My friend Marcelo just wrote a note called "Bringing Down Babylon" which goes on a similar line of thought as I had when I wrote "God Does NOT Care About Your Happiness"
I suggest you go read the note (let me know if the link doesn't work, it might not if you're not friends with him on facebook):
http://hs.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=8085387598
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Brian Kersch Note 2: True Love
Also written by the man blessed with an amazing blend of intelligence, knowledge, and teaching/preaching ability, Brian Kersch.
Similar (read: identical) to last time this will once again be about a song, also similarly I would ask atheists to stray from this note as once again this does not concern you and trolling will be in no way appreciated. As you could probably tell at this point the song title is True Love. However for this note I will be taking little to no credit for anything "profound" as most of the ideas are represented in the song, I'm just expanding upon them. Also note that this note is actually more humorous than the last one, marginally. (Well at least I'm hoping it's humorous because if not then I failed with this note and probably should deter myself from being a stand-up.) This is also not as highly directed towards adults as I intended the last one to be as well, except for the fact that every adult I wish to read this (and I'm friends with on facebook) interacts with teenagers on a daily basis in some way, shape, form or fashion. The message still holds true for you at the end, it's just the process that you (as the adult) might find somewhat elusive to draw the connection to, although I believe if everyone wasn't blinded by self-righteoussness (wow, that seemed really harsh but I couldn't think of another way to word it, I apologize for the nature of that statement) everyone would realize that method to which we reach the thesis remains true regardless of age.
The song can be listened to here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9CGpHZvqVs
"Blood and water hit the ground
walls we couldn't move came crashing down
we were free and made alive
the day that True Love died, the day that True Love died"
While I find this mildly amusing that it takes something like this (or the song) to get a lot of Christians to notice this I also find it mildly depressing at the same time because it is true that oftentimes our thoughts are nowhere near the realm of Him.
Part 1: No one has any idea what I'm talking about (A.K.A. A Thousand Tangents)
This song makes a simple yet very true message, that Christ died for us because He has true love for us. Wait a minute... that's not what the song says at all, maybe I just suck at reading. No, it says that Christ is True Love. The purest form of love, the embodiment of love, the completion of love, and that without Him love is flawed in its most primitive form. What could compel you to take upon yourself the thing that you despise the most?
If you were like me this would probably be something like ignorance or stupidity. If given the choice to become ignorant or one marginally lacking of intelligence I think the response to the choice given would be both swift and with fear that it was ever presented in the first place. For a lot of teenagers these days some things that you might detest without knowing it would be:
Loss of attractiveness or even becoming unattractive
Societal ridicule
Being ostracized
Becoming a prep (just kidding, no really though...)
Ridicule from parents
Arrogance
Being an atheist *gasp* (if your answer is anything but this, you are wrong.)
Not being accepted (note that this is different from societal ridicule because even those who are accepted get ridiculed at times, some people don't care if they're accepted as long as no one gets on their case for it)
_________________
etc.
we all know what we don't like, we all know what we make fun of, and even the more "preachery" or "churchy" of us have our vices when it comes to a perfect personality.
Now think about what in the world could ever get you to accept that choice? Wait, what? To become the thing I have always hated (other than yourself, that's almost inevitable). What would it take for you to say "yes?"
This is where I digress from the song, and this is where the thesis of this note becomes evident.
Christ made many sacrifices for us:
He became human
He separated himself from the Father momentarily
and the duh, he died on the cross.
But the one I would like to point out today that is often overlooked when it comes to analysis is that he took our sins upon Himself. I mean everyone says it, and it has the very nature of not meaning anything due to the repetition. I mean everyone notices the whole "wow, he died on the cross!" thing, but it goes unnoticed why He died on the cross and how big of a sacrifice that was for Him.
Christ was, is holy, perfectly perfect, righteous, without flaw, holy. Read Isiah sometime, it's amazing how he depicted God's holiness. In Jewish culture if something was repeated three times it was considered to be of utmost importance, this is something you DO NOT forget. This is like someone telling you the 5 digit code to stopping the world from blowing itself up, you DO NOT forget this (12345, 12345, 12345). It is important, in case you didn't get the message, this matters A LOT. And obviously God is talked a lot about in the Bible, I mean isn't the whole dang thing about Him (and look how huge it is! There must be something about him we're supposed to get from it, I mean seriously people that thing could keep a house from blowing over in a tornado). Well since God is talked about so much in the Bible wouldn't it be worthy to note which of his attributes are mentioned. Yeah we got the ones that everyone knows about:
loving
omnipotent
omnipresent
just
omniscient (I felt lame putting the three 'omni's together)
jealous
almighty
holy
holy
holy.
