Weird Sense

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 23:41:01 PST

Everyone checkout a great song at www.kaylayvonne.com - great job Kayla!

-charles

Kayla Yvonne

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 12:22:09 PST

So an amazingly talented cousin of mine just released her first single....check it out at www.kaylayvonne.com.

You can listen to the song on the website and buy it in iTunes or Amazon (if preferred).

-charles

Forgotten God Chapter 7

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 20:44:29 PST

Supernatural Church

Chan starts this chapter by examining healthy evidences of a growing church. I've always felt that growth isn't in numbers necessarily, but in the impact of that group of people to those around them. He gives the example of Elijah calling down fire (1 Kings 18:39) and the peoples' response. It is true that the people had a positive response to Elijah by praising God (good fruit), but Paul had people respond by praising him (Acts 14:11) and not God once, so his example in Elijah's story as measuring good fruit of a church is a dangerous one. The point is that a healthy response is to worship God and not man and I agree with that, but when people incorrectly respond by worshiping you for following God, that doesn't mean that you're not following God. Just lovingly correct them like Paul does and move on.

Keying off of Chan's earlier example of Elijah he talks about this amazing reference in James, "Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently." - James 5:17

We need to pray. Pray every day. Pray in the morning. Pray in the evening. Pray while driving. Pray while talking to your peers. Pray in your hearts throughout the day to constantly interject your dependence on God. Get away to pray. Stay with others and pray. Pray to God in your heart alone. Pray with others openly to God. But what if we forget to pray? When you remember....pray. Don't live a life of fear, but freedom in Christ. Not a freedom that you exercise hurting others, but loving them while displaying the reason you live...Jesus' grace is sufficient.

I think Chan's key thought in this chapter, and possibly the book, is this, "God delights in showing up when His people are in desperate need of Him, because that means no one else can steal His glory."

I fully agree.

It was great reading through the section where Chan and his church began to try to live as a community with one another. He provides the specifics in the book, but I absolutely loved his statement, "from there, we began going to some of our friends in the congregation and expressing our commitment to them."

That deeply resonates with me. I need to tell my brothers that I am committed to them. I am here to fight for them (and with them when necessary) and they can lean on me for anything. Strange that this just isn't something we (I) say to those we love and walk daily with.

Chan ends with a thought that has echoed through my mind ever since I heard Ravi Zacharias talk about it in many of his sermons. Chan says, "greater knowledge does not necessarily equal greater spirituality." G.K. Chesterton also stated, “We are educating ourselves into imbecility." This truth finds its way into the church as well as in the sphere of academia. And Malcom Muggeridge also echos this thought in this amazing excerpt:

"It has become abundantly clear in the second half of the twentieth century that Western Man has decided to abolish himself.

Having wearied of the struggle to be himself, he has created his own boredom out of his own affluence, his own impotence out of his own erotomania, his own vulnerability out of his own strength; himself blowing the trumpet that brings the walls of his own city tumbling down, and, in a process of auto-genocide, convincing himself that he is too numerous, and labouring accordingly with pill and scalpel and syringe to make himself fewer in order to be an easier prey for his enemies; until at last, having educated himself into imbecility, and polluted and drugged himself into stupefaction, he keels over a weary, battered old brontosaurus and becomes extinct."

-Malcom Muggeridge

Back to Chan...he then extracts from James 4:17 that, "...when we stock up on knowledge without applying it to our lives we are actually sinning." I agree. How about pausing for a second to contrast the scary revealing in Romans 1:21-22, "For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools."

They knew God!!! How crazy is this?!! You can know your wife and not love her. You can know God and not love him. Anyone see what is going on here? Knowledge junkies like myself fear the lack of application of knowledge (wisdom) as we try to absorb as much as we can waiting to apply it ourselves. There are healthy applications of this, but there are also unhealthy applications that we choose to ignore. "I'll get to it soon, " or, "I'll think about that later," when we learn a new truth God has taught us is easy to push aside as we continue to collect information.

I'll close the review of Chan's book with the amazing verse he quotes at the end of his book:

"For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." - Romans 14:17

-charles

P.S. Anytime I disagree with Chan please do not feel any less of him. I look up to Chan greatly. I would venture to say that there is not one single person in this world that I agree with 100% of the time. Chan is being used for God in powerful ways and when he provides opportunity for dialogue, it is just another one of those opportunities.

Forgotten God (Chapter 6)

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 19:56:17 PST

Forget About His Will for Your Life!

Chan's chapter title opener is a little over the top (the statement above), but he opens by asking a question that most people have heard in their lives and have possibly asked themselves, "I just wish I knew God's will for my life." I completely agree with Chan that this question is full of implications to assist a misguided way of thinking. God never laid out all of his plans for any of his prophets...ever. He may have given them specific direction for a short time or even a vision into the future, but tomorrow's meal or what academic institution they needed to go to? Nope.

I do however disagree with the thought that God's will seems to always be 'next year.' Chan may not have meant it the way it seems to read, but I want to talk about it anyways. God does say to discern what God's will is...now, but what does that mean?

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." - Romans 12:2

Did Paul mean what God's good and acceptable perfect will be next year? No, he meant today. Wrestle with what God sees as good and perfect in his eyes! Don't shackle yourself with fear of not obeying, but with joy of his promises to follow him. It is exciting to try break apart this verse further and ask many more questions like; how do you test in order to discern? How are you transformed? What does it mean to have our minds renewed?

And God also tells us much of His will using the word, "this is my will," let alone throughout the Biblical narrative that require wisdom to apply what God has said to be God's will:

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God." 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5

One quick side note. I have heard many people read through the Bible and it's many layers of stories and get confused to what God's will is. One beginning rule of thumb is to separate what God says versus what someone does. If they perform some action, did God tell them to do it? We have to be careful, but this basic rule helps wade through what God said versus what man did. For example Abraham was not acting under God's will when he misled Pharaoh about his wife Sarah (Genesis 20:9), David was was not acting for God's will when he took Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:2-4), etc.

Moving on, Chan compares the statement of findings God's will for his life versus the Spirit's leading in his life. I believe that the statements in Romans and 1 Thessalonians interpret God's will as following his Spirit today...they mean the same thing. I believe that the old phrases of knowing God's will is the same as walking by the Spirit stated by Paul in Galatians 5:16, 25.

I fully agree that, "you don't need the Holy Spirit if you are merely seeking to live a semi-moral life and attend church regularly." Chan contrasts Romans 8:17, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, and Philippians 3:10-11 showing that a life in the Spirit is otherwise impossible for us. It is not about shear discipline, but in loving others that our hearts are forever challenged throughout our daily walks in life.

Chan touches on a subject that seems culturally led today and absolutely wrong to me. He says,

"Instead of wasting time deliberating over whether others are walking with the Spirit (which is definitely not our job), I challenge you to examine yourself."

Today's culture loves to say, "don't judge me." I understand what he's saying in examining yourself, just like Jesus said about removing the log from your eye, but what did Jesus say after that? Here's the excerpt:

"You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." - Matthew 7:5

Jesus didn't say, "never confront your brother about his speck." He said, "take the log out your own eye, and then..." As iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17) we are to judge one another, but in love. Just like Christ came in grace and in truth; not just grace and not just truth. 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 explains that we are to judge (with love and introspection) those inside the church and not judge those outside of the church. They are not Christians and do not follow Christ so we can't look at them the same. Once we are Christ's he expects us to lovingly confront and help one another through this life expanding his kingdom to a dying world. Not with a strong armed approach to crush others with our self legalisms and discipline, but with love.

There is so much more layered through this chapter that helps your mind battle the flesh in understanding God's Holy Spirit and his role in your life, so please remember to pick up the book and take a gander. I particularly love to struggle with the passage Chan dives into in the middle of the chapter; 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. I want to understand how God's power is made perfect in our weakness. Understanding when we 'lean' on God (...just like Proverbs 3:5-6) we are able to stand. Our legs are just too weak to stand under the pressure. We need God's 'way out' (1 Cor 10:13). And all of this 'leaning' isn't just for us, but is so that they (those around you) might glorify God on the day he visits us (1 Peter 2:12). Look for Chan's treadmill example too, very helpful.

-charles

Forgotten God (Chapter 5)

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:06:34 PST

A Real Relationship.

In chapter 5 of Forgotten God, it seems that Chan starts by asking the question, "do you serve God as a stressed-out, guilt ridden slave or as one of his beloved children?" Granted, the term slave still fits and sometimes we are stressed-out, Christians are not above this, but we don't rest in that and that is where the Holy Spirit comes in.

