Look up

So, browsing through Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD), I've come across some amazingly beautiful pictures of our incredible universe. Those pictures got me retracing a thought that had been thought last week. One of the pictures is of a sunset on Mars, taken by the Mars Exploration Rover. A sunset that we would never see were it not for the rover, (though that can be said about most of the pictures on the website; we'd never see them unless we had such telescopes). So, if we'd never see them, why do they happen? Ideas such as the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle would len to the concept that if we never saw it happen, then it didn't happen. Well, that's foolish, and rather close-minded, selfish, stupid, and prideful. See, we assume that something isn't important unless it's near us: drought in a state on the other side of the country; starving children in Africa; the view of the setting sun on a completely different planet.

Now, I'm not suggesting that watching a Martian sunset is more important than feeding those children in Africa, but I would say that something like that is even further from our mind than the necessity for goodwill in impoverished countries, which I say is somewhat unfortunate and sad.

I think that this may turn into me making an argument that can be grossly taken out of context, and maybe somewhat selfish-sounding, but here I go.

Let me begin to challenge you and maybe open up your mind. Please? Well, think about this: I think that just as much as we feed starving children in wherever, we should think of galactic landscape, lunar sunsets, the burning out of a star in NGC1313 (a spiral galaxy), flights of comets outside of our solar system, or the sight of matter being spaghettified into a black hole?

Why?

Because we can't do a single thing about such events. If we didn't see them happen, they still happened, even if we didn't know about them. They are independent of us. A star 2000 lightyears away (I hope that you would take a minute to ponder such size and distance) is not concerned with the two tests that I have Thursday, for which I've neglected to study. We are infinitely small. Infinitely meaningless, that is, in the context of supernovae, nebulae, comets, event horizons, etc etc etc... That's exactly the reason we should remember those things: we had nothing to do with their occurrence! It shows that it is not about us, but about the One who created it. The One who has the view from atop Mons Olympus of every Martian sunset and sunrise; the One who gives the glorious pigments to the dust clouds in NGC 253; the One who alone gets to marvel at the awesome sight of matter being reduced to quarks as it is drained into a black hole; the very One from whose Mind such things were produced.

They SHOUT to His glory!

As does feeding starving children (only an example to all that Christ called us to do). But, they're indeed different. See, we often see such actions as something we've done, or this universe as being about us. Wrong wrong wrong wrong wroooooooong. They weren't done by us, or even really for us. They are done, and occur, for His glory. Period.

For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:13-17)

The stars remind us. Listen to them. They know. The mountains do as well. Seek their advice. Turn to the One at whom they gaze. They've been here far longer than you. Seas roll at the mention of His Name. Pay attention. Look upward. (Romans 1)

Ode to the Burly Man

"Give me one hundred men who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not whether they be clergyman or laymen, they alone will shake the gates of Hell and set up the kingdom of Heaven upon the earth." John Wesley

Q: How does God define a man?

A: Jesus of Nazareth (Bible)

Goosebumps covered me from head to toe in the choir loft. One hundred and one men leading the congregation in the worship of the Holy One of Israel. Words fail to describe the feeling of standing up there with 100 other men, I being the least among them, and singing "My Hope is Built on Nothing Less," and "It is Well" before the church.

There's a blessing with being a man of Christ. There's also an incredible challenge, but that goes with the blessing. The challenge: to think that I am called to be some sort of a spiritual head, in the likeness of the ideal Man. That, I think, at least for me, is the single most intimidating thoughts that crosses my mind.

Now I sit here and watch Dateline, you know, the episode where they catch internet predators... I know, not particularly the greatest of subject matters, but I feel it relates. Why does it relate? You watch this show, and you understand why the fact that Jesus Christ is our model for masculinity: the men on this show are not doing anything out of the ordinary! Yep, I said it. These disgusting, heartless, perverted low-lifes, some of whom have wives, are not an inch lower than any of the rest of us. Dateline didn't have to scrape the bottom of society to find what we would call such "horrible people." These are actually prime specimens of humankind, doing exactly what we find natural (Ephesians 2... go ahead, take a look at it. See if I'm just joshing you) That is the intimidation factor. These sinners are nothing worse than Wesley Sims. I am of the same stock. We all share the same DNA, the only difference being that I have the genes and protein patterns for such things as brown hair and a naturally cut physique (HAH).

