Hey everyone!
Today is Thanksgiving. As I was thinking about this past year, I think I have more to be thankful for this year than ever before. God has really been working in my life the past few years, but it has been most prevalent this year.
First off, I want to cover the "basics". My health is in great order. Although I have lost weight and muscle mass, and haven't been eating as much or as healthy, I am still in remarkable shape. That is all God's doing, for He made my body how it is; and for that I am thankful.
My parents have been very understanding this year. I lost ten percent of my scholarship this semester, and my parents have been very understanding about it and supportive. On top of that, I told them about my trip to the Middle East this coming summer, and they didn't shoot it down immediately like last year. I think God has really been working in their lives as well on top of everything else. I can see it most in my dad. And for that I am thankful.
I have been learning so much in school, even though it has been brutal on both me and my GPA. But even through the stress and storms, God has been teaching me. I have learned more about the world and how it works, in addition to the many things I am learning in the classroom. For that I am thankful.
I am very thankful for my church family; and "family" is definitely the right word to use. We laugh, we cry, we fight, and we celebrate together: a true family. I have always grew up in semi-mega-churches, so having an intimate family of about 40 people is very unique for me. They have taught me a lot about the body, and I am looking forward to where God is directing the church next. For that I am thankful.
Most of all, I think I am most thankful for my friends this year. God has over-blessed me with some amazing friends this year. The past few years in college have been rough for me--some of it my own doing, and some of it out of my control. Either way, I really had no solid social support. I had a lot of friends, but not one solid group of people I could go to and really talk about my problems and associate with them, and them love me unconditionally. I always had individuals I could go go (and I am SO GRATEFUL for those!), but never a group that felt like a family away from home. In the past, I had some people I could hang out with, but I never really felt like I could go to them with problems. Or I had the opposite: the people I could go to for my problems always judged me or pushed me away. But this year, God has blessed me with some wonderful friends who care about me for who I am, accept me for who I am, and are looking out for my best interests. And I am SUPER thankful for that.
So, God, ya did a good job (again) this year. (No surprise there!) May you receive all the praise today, God! Thanks for everything, and I love you!
Following His Call,
Adam
(2 Corinthians 2:15)
Friday, November 26, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Dance
Hey everyone!
The other morning, I was going through my suitcase, trying to decide what to wear, when I noticed my blue University Swingers shirt. I hadn't wore it in a while, so I pulled it out and threw it on my bed. After getting everything else I needed for the shower, I went to pick up the shirt and saw, on the back in big, bold letters, was written "LEAD".
Surprisingly, I felt convicted. Originally, the shirt was designed for the guys in the club and was meant to be paired up with the girl's pink shirts which said "FOLLOW" on the back. So, when dancing together, the blue and pink shirts would read "LEAD" and "FOLLOW", respectively. I never thought anything of it before, but as that shirt sat there laying on my bed, staring at me, I felt strangely convicted.
All of the sudden, the shirt took on a spiritual sense. In the dance of life, who was doing the leading? In an American mindset, I was to be doing the leading. I am in control of myself. I gotta look out for number one. Only I can decide my destiny. I direct my steps. But as I looked at that shirt, I realized I bought the wrong shirt. I should have bought the pink one.
If I claim to be a Christian, then God should be doing the leading. If life were a dance, God is Lead, and I am Follow. If any of you have ever danced with another person before, then you know that two people can't be leading together. One must lead, one must follow.When two try to lead.... well, the dance falls apart. In the relationship between man and God, God cannot take a backseat. It's against His nature. So that leaves us: do we try to lead, or do we follow?
I would follow because God knows the dance by heart. I don't. Sometimes you have to improvise, and if that were to happen, I have to be able to follow Him. However, God does not force us to follow Him. He lets us do as we choose. If we start trying to be independent, He pushes us away, letting us do as we will until we fall on our face and watch as everyone in the audience laughs or groans. Then He waltzes over to us, arm extended, smiling that wonderful, forgiving smile of His, and helps us up to join Him again in the dance of life.
It's all about trust. If any of you have ever followed in a dance before (I have not, because I am not a woman), then you know it takes an amazing amount of trust in the Lead. Sometimes, you, as a Follow, will have to be dipped, flipped, or lifted. Do we trust our Lead in life like we should?
On the other hand, I have been Lead in dance, so I know what it is like to work with a girl who (1) does not trust me or (2) does not let me lead. IT IS SO ANNOYING! You try to dip her and she tenses up and you almost loose balance trying to shift your weight to compensate. The whole effect is lost. It looks awkward and clunky. Or if she thinks her way is better, when I try to lead her one direction, she goes the other way and we end up bumping heads or falling on top of each other. I can only imagine how frustrated God can get at times. That makes me sad, realizing that I haven't been doing what He asked.
Dancing takes an immense amount of connection with the other individual. You have to be able to read their every move. Sometimes, just a glance of their eyes or a shift in their grip could mean a totally different move than before. You have to be ready to adjust. You have to get to know them, inside and out. Get to know their every detail. Get to know how they work and how they speak. Get the picture?
Are you truly dancing with God or are you trying to lead your own solo routine?
Following His Call,
Adam
(2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
The other morning, I was going through my suitcase, trying to decide what to wear, when I noticed my blue University Swingers shirt. I hadn't wore it in a while, so I pulled it out and threw it on my bed. After getting everything else I needed for the shower, I went to pick up the shirt and saw, on the back in big, bold letters, was written "LEAD".
