Sunday, September 5, 2010

The New Occult?

I got asked recently which team I was for.. Not the Red Sox, or OU, or the Rangers, but some wacky Team Jacob or Team Edward. Yes, that was my introduction into Twilight, the world of cult fan fiction. I could talk about the obsession with Twilight alone, but I'd probably barf cantaloupe chunks all over my laptop. I wish it was just something new and horrific that the older folks could shake their heads at in shock; but, it really is just a sick manifestation of mistaken hero worship.
Mistaken hero worship has been around for a long time, my granddad used to talk about the stars of the airwaves, the Shadow, The Lone Ranger with his faithful steed and trustworthy sidekick, then my dad's heroes, Tarzan and Jane, John Carson of Mars, and Batman.
We long for heroes who are human, yet not human, people who have abilities to take horrid situations and change them miraculously better for all. Superheroes with almost supernatural powers... we long to be like them, heck, I wanted to be Wolverine from X-Men, Spiderman, wished I could fly, but that was when I was a child of 10. Besides, claws that come out... still cool.
But recently there has been a surge, not just in the world, but among Christians, and it's a little disturbing. Instead of Batman being every girl's heart desire, it's a vampire, a werewolf, something supernatural, that reeks of evil. In the last 3-5 years there has been an outbreak of movies and tv shows portraying vampires and creatures of mythology as normal and good.
The Gates-portrays vampires and werewolves, succubi and witches as misunderstood, people just trying to be good.
True Blood, pretty much twilight tv show, girl with lame life falls in love with a vampire and a dog shifter, lots of sex and violence.
Twilight-barf. but a girl who is a snotty nosed rebellious brat gets in a love triangle with a werewolf and a vampire. Lame on the violence.
Vampire diaries-girl gets in incest triangle.
And lots of Anime vampires.
Why this sudden fascination with the supernatural? I understand longing for the ability to change things, whether it's super strength, being immortal, bullet proof, and looking really good too, but what's disturbing is that we are looking to demonic characters for our heroes.
Just take a look at vampires.. they feed on human life.. come on! Don't be a retard and say it's ok.

Do you really want to change people's lives? To be a real hero? To have powers reserved for demigods?
Trust in God and let him use you.
Samson, killed a thousand with a asses jaw. David's Mighty Men killed Giants and Lions, Judges, where mere men were possessed with God's might power and wiped out hundreds of better armed men. The Apostles who brought back dead people and healed people.
You want real power? Get off your lazy rear and do something for God.
Sheesh! Don't make me spew cantaloupe chunks.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Blackwater Diving Part 2

Well, ok, so last time, I was 35 feet down with no sense of direction and a slightly panicked dive buddy. Honestly, I wasn't feeling so hot either. Well, no sense of direction, the problem is that we were really screwed up.

I also said it was about our Christian walk when you really can't see how to look up, when your light is bright, but it doesn't help either.

Well when we were there, with almost no options, we resorted to one of the fundamentals. We let some air out. The air bubbles floated up. It was one of those things where you are so happy to see a simple thing.

Well we just followed the bubbles. :D the solution to a hard problem was a simple answer.

That's the way it is with our Christian walk. We are surrounded with complicated problems. Christians doing evil things, compromising their faith for the pleasures of a minute. I've even done it. And that's when we have and need a simple answer. We need to love Jesus once again.
We need to let Him lead our walk. We can't seek His will through extra doctrines and extra rules and judgement on those who fail.
We have to walk the simple path of love, and the Bible. If we are faithful, He will be faithful too.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Blackwater diving.Part One.

Blackwater diving is perhaps the second most dangerous diving, the first being cave diving, but then again, as my instructor said, only crazy people dive caves.
Blackwater diving is diving in perfectly black water. It is so dark that when you put your hand in front of your face you can't see your hand. Even if your hand is on your face, you still cannot see the difference. Yet when you turn on your flashlight, it extends into the distance like a laser beam. This phenomenon naturally occurs when there is an excess of debris is the first strata of water. the debris catches the light and completely blocks it. the lower strata are completely light and debris free.


When I went on my Blackwater dive with my dive buddy Jon, our Dive master who gave us our dive buoy so no matter where we went, we would always have that line showing us which way was up. As we descended below 35 feet it got so black, it was disorientating.
We started our search for stolen cars, but, as we proceeded, Jon, hit me on the arm, and pointed to our back.
I shined my dive light and I see our buoy floating right behind us, shrunken with pressure. We had no way up... We had lost our sense of direction.

That's the feeling I have now. That there is so much blackness that the little light I shine just seems to disappear. The things that I would look to direction, the exterior things, they aren't not working. People I know and respect are doing things they once clearly knew to be wrong once.
It's not just anybody, it's people who I respect, who I like. I've been through two deaths this summer, and it's shaken my world. One because it was my first granddad, and the other one, was it was a boy who I could have saved after he drowned.. but I wasn't able to.
Life will always have those moments, when you get bewildered, lost, disorientated with where you are. You can't even guess which way is up.


