Tuesday, March 23, 2010

i thank you god for this most amazing day, just awesome

i thank you God for most this amazing... (65)

e.e. cummings

i thank You God for most this amazing day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything which is natural which is infinite which is yes  (i who have died am alive again today, and this is the sun's birthday;this is the birth day of life and love and wings:and of the gay great happening illimitably earth)  how should tasting touching hearing seeing breathing any--lifted from the no of all nothing--human merely being doubt unimaginable You?  (now the ears of my ears awake and now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

Sunday, March 14, 2010

"For this (willful submission) is not politics, but music; not equality, but harmony; not justice, but love" Peter Freeft

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Submission to authority

"For this is the will of God, that but doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people." 1 Peter 2.15

Why do we complain about politics? Almost every class I have here at Grace University includes at least one student testing the political waters and making a rude comment toward a governmental policy seeing if anyone will be frustrated. Haven't you felt this?

After meeting another follower of Christ it seems inevitable that the political persuasion of the other will come through when he/she makes a cynical, sarcastic comment and you'll be left with the dilemma, laugh to diffuse the situation or allow a little silent space that openly acknowledges disagreement.

If one more Grace undergrad (fill in the blank that's not physical science) major makes a stupid comment regarding global warming (a subject I doubt we know the first thing about) I might just break.

"For this is the will of God, that but doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people." 1 Peter 2.15

DO GOOD! We aren't even asked just to ignore people we disagree with we are to do good to them. This is more obvious when those "other" people are present but what about when they are in Washington D.C.? Do good to people who believe in the current health care reform. Disagree with them, maybe (probably). Complain about them, never.

I say this publicly because it is not Jesus' will that we go about these things alone. Jesus wants His people to move in these ways together. To change a stagnant, rebellious, rough political climate that we experience in America today maybe instead of coming to more brilliant conclusions regarding economic policy we should do good. Stop complaining. Maybe the problem isn't democratic vs republican economic policy but sin vs Jesus.

If the problem is sin vs Jesus, as we are complaining, sarcastic, cynical and all together rude Christians are fighting against Jesus in the political sphere. Am I being unfair?

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

A post from a mobile phone? What will they think up next?

Monday, March 8, 2010

Why blog?

This is a tough question. To know that someone might refer to me one day as a "blogger" gives an eerie picture of the future me sitting at the computer feverishly writing conspiracy theories with a bowl of Cheetos puffs teetering precariously on the plateau of my shirtless stomach.

Is this an inevitability?
(Not if I ever want to go on a date again)

What is a post? A public statement written at a convenient time in a convenient place in a non-personal medium for voluntary readers in similar convenient situations. Those readers can respond, the writer can take suggestions, and the world can see dialogue.

I wonder, if early church heretics could have blogged early in their Christian development, could they have been steered aright?

This heretic is hoping for as much.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Prayer...ish

So we had a "Day of Prayer" at Grace University where classes (and sleep) were voluntarily called off to pray. Paul instructs to lead a life of ceaseless prayer.

Problem: if everyday were that sort of a "Day of Prayer", we'd be narcoleptic monks.

Am I saying the day of prayer is bad? No way, Jose. But I think we need to have a working definition of prayer that may help us measure our prayer life against Scripture's demands. If a god demands a sleepless shut-in, (s)he's going to have to look for someone else.

How can we lead a life of ceaseless prayer?

What do you think?