Look at that. We are all of the same sort as the men on this show. Herein lies the mystery of the true "burly" man, the whole reason why I marvel that I am blessed to know such men. See, the world sees those guys as "them," while at the same time breeding that very creature. I speak almost in a third-person perspective of the world, but I only do that now because I'm speaking from my present position of being in Christ's righteousness. How does the world breed these creatures? Think of all that the world defines as being manly: stay home on Sundays to watch the game; pick up as many women as you can, cause the higher the number, the higher the score; be lazy (guilty), or the flip-side, work hard all week just so you can party all weekend and drink up all that you earned (country music, anyone?); get you a nice car, perhaps a sports car, or a ridiculously large truck that can haul all the crap that you buy so you can impress the ladeez; have the kind of abs that you could scrap paint off of a wall; catch a football... you can't do basic math, but by God, you can run the best looking Statue of Liberty ever, and the list goes on. Well, I'm going to say it now (not that there's necessarily inherent sin in all that I listed) what the world labels as a man, our Father above calls a loser, and embarrassment, a FOOL!

See, that's the challenge for a Christian guy.... to overcome his natural state...

Boo hoo

Us guys have absolutely NO excuse since:

"we have a great high Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:14-16)

If we had no such Saviour, we'd have EVERY reason to be sick, to be dead, for we'd only be doing that which comes natural. PRAISE GOD that that's NOT the case, huh? And for that reason, we boys need to be absolutely shamelessly shameless of the Gospel, because we can, for that is what God defines as a man. Real men are those, who by faith, "desire a better coutry, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God IS NOT ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city." (Hebrews 11:16).

Since I'm already in Hebrews, how about I pull out a little bit more out of the Book as to some of the adventures of real men, as how God counts 'em:

"For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets--who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated--of whom the world was not worthy--wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth." (11:32-38)

If that doesn't get your blood flowing, you might want to check your pulse... or your heart. If you are not where you ought be with the Lord, nevermind all this nonsense. You're too stuck up on yourself to even care. You're dead.

Perhaps you know that, and perhaps you hate that, in which case I say this. Here's the ultimate sum of masculinity, and femininity:

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of the world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience--among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were BY NATURE children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved." (Ephesians 2:1-5)

See, that passage right there is what we celebrate. That's what it means to celebrate the true essence of masculinity and femininity. The Gospel. There's no getting around that. I'll admit all day long that i'm pretty bigoted about that... deal with it. Not Rambo, or Chuck Norris, or Steven Seagal, or Jean-Claude Van Damme, or Rocky, or Leonidas can even TOUCH that! Jesus was the ultimate man before it was popular.

Media killjoy

If you noticed that there's a part 4 (part fourer, in armyspeak), but no part 3, I intended that to happen. I started yet another book for my world lit 2 class, and it only furthers my frustration with today's quality of literature. It seems that a book has to contain some sort of foul language, reference to an unnatural sexual act (bestiality, rape, etc etc etc...), some literal insanity, be unrealistically depressing, and maybe even have the ghost of a two year-old for it to be considered a "great" work of literature, or that if it does contain those things, then it has to great. That's highly unfortunate, yet not unexpected. Paul spoke of this in his letter to the Romans:

"And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them." Romans 1:28-32

It seems that any form of entertainment, I'm using literature for this example but the rule stands across the board, has to contain some sort of that garbage before we watch it. Why? Well, in the case which Paul speaks of in that passage, because God has given man over to a debased mind. Is that not the scariest thought to think? To think of God, who we cannot come to already because of our sinful nature (the other reason for our disgusting preference for entertainment), would leave us in our "helpless estate" so that we can only continue even further into our darkness. How can that not frighten and shake us at our foundation and bring us to our knees to lift up our wailing for God to have mercy? My Sovereign Lord, I pray that you soften and break our hearts. But this is the plight, nae, the very death and hell in which the lost dwell day-in and day-out.

This is a call to myself to throw off all that I find "interesting" or "entertaining." A call to "not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of [my] mind, that by testing [I] may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:2) Next time you watch the TV, take an objective look at what you put in front of your face; does it bring to mind the grace of an awesome God? The next book you read in your free time; does it call you to draw near to a holy and righteous Lord? Think of the state of the one who wrote, composed, directed, produced, developed, and watched such material. Do they need a Saviour? Answer: Yes. But do they know that Saviour? What does that material say about God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Gospel, the TRUTH?

Everything we watch, read, listen to, write, think of, observe says something about the Truth. Pay attention next time you watch TV. You'll notice it. This came from talking with my uncle and cousin. We all acknowledge that everything says something about the Gospel. Think about it. Any fiction story; worlds are created in which Yahweh is not God (i.e. Harry Potter, The Matrix, The Iliad, The Aeneid, even The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings, though these may be taken separately). This may seem like a fundamentalist rant against anything that doesn't quote scripture, but it really isn't. It's just taking a look at that which we take a look.