He then contrasts this question to being 'known' by God according to Galatians 4:6-7, 9:

(6-7) - And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

(9) - But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?

Some questions of Chan's to ponder:

Have you ever thought about what it means to be known?
Do you know God or just know about Him?

Something I think of the idea that we are all created in God's image, but we are not all his children. This is a very difficult concept to grasp, but God is a just and holy God so his judgements on those of us who choose to go against are not 'unfair' as some of us would like to ponder. As God's 'image bearers' we see his holy stamp on us in a unique specific way and have a special place in this world that the rest of his creation never received. This brings a heavy responsibility of how we treat others. They are born sinful, just as we are, but they are image bearers of God.

Chan then brings in Romans 8:15-17 to continue to defeat the idea of living a fearful live in slavery as believers in Christ. He then shifts to two possible potential obstacles 1) Comfort and 2) Volume.

Comfort (Maybe Your Life Is Too Safe)
I once heard this statement, "comfort and equilibrium is the beginning of death." I definitely agree, we almost begin to die when slip into a life of pure comfort and avoid risks at all cost. When we take risks and test our faith in God by stepping out on our faith, trusting him, and following where we think he is leading us (confirmed by the boundaries of scripture) we then feel uncomfortable and unsafe. When you don't know clearly what the next step is, it is scary. When was the last time you really and honestly didn't know what to do next?

This is a place where God seems to refine us by pulling us out of our comfortable little lives. Safe in the corners of our existence, quiet, not getting our hands dirty we drift through life in chapters of our lives hoping not to be in that place again. We don't want to 'not know what to do.' It is obvious, I know, but why do we ignore scriptures call on our lives about being uncomfortable?

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you - 1 Peter 4:12

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing - James 1:2-4

Peter almost makes fun of you for thinking that trials shouldn't happen to you in your life and James helps you wake up and see another perspective of what trials are really doing. I think the heart of this is that we are trying to rely on ourselves for the answers at the fork in the road and not God's Holy Spirit. We fear trials primarily because we don't have control, but when did we really have control in the first place?

Chan asks a hilariously obvious question, "Why would we need to experience the Comforter if our lives are already comfortable?"

Duh?! If you are already comfortable, why do you need a comforter?

Do we purposely throw ourselves in danger's way to experience that closeness? Um....no, but there are some major thoughts to share here. We are not called to live 'safe,' but when are called to walk in danger then do it. Hastily and foolishly endangering our lives is not what God is asking from our testimonies, just a trust in his purposes and will for our lives.

Volume (Maybe Your Life Is Too Loud)
Great opening question by Chan; when was the last time you had an uninterrupted conversation with anyone? Or how about, "when was the last time you were not distracted or multitasking?" He mentions Jesus' constant fight to pray alone with the Father (Mark 1:35) and partially mentions the famous Psalm 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God." This is a Christian virtue, to phase out the world, not merely for relaxation's sake, but to connect with the one who created you. If you told your wife you love her wouldn't you spend time with her? God isn't your wife for sure, but the principle is the same: relationship. If we truly love and follow God, won't we mimic Jesus' example and strive to find that time to love God turning our hearts heavenward...and through the one he gave us to effectively communicate (the Holy Spirit)?

Are you his temple? I often wonder about the implications of being God's temple. What happens when I sin? He grieves. He doesn't leave like some mystical being controlled by our whims, he grieves.

The "promised" Holy Spirit
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us...so that we might receive the promised spirit through faith" - Galatians 3:13-14

We are adopted as children and can pray as Jesus taught us to...Father. Not just to a 'friend' or a 'god,' but father. Wow.

When is the last time you sought God with all of your heart?

I'll end with my notes for a Bible study we did on this chapter:

A Real Relationship.

Do you serve God as a stressed-out, guilty slave or as one of his beloved children?

Read (being known by God) Galatians 4:6-7, 9

Ask - What do you think it means to be known by God?

Ask - Do you know God or just know about Him? What’s the difference?

Discuss - Stop living fearfully – read Romans 8:15-17.

Two potential obstacles (Comfort and Volume)

1) Comfort (Maybe Your Life Is Too Safe)

Discuss - When was the last time you experienced a trial where you really and honestly didn't know what to do next?

Discuss - 1 Peter 4:12 (trials are not strange) and James 1:2-4 (consider it joy…)

Discuss - Why would we need to experience the Comforter if our lives are already comfortable? (...If you are already comfortable, why do you need a comforter?)

Read the short story of the missionaries (pg 107 – para 3)

2) Volume (Maybe Your Life Is Too Loud)

Ask - when was the last time you had an uninterrupted conversation with anyone?

Ask - When was the last time you were not distracted or multitasking?

Discuss - Jesus' constant fight to pray alone with the Father (Mark 1:35)

Discuss - Psalm 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God."

Are you his temple?

Ask – what are the implications of being God's temple?

Discuss - Made in God's image, but now his temple. (possibly discuss the old covenant vs the new covenant)

Read - Galatians 3:13-14 (…Christ redeemed…so that…receive..spirit).

Discuss (pg 112) - Don't let your personal baggage keep you from enjoying this intimacy. Prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) - No condemnation in Christ (Rom 8:1)

Ask - When is the last time you sought God with all of your heart?

-charles

Forgotten God (Chapter 4)

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 15:14:46 PST

Chan really does ask the tough questions that shoot straight to the center of our heart's desires. He starts this chapter with an illustration and then the question, "why do you want the Holy Spirit?" Is it for your own desires or is it to be used for his kingdom? How would I answer this question? I'll attempt.

Why does Charles want the Holy Spirit? Trying to be as transparent as possible (sorry for the political term), I feel my urges fight strongly to try to use God as a genie of sorts. I look around and see what others have and then struggle, fight, and work hard to get their positions in life. Not all comparisons are bad, if we're doing bad then a comparison to good is a good and right comparison. Is this a good heart? A root of jealousy within to motivate a covetous heart to get what I want? Thankfully that is not the only thing I feel deeply though. Cuing into Mr. Chan's earlier question in chapter one, "when was the last time you saw the Holy Spirit at work?" I am led to a place where I deeply desire; brokenness that forces dependence on Him.

The Spirit was very obvious when I broke up with my last serious girl friend. I felt God convicting me in how to lead our relationship and protect her and after a long while, I finally listened. When we stopped our illicit behaviors God took me to the next level...."you need to break up with her." I didn't want to. I fought it and just couldn't believe it. Why would God ask such a thing right now? I loved her during the last year and half of our relationship helping her through the loss of her mom. I was such a child inwardly and didn't know how to help a woman through a bereavement process, let alone with the loss of her only mother. But I knew what God was telling me was as clear as the day was bright. Adding another layer of complexity to this relationship was the fact that I was laid off of my job for almost 6 months now. Getting a job was always easy, but I just couldn't find work anywhere and my unemployment was about to run out.

After a short set of unremarkable circumstances God helped me make the decision and I broke up with her. What happened next still fills me with joy when I think back to these days. The very next day I got a contract....in Dallas, which was far away from her. A good friend of mine had a partially 'under construction' house on a lake close to Dallas and let me stay there for free. Off to Dallas I went.

When I got there I plugged immediately into a local church, worked and caught up on my bills, and felt a freedom I had never felt before. I wasn't pursuing just what I wanted, was still in the dumps materially, but felt more alive than I had ever felt before. God blessed me with new friends in the church from the first day and we connected musically together playing at a few different venues for Christ (I played guitar). It was like waking up from a deep dark painful sleep, I honestly don't know what other cliche to use, but that's how it was. I could feel alive again and in a fresh new freeing spirit that was only from God. The story gets even more amazing, but I'll stop there and just say, God pursues us and I'm so thankful for that truth. I was pursuing dust and dirt (all our future demise) and God shook me out of it.

Further into chapter 4 Chan trips along a few subtle concepts I disagree about. He mentions the Spirit's work (page 92) through us for "the common good," but I disagree, I think that this statement would more accurately be stated as "God's common good." If you leave the term as 'the' then it becomes relativistic on who the 'the' is. He definitely empowers us to be his witnesses, but what the common good is can be a slippery slope to major issues. He doesn't just leave it there in his book though.