Surprisingly, I felt convicted. Originally, the shirt was designed for the guys in the club and was meant to be paired up with the girl's pink shirts which said "FOLLOW" on the back. So, when dancing together, the blue and pink shirts would read "LEAD" and "FOLLOW", respectively. I never thought anything of it before, but as that shirt sat there laying on my bed, staring at me, I felt strangely convicted.
All of the sudden, the shirt took on a spiritual sense. In the dance of life, who was doing the leading? In an American mindset, I was to be doing the leading. I am in control of myself. I gotta look out for number one. Only I can decide my destiny. I direct my steps. But as I looked at that shirt, I realized I bought the wrong shirt. I should have bought the pink one.
If I claim to be a Christian, then God should be doing the leading. If life were a dance, God is Lead, and I am Follow. If any of you have ever danced with another person before, then you know that two people can't be leading together. One must lead, one must follow.When two try to lead.... well, the dance falls apart. In the relationship between man and God, God cannot take a backseat. It's against His nature. So that leaves us: do we try to lead, or do we follow?
I would follow because God knows the dance by heart. I don't. Sometimes you have to improvise, and if that were to happen, I have to be able to follow Him. However, God does not force us to follow Him. He lets us do as we choose. If we start trying to be independent, He pushes us away, letting us do as we will until we fall on our face and watch as everyone in the audience laughs or groans. Then He waltzes over to us, arm extended, smiling that wonderful, forgiving smile of His, and helps us up to join Him again in the dance of life.
It's all about trust. If any of you have ever followed in a dance before (I have not, because I am not a woman), then you know it takes an amazing amount of trust in the Lead. Sometimes, you, as a Follow, will have to be dipped, flipped, or lifted. Do we trust our Lead in life like we should?
On the other hand, I have been Lead in dance, so I know what it is like to work with a girl who (1) does not trust me or (2) does not let me lead. IT IS SO ANNOYING! You try to dip her and she tenses up and you almost loose balance trying to shift your weight to compensate. The whole effect is lost. It looks awkward and clunky. Or if she thinks her way is better, when I try to lead her one direction, she goes the other way and we end up bumping heads or falling on top of each other. I can only imagine how frustrated God can get at times. That makes me sad, realizing that I haven't been doing what He asked.
Dancing takes an immense amount of connection with the other individual. You have to be able to read their every move. Sometimes, just a glance of their eyes or a shift in their grip could mean a totally different move than before. You have to be ready to adjust. You have to get to know them, inside and out. Get to know their every detail. Get to know how they work and how they speak. Get the picture?
Are you truly dancing with God or are you trying to lead your own solo routine?
Following His Call,
Adam
(2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
Monday, November 22, 2010
Mural
Hey everyone!
The other day I was walking back to my dorm with a close friend of mine, talking about our excitement on the upcoming interdenominational theological debates we will be holding next semester for our psudo-Pre-Seminary Club. As we talked, we wondered what kind of topics would we discuss. So we started listing some, which included: baptism, eternal security, holiness, sanctification, works, gifts of the spirit, speaking in tongues, free-will, and predestination.
As we talked more about predestination, I explained my point-of-view to my friend, only to watch her stop in mid-gait in puzzlement and look at me strangely for next few minutes as I continued to explain. I never thought of my views as special or unique. In fact, I never really even looked up anyone else's opinion on predestination until after I had come up with this analogy I am about to describe. After her reaction, I thought it would be nice to share it with you.
I wouldn't label myself as a "Calvinist" or "Westlyian" or any label like that. I am what I am. I believe what I believe. I'm not going to try to convince you to believe what I believe, but here is how I see God-working in the universe:
I want you to imagine walking into a Kindergarten classroom that is about to participate in their art-activity. The teacher has all sorts of materials all over the table--colored pencils, crayons, markers, paint, and chalk--in all sorts of colors. The kids cover up with smocks and sit down at the table. The teacher tells the class they can draw whatever they want, but they have to use the color blue somewhere in their painting.
The children start off, grabbing materials, throwing paint and markers all over the place. The teacher walks around the room, helping the students when she can, keeping control, and offering advice when they ask. When they are done, they put them on the drying racks in the corner, hang their smocks up, and run over to the other corner for their story time.
At the end of the day, after the kids have all gone and the drawings have dried, she looks at them. Some kids have such beautiful artwork, while some are more abstract. She also notices that many of the kids did not use the color blue at all in their paintings. Still, she sees a master plan behind them all.
The next day as the kids come in, they see all of their paintings hung on a wall in a beautiful mosaic. The teacher had arranged the ones who used blue in such a way as they took precedence, standing out among the others. Every painting was used, and they were inter-woven through each other to form a beautiful landscape.
God is the same with us. He gave us one command: believe/trust/rely on Me. "Follow me," is all He told the disciples to do. He is the only way to heaven. It's as simple as using blue in a painting.
Jesus then helps us out using that blue. He goes through out lives, guiding our strokes of the color, if we let him. Suggesting that we do this over here, or do that over there. Sometimes He takes over completely, if we let Him, and we sit back and watch Him work on the painting of our lives.
In the end, He takes the painting of our lives and hangs it up in the grand scheme of time, next to the other paintings that didn't follow Him. Just like the parable of the weeds and the wheat, we stand in time next to those who chose not to follow Him (Matt 13:24-30). God did not force those people to not listen to Him, but He did choose where to place them in time and controls how dominant their lives become and how they interact with those around them, just like the paintings.
All in all, it is a co-dependency of salvation: we CANNOT get to heaven on our own, but God does not force us against our will to join Him or go away from Him. God offers His hand go us, but we also have to take the hand. God gives us a gift of an abundant life, but we have to receive it and open it up.