That isn't saying that a good Christian cannot read fiction books, watch TV, pay to see a movie, or even be edified by such, I'm just drawing attention to the need to consider what you put in front of your face. That is a listen I hope I internalize. I cannot even begin to tell about how much that lesson would've helped me in my walk. It's such a struggle to war with those stains left by entertainment that was innocently intended to only kill the boredom. Thank God for the grace of Christ who offers to receive the surrendering of library of my mind for the sake of doing some cleaning, book burning, renewal, and consecrating.

Yep, that's my little sermon on that. There you go.

Overflowing with Gratitude-Part Fourer

I appreciate that Moses speaks the king's language.... as you can see, I just watched The Ten Commandments.... Charlton ain't no punk. Well, you know, today's been quite a nice day, thanks in a great deal to last night. Nothing extraordinary happened, just a conversation with friends that helped me to actually think about something that's been on my mind, rather than have it just sit there like a bump on a log.

There are really a couple of things that have been/are on my mind. Things such as: 1) If it is true that you can see the spiritual state of someone's heart by how they spend their money, how much money is okay to spend on yourself? 2) Why is it always the case that when I try to eliminate my tendency to be stupid, I just fall into legalism and I'm not that happy of a person? 3) Whether or not Stranger than Fiction is a good/great movie because Harold Crick survives?... It's these kind of questions.... Speaking of Stranger than Fiction, I found a quote from it that seems to pertain to this Easter weekend:
"Because it's a book about a man who doesn't know he's about to die. And then dies. But if a man does know he's about to die and dies anyway. Dies- dies willingly, knowing that he could stop it, then- I mean, isn't that the type of man who you want to keep alive?"..... well sister, I'm here to tell you... He IS alive, and forever will be.

So... I almost abandoned this post because I was approached writer's block... and then I thought, "I'm writing a blog...is writer's block actually possible?" The answer being "no," it's a blog... silly me. But I think that shows a part of my character, my prideful, vain, odd character. I'm writing a blog, and I get writer's block because I can't think of anything to write that's interesting or entertaining. A blog is just supposed to be somewhere that I can pour my pointless thoughts, and yet, I still want to please people, even in my pointless thoughts, like I want people to think that even in my times of empty wonderings, I spit wise sayings, comical anecdotes, insightful thoughts on life, and various other things fit for quoting on fortune cookies. I find it somewhat funny, in a depressing way.... that's how much pride I've got penned up. I try to pose as if I'm interesting all the time. Unfortunately, I'm not. I'm actually quite the bore. I don't drink beer often (at all), I can't speak Russian in French, and I actually prefer water (shameless reference to pop culture). If you don't believe me, though I don't know why you wouldn't believe me because there's a good chance that I have in fact bored you this very day, hour, even minute, just take a quick glance over this paragraph: I wrote about having writer's block on a blog... a BLOG... which, now that I think of it, is kinda paradoxical: having writer's block (on a blog, mind you), so I write about having writer's block. That actually raises the question, did I actually have writer's block? I'll leave that for you to decide.

Back to my #2 thought, it seems as if whenever I try to be responsible and remove sin from my life myself, I only fail...go figure... But how can that be? I can see so clearly, I think, my sinfulness, and when I try to take action into my own hands, I only screw things up. I recognize that my foot has the uncanny ability of jumping into my mouth, note the gymnastic talent, and when attempt to correct this, as I desire to serve the Lord by not be static in my sanctification, I find that when my foot exits and my mouth seems most free, my sin only stops it up and I cannot even open it to a little ptL-ing. This is the issue I run into when I take sanctification into my own hands...which is frustrating to say the least. I don't want to be lazy, and yet self-action is not the answer either.

Faith, faith, faith faith faith.... I cannot comprehend thee.

What an interesting issue to have: frustrated with knowing that you are completely horrible with being a good person, thus frustrated with the thing that makes it possible for you not to be such a horrible person at being a good person, because that thing you're frustrated with is not contingent upon you; your struggling actually only solidifies the reason for and strengthens the case that if you ever hope to be a good person, you better realize that you can't be a good person, but it's okay (well, for those upon whom grace is shown) that you are a horrible person because it's not about you not being a horrible person; it's about that thing which is completely not dependent upon your ability to be good, because you can't be good. It's all very entangling. Which is kind of a great way to describe it, considering John 15 (the whole Vine business, and what not).