Another statement that surprised me was his statement (page 92), "Do they see a person who lives according to the Way of Jesus or someone who does business according to capitalistic and self-centered standards, just like everyone else?" I understand what he is saying about 'like everyone else,' but he trips on a word that isn't evil in itself...capitalism gets picked on a lot these days. It is a word used and abused in many social circles today and I'm not afraid of the word myself. Maybe a definition can help pull us through the confused thoughts about capitalism. One definition of capitalism is, "An economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit." The key is 'private owners for profit,' which I would argue that Paul, Jesus and a slew of other examples in the Bible would agree with. Paul was a tent maker (Acts 18:3) and made his own money in order to provide for others and he even mentions for those who used to steal to now work for a living so they can give to others (Eph 4:28) and that those who don't work shouldn't eat (2 Thess 3:10). Capitalism doesn't = selfishness, it means working for personal profit, which can be used for whatever you feel the profit should be used for. Is profit bad? No, but selfishness is. Money is not bad, but it should not be our life's goal either. I'll drop this argument and move on, but just think about the fact that both rich and poor can both be greedy. Capitalism should not be delegated as a negative by-word of working hard.

I also disagreed with this statement on the bottom of page 92, "When we submit to the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit, He helps us become more holy - more like Jesus." If he had replaced 'more holy' with 'more sanctified' I would have agreed. The scriptures tell me I'm broken and dead apart from Jesus and with Jesus I am purified before a Holy Father. Are we automatically just like Jesus in all of our ambitions in life? Of course not. When we begin to believe we start an amazing painful, soul crushing and soul joyful process call sanctification. It is the process of being transformed into the likeness of his Son Jesus. The Holy Spirit begins testing our hearts through trials (not punishment, but discipline) as he trials those he loves (Heb 12:6). What good father would let his son continue to hurt himself? Does this make us more holy? No, because holiness is a question of righteousness, which we have none apart from Christ and can't build up a bank of holiness. We either are dead and belong to the kingdom of this world or we are alive and belong to the kingdom of righteousness, there is no between.

Now Chan jumps us into an amazing foundation that I struggle with remembering...love trumps all (1 Cor 13:1-3). Chan reminds us of Paul redirecting our focus from supernatural gifts (gifts of the Spirit) to love. God will do many amazing things in our lives and around us as we live, but those 'things' are not life's goal, love is. But what does that mean? Love? What about love? Loving others requires unselfishness and courage to focus those we're loving to our source of love, Jesus Christ. Remember what Jesus said (Luke 10:27), "Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, all of your soul, and all of your strength. And love your neighbor as yourself." First love God then love those of us who will usually hurt you because we are fighting within ourselves to be selfish (James 4:1).

In the midst of talking about capitalism and the possibilities of selfishness and materialism we'll end today with a thought that hit me in the face like a refreshing breeze yesterday. I wasn't scared of this thought and it actually brought joy to my heart as I continued to ponder it:

"I do not want to die an old comfortable life, but I want to die for God however he would call me."

This world is so very temporary so let us let go of our idols and hold onto Jesus with all of our hearts. It will be over soon.

-charles

Lightening

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 09:20:02 PST

Just a few random lightening pictures from awhile ago:

Lightening strikes the Willis Tower in Chicago....sweet. I don't think anyone feels right calling it the 'Willis Tower' as it is still the Sears Tower in most of our imaginations. Just can't shake the voice of Gary Coleman...

-charles

Forgotten God (Chapter 3)

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 11:27:32 PST

This is the third post of a review on the book Forgotten God by Francis Chan (see post one and post two).

CHAPTER 3

What does the Holy Spirit do? Chan starts off by reminding us that what we believe (doctrine) may not change what God will do, but it matters as it will shape what 'we' will do. He also adds that we should hold fast to solid doctrines and be careful about ambiguous doctrines. Here's a short quote from page 65, "The point is not to completely understand God, but to worship Him. Let the very fact that you cannot know Him fully lead you to praise Him for His infiniteness and grandeur." Also, any analogy of God will never encapsulate God's nature (e.g. God is like the three parts of an egg, like a flame, etc), but the trinity is obvious and implied (Isaiah 9:6). Listed below are a few bullet points he makes about the Holy Spirit:

The Holy Spirit is a person.
The Holy Spirit is God.
The Holy Spirit is eternal and holy - and he dwells in us...wow!
The Holy Spirit has His own mind and prays for us.
The Holy Spirit has emotions - we are told not to grieve the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit has his own desires and will.
The Holy Spirit is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient.

I omitted the Bible verse references and main points because I think the book does a great job of creating a more powerful atmosphere than this blog can do....so read the book.

He ends the chapter with a list of 'fruit' that the Holy Spirit can have in our lives. I admit that I feel like I've ignored the Spirit a lot when I read through the list. Like I've been trying to do it all on my own. Sure, I believe in Jesus with all of my heart, but I have ignored Jesus' thoughts about the Holy Spirit as I kept an unhealthy focus on the physical world hoping to bow down to Jesus in person. Wasn't that the focus of the song 'I Can Only Imagine' by Casting Crown? Why else did this song resonate with so many of us so powerfully? We are so excited to see Jesus, but sadly I think we are not worshiping the Holy Spirit that he has given to us today when we only think of the physical present world.

There are two verses I want to end with; John 16:7 and Acts 2:38-39. In John, Jesus reminds us of why the Holy Spirit is such a big deal and Acts has Peter reminding us how to respond to God:

"Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But ifI go, I will send him to you" - John 16:7 (ESV)

"And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself." - Acts 2:38-39 (ESV)

-charles

Forgotten God (Chapter 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 14:04:11 PDT

This is the second post of my review on the book Forgotten God by Francis Chan (see post one here).

Why do a chapter-by-chapter review of a book? As I could count many possible reasons for doing so I'll just stick to the actual reason I chose to do so. Why? To hopefully walk a little deeper in a book that I think will be profound. So far so good, now on to chapter 2 :)

CHAPTER 2

Wow, he hit the nail on the head. Coming from a largely conservative background, similar to Mr. Chan, he understands my struggles and my questions deeply about the Holy Spirit and isn't afraid to address them. Let's walk through some thoughts and questions in this amazing chapter:

What if God doesn't come through? We feel as though we have to cover for God not coming through in our lives when we pray for something and it doesn't happen...but that's a problem. The real issue is what we're praying for; something promised by God (like giving the Holy Spirit - Luke 11:13) or the gifts God gives? James investigates this issue further. Point: pray for what God promised.
Do I even want this? If we are honest with ourselves we will all admit that we don't like the thought of someone telling us what to do, especially if it is uncomfortable, which is usually what God does.
Is my reputation in the way? We all have fears about what others think of us. Why is this important, because our fears sometimes drive unhealthy behaviors (e.g. ignoring investigation of the Holy Spirit for fear of others judging us).
God Fear. 1 Thessalonians 5:19 and 20 - "Do not quench the Spirit," and "Do not treat prophecies with contempt." This has always been something I've just browsed through not paying attention to like Mr. Chan. While we fear individuals being overly zealous joy about things that 'God said to them,' we need to not ignore their words. We need to do what scripture says and "test everything" (1 Thess 5:21-22). Point: next time you hear someone tell you 'god said...' just merely test their words to scripture, do not just push their words away as 'crazy' or 'misled.'

I want to end with a verse from the beginning of Acts that calls attention to the Holy Spirit as pointed out by Mr. Chan:

"Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." - Acts 2:38

Mr. Chan is definitely discussing questions I have had sitting in the back of mind for some time, unlike some authors (e.g. Celebration of Discipline discussing submission ignores the elephant in the room...relational submission). Every author doesn't have the foresight, nor the amount of pages to answer all questions given on a topic, but so far I am impressed and can't wait to read chapter 3.

-charles

An America Distracted

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 14:36:58 PDT

How do great nations fall? By an internal erosion of ethics, a mass of citizens voting themselves the treasury, and the fall of a common unity of existence. How is that for a quick list of adages.

Think of how great nations were started. Traditionally a common injustice was felt throughout a population, they united, and fought the existing rulers.

Watching the news all around us, I can't help but think of our country's safety. Outside the picture seems a little grim; Muslim extremists dedicated to attacking their rulers in order to bring sharia law and their collective hate of the world to fruition (the Muslim Brotherhood is not hiding their intentions everyone), China using their debt to manipulate our trade policies (who didn't see that coming...), our government sector unions continue to practice 'thuggery' (Wisconsin, teachers unions, etc) to bully society, and our nation's future children are losing their voices as they struggle to make it past the mother's womb.