Three times holy boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen, principalities and powers, angels and demons (what a horrible book, well literality speaking it was a nice read but I digress). It is the only attribute of God mentioned three times in the same breath. The Cheribum fly around God and cry "holy holy holy is the Lord almighty the whole earth is full of His glory"
Hey guys remember that 5 digit code, I hope you haven't forgotten it because you're in trouble if you have! Man this is something you're supposed to get, He wants to make sure that if you know only one thing about God that you sure as hell (ed note: Brian sucks at puns, please ignore the rest of them for the remainder of the message) better know that He is holy. But what is holy, again I digress (ed note: Brian does this a lot but everything ties itself together in the end in a neat little bow, notice how we're not talking about love here?[Brian note: the editor sure does love to talk a lot immediately following himself]) I digress to further understand what this term means. (ed note: saying it twice was intentional [Brian note: shut up])
Now since I know that almost all of you have heard the "sin" spiel I am going to regurgitate it for you because I'm like that. Sin, in the greek form, was a term for archery, anything that wasn't a perfect bullseye was considered "sin". This means if you're one atom off of the dead center of the nucleus of the atom that's in the direct center of the bullseye you screwed up, sounds easy right? Well to be perfectly perfect you have to be better than that. You have to be the perfect center of the proton that is the perfect center of the atom that is the perfect center of the bullseye that is the perfect center from the target and you have to shoot your arrow over the back of the target and have it come backwards and hit it. THAT is the meaning of holy. Not only can God do this but he does do this and if I were to say "without trying" I would be lying because that would imply that God has to try at something. So if God is the perfect center... blah blah blah, that means that sin must be anything that isn't God or God's will. To do anything that contradicts God is a sin. So God is holy holy holy, 12345, 12345, 12345, He is without sin, He is so without sin that sin is the opposite of Him.
Part 2: A neat little bow.
So what does ANYTHING I've said have ANYTHING to do with True Love? Actually I chuckled right there because of how simple it is, I feel special (ed note: his mommy says he is too [Brian note: I told you to shut up, you're fired] ed note: I'm telling mom)
Now I remember asking you what it would take to get you to say "yes" to becoming the thing that you hate most, well have you come up with an answer?
"If it saved my mom's life" (We all love our mommas)
"If my boyfriend asked me to" (yeah right, liar)
"If my girlfriend asked me to" (closer, but that's like saying a boy threw a rock closer to the moon than a girl.)
"If my spouse asked me to" (yeah... that was farther off than the boyfriend/girlfriend suggestions, fail)
"If God asked me to" (well aren't you Ms. Perfect Do Goody, now why are you reading this note?)
"If it saved my life" (probably the most honest response)
"Because I love Christ" (this is a phenomenal answer and I commend all of those who have done it in the past, right now I'm thinking of Columbine... However I also ask you to be honest because no one is going to know this answer except for you. As Michael W. Smith puts it "it was a test we could all hope to pass, but none of us would want to take" so if you "chose" this answer per se I really hope that it is an honest choice.)
what about "just cause"?
what about "because I love the people that do the thing I hate the most"?
what about "oh hey, that's exactly what Christ did on the cross"
Christ, being holy holy holy, but completely and utterlyTrue Love took our sin on the cross and took the punishment for it. CAPS LOCK GOD took the very thing that is the complete opposite of Him and accepted the punishment for it "just cause" yeah, just cause He is love and He loves us. I was thinking of not leaving you hanging and actually writing a conclusion to this note considering that right there is the thesis but I couldn't come up with anything (other than what's coming next of course) and I sort of feel like this interrupts the note so I will close with this:
Christ, being holy holy holy, but completely and utterlyTrue Love took our sin on the cross and took the punishment for it. CAPS LOCK GOD took the very thing that is the complete opposite of Him and accepted the punishment for it "just cause" yeah, just cause He is love and He loves us.
WOW
Similar (read: identical) to last time this will once again be about a song, also similarly I would ask atheists to stray from this note as once again this does not concern you and trolling will be in no way appreciated. As you could probably tell at this point the song title is True Love. However for this note I will be taking little to no credit for anything "profound" as most of the ideas are represented in the song, I'm just expanding upon them. Also note that this note is actually more humorous than the last one, marginally. (Well at least I'm hoping it's humorous because if not then I failed with this note and probably should deter myself from being a stand-up.) This is also not as highly directed towards adults as I intended the last one to be as well, except for the fact that every adult I wish to read this (and I'm friends with on facebook) interacts with teenagers on a daily basis in some way, shape, form or fashion. The message still holds true for you at the end, it's just the process that you (as the adult) might find somewhat elusive to draw the connection to, although I believe if everyone wasn't blinded by self-righteoussness (wow, that seemed really harsh but I couldn't think of another way to word it, I apologize for the nature of that statement) everyone would realize that method to which we reach the thesis remains true regardless of age.
The song can be listened to here: http://www.youtube.com/wat
"Blood and water hit the ground
walls we couldn't move came crashing down
we were free and made alive
the day that True Love died, the day that True Love died"
While I find this mildly amusing that it takes something like this (or the song) to get a lot of Christians to notice this I also find it mildly depressing at the same time because it is true that oftentimes our thoughts are nowhere near the realm of Him.
