Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Jobs, Scholarships, College, and Life...
I JUST FINISHED MY SCHOLARSHIP PORTFOLIO!!! I'm one step closer to GRADUATION!!! I realized yesterday that the only college I've completely applied to in full is Multnomah University, which happens to be where I wanna know, so may God provide! I also applied to Miracle Ranch awhile ago, and I'm excited! I can't wait for this summer! It's gonna be amazing! I hope I get accepted. I applied for worship/music lead and High School Lead, both of which are leadership and I've only been there a year, so wish me luck! If you have anything going on in your life also you'll be in my prayers, good luck with your life's endeavors!
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Moses, Jesus, and an "Old Man" at a Golf Course
Moses, Jesus and an old man are golfing. Moses steps up to the tee and hits the ball. It goes sailing over the fairway and lands in the water trap. Moses parts the water and chips the ball onto the green.
Jesus steps up to the tee and hits the ball. It goes sailing over the fairway and lands in the water trap. Jesus just walks on the water and chips the ball onto the green.
The old man steps up to the tee and hits the ball. It goes sailing over the fairway and heads for the water trap. But, just before it falls into the water, a fish jumps up and grabs the ball in its mouth.As the fish is falling back down into the water, an eagle swoops down and grabs the fish in its claws. The eagle flies over the green where a lightning bolt shoots from the sky and barely misses it. Startled, the eagle drops the fish. When the fish hits the ground, the ball pops out of its mouth and rolls into the hole for a hole-in-one.
Jesus then turns to the old man and says, "Dad, if you don't stop fooling around, we won't bring you next time."
Jesus steps up to the tee and hits the ball. It goes sailing over the fairway and lands in the water trap. Jesus just walks on the water and chips the ball onto the green.
The old man steps up to the tee and hits the ball. It goes sailing over the fairway and heads for the water trap. But, just before it falls into the water, a fish jumps up and grabs the ball in its mouth.As the fish is falling back down into the water, an eagle swoops down and grabs the fish in its claws. The eagle flies over the green where a lightning bolt shoots from the sky and barely misses it. Startled, the eagle drops the fish. When the fish hits the ground, the ball pops out of its mouth and rolls into the hole for a hole-in-one.
Jesus then turns to the old man and says, "Dad, if you don't stop fooling around, we won't bring you next time."
Friday, January 20, 2012
My First Semi-Sermon!
SIN = DEATH
Sin tears me from God. I am now DEAD. I can't do anything if I'm dead! I'M DEAD! But God, in his infinite wisdom saw to sacrifice his only son to die on that cross so He could resurrect man from their SIN! To resurrect them from their DEATH! When God brought Jesus back from the dead, when He resurrected His son from the dead He brought you back with Him because when Jesus died He freed us all from the chains sin binds you with. He freed us all from our spiritual death. With Him we shall live forever. The guy in the video, Jefferson Bethke, says, "If grace is water, then the Church should be an ocean; it's not a MUSEUM for GOOD PEOPLE, it's a HOSPITAL for the BROKEN." A hospital for the broken, let's think about that for a second. What is a hospital? It's a place of healing. A place where doctors help people; where doctors save people from worldly death. Doesn't DEATH hurt people? The Church is a HOSPITAL for sinners, for us, because we're all sinners. It's a place where God and Jesus, our Holy doctors, can heal us from our death.
Sin is DEATH, the two are hand-in-hand, and death hurts people, and our doctors, God and Jesus, want to help you. But you have to know Jesus, don't you? You don't want some stranger healing you, do you? You have to know Jesus to be saved, don't you? Isn't the first thing a doc does when he or she enters the room is introduce themselves? Well, when you walk through the doors of this church, this holy body, Jesus' holy body, that is Jesus and God saying, "welcome, I'll be your savior today, and everyday." Jesus wants to save you from death just as a doctor does, except Jesus can offer one more: an undying, unquenchable love for you, whoever you are. Jesus died for you, He died to save you from an undeniable, impending death. It would be the equivalent of a surgeon seeing that flat line and plunging his hand into his chest to offer you his own heart telling you "I love you." Except, not quite cause your doctor doesn't know you, so how can he love you? But Jesus, He knows you like no other. He knows every sin, every blemish, every unrighteous though but He loves you the same. Just think about that. You may sin, and we all do, you may wonder "why me?", you may fall from His light, but He loves YOU for YOU. Not for what you want to be or what other people want you to be, but for who you are, who he, in his Love, Grace, and Wisdom made you to be. He loves YOU, and wants you to love him too.
Video to be shown before hand:
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Christ Is Risen - Matt Maher - LifeChurch.tv Church Online
A friend of mine from camp posted this video, along with another I'll post, but it made me think. The emotion David (the poet) puts into his performance. The poets name is David Bowden if you wanna look him up. What do you think about watching this?
The "Word" Ain't...