What do we do here? Do we try to mask the actual intentions of those organizations perpetrating their hate because of political correctness? Do we continue to borrow more money allowing other countries to buy stake in our influences? Do we sit idly by as our country's children's bodies are piling high as crimes against us?

Does anyone remember what was happening in Rome during the major invasion that finally crushed the great civilization? They were watching a game. "Go Cowboys! Hey, what's that noise?....invasion."

A part of our American problem is that we are distracted spending too much time watching our favorite sports team, tv shows, movies, and other entertainment, to stop and see the shift of direction of the wind in this world. Add to the fact that it seems that everyone hates the top dog so if we continue to ignore the bigger issues in this world, we will not survive. The world will not be what it once was and the freedoms everyone takes advantage of will be gone, both in this nation and abroad.

Malcom Muggeridge once said, "I've seen America wealthier than all the rest of the world put together; and with the superiority of weaponry that would have enabled Americans, had they so wished, to outdo an Alexander or a Julius Caesar in the range and scale of conquest. All in one little lifetime – gone with the wind"

America did not conquer the world, it helped it. Was America perfect in all it's pursuits? Of course not, but evil dictators are salivating at the thought of an American empire no longer in existence. Do we have any idea what will take our place? It is not going to be a pretty picture as a vacuum of America's positive imperialism disappears. I argue for 'positive' because countries like Kuwait, France, South Korea and many many more have great reasons to welcome our help.

In an America distracted we pick up our beer cans, turn up the music, high five our friends, and then watch the world pass us by as we root for our favorite teams while rocking out to 'American Woman.' In an America distracted we ignore the things we could do to help those around us by voting in new legislature forcing them to do our job for us further imprisoning ourselves in an already doomed tax code. In an America distracted we think that the world is here to serve us and forget about any of the people who gave themselves before us for what we currently have, thinking we somehow 'deserve' the rights given to us. In an America distracted we somehow forgot whose lives we are giving privilege by voting away the lives of those little ones who would come and take our place for the next generation building our future. We are in an America distracted.

With loss of morality, moral relativism is king and everyone loses. With the loss of focus, pluralism is king and has tried to hand all world views equal merit, which is foolishness and everyone loses. With the loss of Jesus as a focus, secular humanism is king and is leading everyone to worship themselves instead, which underpins all of the rest.

Jesus did not promise to give us a mighty nation, it just happened. Jesus does not play politics and parties, but his morality is clearly defined for what is 'wrong' or 'right' and we all get to choose which 'rights' we will sacrifice when we vote.

The world is changing. We humans have never changed, we are naturally evil and need a savior to crucify our sins. Let's put down our entertainment and self serving bias' and try to help those who cannot help themselves. The answer is not to give government more authority to do what we should be doing, so let's do it ourselves. Form your own organization to make a change aligning the wills of those behind a movement, and make a positive difference. Some are getting out there in the battlefields of ideas, so let's get out there and join them to fight oppression of hate filled rhetoric from Islam by loving Arabs and showing them another way (Jesus), or getting on the streets and helping those who are downtrodden, or adopting children who desperately need escape from a social system, or meeting the needs you see piling up around you.

Jesus forgive us for worshiping something and someone else besides you and give us strength as you actively flex your will and do what you will to this great nation. May we not suffer the same pride as Germany and give our powers to evil and may we not suffer the same distraction as Rome and try to live on the blood and efforts of others before us, but be thankful. Thankful for life, thankful for a chance to grow, but most of all thankful for you and your sacrifice, which gives the greatest hope of all.

-charles

The True Crisis of Our Time

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 13:15:57 PDT

This is just an excerpt from Malcolm Muggeridge's The True Crisis of Our Time that is mind numbing, have a gander:

“We look back upon history and what do we see? Empires rising and falling, revolutions and counter-revolutions, wealth accumulating and wealth dispersed, one nation dominant and then another. Shakespeare speaks of ‘the rise and fall of great ones that ebb and flow with the moon.’

“I look back on my own fellow countrymen ruling over a quarter of the world, the great majority of them convinced, in the words of what is still a favorite song, that, ‘God who’s made the mighty would make them mightier yet.’ I’ve heard a crazed, cracked Austrian announce to the world the establishment of a German Reich that would last a thousand years; an Italian clown announce that he would restart the calendar to begin his own ascension to power. I’ve heard a murderous Georgian brigand in the Kremlin acclaimed by the intellectual elite of the world as a wiser than Solomon,more humane than Marcus Aurelius, more enlightened than Ashoka. I’ve seen America wealthier and in terms of weaponry, more powerful than the rest of the world put together, so that had the American people desired, could have outdone an Alexander or a Julius Caesar in the range and scale of their conquests.

“All in one lifetime.All in one lifetime. All gone with the wind. England part of a tiny island off the coast of Europe, threatened with dismemberment and even bankruptcy. Hitler and Mussolini dead, remembered only in infamy. Stalin a forbidden name in the regime he helped found and dominate for some three decades. America haunted by fears of running out of those precious fluids that keep her motorways roaring, and the smog settling, with troubled memories of a disastrous campaign in Vietnam, and the victories of the Don Quixotes of the media as they charged the windmills of Watergate.

“All in one lifetime, all gone. Gone with the wind.”

“Behind the debris of these self-styled, sullen supermen and imperial diplomatists, there stands the gigantic figure of one person, because of whom, by whom, in whom, and through whom alone mankind might still have hope. The person of Jesus Christ.”

-Malcolm Muggeridge

(charles)

Forgotten God (Chapter 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 16:34:28 PST

This is the beginning of a series of reviews about an amazing book our MC (Mission Community) is studying called Forgotten God by Francis Chan. Today's review is over chapter one.

I had two initial fears in reading this book:

That I'll start mimicking a Pentecostal's actions of jumping wildly in the aisles and screaming like a mad man possibly scaring others away from Jesus.
That I'll find out that I really don't understand the Holy Spirit like I should (that I could have read and not understood).

I loved his opening story about the Jehovah's Witnesses. He drew me in then quickly dropped me down like I needed, great opening.

I definitely feel like there has been a recent draw to understand the Holy Spirit deeper lately before getting the book. One of my cousins wisely asked me, "What is the big deal about the Holy Spirit anyways?" I admit that I didn't really know how to say what I knew scripture said, because I didn't feel the reality of what the scriptures said (to live alive). All I could say was that He was the one that made it so our works were not just filthy rags as they were without Him. So He enabled us to be able to do good finally.

I have thought to myself that it would be better to have Jesus with us physically, leading us, but this is wrong (John 16:7). Why didn't I believe Jesus? It's almost like I'm worshiping the physical reality of today than God's words. My flesh desires his physical presence as a further proof, but Peter expounds on this and agrees that we're still blessed, even if we haven't seen him (1 Peter 1). I feel like I should remind myself daily, "It is 'better' for the Holy Spirit to be with us right now," like an addict trying to get sober I have to let go of my false theology of Jesus being with me physically as being a 'better' situation.

Chan poses a question, "When was the last time I undeniably saw the Spirit at work in or around me?"

My answer, "when I was working 80 hours and missed visiting our MC and wrote a quick letter about what we were reading in the book of Mark. I wrote soundly, when I usually don't, as much as I'd like to take the credit. Before that would probably be when I had to apologize to a co-worker for something she misunderstood. I thought I was helping her but she took it as a threat and tried to get me in trouble for it. My anger was almost unbearable. It was the hardest thing I had to do in quite awhile as I was being led (by the Spirit) to show kindness to the ungrateful (Luke 6)."

Some main points:

1) The Spirit makes a change, do we see it?
2) The Spirit will move differently than the world, it will look different, therefore making us look different.

This book is amazing so far; chapter 2 is on it's way :)

-charles

Million Dollar Baby

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 17:49:48 PDT

Wow, what a great movie....till the end. This is a short review of the 2004 movie Million Dollar Baby starring Clint Eastwood, Hillary Swank, and Morgan Freeman so there will be spoilers.

It all started with an intriguing opening act following a gifted old trainer as he loses his latest prize boxer to a competing coach and continued to go up hill in capturing my attention. He is soon joined by a very driven capable young woman who picks him to be the trainer, against his will, and begins to shock everyone. Sure she's old in comparison to boxing standards, but her lack of age is a driving force Frankie Dunn (played by Clint Eastwood) uses to push her beyond her existing skills to continue to win fight after fight. She shows great honor by buying her ungrateful mother and sister a house to live in before spending the money on herself, she continues to work as a waitress when she doesn't need to for the money anymore, and she wins the heart of Frankie as he continues to miss his daughter. We never find out what really happened in his relationship with his daughter, but Maggie (played by Hillary Swank) helps him to have hope again. I wish the story just kept going on its built momentum, but it crashes coming to a full stop and reversing the character's amazing personalities with one incident. What a bunch of crap.