Part 1: No one has any idea what I'm talking about (A.K.A. A Thousand Tangents)
This song makes a simple yet very true message, that Christ died for us because He has true love for us. Wait a minute... that's not what the song says at all, maybe I just suck at reading. No, it says that Christ is True Love. The purest form of love, the embodiment of love, the completion of love, and that without Him love is flawed in its most primitive form. What could compel you to take upon yourself the thing that you despise the most?
If you were like me this would probably be something like ignorance or stupidity. If given the choice to become ignorant or one marginally lacking of intelligence I think the response to the choice given would be both swift and with fear that it was ever presented in the first place. For a lot of teenagers these days some things that you might detest without knowing it would be:
Loss of attractiveness or even becoming unattractive
Societal ridicule
Being ostracized
Becoming a prep (just kidding, no really though...)
Ridicule from parents
Arrogance
Being an atheist *gasp* (if your answer is anything but this, you are wrong.)
Not being accepted (note that this is different from societal ridicule because even those who are accepted get ridiculed at times, some people don't care if they're accepted as long as no one gets on their case for it)
_________________
etc.
we all know what we don't like, we all know what we make fun of, and even the more "preachery" or "churchy" of us have our vices when it comes to a perfect personality.
Now think about what in the world could ever get you to accept that choice? Wait, what? To become the thing I have always hated (other than yourself, that's almost inevitable). What would it take for you to say "yes?"
This is where I digress from the song, and this is where the thesis of this note becomes evident.
Christ made many sacrifices for us:
He became human
He separated himself from the Father momentarily
and the duh, he died on the cross.
But the one I would like to point out today that is often overlooked when it comes to analysis is that he took our sins upon Himself. I mean everyone says it, and it has the very nature of not meaning anything due to the repetition. I mean everyone notices the whole "wow, he died on the cross!" thing, but it goes unnoticed why He died on the cross and how big of a sacrifice that was for Him.
Christ was, is holy, perfectly perfect, righteous, without flaw, holy. Read Isiah sometime, it's amazing how he depicted God's holiness. In Jewish culture if something was repeated three times it was considered to be of utmost importance, this is something you DO NOT forget. This is like someone telling you the 5 digit code to stopping the world from blowing itself up, you DO NOT forget this (12345, 12345, 12345). It is important, in case you didn't get the message, this matters A LOT. And obviously God is talked a lot about in the Bible, I mean isn't the whole dang thing about Him (and look how huge it is! There must be something about him we're supposed to get from it, I mean seriously people that thing could keep a house from blowing over in a tornado). Well since God is talked about so much in the Bible wouldn't it be worthy to note which of his attributes are mentioned. Yeah we got the ones that everyone knows about:
loving
omnipotent
omnipresent
just
omniscient (I felt lame putting the three 'omni's together)
jealous
almighty
holy
holy
holy.
Three times holy boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen, principalities and powers, angels and demons (what a horrible book, well literality speaking it was a nice read but I digress). It is the only attribute of God mentioned three times in the same breath. The Cheribum fly around God and cry "holy holy holy is the Lord almighty the whole earth is full of His glory"
Hey guys remember that 5 digit code, I hope you haven't forgotten it because you're in trouble if you have! Man this is something you're supposed to get, He wants to make sure that if you know only one thing about God that you sure as hell (ed note: Brian sucks at puns, please ignore the rest of them for the remainder of the message) better know that He is holy. But what is holy, again I digress (ed note: Brian does this a lot but everything ties itself together in the end in a neat little bow, notice how we're not talking about love here?[Brian note: the editor sure does love to talk a lot immediately following himself]) I digress to further understand what this term means. (ed note: saying it twice was intentional [Brian note: shut up])
Now since I know that almost all of you have heard the "sin" spiel I am going to regurgitate it for you because I'm like that. Sin, in the greek form, was a term for archery, anything that wasn't a perfect bullseye was considered "sin". This means if you're one atom off of the dead center of the nucleus of the atom that's in the direct center of the bullseye you screwed up, sounds easy right? Well to be perfectly perfect you have to be better than that. You have to be the perfect center of the proton that is the perfect center of the atom that is the perfect center of the bullseye that is the perfect center from the target and you have to shoot your arrow over the back of the target and have it come backwards and hit it. THAT is the meaning of holy. Not only can God do this but he does do this and if I were to say "without trying" I would be lying because that would imply that God has to try at something. So if God is the perfect center... blah blah blah, that means that sin must be anything that isn't God or God's will. To do anything that contradicts God is a sin. So God is holy holy holy, 12345, 12345, 12345, He is without sin, He is so without sin that sin is the opposite of Him.
Part 2: A neat little bow.
So what does ANYTHING I've said have ANYTHING to do with True Love? Actually I chuckled right there because of how simple it is, I feel special (ed note: his mommy says he is too [Brian note: I told you to shut up, you're fired] ed note: I'm telling mom)
Now I remember asking you what it would take to get you to say "yes" to becoming the thing that you hate most, well have you come up with an answer?
"If it saved my mom's life" (We all love our mommas)
"If my boyfriend asked me to" (yeah right, liar)
"If my girlfriend asked me to" (closer, but that's like saying a boy threw a rock closer to the moon than a girl.)
