Why would a loving God send people to Hell."

"Can God create a stone so big that even He couldn't lift it?"
"How do you know for sure the Bible is true?"
...stuff like that.
Well, he talked about how we always freak out about the questions. Many times we just say it's about "faith", but the honest truth is that just isn't good enough for unbelievers (true as it is). They don't understand faith so how are we supposed to make them understand? Solution? Absolutely.

Here's what he said that I think is so easy, yet genius.

When someone asks you a question say this,
"That's a great question. Do you mind if I ask you a question first, before I answer that?"
(99% of the time they will say "sure"). Then you ask,
"If I gave you a legitimately correct answer to that question, would you give your life over to Jesus right now?"
(usually they will say "no") Then ask,
"So obviously that isn't your real question, is it? Obviously, there is something else keeping you from Jesus. I would love to answer the real question that's keeping you from Jesus."

The pastor also told us that there are 3 reason people don't accept Christ.
1. Love of sin. (John 3:19-20)
2. Pride (John 5:39-45)
3. Fear (John 9:9-23)

So once you establish with the person you are witnessing to that they question they asked is not the real question, ask them which of these 3 is keeping them from surrendering their lives to Christ. Don't ask judgmentally. Make the whole conversation very friendly. Ask with a smile on your face. Make sure they know you actually care about them, and aren't just witnessing because you need to get a star for youth group.

Lastly, don't preach. Converse (not the shoe...talking). Start by asking them questions. Let them tell you what they believe. You can know more about them, and know better how to answer their questions or fears of your beliefs. If you generally care about what they believe, they will ask about what you believe.

Well, I hope you got something out of that. I got a lot out of it and I pray to be the witness I have not been.

Visit Week at College

2010-02-08T11:38:00.000-08:00

Well good morning, and happy monday to you all. I hope that you were able to
crawl out of your heavenly beds, and get going in time for school or work. I was, and therefore I am proud of myself. :) Well, I got a little bit to talk about and only 20 minutes to tell. And here.....we.....go...

Well, thursday through Sunday was "Biola Bound", a lovely time when high school juniors and seniors come to Biola and hang out, check out campus, visit classes, go to chapel, and what not. I also got to host two awesome guys. Anyways...it was an amazing weekend. From late night coffee and stories about the Mayflower to movies to some intense games of pool to watching you tube videos to a double-double at
In-N-Out, the weekend was super duper fun.

On Sunday we went to a nearby church that did something pretty cool. Instead of a regular sermon, they JUST read the Bible and sang songs. They would read a chapter and then stand to sing, sit to read, stand to sing, sit to read, stand.....you get the idea. Well, I think this idea was just for me. I was running on a ton of lack of sleep. Therefore the sitting/standing was good for me to stay awake. However, my head decided to follow by body and was "falling" and "rising" as well. :) However, amid the tiredness the service was still very refreshing. It's always great to get together with God's people. Though I will admit I already miss my church family back home a lot and it's only been 2 sundays.

Well, I'm off to class in not too long. I hope your Monday isn't as bad as it probably will be.
from, james

PS. I broke my ID card. This means that I can't get into my dorm unless someone else happens to be nearby. It might cost me money to get a new one. Money which i do not have. So please pray they give it to me for free. I don't wanna be climbing fences all week until I get my paycheck.

......until Tuesday

More On Purity

2010-02-06T15:23:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,
So how's your weekend. Mine has been very relaxing. After this post I am going to take a walk to town in the pouring rain. I can't wait. I love walking in the rain. Especially since it's snow and ice back home. ;)

Anyways, with this being February, there is lots of Purity stuff going on. Um...because of Valentine's Day if you didn't catch that connection. Anyway, there is this one blog on this topic that I've been following lately. You should definitely check it out. I hope you don't mind Lexi. :) This is something we cannot neglect. Yes, I realize many teens are probably sick of hearing about purity all the time. But the fact remains that the reason it keeps getting preached over and over and over is because we aren't listening.

So, right on this topic here is the link the the short dating book I wrote a while back. I realize most of you already read it. But maybe some haven't or you just want a refresher. I read it today and corrected a lot of grammatical errors, so maybe it's easier to read now too. :)

Hope you are having a splendid February. Don't be eating too much chocolate. Oh, and a little hint from a shopping savvy college kid. Candy is on sale AFTER Valentine's Day. Sh....keep it on the DL.

Saturday's Poem

2010-02-06T11:51:00.000-08:00

Good morning everyone!
It's Saturday and you are not allowed to be crabby or sad. It's the weekend. The time in California is 11:39, and I've been up a whopping 5 minutes. :) Anyways...hope you have a great break from school this weekend. Here's a thoughtful poem I wrote to get you thinking.

By the way...I don't have a title. I'm horrible with titles. When you leave a comment (notice I said when...and not if) tell me what you think i should call it. :) Thanks. Here goes.

~
I wonder if water can ever be completely still
I see hurricanes and tidal wives
Monsoons and just plain ol' regular waves.
Even small ripples. The smallest. But never still.

I suppose the only one we can blame is the wind.
Then again, should we not also blame man?
Perhaps the waters would be still if not the indulgences of man.
But man does not always interfere. He is not constant. Constant like the wind.

I do not believe the water can be still like glass.
Glass is either still, or it is shattered.
This begs the question. Better bent or shattered?
Is it worth being shattered, just to mirror glass?

Is it so bad that water is always in motion?
Perhaps if it were motionless, water would not longer be water.
Reflected trees would turn to real trees. No more reflection. No more water.
Tell me then, are you reconsidering, that water should not be in motion?

You see, when water is in motion, the reflection is not perfect.
But maybe, just maybe, that is the only way it was meant to be.
A tree in the water is not a real tree. Never was. Never will be.
The fake tree proves the water is real. The imperfect proves the perfect.

"The imperfect proves the perfect." I will leave you with this thought.
For now we know that perfect water is not like glass. It's never still at all.
So let these imperfect reflections prove to all,
That we can rejoice in imperfections, and that's a comforting thought.