After Maggie's incident she lies paralyzed in a bed from the neck down. Day after day goes by and we begin to understand that there is nothing that can be done to help her in this situation. She's going to live paralyzed in that state of paralysis forever.

What happens to this woman who defied all odds and became one of the greatest women boxers in the world? She gives up. Really?!! What was the author of this story thinking? You show us a person who goes from nothing to gold and she wants to kill herself by chewing on her tongue instead of struggling to continue to make a difference in the world? Wrong.

The picture of this young woman was all wrong in the end. I think the writer is an idiot for painting a picture of a person so honorable, so gifted, so driven from the bottom of the pits and then to say that once this driven, gifted, honorable person is paralyzed....they want to die. Why were they driven in the beginning? Wouldn't that drive still be in her very being? Here the writer fills her mouth with words of incremental putrid. He has her telling us, the audience, that she was able to be the best and hear cheering for her name, but now life is not worth living because she can't go on without it. Dumb, dumb, dumb. That is not who she was. She was honorable, not conceited. She was self driven, not hopeless.

In short, I loved the story, but I hate the ending. They changed her character into someone that was not her because of an incident. People do change sometimes after going through deep sorrow and pain, but she was still a winner. She had Frankie at her side, she had money to pay for her life, and she had hope for things better. But we're led to believe that she must have been driven to be egotistical in the end and that after all, it was just for the few cheers of the audience that she was living. She was a waitress!!! She didn't hang on the praises of others for 30 years of her life and now we're supposed to believe that's how she feels now?
The movie ends hopelessly as she dies (or rather is killed by choice) and Frankie disappears to a diner. What was the message of this stupid ending? Are we praising Dr. Kevorkian? Are we saying that life isn't worth living unless you are mobile and have all of your appendages working? Are we saying that the goal of life is to live for the praise and claps of the audience? If it is not one of these undoubtedly stupid choices then I don't know what it is.

Clint and Morgan, how the heck is it possible to buy into this stupid movie? Couldn't you read the ending of the script and think to yourself...oh wow, this really is a pile of steaming turd, and hand the script back to whence it came? Sadly they didn't and they polluted the atmosphere with a moronic ending that seemed to search after destroying hope in life and pointing us in the direction of worshiping the praises of others over life itself.

I give it 2 out of 5 stars. The 2 are for how amazing the movie is, but then unconvincingly crushes all hope through Maggie's death.

-charles

Weird Sense is born

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 20:06:31 PDT

This is not a profound moment, but a moment none-the-less. "Uncommon Sense" is now officially "Weird Sense.com" so welcome to a site that is changing everything, er, nothing, but its name. Thanks everyone for your continued support and on to the next year!! -charles

Anger

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 19:11:47 PDT

I'll start off by saying that I haven't wanted to punch someone in the face for a very long time till tonight. We were about to go into the second session of class after our lunch break and I found some very helpful information that I thought I would try to share. Everyone had clearly stated earlier in the class that they had not found this very useful information and I thought I was going to help everyone by telling them where it was.

While I was talking I heard one of the college kids across the room say some snide remark about me sucking up to the teacher or something. I didn't reply immediately because I was still in the middle of doing something, but as you know, once you don't reply immediately you can't just bring it back up. If you do bring it back up then you're the idiot for making such a big deal of it. The other guys were looking away after he made his goofy remark because I think they respect me, but….what does it really matter?
So there I sat, so angry that I could have picked up my chair and slammed it on the kids head, just being honest. All of the guys in the class are somewhat older and that was another reason that this behavior surprised me. I wanted to just simply ask him to go back to high school because I was just trying to help everyone. Funny though, it wouldn't have mattered. It is all about what it is in my heart really. To feel that angry over nothing makes me even more angry. Anyone else relate?

I would say that it is just Jesus testing other areas of my heart. Am I going to try to lovingly confront the guy the next time he says something or be a jerk? Would my reaction have been loving tonight if I had said something immediately? I can honestly answer that with a no.

When things like this happen it is usually the Holy Spirit shining the flash light on an issue that exists in my heart and as I experienced tonight…this most definitely exists in my heart. A pride so easily thrown to anger by a simple insult from a college kid who doesn't know me. What matters right now is what I do with this experience. I think I will have an ale, finish writing my report, pray to God, and try to let go of my pride.

Next time, and I'm sure there will be a next time, I will confront the kid, but as respectfully as I can. Maybe joke with him, who knows. Either way, I need to love the kid through his remarks and not give foothold to such evil in my heart….and put the chair down.

Hope your day ended better than mine :)

-charles

Apple Shortcuts

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 14:58:51 PST

I was writing an e-mail to a friend of mine on how what Apple shortcuts to use, so I decided to paste my reply to him here for anyone else to read.

Here is a quick list for quite a few shortcuts for your Mac:

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1343

I personally use the following the most:

Command + A = select all
Command + C = copy
Command + V = paste
Command + Z = undo
Command + X = cut
Command + Q = Quit (closes the program)
Command + W = Close (quit) window (leaves the program running)
Command + Shift + N = Create new folder
Command + Delete = Delete whatever file is selected

Here are the ones I use when navigating in an internet browser, most use these same commands:

Command + Shift + { = This is the same as the 'back' button
Command + Shift + } = This is the same as the 'forward' button
Command + T = Open new tab
Command + W = Close tab

Here are the cool ones to know when navigating through programs and folders in Mac OS X:

Command + Tab = Select prior program (keep pressing tab while holding command and you can select any of the open 'Programs')
Command + ~ = Select an open window WITHIN a program (this is very handy if you are working on more than one Chrome browser or Word file

Here are a few for saving screen shots that are extremely handy:

Command + Shift + 4 = Creates a cross hair so you can select any area, small or big, then select the 'left' click on your mouse to take the picture
Command + Shift + 3 = Screen shot of your entire screen

You can record a video of you performing any function on your desktop using Quick Time too by the way. Just open Quick Time and go to 'File' and you'll see the following:

New Movie Recording
New Audio Recording
New Screen Recording (this will record your screen capturing whatever you are doing on your desktop - very helpful in training other people how to use a program)

Hope that these shortcuts prove helpful to any Mac OS X users. When in doubt, select the drop down menu for an item you would like to learn and the shortcut should be located to the right of the command; for example - select EDIT for most programs and you'll see the following:

The word 'Copy' is on the left, while the shortcut to the right "Command C."

-charles

Where to go in Houston, Texas

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Tue, 31 May 2011 13:05:17 PDT

When I moved to Houston, Texas over 2 years ago I really didn't expect to find what I did. What did I find? I found a plethora of amazing restaurants, cool places to hang out, venues for live bands, beaches, boats, ocean front property, palm trees and more. If someone was going to come to Houston, Texas what would I recommend to see? Well, one of my brothers recently came to Houston with his wife for a 3 day trip and I decided to put together a quick itinerary of cool things to do. Here is the itinerary:

Thursday:

Dinner at Niko Nikos (Montrose)
Walk around Kema Boardwalk

Friday:

The Strand @Galveston
Pier 21 @Galveston
Drive to west end of the sea wall (dead end) and watch the boats come through the channel
Moody Gardens @Galveston

Saturday:

Kaloche's @Shipley's donuts
Cookies @Miss Ginny's bakery
Disc golf
Lunch @Bullritos by JSC
JP Morgan Chase Sky Tower
Walk through Houston tunnel system
Tour NASA
Flying Saucer for dinner/Create your own flight

Sunday:

Shopping @the Galleria
Water wall by the Williams Tower
Tour Rice University
Rice Village @El Meson
Rice Village @Chocolate Shop

Monday:

Breakfast at the 'Egg and I' off of Bay Area

There is so much to do in Houston, we just skimmed the top of cool things to do here. Here is a quick list of a few more things to do and restaurants to eat at:

Things to do:

St. Arnolds Brewery ($5/person - bring some snacks)
Forbidden Gardens @Katy, TX
Walk through tunnel system (a lot to walk!)
The Miller Outdoor Theater - a gem in Houston
Sports - professional basketball (Rockets), football (Texans), and hockey (Aeros)
College sports (Rice University, University of Houston, etc)
The Orange Show
Houston Rodeo (once a year)
Clearlake Boat Show (they put Christmas lights on the boats and light up the harbor - very cool)

Food/Drink @Clearlake:

Perries (get their pork chop)
Lupe Tortilla (get their fajitas)
Boondoggles (amazing food and drink)
Thai Cottage (get their Thai Tea and Panang Curry)
Frenchies (great Italian food)
Red River BBQ (simple, amazing)
Pappa's BBQ

Food/Drink @Rice Village

Gingerman Pub (drinks only - amazing on-tap selection)
The Chocolate Bar!!