The teacher told the students what to do, and in the end, she graded them (judged them) on using the color blue. She had a standard to go by. She couldn't break that. Just like God has His perfect holy Justice He will follow. He will judge us according to how we lived our lives, and no matter how awesome our painting looked, if we didn't use blue, we get a zero.
When God first thought of man, He looked down through time and saw those who would follow Him and who wouldn't. He then chose (elected) those who would follow Him for his beautiful mural and masterpiece, and predestined men for that path. Even if they did not choose Him, He still worked them into his final product, and although they got a zero, He still predestined them in his final product.
Predestination is a beautiful blending of God's will and ours. We may choose our paths, but God ultimately is the one is charge. In the end, He is the one holding all the paintings.
So what do you think?
Have you used the color blue? How much are you using? Can you use more? Remember, it's a lot easier when you let the teacher help you. ;)
Following His Call,
Adam
(Matthew 5:16)
The other day I was walking back to my dorm with a close friend of mine, talking about our excitement on the upcoming interdenominational theological debates we will be holding next semester for our psudo-Pre-Seminary Club. As we talked, we wondered what kind of topics would we discuss. So we started listing some, which included: baptism, eternal security, holiness, sanctification, works, gifts of the spirit, speaking in tongues, free-will, and predestination.
As we talked more about predestination, I explained my point-of-view to my friend, only to watch her stop in mid-gait in puzzlement and look at me strangely for next few minutes as I continued to explain. I never thought of my views as special or unique. In fact, I never really even looked up anyone else's opinion on predestination until after I had come up with this analogy I am about to describe. After her reaction, I thought it would be nice to share it with you.
I wouldn't label myself as a "Calvinist" or "Westlyian" or any label like that. I am what I am. I believe what I believe. I'm not going to try to convince you to believe what I believe, but here is how I see God-working in the universe:
I want you to imagine walking into a Kindergarten classroom that is about to participate in their art-activity. The teacher has all sorts of materials all over the table--colored pencils, crayons, markers, paint, and chalk--in all sorts of colors. The kids cover up with smocks and sit down at the table. The teacher tells the class they can draw whatever they want, but they have to use the color blue somewhere in their painting.
The children start off, grabbing materials, throwing paint and markers all over the place. The teacher walks around the room, helping the students when she can, keeping control, and offering advice when they ask. When they are done, they put them on the drying racks in the corner, hang their smocks up, and run over to the other corner for their story time.
At the end of the day, after the kids have all gone and the drawings have dried, she looks at them. Some kids have such beautiful artwork, while some are more abstract. She also notices that many of the kids did not use the color blue at all in their paintings. Still, she sees a master plan behind them all.
The next day as the kids come in, they see all of their paintings hung on a wall in a beautiful mosaic. The teacher had arranged the ones who used blue in such a way as they took precedence, standing out among the others. Every painting was used, and they were inter-woven through each other to form a beautiful landscape.
God is the same with us. He gave us one command: believe/trust/rely on Me. "Follow me," is all He told the disciples to do. He is the only way to heaven. It's as simple as using blue in a painting.
Jesus then helps us out using that blue. He goes through out lives, guiding our strokes of the color, if we let him. Suggesting that we do this over here, or do that over there. Sometimes He takes over completely, if we let Him, and we sit back and watch Him work on the painting of our lives.
In the end, He takes the painting of our lives and hangs it up in the grand scheme of time, next to the other paintings that didn't follow Him. Just like the parable of the weeds and the wheat, we stand in time next to those who chose not to follow Him (Matt 13:24-30). God did not force those people to not listen to Him, but He did choose where to place them in time and controls how dominant their lives become and how they interact with those around them, just like the paintings.
All in all, it is a co-dependency of salvation: we CANNOT get to heaven on our own, but God does not force us against our will to join Him or go away from Him. God offers His hand go us, but we also have to take the hand. God gives us a gift of an abundant life, but we have to receive it and open it up.
The teacher told the students what to do, and in the end, she graded them (judged them) on using the color blue. She had a standard to go by. She couldn't break that. Just like God has His perfect holy Justice He will follow. He will judge us according to how we lived our lives, and no matter how awesome our painting looked, if we didn't use blue, we get a zero.
When God first thought of man, He looked down through time and saw those who would follow Him and who wouldn't. He then chose (elected) those who would follow Him for his beautiful mural and masterpiece, and predestined men for that path. Even if they did not choose Him, He still worked them into his final product, and although they got a zero, He still predestined them in his final product.
Predestination is a beautiful blending of God's will and ours. We may choose our paths, but God ultimately is the one is charge. In the end, He is the one holding all the paintings.
So what do you think?
Have you used the color blue? How much are you using? Can you use more? Remember, it's a lot easier when you let the teacher help you. ;)
Following His Call,
Adam
(Matthew 5:16)
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
κοινωνία
Hey everyone!
The other day I at dinner with students from several denominations at a(n unofficial) Pre-Seminary Club meeting and we started talking about the direction we were going with the club and what activities we could do in the future. After the basic conversations about application process and campus visits, one of my friends suggested we discuss some different denominational doctrine and some controversial subjects just to try to understand each person's denominational background.
What a great idea! We need to start coming together as denominations! We need to understand each other, look past our difference, and look at the Truth underneath. We should find the common grounds where we agree and stop looking at what divides us.
I've been taking a course on Religion in America, and I noticed that our American mindset really screws up religions. We take every religion that comes into this country and totally....well.... Americanize it. When the Protestant Reformation happened, it was just a return back to the Bible and away from the hierarchy and domination of the church. Then Protestants came to America... and oh boy! I won't bore you with a history lesson, but let me put it into perspective by saying that we now have over 20,000 different Christian denominations.
