So I was reading for class and came across this great quote that I want to be my attitude towards sin:
“I’m against sin. I’ll kick it as long as I have a foot. I’ll fight it as long as I have a fist. I’ll butt it as long as I have a head. I’ll bite it as long as I’ve got a tooth. And when I’m old and fistless and footless and toothless, I’ll gum it till I go home to Glory and it goes home to perdition.” -Billy Sunday
I was sitting in my apartment today and could not help but realize how far God is from me. Learning to live in this reality has proven difficult, though deeply necessary. I’m not saying that God is not here or He has forsaken us, but I believe it is accurate to say that I do not always know His presence and love like I the greatest times in my life, or even enough to bring joy. But as I sat this afternoon, this truth rained down hope like a rushing flood. We do not know and understand what it is like to be with God. Our sin-stricken, finite hearts and minds have left redeemed Christians in a middle ground of knowing, but not. So, you ask where is the hope? The hope came for me when I realized that there will be a day when it will be impossible not to know the presence of God in my heart, mind, and soul. For in eternity, HE will be there, and my sin, that has brought this separation, will not be!
My roommate Adam, the sophomore who feels cool living with seniors, bought me these two books for my birthday last month. Francis Chan speaks in a way many will never be able to and his writing causes the reader to feel as though he/she just found a seat in Starbucks with their favorite drink and began a conversation with Chan. Needless to say, Christians in our generation, and the older, should read these books. They are not about the next deepest argument. They do encourage the reader to live a life clearly affected by the radical love the Creator of the Universe bestowed in His Son, and to open oneself up to witness the work of the Holy Spirit. Read them and let us live as Christ has called us, not in the mediocre, complacent, suburbian reality of American Christianity that plagues so many of us and our churches.
One question often comes to mind when reading the gospels. Why does Jesus not allow those who know Him to declare who He is. It is a consistent issue that our Lord commands the demons not to say who He is, and also asks people not to share with anyone after healing them. Why? Did Jesus not want people to understand that He was the Christ? Is it because His time had not come? Did withholding this truth for a time protect the cross? I don’t know, but it always intrigues me.
A holiday celebrating Santa Claus, gifts, family, shopping, and snow, Christmas began with a little baby, in some little village, in some little country occupied by Rome. What was so important about that night, place, or that baby?
In Genesis Abraham encountered the Lord, who promised him an heir through whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed. Isaac, the only son according to promise, found himself wondering where the lamb of sacrifice was after laboring up a mountain with his father. This mountain was named ‘The Lord Will Provide’ because God stopped Abraham from offering his son. Moving forward David proclaims to his Lord, “apart from you I have no good thing,” and continues to explain that his Lord will extend His mighty scepter, “Arrayed in holy majesty, from the womb of the dawn you will receive the dew of your youth,” and rulers will be removed by this Priest of the order of Melchizedek. The Scriptures wait hoping to descry such a night when the Wonderful Counselor will come to reverse the yoke: give hope to the hopeless, make low the rich, and give glory to the lowly.
After realizing that history has been expecting, it becomes clear why Mary sings such triumphant praise to the Most High “bringing down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate.” She sings because, “unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” The long awaited heir and promised sacrifice has been born this day; the fulfillment of the Law and prophets has given up glory and been born to a virgin in Bethlehem. From Abraham to City of David, the birth of David’s Lord is worthy of rejoicing. The depth reaches so far beyond consumerist tendencies and old fat men dressed in red. We celebrate with ‘joy inexpressible and full of glory because: “Hope is here, it’s a new day, peace has come.”[1] “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.”
[1] Hughes, Tim. Guitartab. (http://www.guitaretab.com/t/tim-hughes/177925.html)
Our family chose not to give gifts this year and go to New York City instead. Traveling to this great city twice in high school left quite an appreciation and desire to hopefully return multiple times during the course of my life. In fact, I still hope to possibly live there for at least a short period of time, maybe do law school or masters there. There is just something about the big city that attracts me, and I mean you can’t get a much better city than New York-at least in this country. Needless to say, I’m excited to set my feet on the sidewalks and do my best at becoming a New Yorker for a week.
Sometimes life is just confusing. Most people know me as a pretty consistent person, but I just don’t know what I want. I’m graduating college. I want to do something significant with my life. I want to get married sometime. But beyond these broad statements, I just don’t know. I feel like I know what I want in some areas, but I know I have to patiently wait for greater clarity in when or how. In most areas, like career and next steps, I am at a loss. For these its not even that I’m waiting to figure out what God wants; I need to figure out what I want to do and that will probably be ok with Him as long as its for His glory.
I am about to say something many people will dislike me for, well if many people actually read this blog. I HATE SANTA!!! Seriously, what is the deal with everyone wanting to be visited late at night by an obese, hairy, ho hoing, old man dressed in red. If someone like that came down my chimney he would here the crack of a shot gun. Beyond that why in the world do we want to convince our children of something we know isn’t true and they will be told we have lied to them by some kid people see as mean because he has spoken truth. So there I said it, I hate the fat old man people put faith in like he is a saviour or something.
Thankfulness gathers so many meanings from different situations. There are those things that bring thankfulness like: gigantic turkeys, mashed potatoes, apple pie, and much less than competitive football games…but I have been trying to think what I am truly thankful for today. I have amazing family and friends who brought encouragement simply through time spent together today. Knowing this makes it clear that I would not even be thankful for the list above unless the family and friends gave something to be really thankful for. I mean who would really be thankful to have and do all those things alone. Engaging these thoughts leads me to take a step farther and wonder if I could even truly be thankful for my family and friends with out realizing that God has created us and saved us out of darkness into His marvelous light. I don’t have it all figured out yet but it just seems that true and deep thankfulness has to be filtered through the redeeming grace and existence of our King. For how can thankfulness be true in hopelessness? It would be so fickle…
I’m Annoyed with Curtis
If all this rumor is true that Curtis left or is leaving for Japan, I am exceptionally annoyed with him, in fact I hate him right now. I just talked to him this weekend and he didn’t say anything about this. Forget all the years I’ve known him and endured his uniquely ridiculous sense of humor and personality, he doesn’t feel the need to let us know that he is going to the other side of the world. However, if that picture is false-I might take back that he is annoying, a bad friend, and should really buy me an expensive gift this time.