Food/Drink @Galveston:

Rainforest Cafe @the seawall
Olympia Grill @Pier 21
Luigi's Restaurant Italiano

Food/Drink @downtown Houston

Three Forks (best salad ever)
House of Blues
Bombay Pizza Co.
Brennans (French/Creol)
Mark's American Cuisine (...date night, she'll love it - formal dress)

Food/Drink @Galleria

Yia Yia Mary's Greek Kitchen
Maggiano's
Grand Lux Cafe

Kema:

T-bone Tom's
Bakklus Taverna
Ichabon (sushi)
Saltgrass (typical Texas steak house)
The aquarium

Other

House of Pies
Dot Coffee Shop (off of 45)
Bada Bing (great Italian pizza!!)

All else fails, Austin is only 3 hours away:

Stubs Restaurant
Congress Street
Austin City Limits
Six Street

There is so much more to list of course, but these are the places that I have personally been to or heard great things about. Start here and venture out on your own, but you'll be glad you started with this list.

-Charles

Quick Poem

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 14:30:06 PST

These are my thoughts as a poem of Zephaniah 3:14-17 as seen through my experiences:

What crumbling of the soul took place to look through this tunnel dimly lit?
Crowded between strong inclinations of self indulgence and pride emit,
I could no longer avoid the pain deep in my heart that it brought,
So I sought to take my life through the selfishness that I had wrought

It was in that moment my life was shattered,
Preconceived notions of what I thought had mattered,
Jesus as the Son of God was all I could see that night,
Even though I never knew him I was finally given sight

Pointed to his words of pure joy I began to awaken
Piercing through the weeds in my heart, as I had been mistaken
Further digging deep and removing my fears
Continuing to crush me as I poured out my tears

I stand quiet before God’s holy pursuit of his creation
To restore our brokenness in himself through his incarnation

The end of our days is more certain than tomorrow’s dawn
Our rising again, however, is more certain than our life is gone
So we can rejoice with all our being, fully enticed
Because on that Day God will exult the broken through his amazing gift, Jesus Christ

-charles

Weekly update 10-22-10

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 15:14:09 PDT

Weekly political spectrum for week ending 10-22-10.

Obama by the numbers
Obama and the DNC take a story lead from a terrorist owned blog as truth, awesome.
Medicare fraud dwarfs the top 14 insurance companies combined
Billboard with Obama forced to come down; don’t think people’s lives were threatened when people did this to Bush, just sayin.
There could be a follow up to this story, but there probably won’t…school assigns children an Islamic experience homework assignment. OK ACLU, you attack the Christians, but leave the muslims alone? I don’t get it.
This is just disturbing on so many levels, one is that Barney Frank is gay, and the other is that he sends his gay boyfriend to do his bidding. I for one think that the DSM should be fixed since its ridiculous subtraction of homosexuality from the list of mental disorders in the 70s.
Obama’s lack of knowledge in economics
$800,000 to open a taxi business?
How about the government borrowing to pay Social Security? And we thought they had a ‘separate’ fund for this? Yeah right…
The Empire is striking back eh?
Obama doesn’t help the elderly…duh. He won’t even help his own half-brother living in poverty, what makes anyone think he cares about anybody but himself?
Why don’t the liberals understand the tea party movement? Primarily because they don’t like anyone disagreeing with them.
An Ohio school felt it was a good idea to practice voting with only Democrats on the ballots…are you kidding me? Sadly we are not.
The EPA is another government organization that tries to rule the country with their ridiculous plans to force our cars have 80 mpg
The Unions use Bill Gates’ father to bolster more taxes…when will we learn? More taxes are not going to fix the issue, less bureaucracy and lots of gray tape for the Unions mouths will help.
Just another reason why unions must go and one more.
Multiculturalism as a government mandate is dumb…no more needed to say
We need a Reganomics president
Who is Obama and how does he relate to America?
US Government does not have effective control of over 1000 miles of border…with Mexico.

-charles

Why do the wicked prosper?

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 08:37:46 PDT

Psalm 73

Asaph asks the long enduring questions that all of us since Job, Jeremiah, and many others throughout the ages have asked, “why do the wicked prosper?”

Major themes:

(vs 2 to 15) - Asaph admits his jealousy of the wicked because of their prosperity. This is huge!!! We all face this temptation, at least I do…a lot!
(vs 16 and 17) - Asaph decides to struggle with this issue and goes to the temple, to God.
(vs 18 to 20) – Their end is brutal. Their end is not described as to exactly 'when', but I would imagine that this is when they die.
(vs 21 to 22) – His soul was bitter, but God (not him) pricked him in his heart. This is a huge point that God seeks us and pricks our hearts through our sins, which is his steadfast love and mercy!!! To let us go in our wickedness is punishment. Do not despise the Lord’s discipline and the Lord’s rebuke!!
(vs 23 to 27) – Like a father leading a child he holds our hand leading us in his ways. He guides us with his words of wise counsel. He accepts us into his kingdom in heaven where our true desire must be placed.
(vs 28) – may we tell of God’s great works in our lives to the world that they may be saved that we would show God our pride in him.

We all covet, which leads to jealousy, which leads to sin as jealousy and coveting are sin apart from what comes later. In a society where we are filled with consumerism this Psalm stands fast to warn us. If we continue to in our wicked ways and see prosperity it is not that we are doing well, but that God is withholding his discipline, which is one of the most scary things one can face. The end point of this Psalm is to show that the wicked really do not prosper where it counts; judgment with God. So many of us are fooled to think we are 'doing well' when we are given physical prosperity, but prosperity has nothing to do with it, going to heaven does. Avoiding God's discipline is foolishness and is prolonging God's punishment. As Proverbs 3:11 states, "My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline and do not resent his rebuke."

-Charles

Team up on Jesus

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 14:00:23 PDT

This is the continued study of Mark for chapter 12. The title that seemed to jump out at me was 'team up on Jesus', because of all of the people that tried to test him in this particular chapter. Jesus is absolutely amazing as he always gets to the literal heart of the matter. Please let me know what questions and comments you might have!!

CHAPTER 12

14 - you are not swayed by appearances… - They must have tried this method no doubt as they were trying as many methods as they could to control Jesus for their own gain.
15 - knowing their hypocrisy… - They were hypocrites because they were pretending to be respectful with their opening comments (vs 14), but were not being respectful because their question was trying to trap Jesus. Hypocrisy by definition is to be known publicly how you are not privately.
15 - why put me to the test… - We are told to clearly not 'test' the Lord our God as Jesus refutes Satan with his statements in the desert, but here the chief priests and the scribes and elders (vs 11:27) are trying to do that very thing, test God. They are acting out Satan's desires to test the most high when Jesus was told clearly not to do this to God (Math 4:7, Deut 6:16).
17 - render to Caesar that things that are caesar's and to God the things that are God's… - Does Caesar own things that God does not? No, as Job 41:11 clearly states that God owns everything. So what does this mean? Caesar, just like Pontious Pilate, was given his authority by God. Men who rule in this world today, whether for good or for bad have their authority only by God. We think we are in control ourselves and may have fought to kill and murder others to get our positions of authority like Sadaam Hussein, but we are not in control, God is. So did Caesar own the money? In essence the money was provided by the state (Rome) in order to trade and spread the influence of the state, hence one of the reasons they put their face on the coin.

Was there some kind of welfare that Rome paid to their people? These were not Romans though
Because Rome mined and forged the currency it was considered their property?
What is then considered God's? What would we then render to God? If we're giving coins with Caesar's inscription what has God's inscription? Amazingly enough we have God's inscription; we are made in his image! We are to render to him ourselves, his beloved creation through worship, which is what he desires. In essence Caesar's coins were a sub-authority of God's to begin with so really Jesus was saying to obey God's authorities (Romans) and worship God, which are both under God.