"If my spouse asked me to" (yeah... that was farther off than the boyfriend/girlfriend suggestions, fail)
"If God asked me to" (well aren't you Ms. Perfect Do Goody, now why are you reading this note?)
"If it saved my life" (probably the most honest response)
"Because I love Christ" (this is a phenomenal answer and I commend all of those who have done it in the past, right now I'm thinking of Columbine... However I also ask you to be honest because no one is going to know this answer except for you. As Michael W. Smith puts it "it was a test we could all hope to pass, but none of us would want to take" so if you "chose" this answer per se I really hope that it is an honest choice.)
what about "just cause"?
what about "because I love the people that do the thing I hate the most"?
what about "oh hey, that's exactly what Christ did on the cross"
Christ, being holy holy holy, but completely and utterlyTrue Love took our sin on the cross and took the punishment for it. CAPS LOCK GOD took the very thing that is the complete opposite of Him and accepted the punishment for it "just cause" yeah, just cause He is love and He loves us. I was thinking of not leaving you hanging and actually writing a conclusion to this note considering that right there is the thesis but I couldn't come up with anything (other than what's coming next of course) and I sort of feel like this interrupts the note so I will close with this:
Christ, being holy holy holy, but completely and utterlyTrue Love took our sin on the cross and took the punishment for it. CAPS LOCK GOD took the very thing that is the complete opposite of Him and accepted the punishment for it "just cause" yeah, just cause He is love and He loves us.
WOW
Brian Kersch Note 1: Ashes to Ashes...
This was written by someone whom I am immensely blessed to be able to call a friend. He's probably one of, if not the most intelligent person I know-but he has also been blessed with the ability to take really deep concepts (especially theological ones) and put them into words that *most* everybody can understand. He dreams of being a youth pastor, and I have no doubt that he will make one of the best ones there ever was. This post and the next one were both written by Brian Kersch. I hope you will take the time to read it slowly and thoroughly. The truths in these posts are too important to just skim over.
Ashes to Ashes...We all fall down *buzzer noise* half wrong. I promised a bunch of people that I would write this note and I finally have, that being said I think it to be one of most profound insights and would greatly appreciate the actual reading of it rather than skimming, also note that if you are one of my non-Christian friends I would recommend not reading this or holding your tongue if you do, this was not meant for you, if you read it I ask you to refrain from your criticisms of Christianity as that is note the purpose of this note.
Rather this note is a tribute, and subsequent analysis of a few things, mainly songs, all intertwined with mass amounts of theology.
Ashes to Ashes
-Burden of a Day
Let's begin with Ashes to Ashes considering it is the namesake of the note and the reason this note was thought of in the first place. This is where you are both right and wrong, the end of song does conclude with "ashes to ashes we all fall down" but the most important portion is contained in the bridge, more specifically
"Why do we cry such bitter tears for a life that is no longer ours?
With dirty faces and mudcaked shoes we dance to be different but we are all the same.
Take us to a place where envy ceases to be green and the color red covers all our sin and blacks out our eyes."
Did it strike you? Did that chill your spine and make you stop reading? If you were listening would you have to pause the song to contemplate that?
Why do we call ourselves Christians? Are we followers of Christ or have we wholly devoted ourselves to Him? How could you live otherwise? Have you committed to following Christ? Or are you willing to die for Him? Better yet would you LIVE for Him?
so let me ask you
Why do we cry such bitter tears for a life that is no longer ours?
All too often we see those weeping out for former memories, things their life once held, wishing for the blessings back, I myself am guilty of this, more often than not. And yet we cry? What? We committed our lives to Him we are no longer living our lives. "I have been crucified with Christ and it is I who no longer lives but Christ lives in me..." Galations 2:~20
Lord take us to that place, the color red, Your blood has payed the ultimate cost for our sin. This is our plea! We have died, You have died, You made the ultimate sacrifice, You took sin upon Yourself entirely undeserving. The opposite of what You are and You gave yourself for us... and we cry.
"With no, no regrets
Live today with no regrets
With a song in our hearts and breath in our lungs
Our eyes burn with vision.
Ashes to ashes
we all fall down"
Everyone hears that "live with no regrets" and it is strongly misinterpreted to mean "live life so that you won't regret things you do." Which is stupid beyond all measure. No mortal lived a perfect life, nor will it ever happen. It is the inevitable nature of man to mess up I'm sure you all know that, if not read Romans 3:23. I interpret it to mean that, yes you messed up, but don't dwell on it, you're running a race and you can't run a race backpedaling. Keep your eyes forward but never forget everything behind you lest you forget why you're running in the first place. You both can't dwell on your past nor can you disassociate yourself from it or you are consequently going to forget the purpose of this existence.
"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, hallelujah, amen, you are dismissed" -Englishman
-Ted Dekker
(Anyone who's read the book [e.g. Marcelo] will note that this is quoted grossly out of context but will also note that it still coincides with the analysis following it)
Our earthly existence is one of ashes to ashes, we come from the earth and to the earth we shall return. But that is where hallelujah comes into play "to live is Christ to die is gain."