In America, its all about "ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME!" We look at what works for us, thinking WE are right and the other person must be wrong. Instead of trying to understand their point of view, we just say, "Oh, well, we will just go off and start our own group over here." And we wonder why people are not being impacted for Christ. We wonder why only 4% of the current generation are Bible-believing, born again, followers of Christ. We wonder why the Church is not making an impact in the world.
It's because a body can't function when it is in pieces.
It's time we came together. It's time, right now, in America, to show the world that we are the Body of Christ. Whether you are Baptist, Presbyterian, Episcopal, Methodist, Amish, Catholic, Pentecostal, Lutheran, Christian, or Church of Christ, it doesn't matter! Let's stop naming ourselves and start following Christ!
I know it sounds easy and too good to be true, but in reality it is that easy. I understand there are many large doctrinal gaps between many of these dominations--especially between Catholics and Protestants. I get it. But we can still get along and recognize each other as one United Church. True koinonia.
Koinonia (κοινωνία) is a Greek word used commonly in the New Testament to show the unification of the church. It is where we get our words community and communion. Koinonia appears 19 times in the NT: 12 times it is translated as "fellowship", 3 times as "sharing", twice as "participation", and twice as "contribution". It is a special link that connects a person first to Jesus, then that same connection links a person to others. It is a true love connection. Acts 2:42-47 puts it clearly:
"42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
This is the church. This is what we should look like. (For more on koinonia, check it out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koinonia)
So how do we do it? How can we make it work?
First, it starts with the heart. Look at the world as God sees it and let Christ change your heart. Only by letting Him lead first can we truly accomplish this monumental task. Stop thinking your idea is the only correct one and start looking at what others have to offer.
Second, we divide our doctrine into spheres. The first sphere, the inner most sphere, is Truth. It is the basic information that defines Christianity. Basic, pure concepts such as the Trinity, Jesus as God's Son, the in-errancy of Scripture, the importance of baptism, etc. In the next sphere we place the Essentials. These are basic doctrine that affect our everyday life, our worldview, and how we interact with others, but NOT our salvation. This is were ideas such as predestination, free-will, eternal security, end-times events, and evangelism fall. What we believe in this realm will affect how we live our lives, but not our eternal destination. Lastly, the non-essential sphere is where various differences such as worship style, music choice, types of baptism, various versions of the Bible, etc lie. These don't affect so much of how we live, but do affect our interests and many times our church choice.
What I'm getting at here is that we preach the Truths. Focus on them and unite under these Truths. Then teach the essentials secondary to the Truth. Whether you believe that you can loose your salvation in the end or not is not going to affect the fact that Christ died to save man and that we can only get to heaven through Him. But it will affect how you live your life. It doesn't matter whether you believe in predestination or not, only Jesus matters. We need to be preaching Him and not our ideas about Him.
Don't get me wrong, the essentials are important, but they are not something to divide a church over. Just because one person believes the world will end in a specific seven-year tribulation followed by a thousand years of peace and another believes those time-frames are symbols does not mean we should fight over it and go our separate ways. Just because one person thinks that once they accept Christ that they are set forever in Him and another believes that you can loose your salvation by sinning enough is not something to start another church over. You both love Christ and are following Him and His commands, correct? Then what does it matter if you CAN lose it or not? You SHOULD NOT if you are following Him. Why are we abandoning each other?!
Even Peter and Paul fought and disagreed on important things such as how to reach the Gentiles, but in the end, Paul still loved and admonished Peter as one of his own brothers. They worked together on many missionary journeys and worked to spread the Kingdom to the world. They both had their heads in the right spot. They both were focused on God first and not man and our ideas.
It's time we followed their example.
Following His Call,
Adam
(1 John 3:16)
The other day I at dinner with students from several denominations at a(n unofficial) Pre-Seminary Club meeting and we started talking about the direction we were going with the club and what activities we could do in the future. After the basic conversations about application process and campus visits, one of my friends suggested we discuss some different denominational doctrine and some controversial subjects just to try to understand each person's denominational background.
What a great idea! We need to start coming together as denominations! We need to understand each other, look past our difference, and look at the Truth underneath. We should find the common grounds where we agree and stop looking at what divides us.
I've been taking a course on Religion in America, and I noticed that our American mindset really screws up religions. We take every religion that comes into this country and totally....well.... Americanize it. When the Protestant Reformation happened, it was just a return back to the Bible and away from the hierarchy and domination of the church. Then Protestants came to America... and oh boy! I won't bore you with a history lesson, but let me put it into perspective by saying that we now have over 20,000 different Christian denominations.
In America, its all about "ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME!" We look at what works for us, thinking WE are right and the other person must be wrong. Instead of trying to understand their point of view, we just say, "Oh, well, we will just go off and start our own group over here." And we wonder why people are not being impacted for Christ. We wonder why only 4% of the current generation are Bible-believing, born again, followers of Christ. We wonder why the Church is not making an impact in the world.
It's because a body can't function when it is in pieces.
It's time we came together. It's time, right now, in America, to show the world that we are the Body of Christ. Whether you are Baptist, Presbyterian, Episcopal, Methodist, Amish, Catholic, Pentecostal, Lutheran, Christian, or Church of Christ, it doesn't matter! Let's stop naming ourselves and start following Christ!
I know it sounds easy and too good to be true, but in reality it is that easy. I understand there are many large doctrinal gaps between many of these dominations--especially between Catholics and Protestants. I get it. But we can still get along and recognize each other as one United Church. True koinonia.