(vs 18-23) - Next in line we have the Sadducees bringing to Jesus one of their famous arguments that must have been a good one. i can't think of any other reason they would have wanted to try it on Jesus unless they thought it was an amazing argument. They of course find out why their argument has no merit; it is not based on God's words and they doubt who God is. The Sadducees, like many current scholars, take what God stated and twist it into something it never was. They take parts of God's word and match them to their logic ignoring the grand picture of the Bible and then throw doubts at who God is because of this roller coaster of interpretation. I'm sure any of us can think of questions we've heard that doubts God's words, specifically people that added to God's words like the Sadducees. They added because the Old Testament never stated what happens after we die in regards to marriage relationships. Just because God never tells us what happens, does not leave room for our interpretations to interfere with God's current commands. Mathew Henry states about this verse, "It is no wonder if we confuse ourselves with foolish errors, when we form our ideas of the world of spirits by the affairs of this world of sense." In regards to this subject of the resurrection, someone once said, "we can be more sure of getting up for the resurrection than getting up tomorrow."
(vs 24) - They didn't know their Bibles AND they didn't believe in the power of God. Having lack of the first always seems to drive the second point. When I do not spend time reading and knowing who God is through his Word I begin to doubt his power in my life. I forget that people like Jeremiah (Jer 12:1) and Job (Job 21: 1-17) asked the same questions I do when I begin to doubt, which always seems to be comparisons in my life. Why did they succeed? Why do I have to deal with this situation and they don't?! Why do the wicked go on without punishment?" If we read on in the Bible we understand that the real punishment is not while we are alive, but at the judgement (Heb 9:27). Another thought on what Jesus is saying; there is a right and wrong way to interpret the Bible.
(vs 25) - Jesus answers their question for them anyways, illuminating a small glimpse of an old question. Who else would know the answer to that question besides God. Amazing.
(vs 27) - What does he mean that he not the God of the dead, but of the living? Does it mean that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob or all living physically or spiritually (our soul)? In the parallel account in Luke 20:38 Jesus states this, "He is not the God of the dea, but of the living, for to him all are alive." This interesting extra piece of information adds a little more depth to what this means. To God all are alive. If we have a soul and a physical body and the physical body dies, but we will most definitely all be resurrected soon, then we are never completely dead, hence our eternity either with or without God. Here are just a few stories of people who were once dead, but were shown as alive; 1) Moses and Elijah meeting Jesus in Mark 9 2) Samuel still spoke to Saul even after he was dead through evil means in 2 Samuel 28:15-19 3) the dead rise when Jesus is executed (XXXXXXXX) 4) Jesus is resurrected 5) -------- I personally think it means our souls are alive because we will again be joined bodily at the resurrection. Are we asleep or are we enjoying God before the resurrection? My opinion is that we are asleep, but that's me. I can reference scriptures of why I think that if you are curious. Some conclude that Jesus quotes this scripture from the Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible) because the Sadducees still hung their basic doctrines on those books. They seemed to ignore the prophets (both major and minor) teachings and teachings about angels or demons (Acts 23:6-8). Angels and demons of course do exist, as even Jesus was ministered to by angels in the desert and was approached by Satan, the prince of demons. To end this thought C.S. Lewis states it best I think, "There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.
(vs 28-31) - Next up a scribe (might have been a part of the first group in 11:27) - "Which commandment is the most important of all?" - I've always pondered even asking this question as I was under the impression that all of God's commandments were equally important, but Jesus answers him his question and does not rebuke the question at all. His answer in Math 22:40 (quoting Deut 10:12) helps make better sense of Jesus' answer to me, "On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." Also, why is it a big deal that God is one? First off, because it is true, second because polytheism was a current debate of their day and is still a debate today. Both commands are based off of love, which is from the heart, not just physical actions. Jesus was always driving to the real issue, our hearts as that is what he is worried about the most.
(vs 31) - Jesus adds a second commandment to his answer when the scribe only looked for one. It does follow Deut 10:12, but it also shows a love for people and not just God. If we loved only God we would has a stronger tendency of being heartless and cruel to others and claim that it is 'in the name of God' that we do what we do, whatever evil we could invent. Does this sound familiar?
(vs 32) - the scribe does not rebuke Jesus for giving him an answer that contained two commandments, why? Was his question open to having two for one? Was it a trick question trying to test Jesus? I think he was trying to test Jesus because of the reference in Math 22:35 saying that he was a lawyer (not contradictory, but more description of who he is and what he does) trying to test Jesus. In Mathew it is even added at the end of Jesus' statement, "on these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." Amazing.
(vs 33) - The scribe adds to Jesus' words his extra attempt to explain why he agreed with Jesus by quoting 1 Sam 15:22 with Samuel's reply to Saul when Saul disobeyed God's direct orders. Samuels words were directed at Saul's prideful heart as he did not 'listen' and 'obey'.
(vs 34) - How was the scribe 'not far from the kingdom of God'? I think it is because he 1) knew what the Word of God said and 2) knew the heart behind what was being said, which is why he was able to add an appropriate text quoting Samuel being what Jesus said. Jesus started off with rebuking the Sadducees about them not knowing either the scriptures nor the power of God. Here the scribe agrees with Jesus as he first knows what God's word says to even agree with it at all just like John states in 1 John 4:1 to 'test the spirits' and as Paul was himself tested by the Bereans in Acts 17:11. We must know the Word of God before we can understand who God really is and discern what is false. The second part is that he knew God's heart behind his words, he didn't add his own strange interpretation, but knew what God was really saying. We know this because he states one of God's great desires for our hearts in 1 Sam 15:22.
(vs 35) - Jesus addresses something a scribe said and brings in the mystery of the trinity by answering their real desire; their desire for David's throne, their kingdom, which is probably why the scribe stated what he did.

-charles

Weekly News Update

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 14:44:41 PDT

Truth is stranger than fiction. Here are some of the articles I read this week:

The Green War on Children
This Catholic hospital closes down...want to know why
Casting calls by MTV for a political event with the President...and they say it isn't a political event, really??! How else can they get by without asking conservative questions and have real conservatives in the audience.
Verizon sells Apple's...ipad
A scanner that can see liquids?
America is now deemed 'mostly free'
An unusual speech restraint for an Obamacare debate
Chile miners rescued, but our own American hero ignored.
Listen to this guy explain why he is a Democrat
You must absolutely read this article about the US Postal Service to understand what we are about to get into.
A few more rules please
IBM offered to analyze the healthcare issue for free...but Obama refused
Teachers unions get waivers from Obamacare....wait a minute, what?!
An interesting top 10 list for you economic folks.

I think will be a normal weekly item to do from now on. There are many other great articles I left out, but this is just the beginning!

-charles

Mark 9, "it is good for us to be here..."

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 20:06:02 PDT

Hey all!

I am in a study with some friends over the book of Mark and here are my notes for Chapter 9. I will compile each chapters notes into a final listing soon. Let me know your thoughts and questions on my comments below. Make sure you have a Bible handy to reference the questions to the verses. I would also read Mark chapter 9 before reading through these notes:

