Sometimes I wish I could just stop the train
Or that the train would stop for me.
I want to go home,
But the train is going there anyway.
I'll ride along
Because there are people on the way I can talk to.
It's a long ride
But the conductor likes me and wants me to stay.
So I went to church today and got into my mood (explained in previous posts)...I will be blunt.
I ended up going to Hampton Heights off of Wade Hampton with Robert and some of the other salgins. Sunday school was crap. The teacher (who is also the youth pastor) gave us this no-point spill for about an hour and frankly, I think it was a waste of my time. There was literally no point. Their whole church is going through the Purpose Driven Life thing, and honestly, I think it's just an excuse for lazy pastors. And on to my next point.
When I walked into the sanctuary, I saw a beautiful stained glass window in the front. One problem, there was a big Jesus on it. Now, call me if I'm wrong on this, but I believe that God commanded us not to make graven images especially of Himself. And so I'm sitting there with this big idol staring me in the face and, oh...God help us. Does no one even think anymore? I know that no one does, but surely they could have had the sense...Maybe I am being too critical, but I don't think so. God killed around 3,000 people at the foot of Sinai for the same exact thing. Things like this, in my opinion, are blatant idolatry. I am tired of people not thinking.
Come to think of it, there is a big Jesus in front of the library building here at NGU. Damn it.
(by the way I use cursing literally and purposefully. It's not just random)
Sometimes I hate the ability to think and reason; to be able to discern right from wrong, for when I see something wrong, I automatically set my mind against it.
Today in chapel they brought in Perry Noble, the pastor of Newspring in Anderson. He seemed like a nice enough guy, but I don't know. Dr. Krauss was the one who introduced him. All he had to do was mention Noble's name and the place erupted with applause and cheers. "Perry Noble," continued Dr. Krauss, "is the pastor of an 8000+ member church in Anderson" (again applause and cheering). From that point Noble had them hooked. I call it the "Perry Noble Effect." All that was going through my mind was, "Who gives a shit how many people are there. Does he preach the Word of God? Is anyone caring for those 8000+ people who say they were saved?" It seemed that all I could think about was the negative aspects of everything that was going on. And in the message, all I could think about was how he said this or that thing wrong. "That's not the way that the Bible presents it," I said.
Then after the message, I had several people I know come up to me and say something along the lines of, "Hey, wasn't that a great service?" I wanted to tell them, "No, it was terrible. Didn't you see the flaws in His logic? Didn't you see the emotional basis on which He presented his sappy speech? Didn't you see the way that he batted down all pursuits of the knowledge of God in favor of religious harmony?" To me He seemed like a knowledgeable man, very smart in fact, but trying to keep others from the truth. Needless to say, I wasn't too peachy keen on the whole deal.
And thats why I hate knowledge sometimes. I tend to be angry almost anywhere I go because I see things that aren't right. I wish sometimes that I could be like them, like all those ignorant people who just take what they are given without question. They seem all too happy in their lack of knowledge, and meanwhile, the Truth of God is falling further and further away in their minds.
Ignorance is bliss, but somehow, THE TRUTH IS BETTER.
Ok, so we created Five Pillars of Manhood a few years back, and I have been thinking about them recently. Their purpose it to placate all female wrath, and truth be told, they work every single time that they are used. It has saved me from many a dangerous/life-threatening/female-is-angry-at-me situation. I'll go ahead and list them.
1) You are Right
2) I am wrong
3) I'm sorry
4) Forgive me
5) I love you
These things are essential to every man's life, but let me put a spin on it. Let's look at it from a spiritual light. These five things are, in fact, the perfect response to God's grace in light of faith in Jesus Christ.
1) You are Right. God, you are right. You say through Your Word that I am sinful and deserving of death. There is nothing good in my life, and there is no way that I can please you.
2) I am wrong. There is nothing I can do to Attain your salvation. My ideas are flawed and wrong. My thoughts are not your thoughts
3) All of the things I have done that have been against your Word, I am sorry. My sins are an affront to you, and I am contrite.
4) Dear God, Please forgive me of my sins against you. Save me from these blemishes.
5) Thank you Father. I love you. I believe that Your Son took the punishment for my sins. He died and resurrected. Thank You for the salvation that You have provided though Your Son Jesus.
Just a thought. I think it's neat how our funny little five step process is so beautiful in context of grace.
So I went to the Passion conference this last weekend and had an amazing time of reflection and thought. During one of the sessions, I noticed that nearly half of the college-aged kids were doing something new during the singing, something that I have termed "the Jesus Hop." Yes...the Jesus Hop. Perhaps you have seen it before, the high school/ college-aged bouncing around the room. I have thought about it long and hard (not), and I think that I have formulated exactly how it is preformed.
Prerequisites include:
1) Jammin' worship music (as preformed by Chris Tomlin, Charlie Hall, or preferably The David Crowder Band.
2) Willingness to really 'get in the Spirit'
The actual preforming of the Jesus Hop includes standing and pointing your right index finger straight to heaven (like you are pointing to God). The next step involves closing your eyes and thinking about God. Next...you Hop.
OK seriously, I think this is Hilarious. There were like 5,000 or more people doing it at passion, and I could barely keep it in. I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with it, but I think its really funny.
Ah...so today a dear friend reminded me of my fence. It had been sitting away at the back corner of my property, and truthfully, in the back corner of my mind, clouded by time and lack of use and little motivation to complete it. In fact, it was not a very large fence. It was simply just another small project that I thought up. I walked up to it today to check on it, and I found everything in decent shape. Hmm...a little rusty, but with a bit of old fashioned work ethic I think I can get it back into shape. It's not even close to completion. It needs.....hmm......it needs.....More posts!!! I need to add more posts to my fence if it is going to be any good. I think I'll get started on it right away. So, here's the next post right........NOW!