Koinonia (κοινωνία) is a Greek word used commonly in the New Testament to show the unification of the church. It is where we get our words community and communion. Koinonia appears 19 times in the NT: 12 times it is translated as "fellowship", 3 times as "sharing", twice as "participation", and twice as "contribution". It is a special link that connects a person first to Jesus, then that same connection links a person to others. It is a true love connection. Acts 2:42-47 puts it clearly:
"42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
This is the church. This is what we should look like. (For more on koinonia, check it out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koinonia)
So how do we do it? How can we make it work?
First, it starts with the heart. Look at the world as God sees it and let Christ change your heart. Only by letting Him lead first can we truly accomplish this monumental task. Stop thinking your idea is the only correct one and start looking at what others have to offer.
What I'm getting at here is that we preach the Truths. Focus on them and unite under these Truths. Then teach the essentials secondary to the Truth. Whether you believe that you can loose your salvation in the end or not is not going to affect the fact that Christ died to save man and that we can only get to heaven through Him. But it will affect how you live your life. It doesn't matter whether you believe in predestination or not, only Jesus matters. We need to be preaching Him and not our ideas about Him.
Don't get me wrong, the essentials are important, but they are not something to divide a church over. Just because one person believes the world will end in a specific seven-year tribulation followed by a thousand years of peace and another believes those time-frames are symbols does not mean we should fight over it and go our separate ways. Just because one person thinks that once they accept Christ that they are set forever in Him and another believes that you can loose your salvation by sinning enough is not something to start another church over. You both love Christ and are following Him and His commands, correct? Then what does it matter if you CAN lose it or not? You SHOULD NOT if you are following Him. Why are we abandoning each other?!
Even Peter and Paul fought and disagreed on important things such as how to reach the Gentiles, but in the end, Paul still loved and admonished Peter as one of his own brothers. They worked together on many missionary journeys and worked to spread the Kingdom to the world. They both had their heads in the right spot. They both were focused on God first and not man and our ideas.
It's time we followed their example.
Following His Call,
Adam
(1 John 3:16)
Friday, November 12, 2010
Ants
Hey everyone (who cares)!
Alright, so I woke up this morning after having a very inteersting dream.... Normally I have some pretty epic dreams (which I plan on recording here eventually) and most of the time they have some type of symbolic meaning I can normally disypher later when I wake up. But while in this epic dream, I am not aware of the symbolism: I am just living the adventure.
Like I said, most dreams of mine are epic and very long. Not this one. No, this one was so short and uber simple. What was even weirder is, while I was dreaming, I knew what the symbols were. I know this was from God, trying to tell me something.
In my dream, I saw two animals in a field of grass: one a baby fox, and the other a baby polar bear. They were playing together when suddenly the fox stumbled upon an ant hill. The fox was facinated by it, sticking its nose down in the hole. The polar bear backed away, keeping a distance, watching the fox. Eventually, a single ant crawled out of the hold and onto the fox's nose. It ticked the fox at first, but the fox found it facinating and didn't move; it just watched this ant crawl up its snout onto its head. The ant crawled around the fox until it got on its belly, wehre the fox rolled over on its back as it felt the ant tickle its belly. The fox then moved his head next to the ant hole and more ants came out, crawling onto the fox. The fox squirmed with joy, enjoying the ants tickle it all over.
All of the sudden, hundreds of ants poured out of the ant hole and surrounded the fox and started to consume it, biting into it and digging their pincers into its skin. Some managed to crawl under the skin and into the fox. The fox jumped up and yelped, trying to get away, but it was too late, the ants stung with their stingers, paralyzing the fox to where it couldn't move.
The entire time, the polar bear watched from the sidelines, motionless, wanting to help, but not willing to go forward. Soon, the ants had completely consumed the baby fox until all I could see was a black mound of ants.
Do you see the symbolism yet?
The fox represented my heart and mind: sly, curious, eager to learn, and innocent of danger; sticking its nose in places it didn't belong. It should have followed the model of my soul -- the polar cub -- and stayed far away from the ants. The ants are sin: playful and fun at first, but deadly in the end.
One sin isn't going to kill you, but the more you play with it, the more you invite it in, the more others come. Just like ants, sin's multiply and grow, with one leading to another. If you didn't know already, ants put down a special chemical to mark their trails so other ants can follow, so where one ant goes, others will quickly follow it. That's why it is so important to crush your sin before it leads to others.
I had been letting the ants eat at my heart and mind until it realize it was under attack. Then it was too late. The neurotoxin kicked in, and I was left numb, my pure and white soul where Christ dwells untouched watching from the sidelines. If I would've let Christ take over, we could have charged in there and rescued my heart and mind, but I sat paralyzed from the sidelines.
I want to say this has a happy ending, but I woke up before we could rescue the fox. I was left with the polar cub nuzzling the broken and bleeding fox, morning over the loss.
I am still pure. I am still bought with a price. I am still His. But my heart has been tainted, as have all of ours. Its our choice now what we do with it. Will we let Christ revive it and keep our nose out of places we don't belong? Or will we sit there and mourn over our loss and continue to live like we're dead? The choice is yours. Let God take control.
Following His Call,
Adam
(Luke 19:10)
Alright, so I woke up this morning after having a very inteersting dream.... Normally I have some pretty epic dreams (which I plan on recording here eventually) and most of the time they have some type of symbolic meaning I can normally disypher later when I wake up. But while in this epic dream, I am not aware of the symbolism: I am just living the adventure.
Like I said, most dreams of mine are epic and very long. Not this one. No, this one was so short and uber simple. What was even weirder is, while I was dreaming, I knew what the symbols were. I know this was from God, trying to tell me something.