vs 2 - Do you think that this is what Peter, James and John were really expecting to see; God coming in glory, which is what Jesus shown by his radiance?
vs 5 - How do you think that Peter knew it was Elijah and Moses? Their clothes? A special cane or object? Maybe Jesus told them it was Elijah and Moses? Did Moses and Elijah have a sign around their necks? Maybe through the excitement and the words of the conversation of Elijah and Moses being there, this the first time for Moses to see the promise land from the inside when he was so close; Elijah was raised here. Interesting that both Moses and Elijah are the only ones I can think of where the specific glory of the Lord passed before them (Moses: Exodus 33:18-22, Elijah 1 Kings 19:11) and here they stand with the Son of God for a moment.
vs 5 - Why would Peter want to make tents for them? - Because of the cloud maybe he thought it would rain? He naturally wants to serve and possibly felt useless? Sometimes in our pride we serve others to show to them that we are actually doing something instead of just witnessing the moment or listening; being busy for the sake of being busy or to show off possibly?
vs 6 - Why would they have been terrified? - They had seen so many other miracles so far so why would this one make them terrified? I think that this is the natural reaction to God's radiance and why the beginning of wisdom begins with fearing the Lord (Prov 1:7). Many people today think that if they just had a word with God they would give him a piece of their mind, but Job found out it doesn't work that way as well as Isaiah (chapter 6) and any other person in the Bible who meets God. When God reveals himself it is frightening and humbling; he truly is like the lion that is not safe, but can be absolutely terrifying because his presence is one of absolute power and authority.
vs 7 - Is it possible that God was talking to Moses and Elijah as well as Peter, James, John, and us through the scriptures when he spoke from the cloud? I wonder what that conversation between Moses, Elijah and Jesus was about. Maybe Elijah could be doubting where he was and Jesus was telling him, correcting him, then God tells all of them, "This is my beloved Son, listen to him." That would get my attention to listen up, let alone the visualization of the transfiguration.
vs 11 - They see Elijah in person and now they are prone to ask the question about the scribes, it does seem logical to ask a question about the scribes when you just saw the man Elijah in person yourself. Maybe they were thinking, was that the 'coming of Elijah' we were to expect and now it has come so we're on our way to the kingdom?! They were always ready to 'king' Jesus and lead the revolt against Rome to begin God's reign, which is another reason why everyone (Jewish leaders) were always afraid of Jesus. The Jewish leaders thought the Messiah would issue in a new kingdom and overthrow their physical kingdom too, so when they saw what he was doing they saw it as a challenge to overthrowing them and their seats within the Roman kingdom (John 11:48).
vs 14 - What a scene - they return to find their friends arguing with the scribes in a big crowd. Kind of like leaving your friends alone in a store and then they soon find their way into trouble. In this case the trouble may have seen Jesus was gone and sought to try to make their faith waiver without Jesus being there and ask his disciples hard questions.
vs 24 - What a cry of honesty "help my unbelief"
vs 42 to 47 - Starts about causing someone else to sin (a believing child) then shifts to causing ourselves to sin. The basis is getting rid of those thing that make us sin. If our friends are a bad influence and cause us to sin, get rid of them. If our TV causes us to sin, get rid of it. If our job causes us to sin...find another job. It is not as simplistic as behaviorism as he then continues to the 'salt', which is a term of the heart. I think it also has to do with unrepentance. If we are falling constantly because of something we are not repentant and that is truly the heart that God is after; not a sinless heart, as it is impossible, but a repentant heart that loves him more than ourselves.
vs 50 - He ends with a command, "Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another." What does salt stand for in this context? How do we 'have salt" in ourselves? Salt seems to have always been in context of positive flavor so how to we get 'positive flavor'? How do we get the 'fruits of the Spirit', which seem to be the answer for positive flavor? It always seemed like they are not 'fruits of Charles', but 'of the Spirit', so we have to root ourselves with God (1 Thess 5:16-22, 24) and watch him work and change us since we are powerless to change ourselves (2 Cor 12:9-10); he's doing the work. And if we are somehow successful in outward appearance in changing our behavior apart from Jesus it is not necessarily the 'positive flavor' if it is done apart from God (John 15:5).

Again, feel free to let me know if you have any questions and/or comments. I love dialogue! Hope this helped you with anything you may have been thinking about. Mark is an amazing study.

-charles

New Roads

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 18:13:53 PDT

Where to begin

I won't try to write a novel of a blog entry tonight...too much to do, but I do want to share briefly what cool stuff (the technical term) is going on. I got a new job, but didn't get rid of my old job. That means that I am working two full time jobs and it is exhausting. Why do that to yourself? Because I am blessed to be able to and in my current situation it just fits. I won't work like this for very long, but I have a great opportunity with my new job that could take me across the globe. You see, the new job is a 'work at home' job, which means that I can live pretty much anywhere (need internet connection) and fulfill my obligations as a consultant to this company. Where would I go? That is where it gets interesting.
I have had a passion for living in Greece for sometime now and if this works out and I get a few ducks in a row to borrow from the much used cliche, I am headed to Greece. The exact specifics of such a plan is not known such as; where would I live, how much does it cost, etc. The details do not worry me, I'm just excited that God has given me such a crazy opportunity to work hard and possibly fulfill one of my life long dreams. Being a half breed Greek from birth I've always been interested in the language and the culture and now being a Christ follower I have a passion for people. As much fun as it would be to learn another language and travel the globe, my greater passion is that I could share in Paul's words where he expresses his joy in knowing that the gospel he shared was being lived in other's lives.

"We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." - 1 Thessalonians 1:2

It's time to just trust Jesus with my dreams and see what happens.

-charles

There's an app for that

noreply@blogger.com (Charles) — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 11:28:39 PDT

I played on an iphone awhile back and was impressed, but wow, I was still not prepared for getting one. Somehow they created a phone that keeps surprising you with its seamless and beautiful interface. Add to the pure aesthetics of the phone the fact that it has over 200,000 applications ready to use and you just can't go wrong. But they are only on AT&T you say, really?! That's going to be your reason in not having the coolest phone ever. I don't look around and see tons of people self labeled to any phone company.

When was the last time you heard someone say, "I can't leave Sprint, I've had them for so many years." Does Sprint give you a discount for having them for so many years? Does Verizon reward you for keeping their services? No, they have prices and their competitors compete with the new doodads, the phones. Some plans are a little better and some service is a little better, but that won't stop me from getting the best product in the end.

Poor reception with AT&T? Use the WiFi and get over it, or move. AT&Ts network is only going to get better with all of the money they are pouring in (and the customers are pouring into their company), so look out.

Below is a list of applications for a few categories; Apps I have (rated), Apps I want, Apps to avoid, and lastly my Apps folder categories. Time I've had an iphone - since June 21, 2010.

Ratings Explanation:
1 = Do not waste your time
2 = Entertaining for about 5 minutes
3 = Worth the time to check out, but try it on someone else's iphone before purchasing
4 = A must try
5 = You must have this app

Nomenclature - Cost - Rating - Category
Angry Birds - $1 - Games - 5

APPS I HAVE (TAG ALL APPS WITH THE URLS TO DOWNLOAD THEM - MAKE THIS PAGE IPHONE FRIENDLY - CREATE A HREF TAGS INTO BLOCKS OF DATA SO THEY ARE EASIER TO CLICK ON):

Amazon - 3
Angry Birds - 5
Apple Store - 3
AT&T Wireless - 3
Best Alarm - 5
Blue Letter Bible - 3
Daily Tracker - 4
Debt Snowball - 4
Dictionary - 3
DoodleBuddy - 3
DoodleJump - 3
Dropbox - 5
Drudge - 4
Facebook - 5
Fandango - 4
Finger basketball - 3
Flight Control - 3
Flixster - 3
Fox news - 4
Free Wi-Fi - 3
Fruit ninja - 3
G4 - 3
Geo Defense - 5
Genius Scan - 4
IConvert - 3
iFighter - 4
iProcrastinate Mobile - 4
Touch Physics - 4
OMG Pirates - 4
Castle Wars - 4
Google - 5
Google Earth - 4
Gorillacam - 3
Guitar Tuner - 2
Ibooks - 5
Iheartradio - 4
IMDB -
iheartradio - 4
Itranslate - 2
Mental Note - 5
Mint - 5
Nano Studio - 5 (If you are a musician...wow)
NASA - 4
Pandora - 5
Paper Toss - 3
Phase 2 (coming soon) - 5
PMP Exam - 3
PocketFish - 3
PS Mobile (Photoshop) - 3
Quick LED Timer - 4
RedLaser - 4
Safe Note - 5
Sandstorm - 5
Sharpshooter - 3
Shazam - 5
Skype - 5
Six Sigma PA - 3
Solitaire - 3
Southwest Airlines - 5
Squarespace - 5
Sudoku - 3
Take me to my car - 3
Tap Tap - 3
Text Free - 5
The Weather Channel - 4
Things - 5 (I sync it to Things on my imac, it just works)
Touchmouse - 5
Translator - 3
Trip Tracker - 3
Tweetdeck - 5 (If you tweet and have multiple accounts...amazing)
Twitter - 3
Type N Talk - 3 (provides endless opportunities to continue to be a dork)
Urbanspoon - 5
Virtuoso - 3
Warpgate - 3
WordsforFree - 3
Worldclock - 4
Yelp - 4
YouVersion Bible - 4
Zombieville - 4

APPS I WANT (Please send me your recommendations):

Guitar toolkit

Babylon Rising

I'll continue to add more soon...

APPS TO AVOID:

Moron Test

Pac-man (free)

Illusions (waste of time)

SOME FOLDER CATEGORIES:

Finance
Social Networking
Games
Movies
News
Travel
Radio
Music (Instrument stuff)
Shopping
Utilities
Bibles

RIDICULOUS APPS:

Sonar Ruler
Nano Studio

There truly is an app for that as the cliche goes. Let me know what your favorite Iphone Apps are!

-charles