I stop here and ask you
have you ever had a moment(s) in which you were so caught up in This that nothing else mattered. A moment so humbling that you couldn't take for fear of wrecking it, destroying the beauty of it? Do you not understand that His glory is our existence. Have you ever been so caught up singing "O Praise Him" that when it ended you sat in silence just... existing, not thinking, not acting but just. being. there. ?
Do you not get it? THIS oh This is why we live, This is why we breathe, apart from This there is nothing. No there is not even nothing, there is a complete void, absent of anything. Oh it is those moments that I would give anything and everything, willingly, for. Everytime a breath fills your lungs, vision burns in your eyes, a song stirs in your heart, This is it. CAPSLOCK BOLDED IT There is nothing more than just to be, it is the perfection of our existence. Him.
(perfection in the sense of wholly completed)
There is so much more to add to this and it will be done I promise at a later time.
Ashes to Ashes...We all fall down *buzzer noise* half wrong. I promised a bunch of people that I would write this note and I finally have, that being said I think it to be one of most profound insights and would greatly appreciate the actual reading of it rather than skimming, also note that if you are one of my non-Christian friends I would recommend not reading this or holding your tongue if you do, this was not meant for you, if you read it I ask you to refrain from your criticisms of Christianity as that is note the purpose of this note.
Rather this note is a tribute, and subsequent analysis of a few things, mainly songs, all intertwined with mass amounts of theology.
Ashes to Ashes
-Burden of a Day
Let's begin with Ashes to Ashes considering it is the namesake of the note and the reason this note was thought of in the first place. This is where you are both right and wrong, the end of song does conclude with "ashes to ashes we all fall down" but the most important portion is contained in the bridge, more specifically
"Why do we cry such bitter tears for a life that is no longer ours?
With dirty faces and mudcaked shoes we dance to be different but we are all the same.
Take us to a place where envy ceases to be green and the color red covers all our sin and blacks out our eyes."
Did it strike you? Did that chill your spine and make you stop reading? If you were listening would you have to pause the song to contemplate that?
Why do we call ourselves Christians? Are we followers of Christ or have we wholly devoted ourselves to Him? How could you live otherwise? Have you committed to following Christ? Or are you willing to die for Him? Better yet would you LIVE for Him?
so let me ask you
Why do we cry such bitter tears for a life that is no longer ours?
All too often we see those weeping out for former memories, things their life once held, wishing for the blessings back, I myself am guilty of this, more often than not. And yet we cry? What? We committed our lives to Him we are no longer living our lives. "I have been crucified with Christ and it is I who no longer lives but Christ lives in me..." Galations 2:~20
Lord take us to that place, the color red, Your blood has payed the ultimate cost for our sin. This is our plea! We have died, You have died, You made the ultimate sacrifice, You took sin upon Yourself entirely undeserving. The opposite of what You are and You gave yourself for us... and we cry.
"With no, no regrets
Live today with no regrets
With a song in our hearts and breath in our lungs
Our eyes burn with vision.
Ashes to ashes
we all fall down"
Everyone hears that "live with no regrets" and it is strongly misinterpreted to mean "live life so that you won't regret things you do." Which is stupid beyond all measure. No mortal lived a perfect life, nor will it ever happen. It is the inevitable nature of man to mess up I'm sure you all know that, if not read Romans 3:23. I interpret it to mean that, yes you messed up, but don't dwell on it, you're running a race and you can't run a race backpedaling. Keep your eyes forward but never forget everything behind you lest you forget why you're running in the first place. You both can't dwell on your past nor can you disassociate yourself from it or you are consequently going to forget the purpose of this existence.
"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, hallelujah, amen, you are dismissed" -Englishman
-Ted Dekker
(Anyone who's read the book [e.g. Marcelo] will note that this is quoted grossly out of context but will also note that it still coincides with the analysis following it)
Our earthly existence is one of ashes to ashes, we come from the earth and to the earth we shall return. But that is where hallelujah comes into play "to live is Christ to die is gain."
I stop here and ask you
have you ever had a moment(s) in which you were so caught up in This that nothing else mattered. A moment so humbling that you couldn't take for fear of wrecking it, destroying the beauty of it? Do you not understand that His glory is our existence. Have you ever been so caught up singing "O Praise Him" that when it ended you sat in silence just... existing, not thinking, not acting but just. being. there. ?
Do you not get it? THIS oh This is why we live, This is why we breathe, apart from This there is nothing. No there is not even nothing, there is a complete void, absent of anything. Oh it is those moments that I would give anything and everything, willingly, for. Everytime a breath fills your lungs, vision burns in your eyes, a song stirs in your heart, This is it. CAPSLOCK BOLDED IT There is nothing more than just to be, it is the perfection of our existence. Him.
(perfection in the sense of wholly completed)
There is so much more to add to this and it will be done I promise at a later time.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
The Sky is Green
Have you ever had someone ask you, "What if God said the sky was green? Would you believe Him?"