In my dream, I saw two animals in a field of grass: one a baby fox, and the other a baby polar bear. They were playing together when suddenly the fox stumbled upon an ant hill. The fox was facinated by it, sticking its nose down in the hole. The polar bear backed away, keeping a distance, watching the fox. Eventually, a single ant crawled out of the hold and onto the fox's nose. It ticked the fox at first, but the fox found it facinating and didn't move; it just watched this ant crawl up its snout onto its head. The ant crawled around the fox until it got on its belly, wehre the fox rolled over on its back as it felt the ant tickle its belly. The fox then moved his head next to the ant hole and more ants came out, crawling onto the fox. The fox squirmed with joy, enjoying the ants tickle it all over.All of the sudden, hundreds of ants poured out of the ant hole and surrounded the fox and started to consume it, biting into it and digging their pincers into its skin. Some managed to crawl under the skin and into the fox. The fox jumped up and yelped, trying to get away, but it was too late, the ants stung with their stingers, paralyzing the fox to where it couldn't move.
The entire time, the polar bear watched from the sidelines, motionless, wanting to help, but not willing to go forward. Soon, the ants had completely consumed the baby fox until all I could see was a black mound of ants.Do you see the symbolism yet?
The fox represented my heart and mind: sly, curious, eager to learn, and innocent of danger; sticking its nose in places it didn't belong. It should have followed the model of my soul -- the polar cub -- and stayed far away from the ants. The ants are sin: playful and fun at first, but deadly in the end.
One sin isn't going to kill you, but the more you play with it, the more you invite it in, the more others come. Just like ants, sin's multiply and grow, with one leading to another. If you didn't know already, ants put down a special chemical to mark their trails so other ants can follow, so where one ant goes, others will quickly follow it. That's why it is so important to crush your sin before it leads to others.
I had been letting the ants eat at my heart and mind until it realize it was under attack. Then it was too late. The neurotoxin kicked in, and I was left numb, my pure and white soul where Christ dwells untouched watching from the sidelines. If I would've let Christ take over, we could have charged in there and rescued my heart and mind, but I sat paralyzed from the sidelines.
I want to say this has a happy ending, but I woke up before we could rescue the fox. I was left with the polar cub nuzzling the broken and bleeding fox, morning over the loss.
I am still pure. I am still bought with a price. I am still His. But my heart has been tainted, as have all of ours. Its our choice now what we do with it. Will we let Christ revive it and keep our nose out of places we don't belong? Or will we sit there and mourn over our loss and continue to live like we're dead? The choice is yours. Let God take control.
Following His Call,
Adam
(Luke 19:10)
Sunday, November 7, 2010
שוב
Hey everyone (who cares)!
Oh my! Where do I begin? I have so much to blog about, but I guess I'll just start with where my heart is right now. I thought about blogging about all my opinions on certain topics and pet-peeves of mine--ya know, things that really don't matter in the long run (which I still will be blogging about somewhere down the line), but then I thought, Adam, all this tension you are feeling is because of your own heart. YOU are the one who needs to change, not the world around you.
This weekend has been a large eye-opener for me. I have been so abundantly blessed. God has given me amazing friends, wonderful parents, unique gifts, and material blessings beyond measure. Selfish little me takes them like some greedy, glutenous kid who is addicted to chocolate and runs off and devours it in the corner of the room, smearing chocolate everywhere and doesn't even bother saying thank you; I just run back with my sticky hands extended wanting more and more, eyes wide with ravenous hunger.
That image has made me sick. I mean, I have worked with many different kids, so I know what those kids are like. I still love them, but they are consumed by their addiction. This is what God has been showing me: I am that kid addicted to the blessings of God and not God Himself and He is that loving adult wanting to help me overcome it. The revelation hasn't been one large epiphany moment like how He has shown himself to me in the past, but little things this weekend have opened my eyes how ungrateful and selfish I really am.
Honestly, it all stared this past week. I failed two test. I mean FAILED, not just didn't do well, I mean, I got a 49% on one and a 36% on the other. After those humbling experiences, little things have been happening to show how really messed up I am or how I really don't have as much control as I thought I did: I would lock my keys in my room (which I have done only twice in 3 years), my computer would crash in the middle of important business, files would get mysteriously destroyed, friends would start getting mad at me and pointing out my flaws, and the little things would go on and on and on. Satan and his demons would bring up old memories of failure in the past, and point out my own personal character flaws on a daily basis.
It all climaxed when I caused one of my own brothers in Christ--someone who I love more than myself--to sin. I totally rejected God and broke his warning in Matthew 18:6, Mark 9:42, AND Luke 17:2; all which tell me it would be better for me to place a millstone around my neck and jump into the sea than cause a little one to sin. To me, all of God's children are his little children, so if we cause one to sin, even if they are an adult, then we are guilty of the same (now that is not what Jesus is saying there; He was referring specifically to children, but in my heart, I feel the same weight).
Heartbroken, I had nowhere to look but to God. For so long I have tried to do it on my own, and many times still try to do it on my own, but there comes a point where you just can't do it anymore. You just give up. If you have a hyper-independent personality like me, than you understand how hard it is to give up that control. Sometimes you have to have it beat out of you. I looked up to God, and there He was, shaking His head, but still smiling, holding the keys in his hand, waiting for me to ask. He reached down and unlocked the chains around my neck and extended his hand, pulling me from the depths of the sea of sin and into his arms.
Now, its time to shuv. Shuv (שוב) in Hebrew means "repent". I don't think in America we truly understand what this means: it means a complete turn around, going one direction and literally turning around and heading in another direction--180 degrees from where you were. You are turning your back on what you were doing and are now heading down the path you were supposed to head down. Here is where I am at. For years I have been taking various "detours" in God's path, and they have been leading me down to places that harm me and others. I've had enough of that.