So, for some time now I have been bothered by my simplest pet peeve: the so-called word ain't. This is NOT a word. Where does this phrase come from might you ask? Well, I'll tell you. This "word" comes from two contractions, the real words Aren't and Isn't; aren't being the contracted form of "are not" and isn't being the contracted form of "is not." If you didn't already know. Anywho, if the English language teaches us anything, ANYTHING AT ALL, it tells us that you CANNOT have a contraction of two contractions. Who thought up this word?! I just don't understand it. Are we really that lazy that we cannot distinguish between a word used in negative context for plural nouns (aren't) and words used for singular nouns (isn't)? So we create a middle term that can be used for both? We aren't that lazy! Goodness...I'm pleading with those of you who hate this term as I do to INFORM YOUR FRIENDS! "Ain't" is a plague! The best cure is to this illness is to show them the best two vaccines against it, the words AREN'T and ISN'T :-)
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Lakers or Ranchers, the ultimate battle
So, as I doubt any of you know, for the first time ever I worked for
MIRACLE RANCH(!!!!!!!!!!)
this last summer, and it was
AMAZING!
Anyway, while randomly watching videos on YouTube I came across some pretty
HILARIOUS
Crista Camps videos :-)
Well, as you may know, since the beginning of time there has been a dispute between who is better:
LAKERS
or
RANCHERS
As you may have guessed, my money is on Ranchers, but lets just see how this battle of
WITS
(get it? lol)
plays out!
(Click above!)
Well, we figured out where that smell came from! I'm not around horse poop very often, but I definitely
DISLIKE
Axe.
However, we still have not come to the root of this dire issue...
watch this, it'll help. Trust me.
(Click the above link for entertainment beyond your imagination!)
Well...I guess we've learned that Ranchers cannot skate, but I know that's not true!
I know one who can!
Anyway,
now we just have another question:
dirt bikes or horses?
Oh, will the list of questions never end?!
Sigh...I can only naturally assume that the best way to end the seemingly endless turmoil between
LAKERS
and
RANCHERS
is to simply watch for ourselves how these two brothers by mission solve their battle
(WATCH THIS!)
AW, now isn't that what's really important? That it's all for God?!
I think so haha
Now, in addition to the chronicles of the endless/slightly meaningless war that wages between
LAKERS
and
RANCHERS
I found these videos, the first I'll show you is the recruiting video from this last year.
I met these awesome dudes in person! That's right, be jealous!
Anywho,
watch this!
Your brain will explode from the awesomenicity!
Well, it got me to apply...well, actually, someone else did, but I sure thought it funnier than anything else! haha
OH! There's another! But I'm not even sure what this is...haha
But watch anyway!
HOPE YOU ENJOY THE SMALL BIT OF CAMP I CAN SHARE WITH YOU!
My Thoughts on Religion
So, those of you that know me over Facebook or possibly otherwise know that last week I hopped on the bandwagon and posted the video Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus || Spoken Word. In this video Jefferson Bethke explains in poetic form why he hates the title of Religion but still loves our savior. This is what I wanna talk about right now.
To me when people claim to be "Religious" it means their scared of something. It means they wanna be in control or they don't want people to make fun of them. It's the human attempt to take hold of their lives. All our lives we're told that we have to be more independent, that we have to be able to operate as lone soldiers in this cruel world, but this isn't entirely true, is it? Religion is the opposite side of the spectrum; if Religion is our attempt to be independent while still believing there is a "greater force in the universe", then Christianity is the admittance that we don't have to face this world alone. Religion is man saying "I can do this, I can do anything by myself," Christianity is man saying "God, I need you, my life is dark and I do need your help," for without Christ by our sides our world is bleak. Religion is the mask we wear to attempt to gain control, but haven't we seen those "failure and success" stories that tell of a mans dark life before God then his life when he accepted Christ?
Awhile ago my grandma showed me a Komo4 News story about Pennsylvania's Secret Santa. The Secret Santa goes around every year and hands out hundreds to people who seem like they need it. Some may say this is a foolish act, he's wasting his money, what if they're drug addicts who just take the money and use it to buy their next hit? But it's that speculation that glorifies our God, you see, one night the Secret Santa is going about his tradition as usual when he happens upon a distressed looking man in a bus station (correct me if I'm wrong on the location). The Secret Santa sits beside him and hands him a $100 bill. The man stares at the bill in his hand then begins crying, saying he doesn't deserve this money. Later we find out that this man was a meth addict, and a pretty bad one at that. The month previous to this story he had sold all of his sons toys for drug money. The night previous to this story he had gotten into yet another argument about money with his girlfriend. They had yelled and screamed until finally at a loss for anything else to say or do the girlfriend suggests that he just pray. Not knowing anything better he could do, no quick fix or anything, he prays. This being the first time since his childhood he had prayed combined with him not being "Religious" by any means and his actions since his childhood, he didn't think his prayers would be answered. But then came the Secret Santa who spotted this disheveled and distressed man in a bus station and decided to help. While crying, the Secret Santa simply kept pulling out bills and handing them to the man, not yet even knowing the story only wanting to help, all the while doing Gods work. The former meth addict accepted God on the spot. He's now in rehab again as he has before, but he says that unlike any other time, he has his Savior on his side.