Part 2 coming soon, you will see the conclusion to both my diving story, and what I feel God is leading me to when disorientated. :D

Friday, July 2, 2010

Christian Mediocrity

"So today I did _______,” said my friend.

"Wow... so can I ask a really hard question? How did you, as a Christian, get past the 'Thou shalt not _______' part? I'm not judging you, just asking."

"Well, I thought about it for a really long time, and we don't really know what the original Hebrew words meant."

I didn't really know what to say at this point. This wasn't just a random question. Over the past year as I went to college and was more exposed to other people's lives I saw many things happen in others lives that were direct contradictions to the teachings of God's word. I have done some of those things.

No, I'm not talking about murder or highway robbery, but things we all think are ok.

I've been with a group of Christians who were having fun but always joking about sex. Some of them wouldn't joke about it, but just make sexual comments. I had a discussion with one girl that was adamant that cheating in college was ok because she needed to get through just a couple of hard courses. Incidentally, they were hard because instead of learning them in high school she cheated her way through them. I've seen guys and girls jump in and out of relationships. They justify sex before marriage, defrauding each other, and doing many actions that seem contrary to God's purpose.

Their reasons are interesting. I hear, and I have said, “My actions don't hurt anyone. It's not clear in the Bible. It never says don't do this specific action. It was only a joke.”

What does the Bible say about this?

1) As my friend said, the Hebrew words might mean something else.

In Mathew 5:18 Jesus says, "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."

Furthermore John writes in 1 John, 1:1-3, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ."

2 Peter 1:16 says, “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty."

Jesus himself says in John 10:34-35 "Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken?”

There are so many more verses where God says the Bible is his word and it is accurate. God did not make these rules to be broken or to have an excuse to break us, but to show us our need for him. We claim grace for our sins, and we disbelieve anything that says we are wrong. I've made the excuse, "They just don't understand."

God does understand, and every action we do against his law is a slap in his face and of his son who died for us. Did God indeed give us grace so we could sin more?

I am tired of my mediocrity, and I am disgusted by yours. I am ashamed by my actions, and heartbroken at yours. I see brothers and sisters, who once were so bold for Christ, choose the pleasures of this world and carelessly spit on a sacrifice so hard won.

In addition, lest you or I claim that the Bible is not accurate, Jesus said that if we break one of the least of these commandments and proclaim it to be the truth, we are the least in the Kingdom of Heaven.

2.) We say our actions hurt no one. That our time is our own; how can it be so bad if it feels so right?

Paul says our lives are not our own, we have been bought at a price, we are slaves to righteousness, We are athletes in the games. We don't have time for the luxuries and pleasures of this world. We need to buffet our bodies so we may win this prize. The church's actions, my inaction... they make me want to throw up.

We don't have time to do things that don't benefit people. Have you not read the word that our every action will be called into account? Not only will we be judged for what we did do, but we will be judged for our inaction.

3.) It was only a joke... yeah, that's one of my biggest weaknesses. If you know me... I tell major jokes. I have pulled off some noteworthy pranks. I convinced two girls that I cut off my own foot to get out of an accident once. It sure was funny!

I have to carefully look at this.. it's clear that the man who says he was only in jest after hurting people is a terrible hindrance. This does fall under every action being accountable.

I know when somebody accidentally makes a sexual reference... it's funny as all get out, but when we do it intentionally... forget WWJD, how about what would your mother do? She'd slap me so fast that even my superior instincts wouldn't see it.

We live a life of mediocrity. Whatever happened to living a life dedicated to God? We are supposed to pursue God and we pursue the world. When was the last time we even took time to look at our lifestyle from a third person point of view? Or even from God's viewpoint?

My lifestyle has saddened me much over the last 6 months. I'm sure God feels even worse about it. To me... God isn't my sugar daddy... he's someone real, someone to be feared and respected.

We care only for ourselves.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Ben's Bedtime story

Once upon a time, there lived this man. he was a normal man, in a normal time with a normal family and a normal home and a normal farm and a normal dog with the normal cat. The man would get up at the normal time and go eat his normal food and go out and work. And that's where the normal ended. This man was different, he would go out and work until the job was done. See, that wasn't normal, because it was what was needed, not what was the norm. He was single, see his beautiful wife and his beloved daughter had died off in the last plague. It was a blessing in disguise for his land was ruled by an evil oppressor who had no respect for life or families. It was an evil time. The normal man, Bob, had one comfort, his neighbors, the sluckian family. They also had a daughter, Susie, who had been his daughter's play mate.
One day the evil bands of lawless oppressor (the pepians) were roaming the land and they decided to take not only the crops of the normal families but they decided to take the beautiful daughter of the normal man's neighbor. The evil band of five rode in and stole the daughter and killed the entire sluckian family when they resisted.
When Bob saw the sluckian farm burning, he knew what had happened. He started running to cut the invaders off, armed only with his pitchfork. He ran as hard as he could and he made it to the intersection before the raiders did. he took off his shirt, revealing his muscled torso holding the shirt in one hand, the pitchfork in the other. He hid in the ditch and waited for them.. as the lead one approached, his horse running full speed, he flapped his shirt, spooking the horse... and throwing the rider to the ground. He jumped out and thrust the pitchfork into the second rider's neck causing instant painful death. He then broke the handle off creating a spike, that he slammed into the fallen riders body, pinning him like a beetle. he then pulled out the fallen rider's sword and slashed the belly of the third horse and then hacking his riders head off with the back stroke as the rider fell. the fourth horse spooked at the sight of blood and backed into the fifth rider causing susie to get knocked to the ground. The fourth rider tried to clear his sword but Bob rammed the sword into his gut, then swung up using the sword as an axis to jump onto the last living evil pepian. They both fell to the ground and they wrestled around until at last Bob choked the last one to death. Susie ran up to the blood covered Bob and held on to dear life crying incoherently. Give the poor girl a break, her whole family was wiped out.