That's why I decided to let you all know where I am at. Hoping you will hold me accountable. Like I said, I had a bunch on my mind about pet-peeves of mine or certain opinions I had, but as I learned from the sermon this morning, when things aren't going right, arguing and debating about it won't fix anything. The only way to fix it is to improve your relation with God, and let Him take care of it. All our strength and power comes from Him anyway, so we might as well just give it to Him to begin with. Jesus prescribed this in Mark 9:14-29 (also in Matthew 17 and Luke 9). The disciples started arguing with the teachers about why the boy wasn't being healed, but Jesus stepped in and fixed it.
It's time to fix this. It's nothing I can do, it's all God working in me. I just got to give up control. Stop walking away and start walking back. שוב.
Following His Call,
Adam
(Mark 9:28-29)
Oh my! Where do I begin? I have so much to blog about, but I guess I'll just start with where my heart is right now. I thought about blogging about all my opinions on certain topics and pet-peeves of mine--ya know, things that really don't matter in the long run (which I still will be blogging about somewhere down the line), but then I thought, Adam, all this tension you are feeling is because of your own heart. YOU are the one who needs to change, not the world around you.
This weekend has been a large eye-opener for me. I have been so abundantly blessed. God has given me amazing friends, wonderful parents, unique gifts, and material blessings beyond measure. Selfish little me takes them like some greedy, glutenous kid who is addicted to chocolate and runs off and devours it in the corner of the room, smearing chocolate everywhere and doesn't even bother saying thank you; I just run back with my sticky hands extended wanting more and more, eyes wide with ravenous hunger.
That image has made me sick. I mean, I have worked with many different kids, so I know what those kids are like. I still love them, but they are consumed by their addiction. This is what God has been showing me: I am that kid addicted to the blessings of God and not God Himself and He is that loving adult wanting to help me overcome it. The revelation hasn't been one large epiphany moment like how He has shown himself to me in the past, but little things this weekend have opened my eyes how ungrateful and selfish I really am.
Honestly, it all stared this past week. I failed two test. I mean FAILED, not just didn't do well, I mean, I got a 49% on one and a 36% on the other. After those humbling experiences, little things have been happening to show how really messed up I am or how I really don't have as much control as I thought I did: I would lock my keys in my room (which I have done only twice in 3 years), my computer would crash in the middle of important business, files would get mysteriously destroyed, friends would start getting mad at me and pointing out my flaws, and the little things would go on and on and on. Satan and his demons would bring up old memories of failure in the past, and point out my own personal character flaws on a daily basis.
It all climaxed when I caused one of my own brothers in Christ--someone who I love more than myself--to sin. I totally rejected God and broke his warning in Matthew 18:6, Mark 9:42, AND Luke 17:2; all which tell me it would be better for me to place a millstone around my neck and jump into the sea than cause a little one to sin. To me, all of God's children are his little children, so if we cause one to sin, even if they are an adult, then we are guilty of the same (now that is not what Jesus is saying there; He was referring specifically to children, but in my heart, I feel the same weight).
Heartbroken, I had nowhere to look but to God. For so long I have tried to do it on my own, and many times still try to do it on my own, but there comes a point where you just can't do it anymore. You just give up. If you have a hyper-independent personality like me, than you understand how hard it is to give up that control. Sometimes you have to have it beat out of you. I looked up to God, and there He was, shaking His head, but still smiling, holding the keys in his hand, waiting for me to ask. He reached down and unlocked the chains around my neck and extended his hand, pulling me from the depths of the sea of sin and into his arms.
Now, its time to shuv. Shuv (שוב) in Hebrew means "repent". I don't think in America we truly understand what this means: it means a complete turn around, going one direction and literally turning around and heading in another direction--180 degrees from where you were. You are turning your back on what you were doing and are now heading down the path you were supposed to head down. Here is where I am at. For years I have been taking various "detours" in God's path, and they have been leading me down to places that harm me and others. I've had enough of that.
That's why I decided to let you all know where I am at. Hoping you will hold me accountable. Like I said, I had a bunch on my mind about pet-peeves of mine or certain opinions I had, but as I learned from the sermon this morning, when things aren't going right, arguing and debating about it won't fix anything. The only way to fix it is to improve your relation with God, and let Him take care of it. All our strength and power comes from Him anyway, so we might as well just give it to Him to begin with. Jesus prescribed this in Mark 9:14-29 (also in Matthew 17 and Luke 9). The disciples started arguing with the teachers about why the boy wasn't being healed, but Jesus stepped in and fixed it.
It's time to fix this. It's nothing I can do, it's all God working in me. I just got to give up control. Stop walking away and start walking back. שוב.
Following His Call,
Adam
(Mark 9:28-29)
Monday, November 1, 2010
Go!
Hey everybody (who cares)!
Today starts NaNoWriMo! (For those who don't know, it is National Novel Writing Month. Check it out here at http://www.nanowrimo.org/ ) So.... this basically means that I will have no more free time for the next month. But not only am I writing a novel, I have assignments I have to--I mean, "get to" do.
I love writing! I just never take the time to do it. But now, I am forced to--in a good way. I have four papers to write this semester, each of them a minimum of 12 pages each. I thought I would take you through the topics to see if they were interesting:
Flow: Thoughts of Mihaly Csikszentmihali
"Flow" is the state of being when you are so wrapped up in an activity that you totally lose sense of reality around you. You forget where you are, what time it is, and what you are doing because you are so wrapped up in a certain activity. For some it is running, some people read, others knit, while some other people paint or play music. Some people play video games and others observe nature. Everyone has their unique state of flow, and this paper explains the process and methods for discovering flow.