A lot of Christians stumble over this question. However, the answer is incredibly simple.
God is God, we are not. So yes, if God said that the sky is green, it would be. But what does it really mean when we call the sky blue or green? See, words are nothing more than sounds put together to describe something. I could use several dozens words to describe the exact same thing. For example, I could tell you that the sky is blue, or that the sky is azul. Which is it? Do you ask. The answer is, it's both. Azul is just a different word for blue. But no matter how I describe it, you wouldn't suddenly start seeing a different colored sky.
My point is, God can use any words He wants to describe something. But that does not change the fact that the wavelengths of the light from the sky that hit your eyes and cause you to see the color you are seeing will not change.
In other words, that question is a silly argument over words, not a real scientific argument like some people seem to think it is.
Of course, God could change the wavelengths so that you see the color green...but that's a rabbit trail.
A lot of Christians stumble over this question. However, the answer is incredibly simple.
God is God, we are not. So yes, if God said that the sky is green, it would be. But what does it really mean when we call the sky blue or green? See, words are nothing more than sounds put together to describe something. I could use several dozens words to describe the exact same thing. For example, I could tell you that the sky is blue, or that the sky is azul. Which is it? Do you ask. The answer is, it's both. Azul is just a different word for blue. But no matter how I describe it, you wouldn't suddenly start seeing a different colored sky.
My point is, God can use any words He wants to describe something. But that does not change the fact that the wavelengths of the light from the sky that hit your eyes and cause you to see the color you are seeing will not change.
In other words, that question is a silly argument over words, not a real scientific argument like some people seem to think it is.
Of course, God could change the wavelengths so that you see the color green...but that's a rabbit trail.
Friday, January 11, 2008
The Church as Burger King
Disclaimer: I personally feel that this note is kind of a "stream of consciousness" and doesn't really follow a logical train of thought. I hope y'all can still understand what I'm saying.
I know this is a blanket statement and is therefore inherently false, but it is so true in general that I am going to make it anyway.
People today, especially teenagers, have no clue what the real purpose of church is.
(Notice I use "church" with a lower-case "c", so I mean the local assemblies and services, not the Body of Christ in general)
Case in point:
The majority of the youth in my youth group don't go to the main service. They go to youth group and that's it. Despite the fact that Don highly encourages everyone to go to the main service, a lot of them don't. I'm not trying to judge, but I see a lot less youth in service than I do in youth group.
Recently, the seniors of the youth group have been trying to set up a time to get together and pray together for our youth group ("The Attic"). One of the suggestions has been to skip main service and pray during that time instead. The people who support the idea have been saying things that go along the lines of "Well, I don't usually go to service anyways, so..."
Personally, I find this attitude horrifying. They probably don't realize it, but what they are really saying is, "I don't want to go to main service and now I have a "Christian" excuse to skip" I know that this post will get imported to facebook and someone will read it there and probably think I am being harsh and judgemental. I will be the first to admit that yes, I am struggling with a "holier than thou" attitude. Please, pray for me. And then please listen to what I have to say.
In the early days of the church, age groups were not separated. In fact, for most of church history, age groups have not been separated. I am not an expert on church history, so it could be that there were some age group separations, but if they were, they were very large and very general, i.e. children and adults. It is not until recently that churches have become so split up by age groups. At our church alone we have preschool, grade school, middle and high school, college/young adults, young couples, young families, "older" families, seniors, and I'm sure I missed something in there somewhere.
I don't doubt that each of these groups have specific needs that the Sunday School classes are tailored to, and thus are a great resource. However, if we only focus on the Sunday School classes, we miss the amazing blessing of getting to worship with, learn with, and grow with, multiple generations of Christians. That's what the main service is for. I firmly believe that one's church experience is sorely lacking if one is only fellowshipping with Christians in his/her own age group. In Hebrews, it is clearly stated that the purpose of the church is for the mutual edification of believers: "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:24-25)
Notice, the purpose is mutual edification. In order for edification to be mutual, all the people in the relationship need to be GIVING edification as well as RECEIVING edification. The major problem with what people are doing with the church today is that they are on receiving, they are not giving. This is why you will see a lot of youth in youth group but not in main service. Youth group gives to them. Can they give to other believers in youth group? Absolutely. But giving and receiving only in one's age group will give one an incomplete experience. An older Christian adult with much more life experience can give something one's peers cannot. Likewise, there is an energetic dynamic that I have found often comes from the youth that, when added to the main service, gives it a renewed energy and different dynamic.
But, as I stated at the beginning, people in general do not understand what the purpose of the church is. They think the church is for THEM. The church has become the equivalent of a spiritual Burger King, where we can have it our own way. THIS IS NOT THE WAY IT WAS MEANT TO BE!
We probably all know the quote, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." Well, we need to start applying this to the church. We need to quit being church consumers and focus on what we can give to the church.
