How much do you fight...

When I read the bible I sort of slip myself into the story. I like to insert my name for a character of the story and just run with it. It helps me understand what the particular story has to do with my life.

So I am reading Genesis 32 and I get to the part where Jacob wrestles with God. I insert myself for Jacob and just continue reading.

"That night Zaq got up and took his two wives (You go Deuce!), his two maidservants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. So Zaq was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Zaq's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak."

But Zaq replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." (Genesis 32:22-26 the Zaq Phillips Revised Version)

I find many things interesting with this passage. First off it makes me think of how much effort that it would take to wrestle with God. I am just throwing it out there but I would be willing to bet God is pretty buff. How could this man, how could I wrestle with God for so long?

The next thing I see is that God "touched" Jacobs hip and it was wrenched. This makes me think that maybe the struggle God was having with Jacob was not physical. Sure it ended up in a physical format but if God "touched" Jacob and it wrenched or dislocated Jacobs hip, could he not overpower him?

Now I am thinking about it. I know if I was to go head to toe with the creator of the universe I would loose. Personally I do not like to fight but if this struggle was more than physical I could last awhile. In fact I do it all the time. I feel a calling in my life and I put it off or do not do it at all. In fact I read this passage more than two weeks ago. I am in Exodus 18 now!

Which brings me back to my first point. How much effort does it take to struggle with God?

A lot, I am exhausted...

Sin and sinnners...

I just got done watching the movie "Expelled" with Ben Stein and in it he exposes a startling secret in science. Instead of explaining the entire movie I thought it would be easier to show a trailer so take a look.

So while Ben is traveling the country interviewing scientist who truly believe in Evolution and Darwin Theory I could not help but notice that they all seemed angry with God. I know it sounds odd because they do not believe in God so maybe they where angry with the concept of God. Whatever the case may be, almost all of these Scientist admitted to believing in God at a point in there lives but stop believing after several advents in their lives. One of these scientist has made it his goal in life to eliminate the idea of God.

They are all so angry and I cannot help but think we are to blame for it. Are we not his stewards? Are we not to shepard his sheep until he returns? Is it possible that we have caused this bitterness in these incredible smart people?

Yes! Maybe not in all cases but in some for sure. I think as a body we tend to focus on sin to much. Jesus did not focus on sin but rather the sinner. When a prostitute came for healing he did not send her away until she was "clean." What would be the purpose of that?

Jesus wants us to come to him dirty in our sin so he can heal us. In the same way we should not send away those who sin from our presence. Rather we need to love them like Christ would.

We need to focus on the sinner rather than the sin. For example, what good would it do to out law abortion if we do not change the heart of sinner. We stopped the sin but we did not help the sinner.

I know it may sound crazy but I am just trying to be like Jesus...

What I want...

In ministry (if you consider what I do ministry) you focus on others needs. I come in contact with several students from several different walks of life. Some of the students at our church come from families that are rich and there are other families not as fortunate. We have students that are surprisingly upbeat considering the riggers of adolescent life, then we have students who are suicidal. We got straight A students and we got students who are worried about graduating.

As someone who gets to interact with them on a weekly basis, there is nothing more than I want to take their pain and bare it. I would love to lift their burdens off their shoulders and just take it. It kills me to see people in pain, I do not know why but it just kills me. Often my own pain, suffering and sorrow gets put on the back burner because I am so consumed with trying to do something that only Jesus can do.

It is not healthy. My prayer life suffers because of it. Then my life suffers because I am not having an intimate relationship with Christ. Then you all suffer because I am moody (it is okay to laugh at that).

I do not want that. What I do want is to go back to ASP or well the way I lived at ASP. ASP is always tough. You work on projects that seem imposable to overcome, you are exhausted and you just know Thursday is going to suck. Yet you rely on your manna, that constant supply of Jesus to get you through.

I want to live desperately for Jesus, just like he lived for me...

Cease...

I have been having a real hard time lately. Life is so scheduled, I probably could tell you exactly what I am doing next month to the day. I have no social life or friends for that matter. The few friends I do have I alienate because I am so busy.

And I am so lonely.

I just want to have joy again. Joy that used to be so abundant in my life. Joy that came with being around those who cared for me and those who I cared about. Joy that came with following the forth commandment, the sabbath.

I am being robbed of my life by my own ambition and I am tired of it. I am going to listen to God and start taking a day easy, just to relax and worship. I want to invite you to join me because well I am lonely. Just let me know...

The Antichrist...

I do not know why but for some reason a lot of people are talking about the Antichrist these days. It is funny but since the 5th of November a lot of people have been talking about how the Antichrist will...

...rise to power with world wide euphoria.

...have great charisma, speaking ability and a plan to stabilize the economy.

...temporally save the world from military, economic and political problems.

I get the impression that a lot of people think that the results of election prove that a certain political figure is the Antichrist. Although I think these claims are absurd what really worries me is the concern and worry of those people. If you read my last blog, you know I am not worried but I am going some where different with this.

Some of the Characteristics of the Antichrist match those of Obama but there are plenty that do not match him. Let me make this clear, I do not believe Obama is the Antichrist. Personally from my own study I believe that claim is absurd but what if he was? Is there really need for concern? Alarm? Panic?

No! Since you know so much about the Antichrist that you can say he is Obama, then tell me what happens after his seven years of power on earth?

Jesus comes back for us and takes us to Heaven! There he will wipe away are every tear and personally I cannot wait for that. For the sake of Humanity, I hope I am wrong and he is the Antichrist because I got nothing to fear. Do you?

Obama is the President...Jesus is Lord

Before any body corrects me, I know Obama does not take office until the new year. With that out of the way let me continue.

I have been listening to my Family, friends and WORD FM explain how Obama is going to ruin are Christian society. How he is going to buck the way we live our moral lives with his liberal views. I had one friend tell me how he is going to start a civilian police force, like Hitlers S.S. Yet as I hear all this fear from the people I know the most and those at WORD FM, I cannot help but think, who is their Lord?

Do you really believe that Obama is such a threat to our way of life that God will not be able to deliver us? Need I remind you that our God is the same God who delivered our ancestors out of Egypt under the oppression of Pharaoh? Need I remind you that our God is the same God who gave the Midianites into the hands of Gideon? Need I remind you that our God is the same God who defeated Goliath with a scrawny sheep herder named David? Need I remind your our God is the same God who hung on a cross, died and rose three days later so we need not to live in fear but rather in Him!

We forget that Jesus is in control of our world not matter who is in the White House. For the next four years and forever lets not forgot that. Instead let us take this as a challenge to "Fight for the Heart of Our King," as a good friend of mine would put it. Obama obviously does not have the Christian ideals some of us would like him to have (as far as I am concerned neither did McCain). Yet I remember of a man who did not have the ideals of Christ when I was first introduced to him. In fact he would rip Christians from their homes and execute them on the spot but he went on to be a great church leader. If you are wondering who I am talking about open your Bible to the book of Acts and start reading.

So if you have not figured it out, I am not to worried about this past election. Call me a determinist but I believe Jesus in control.