I bring this story up because it shows how we need God. It shows that you cannot simply be Religious. You can't just believe in a higher power. You see, what people who claim to be Religious don't understand is that the central difference between being Religious, or believing in God but not loving God, and Christianity is the relationship. At the heart of Christianity is a relationship. Religion is Man looking for God, Christianity is God looking for Man. At the heart of Religion is a set of rules. It says that if you just follow these rules you can go to heaven, but that's not all of it. You have to know Him, you have to know your God. He loves you, He wants you.
I used to be one of those "Religious" people, too scared to tell people I believed in "some dude in the sky" and not sure if I really did. I was scared of my sins. Most people see the church as a place for people without sin, a place for people who make almost no mistakes, or as Bethke puts it "a Museum for Good People," but they fail to realize that if you love God you revel in your sin. Everyone sins, ever since the Fall of Man, we cannot help it, it's part of who we are. The church Jesus built is a rehab, not a prison; it's a "Hospital for the Broken."
But I digress, I think I may have gotten a bit off subject...in Bethkes' poem he talks about how he hates Religion, but I think he means as an umbrella term, as a mask. I don't think he was discriminating against other religions which I saw many people on YouTube expressing, I think he meant Religion as an ideal, a shield for those who aren't saved but walk around acting as if they were, if that makes sense. Religion in this context is something more people have an issue with every day. I mean, you know there's an issue when people only identify you as a Christian by your FACEBOOK.
PS i didn't mean to offend anyone, i was simply trying to put what i thought into words. if you want something that may be unclear clarified just ask :-)
To me when people claim to be "Religious" it means their scared of something. It means they wanna be in control or they don't want people to make fun of them. It's the human attempt to take hold of their lives. All our lives we're told that we have to be more independent, that we have to be able to operate as lone soldiers in this cruel world, but this isn't entirely true, is it? Religion is the opposite side of the spectrum; if Religion is our attempt to be independent while still believing there is a "greater force in the universe", then Christianity is the admittance that we don't have to face this world alone. Religion is man saying "I can do this, I can do anything by myself," Christianity is man saying "God, I need you, my life is dark and I do need your help," for without Christ by our sides our world is bleak. Religion is the mask we wear to attempt to gain control, but haven't we seen those "failure and success" stories that tell of a mans dark life before God then his life when he accepted Christ?
Awhile ago my grandma showed me a Komo4 News story about Pennsylvania's Secret Santa. The Secret Santa goes around every year and hands out hundreds to people who seem like they need it. Some may say this is a foolish act, he's wasting his money, what if they're drug addicts who just take the money and use it to buy their next hit? But it's that speculation that glorifies our God, you see, one night the Secret Santa is going about his tradition as usual when he happens upon a distressed looking man in a bus station (correct me if I'm wrong on the location). The Secret Santa sits beside him and hands him a $100 bill. The man stares at the bill in his hand then begins crying, saying he doesn't deserve this money. Later we find out that this man was a meth addict, and a pretty bad one at that. The month previous to this story he had sold all of his sons toys for drug money. The night previous to this story he had gotten into yet another argument about money with his girlfriend. They had yelled and screamed until finally at a loss for anything else to say or do the girlfriend suggests that he just pray. Not knowing anything better he could do, no quick fix or anything, he prays. This being the first time since his childhood he had prayed combined with him not being "Religious" by any means and his actions since his childhood, he didn't think his prayers would be answered. But then came the Secret Santa who spotted this disheveled and distressed man in a bus station and decided to help. While crying, the Secret Santa simply kept pulling out bills and handing them to the man, not yet even knowing the story only wanting to help, all the while doing Gods work. The former meth addict accepted God on the spot. He's now in rehab again as he has before, but he says that unlike any other time, he has his Savior on his side.
I bring this story up because it shows how we need God. It shows that you cannot simply be Religious. You can't just believe in a higher power. You see, what people who claim to be Religious don't understand is that the central difference between being Religious, or believing in God but not loving God, and Christianity is the relationship. At the heart of Christianity is a relationship. Religion is Man looking for God, Christianity is God looking for Man. At the heart of Religion is a set of rules. It says that if you just follow these rules you can go to heaven, but that's not all of it. You have to know Him, you have to know your God. He loves you, He wants you.
I used to be one of those "Religious" people, too scared to tell people I believed in "some dude in the sky" and not sure if I really did. I was scared of my sins. Most people see the church as a place for people without sin, a place for people who make almost no mistakes, or as Bethke puts it "a Museum for Good People," but they fail to realize that if you love God you revel in your sin. Everyone sins, ever since the Fall of Man, we cannot help it, it's part of who we are. The church Jesus built is a rehab, not a prison; it's a "Hospital for the Broken."
But I digress, I think I may have gotten a bit off subject...in Bethkes' poem he talks about how he hates Religion, but I think he means as an umbrella term, as a mask. I don't think he was discriminating against other religions which I saw many people on YouTube expressing, I think he meant Religion as an ideal, a shield for those who aren't saved but walk around acting as if they were, if that makes sense. Religion in this context is something more people have an issue with every day. I mean, you know there's an issue when people only identify you as a Christian by your FACEBOOK.
PS i didn't mean to offend anyone, i was simply trying to put what i thought into words. if you want something that may be unclear clarified just ask :-)
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