Now, as I said before, you can definitely serve your peers and your age group. However, there is a certain level of comfort when you are around your peers. Serving your peers, to be completely honest, is not that difficult. You're all in it together, you understand each other. What needs to happen, and what I'm praying to see happen, is people stepping out of their comfort zones and serving people of all age groups.
In summary, there is a problem in our churches. The one I described in my youth group is only one of many numerous examples throughout the nation. These problems arise from 1) A "burger king" mentality where the church is there to serve us (kind of similar to my last post), and 2) A lack of understanding of the need to fellowship with other age groups. Never before in history have our churches been so segregated according to age.
I know this is a blanket statement and is therefore inherently false, but it is so true in general that I am going to make it anyway.
People today, especially teenagers, have no clue what the real purpose of church is.
(Notice I use "church" with a lower-case "c", so I mean the local assemblies and services, not the Body of Christ in general)
Case in point:
The majority of the youth in my youth group don't go to the main service. They go to youth group and that's it. Despite the fact that Don highly encourages everyone to go to the main service, a lot of them don't. I'm not trying to judge, but I see a lot less youth in service than I do in youth group.
Recently, the seniors of the youth group have been trying to set up a time to get together and pray together for our youth group ("The Attic"). One of the suggestions has been to skip main service and pray during that time instead. The people who support the idea have been saying things that go along the lines of "Well, I don't usually go to service anyways, so..."
Personally, I find this attitude horrifying. They probably don't realize it, but what they are really saying is, "I don't want to go to main service and now I have a "Christian" excuse to skip" I know that this post will get imported to facebook and someone will read it there and probably think I am being harsh and judgemental. I will be the first to admit that yes, I am struggling with a "holier than thou" attitude. Please, pray for me. And then please listen to what I have to say.
In the early days of the church, age groups were not separated. In fact, for most of church history, age groups have not been separated. I am not an expert on church history, so it could be that there were some age group separations, but if they were, they were very large and very general, i.e. children and adults. It is not until recently that churches have become so split up by age groups. At our church alone we have preschool, grade school, middle and high school, college/young adults, young couples, young families, "older" families, seniors, and I'm sure I missed something in there somewhere.
I don't doubt that each of these groups have specific needs that the Sunday School classes are tailored to, and thus are a great resource. However, if we only focus on the Sunday School classes, we miss the amazing blessing of getting to worship with, learn with, and grow with, multiple generations of Christians. That's what the main service is for. I firmly believe that one's church experience is sorely lacking if one is only fellowshipping with Christians in his/her own age group. In Hebrews, it is clearly stated that the purpose of the church is for the mutual edification of believers: "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:24-25)
Notice, the purpose is mutual edification. In order for edification to be mutual, all the people in the relationship need to be GIVING edification as well as RECEIVING edification. The major problem with what people are doing with the church today is that they are on receiving, they are not giving. This is why you will see a lot of youth in youth group but not in main service. Youth group gives to them. Can they give to other believers in youth group? Absolutely. But giving and receiving only in one's age group will give one an incomplete experience. An older Christian adult with much more life experience can give something one's peers cannot. Likewise, there is an energetic dynamic that I have found often comes from the youth that, when added to the main service, gives it a renewed energy and different dynamic.
But, as I stated at the beginning, people in general do not understand what the purpose of the church is. They think the church is for THEM. The church has become the equivalent of a spiritual Burger King, where we can have it our own way. THIS IS NOT THE WAY IT WAS MEANT TO BE!
We probably all know the quote, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." Well, we need to start applying this to the church. We need to quit being church consumers and focus on what we can give to the church.
Now, as I said before, you can definitely serve your peers and your age group. However, there is a certain level of comfort when you are around your peers. Serving your peers, to be completely honest, is not that difficult. You're all in it together, you understand each other. What needs to happen, and what I'm praying to see happen, is people stepping out of their comfort zones and serving people of all age groups.
In summary, there is a problem in our churches. The one I described in my youth group is only one of many numerous examples throughout the nation. These problems arise from 1) A "burger king" mentality where the church is there to serve us (kind of similar to my last post), and 2) A lack of understanding of the need to fellowship with other age groups. Never before in history have our churches been so segregated according to age.
God Does NOT Care About Your Happiness
One of my friends was having a struggle once. When she described her struggle to me, she described what she considered her two "choices" to me. The first one satisfied her desires, but it would mean disobeying God. The second one obeyed God but would leave her miserable (as she described it). When I asked her if she believed God's Word was true, she said yes. I gently pointed out that since she believed that, she really only had one choice. Her response was that she did believe that God's Word is true, but she also firmly believed that God would not want her to make a choice that would make her unhappy.
I wanted to scream at that point.
Beyond the fact that her unhappiness was being caused by wrong choices and attitudes she was already making, I don't see anywhere in the Bible where it says that God cares one iota about your happiness. I know that sounds like a harsh statement, so allow me to clarify a little bit. By "not caring", I mean that when God (who is all-knowing, all-wise, and all-powerful) decides how He is going to arrange the circumstances in your life, your happiness is not a factor in His decisions. God's goal is not for you to be happy. Nor should it be our goal either.