The next day he called a meeting together of his people. They debated for a while then at last they said.. we must go and fight the pepians, we must let them know our women are not their playthings!
Bob and the men marched out to battle with the evil pepians.
They met them in the valley of the dirty snow. There Bob's people were afraid.. there were 500 pepians to their 25 farmers! and Bob had the only swords. Bob, the normal man.. was in a position. Would he do the normal thing.. and flee with his fellow normal people? or would he get the job done?

The normal people did what normal people do when faced with extraordinary situations. They fled! Well, one left.. Bob. Bob stood there sword in hand. The pepians stood there and laughed at the one man with a sword. Then they charged. When at last the dust settled and the blood stopped flowing one man stood. But he did not stand alone.. he had God standing with him. God wants the normal man to do extraordinary things so that God can do supernatural things through him. Bob? he had the sword stuck to his hand.. but he still stood.
11 Sam 23:10

Thursday, May 27, 2010

knotted

You stand there, all tied up with knots, you stand there hopeless, saying that you don't know what to say or to start, your whole life is knotted up with horrible knots.. and you want to reach for the scissors and end the string of events. You think the scissors are good for you and you push me away when you need a friend the most. I'm not offering a quick fix, or that it will get better soon, but I am willing to sit down and help you untie each knot. For as you look close at my hands.. you see each of my fingers is calloused and bruised from untying knots in my life.. you never know of who helps you with the knots in life... I never did.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Just another day on the farm,

Farm life always starts too early, no matter, if you went to bed at 3 in the morning, or 11 at night. This morning the sunshine came up way too early. But it has it's bright spots, there are the puppies, one of them charged and barked. it's kinda cute. We have a new calf, it's pure black and already it's ancy and jumping around. I'm applying for several more jobs, calling KSA up today and faxing in an application. It's still hard getting over the events of the weekend, I guess I will always blame myself. I'm the guy who is always prepared.. and I wasn't prepared enough. At least I have you, who helps me through the pain.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Parents Can lose the Right to be Respected and Honored.

Let me start this post off by clarifying. This post is just stating an exception. I am stating that there is an exception that I hope is rare.

In the Torah, the Pentateuch specifically, there are crimes that would result in death of the offender, sodomy, adultery, murder, trying to kill someone, etc. According to that, if a parent did any of those things, especially to his kids, he lost the right to live, which included the right to be a parent.
Now that I have established that biblical fact, we have the issue of today, where people can do those offenses and get away with it. My personal belief is that if a person does that, they still deserve to lose the right to life.
If a parent has done any of those things, in my chain of logic, they have lost the right to respect and honor.
Debate it if you want, it's clear to me.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Life and Death

What is the difference between life and death?
Is it really a river depicted in Pilgrims Progress? Is it the light at the end of the tunnel? Life is full of meaning for everyone. Family, friends, loved ones, maybe a wife or husband... simple little things like a hug that can turn your day around. Death? It is described as evil, dark, it snatches and steals and takes. Life is beautiful, Death is ugly. When you combine life with death you have life after death.. but that is a topic for another time. What is the difference between life and death?
Death is despair, life is joyous...
The difference between life and death is 5.6 lbs.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

My Deal with the Devil

As the years go by, people keep asking me one question. "What is your secret to success? How do you end up getting everything you desire?
I say this and that, every day it is something different. My real secret is one that few would accept. I made a deal with the devil.
It was a sweet deal. I got everything I ever wanted
I got all the money I ever wanted, I made a killing in real estate. The girl that broke my heart.. well she came back begging to be mine and I crushed her heart. I had the pick of any girl I ever wanted! It was really a sweet deal. I got the best cars and motorcycles, I had immunity in life. Everything went my way! lol, you gotta ask what I signed over to get everything I ever wanted. No, I didn't sign my soul over to the devil. I was "saved" a long time ago.
What did I sign over? I just quit reading my Bible, quit praying, didn't go to church, did some mean things from time to time, was selfish, did what felt right... the list goes on. I just put me first. It's been an awesome life! But you know what the sweetest part is? Knowing that all you suckers out there are doing what I got a great deal on.. doing the same exact things and you are doing it for free! What chumps.







"This is pure fiction. well it has a moral to it."
Ben