Monday, December 24, 2012

Reason for the Season

The most beautiful and eventful time of the year is without a doubt, the Christmas holiday season. It’s a period of several weeks during which many of us reflect upon the reason for the season, while others attempt to censor it with silly propaganda. Nevertheless, such censorship is only capable of disturbing the physical and material representation of our joy – it has no power over the internal, spiritual delight our hearts experience all year long (Luke 1:14, Ephesians 6:12). The reason for this is that the very foundation of our joy is not only the birth of our Savior, but also His sacrifice.

As we reflect upon His coming into this world via a lowly cradle, let’s also remember His drinking of the cup of wrath (Matthew 26:42). The Messiah, King of Kings, the Holy One of Israel – took upon Himself that rugged cross. It was an incomprehensible act of love and meekness. Therefore, this wonderful time of the year is not about trees, ornaments, or gift-giving. Nor is it about cozy fireplaces or, dare I say, family reunions. This is a time to survey your heart and assume a position before your Lord. I hope you do this with all sincerity, as a New Year lies before you. God willing He provides us with the opportunity to step into it, will you do so with remembrance of His sacrifice? Will you too experience the imperishable and everlasting joy of a repented heart? Here is a short poetic excerpt which touched me this Christmas season:
He drank Your Cup of Wrath
the Holy One of Israel
the One swaddled in a manger
the One who Healed the lepers
and the God who walked on water
He’s walking to get to You
but don’t flippantly use His Flaming
and Glorious Name
if you still want the stains,
and not the Blood
that cleanses
He drank Your Cup of Wrath

Source: Misfit1965

Monday, August 20, 2012

He Will Carry You

These are the lyrics to a very simple, yet encouraging and truthful song that I wanted to share. You can find the actual song just about anywhere on the internet.

Their is no problem too big God cannot solve it
Their is no mountain too tall he cannot move it
Their is no storm too dark God cannot calm it
Their is no sorrow too deep he cannot sooth it

If he carried the weight of the world upon his shoulders
I know my brother that he will carry you
If he carried the weight of the world upon his shoulders
I know my sister that he will carry you He said

Come unto me, all who are weary
And I will give you rest

Scott Wesley Brown

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Modern Nonsense

Question: Who likes negativity? Furthermore, who truly enjoys emitting “negative energy” as a way of life? Yes, there may be a few bizarre individuals, groups, or cults whose only goal is to demoralize the rest of the planet. But in no way are they succeeding! Or are they? Unfortunately, a large fraction of humanity, mesmerized by round-the-clock social-political brainwash, has been and is continuing to fall into a depressive society; a society, where socializing goes no further than an electronic signal and the use of a physical book with actual pages is regarded as old-school. All of this, mixed with increasing violence, immoral behavior, and Hollywood gives you what we have today – one sad place to live.

It may seem that by ruffling-up all of the world’s problems into your face, I too am being negative. Yet that is not my intention, nor desire. I do not belong to any of those cults and by far am not a negative person. Conservative? Yes. Serious? To an extent. Pessimistic? I’d rather be safe than sorry. But I am certainly not habitually negative. Being a believer in God’s word, the wicked ways of the modern culture makes a lot of sense and doesn’t come with much of a surprise. Therefore, my desire is to awaken the sleeping crowd; specifically, the mesmerized ones mentioned above. Concurrently, I pray that He helps me to remain vigilant and spiritually sober, and that He gives me the strength to not fall into a similar dormant state.

For this post, I’ve coined the phrase “modern nonsense”, as it accurately depicts my realization of the modern, Godless culture. One of the latest, most evident examples of this is the inclination to socialize everything. This basically means that one’s entire life revolves solely around social experiences. Ultimately, Facebook is with you and you are with Facebook, 24/7 – you are inseparable. In this scenario, your existence would have been futile had you not checked your social networking account in the last 30 seconds. But it does not end there. In addition, regardless of where you go, you seek nothing but social interaction. School, college, work, and even church are simply your environments for social interaction. This is an especially depressing state for Christian’s. If your church attendance, baptism, and fancy Sunday clothes are nothing more than elements of your ploy to hangout with friends and family, you’ve got some serious decision-making to do. This behavior is a demonstration of fleshly desires, which according to Galatians 6:7-8, will only “reap corruption”. Your flesh desires to have fun, to socialize, to hangout, to relax, and nothing more. One might think this applies only to teens and young adults – alas, it is not so.

Are you headed the wrong direction?
This lifestyle is instilled in children, youth, and adults alike. How? One of the methods is mind control. Sounds silly but studies show that via subliminal advertising, consumers can easily fall for purchasing products which they don’t need and doing things they never intended to do. "Advertisers have taken a firm hold on our daily lives. Half of their dominating influence can be attributed to their use of subliminal advertising. They take advantage of the vulnerabilities in our subconscious minds. Using the latest computer technology, they have unparalleled resources to manipulate each image to target a specific weakness in us”, says Dr. Lechnar in his article Subliminal Advertising and Modern Day Brainwashing. This type of mind control is only the beginning and as individuals young and old, “progress” through life, they become more open to what society has to offer and more ignorant of their spiritual well-being. If you have not already noticed, society does not only offer material products – but lifestyles as well. Hence, the dangers around free services such as Facebook and public television must be conveyed here as well.

I’ve mentioned all of the above to give you an idea of just a few things which lead us to behaving the way we do. Our desire to study a book, especially the Bible, fades to zero. We disregard person-to-person communication and allow electronic devices to replace our best friends and relatives. When the rare occurrence of meeting with someone actually takes place, we scurry to catch-up on the latest Facebook statuses and quickly part, neglecting to value one another as human beings. This is what ultimately makes planet Earth a sad place. Nonetheless, negativity is not my middle name. So I’ll wind-up this post with a word of encouragement. And what encourages us better than the purity of God’s word?
Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it, the Lord is His name, “Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3
Call out to God; He will hear and answer you. Turn away from the rubbish offered by society, and set your ways right with Him. By doing so, we can make our surroundings a better place to exist in. Yes, in some cases it would take a collective effort but even if those around you are not adhering to Scripture’s warnings but are running through life on a gerbil’s exercise wheel, you must primarily be satisfied with your relationship with Christ. That’s where it starts. So go ahead, analyze yourself and make an honest judgment of where you stand. Wherever you go, what are your intentions? Whatever you do, what is your motivation? And whatever it is, let’s hope that it’s not modern nonsense.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Sun, stand thou still!

In the recent weeks and months, I have had the privilege of reading God's word from the beginning. Two of my most recent readings are the books of Joshua and Judges. Both books are an amazing historical record of God's hand in the life of His chosen people, Israel. Similar to a romance novel (not that I ever read one...), these two books are capable of drawing both tears of happiness and despair from the reader. And although many will claim that Biblical language is difficult to read and comprehend, I found it to be perfect for the context. For instance:
"Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel." Joshua 10:12-14
Isn't that just beautiful? In this short passage, the reader feels the intensity of the situation and the magnificence of God's hand - directly impacting man. With my minuscule understanding of astronomy, upon reading that passage, I imagined the entire solar system, in all of its massiveness, just come to a halt. Earth, traveling around the sun at approximately 67,000 mph and rotating around 1,000 mph, just stopped. All of this - a result of one man's earnest plea to the Lord. These three verses take up just a few lines, yet they're capable of brewing-up a multitude of topics and discussions amongst both the Christian and non-Christian circles. Christian's can take away a mound of encouragement, while non-Christian's can witness yet another magnificent account of God's mighty hand in man's life.

Next time you pick up the Bible, don't try to just read it - experience it.
"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Hebrews 4:12