"Happiness" is a pretty vague word. Often, "happiness" is used interchangeably with "joy", although the two mean very different things. Happiness is an emotion, while joy is a character quality. Anything can give us happiness, but only pursuing God can give us true joy.
When God arranges circumstances in our lives, what does He take into account? To answer that, we must ask, what is His goal?
Christians today, especially American Christians, have gotten the wrong view that God's goal is to make humans happy. That God is some sort of "genie in a bottle" to grant us our wishes and make us comfortable. Nothing could be further from the truth.
God's goal is, simply put, to bring glory to Himself. He is the true center of the universe.
Now, what does that mean for us? What is God's goal for us? (Us=Christians). The answer is found in Romans 8:29:
For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Do you see it? God's plan for us is that we be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. God gives us opportunities to develop Christlike character qualities. Sometimes (dare I say, oftentimes), that means that God arranges circumstances that will actually make us unhappy and uncomfortable.
However, if we take those opportunities to develop Christlike character, we will develop joy, which is superior to happiness. As I said, happiness is an emotion. Thus it is fleeting. Joy, on the other hand, is a character quality, and thus is constant.
I firmly believe that we should not pursue happiness. Instead, we should obey God and seek to glorify Him, and in the process we will develop joy.
We also should not expect God to care about our happiness. When we realize that God's goal for us is not our happiness, but our conformity to Christ, making the right choice in situations like the one my friend was going through suddently become a whole lot easier.
I wanted to scream at that point.
Beyond the fact that her unhappiness was being caused by wrong choices and attitudes she was already making, I don't see anywhere in the Bible where it says that God cares one iota about your happiness. I know that sounds like a harsh statement, so allow me to clarify a little bit. By "not caring", I mean that when God (who is all-knowing, all-wise, and all-powerful) decides how He is going to arrange the circumstances in your life, your happiness is not a factor in His decisions. God's goal is not for you to be happy. Nor should it be our goal either.
"Happiness" is a pretty vague word. Often, "happiness" is used interchangeably with "joy", although the two mean very different things. Happiness is an emotion, while joy is a character quality. Anything can give us happiness, but only pursuing God can give us true joy.
When God arranges circumstances in our lives, what does He take into account? To answer that, we must ask, what is His goal?
Christians today, especially American Christians, have gotten the wrong view that God's goal is to make humans happy. That God is some sort of "genie in a bottle" to grant us our wishes and make us comfortable. Nothing could be further from the truth.
God's goal is, simply put, to bring glory to Himself. He is the true center of the universe.
Now, what does that mean for us? What is God's goal for us? (Us=Christians). The answer is found in Romans 8:29:
For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Do you see it? God's plan for us is that we be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. God gives us opportunities to develop Christlike character qualities. Sometimes (dare I say, oftentimes), that means that God arranges circumstances that will actually make us unhappy and uncomfortable.
However, if we take those opportunities to develop Christlike character, we will develop joy, which is superior to happiness. As I said, happiness is an emotion. Thus it is fleeting. Joy, on the other hand, is a character quality, and thus is constant.
I firmly believe that we should not pursue happiness. Instead, we should obey God and seek to glorify Him, and in the process we will develop joy.
We also should not expect God to care about our happiness. When we realize that God's goal for us is not our happiness, but our conformity to Christ, making the right choice in situations like the one my friend was going through suddently become a whole lot easier.
A few words
I have questioned for awhile whether or not I should make this blog. See, I have an issue with pride, and putting my writings up in a public place where people may praise them may only feed my pride if they do.
However, at the same time, I can't keep the lessons that God is teaching me to myself anymore.
This blog is simply my thoughts. This is not a journal of my life, nor is this a collection of essays. These are simply thoughts that I have that express what God is teaching me, and who I am and who I am becoming.
Some posts may be long, full-blown essays. Others may not be more than a sentence or two. But hopefully, all of them will communicate something God has shown me.
A note about the title: The reason I call it "God Said It Best" is because anything I write on here that is true, you can find it in the Bible (although maybe not expounded upon to the extent that I tent to expound...). If it's not true, however, I want you to challenge me and show me where I went wrong, and what the Bible actually says.
(And y'all can ignore the "About Me" section, I wrote that for my other blog, Journey to Jacksonville)
However, at the same time, I can't keep the lessons that God is teaching me to myself anymore.
This blog is simply my thoughts. This is not a journal of my life, nor is this a collection of essays. These are simply thoughts that I have that express what God is teaching me, and who I am and who I am becoming.
Some posts may be long, full-blown essays. Others may not be more than a sentence or two. But hopefully, all of them will communicate something God has shown me.
A note about the title: The reason I call it "God Said It Best" is because anything I write on here that is true, you can find it in the Bible (although maybe not expounded upon to the extent that I tent to expound...). If it's not true, however, I want you to challenge me and show me where I went wrong, and what the Bible actually says.
(And y'all can ignore the "About Me" section, I wrote that for my other blog, Journey to Jacksonville)
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