The Messiah of the Hebrew Scriptures: Why Jesus is not the Jewish Messiah
At first, this paper seems highly controversial (I know, I purposely made it that way). But, where I plan on going is describing why the Jews rejected (and still reject) Jesus as Messiah. The Jewish view of Messiah is very different than who Jesus was/is. I am making a point that the Jesus is the true interpretation of the Messiah, not the Davidic King the Hebrews were expecting.
What the Bible Really Says About Creation: A Jewish Perspective on Creationism versus Evolution
Another hot topic of debate: Creation and Evolution. I plan on looking at the Creation story from a Jewish perspective and see how they interpret the Creation account and see if we, as Christians today, are trying to pull anything out of it that is not there. I will end the paper on a positive note, indicating the importance of separating cosmology from actual science.
Emergent Versus Emerging: The Next Great Revival or Cult Movement?
This is probably my favorite topic of all the topics listed above. The Emergent and Emerging churches are VASTLY different! In this paper, I will make the case for the Emerging church as the next revival movement in America and the Emergent church as a break from traditional Christianity and forming its own cult movement, similar to the Mormon movement and Jehovah Witness movement before it.
Finally, I will fill you all in on what my topic will be for my make-shift novel. I don't know really what to call it yet, but my friends and I were talking about zombies the other night (mostly because of the new mini-series airing on AMC and the game of Humans Vs. Zombies starting this week on my campus--I'm so excited!!!!) and I noticed that every Zombie movie starts off in the middle of the action. I mean, there is no movie that shows people following the breakout from case zero to everyone getting infected. Some movies have made flashbacks or started off with an outbreak, then flash ahead a few days/week (like the recent mini-series) but none of them explore the process and spread of the contagion.
In addition, they never talk about rural areas; the settings of the movies or books are always in suburban or urban environments, not rural. I plan on writing a book about a group of friends in a rural college who just heard about this outbreak of a deadly virus and their reactions to the virus and the sudden appearance of the walking dead. I won't give away all the spoilers, but I have a few twists and turns that will take the book in directions not expected.
Considering this is my first novel, I don't expect it to be amazing or whatever, but it is a start. If you want to follow me, feel free to: akeeton2008 on NaNoWriMo. Happy writing and I will keep you posted! God bless!
Following His Call,
Adam Keeton
(Philippians 4:8)
Today starts NaNoWriMo! (For those who don't know, it is National Novel Writing Month. Check it out here at http://www.nanowrimo.org/ ) So.... this basically means that I will have no more free time for the next month. But not only am I writing a novel, I have assignments I have to--I mean, "get to" do.
I love writing! I just never take the time to do it. But now, I am forced to--in a good way. I have four papers to write this semester, each of them a minimum of 12 pages each. I thought I would take you through the topics to see if they were interesting:
Flow: Thoughts of Mihaly Csikszentmihali
"Flow" is the state of being when you are so wrapped up in an activity that you totally lose sense of reality around you. You forget where you are, what time it is, and what you are doing because you are so wrapped up in a certain activity. For some it is running, some people read, others knit, while some other people paint or play music. Some people play video games and others observe nature. Everyone has their unique state of flow, and this paper explains the process and methods for discovering flow.
The Messiah of the Hebrew Scriptures: Why Jesus is not the Jewish Messiah
At first, this paper seems highly controversial (I know, I purposely made it that way). But, where I plan on going is describing why the Jews rejected (and still reject) Jesus as Messiah. The Jewish view of Messiah is very different than who Jesus was/is. I am making a point that the Jesus is the true interpretation of the Messiah, not the Davidic King the Hebrews were expecting.
What the Bible Really Says About Creation: A Jewish Perspective on Creationism versus Evolution
Another hot topic of debate: Creation and Evolution. I plan on looking at the Creation story from a Jewish perspective and see how they interpret the Creation account and see if we, as Christians today, are trying to pull anything out of it that is not there. I will end the paper on a positive note, indicating the importance of separating cosmology from actual science.
Emergent Versus Emerging: The Next Great Revival or Cult Movement?
This is probably my favorite topic of all the topics listed above. The Emergent and Emerging churches are VASTLY different! In this paper, I will make the case for the Emerging church as the next revival movement in America and the Emergent church as a break from traditional Christianity and forming its own cult movement, similar to the Mormon movement and Jehovah Witness movement before it.
Finally, I will fill you all in on what my topic will be for my make-shift novel. I don't know really what to call it yet, but my friends and I were talking about zombies the other night (mostly because of the new mini-series airing on AMC and the game of Humans Vs. Zombies starting this week on my campus--I'm so excited!!!!) and I noticed that every Zombie movie starts off in the middle of the action. I mean, there is no movie that shows people following the breakout from case zero to everyone getting infected. Some movies have made flashbacks or started off with an outbreak, then flash ahead a few days/week (like the recent mini-series) but none of them explore the process and spread of the contagion.
In addition, they never talk about rural areas; the settings of the movies or books are always in suburban or urban environments, not rural. I plan on writing a book about a group of friends in a rural college who just heard about this outbreak of a deadly virus and their reactions to the virus and the sudden appearance of the walking dead. I won't give away all the spoilers, but I have a few twists and turns that will take the book in directions not expected.
Considering this is my first novel, I don't expect it to be amazing or whatever, but it is a start. If you want to follow me, feel free to: akeeton2008 on NaNoWriMo. Happy writing and I will keep you posted! God bless!
Following His Call,
Adam Keeton
(Philippians 4:8)
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