Rock is NOT Against God.

     A few days ago I was listening to "Oceans," a song off of Hillsongs Zion album, and I was absentmindedly scrolling through the comments. As you might suspect, there were some rather "unchristian" comments and commenters to be found. It was not the random anti-Jesus posts amidst the many worshipful posts that surprised me, it was one of the last comments on the page that caught me off guard. I won't be quoting the post here, but it did claim that the arm movements of the singer were of the occultic womb, it grouped catholic and witches together, claimed that her crescendos supported the occultic womb thing, claimed that because of all the symbolism being used they couldn't attribute it to simple coincidence, they said the star of David was the same as a pentagram, and to conclude, they said the circular stage was the equivalent of worshiping the universe...and such.  I wasn't sure what he was going on about....The Hillsong concert at which the video was taken was the Colour Conference at the Sydney Opera House (or so someone else said).
     It wasn't even the obscure cultish claims that I had the biggest problem with,--those left me mostly just confused--it was a claim he (or she) made in the middle about something completely different. They said, "also,  rock and roll is of the devil so this is definitely not a christian song." 
     First off, I must question their logic. What they are saying is that Hillsong, a group formed straight out of a church, is not a Christian group. What? I'm wasn't even sure how to respond. It was the claim before that which bugged me most, however, "rock and roll is of the devil." Now, this claim I sort of understand. I DON'T agree, but I understand it far more than them saying Hillsong were not Christian. 
     After questioning what this guy (girl) was on about, I wanted to do some research. I found a couple of sites that gave me what they thought were their top reasons why "rock and roll" was against God or the rules for ANY music to be Christian. I found verses that "supported" their arguments and "reasons" that stated why rock supported Satan (especially those Christian rockers "who are just deceivers"). 
     My next step was to look up some of these verses. Upon looking these up I noticed one thing, these verses that supposedly supported their arguments did not address music directly, but rather a list of values. It is true that famous "rock stars" don't have a reputation for being the most wholesome of people, but this cannot be attributed to the music. Music DOES have an effect on people, but this effect is specific to the person. People are bad role models, not music. What I found hilarious, was that there happened to be two verses I saw that directly addressed music, but the article I found them in disregarded them as not relevant. 
     So, the verses were inconclusive on the music, what about the reasons? The reasons I found seemed to just reiterate the the same values arguments--which kind of begs the question why didn't I start with the reasons then talk about the verses that supported them (whoops). Some of the reasons I found, and this is an abbreviated list, are these...

1. Rock encourages the use of illegal drugs. 
2. Rock promotes promiscuity and "whoredom." 
3. Rock encourages us not to read our bibles. 
4. Drums are the instrument of Satan. 

Ok, so...what? This is just four of a bunch of reasons I found, and I'm just speechless. There was one reason that included a short bit about how rock promoted false peace that distracted us from a war that God ordained us to win. I digress....My point is that these reasons don't encompass the music, they address the people who play it. Granted, in the past, you have seen these traits exhibited a lot by rock artists, but these are not traits ONLY exhibited by rock musicians. Let's look at the other end of the spectrum: classical music. Classical artists can also do these things. Classical music also uses drums, classical artists also use drugs, and they can also sleep around. The problem isn't the music, it's the people. It's all about people. 
     That's it. When it comes down to it, we only have God to look to, and the bible does not have anything explicitly against rock music. It is people who would rather blame the whole company for the actions of a few people. Rather than putting thought into the actions of people, it would seem easier just to blame their beliefs, but that doesn't make it right. 
     I happen to love rock music, but I tried to take as little bias as I could. I looked up the majority of the verses I was presented with and in conclusion I have only this to say, follow God. When in doubt and in times of trial, look to Jesus. The music you listen to does not necessarily dictate who you are, it only does if you follow the bad examples the music industry has given to us. Why let those standards stay though? I say we ought to show a new face of rock. Let's change the standard. Be honest and Godly people. Allow God to envelop your music, even if it isn't directly Christian allow the Holy Spirit soak your life and His love bleed through. 



*UPDATE* I have no idea why part of the article is highlighted, I've tried to fix it and...I can't, I'm ashamed. I'm sorry guys! 

That TV Show Ending...

     I'm going to begin this post with a metaphorical blunt knife, I love movies and TV. I do. It offers a sort of adventure that we can't really get in our every day lives. We like to live vicariously through these fictional characters. It's fun! TV shows end though. They all seem to end the same way, the characters go their own way, new things happen in their lives and it cuts out with some touching (in the case of sitcoms) or bombastic (in the case of some action/scifi stuff) music. It leaves us to assume that their lives ended the same as ours. When you get down to it, their lives in the show all lead up to this ending. The whole timeline of the show, especially in the case of action/science fiction shows, is leading up to the end and how the whole conflict will be resolved--granted, this rule doesn't always apply to sitcoms until the final season.
     This is where I run into a problem. As actual people, our lives don't really lead up until the end. We basically live day-by-day, sometimes looking and planning into the future. I just finished Battlestar Galactica, a show about this group of humans who loose their planets (this takes place in an alternate universe) and go on the search for Earth, the "lost colony." Obviously, conflicts arise throughout the course of the show, but ultimately the show is leading up until the end when they finally get to stop their search and settle on a new planet (you'll have to watch for yourself to find out where...).
     How do we compensate then? We don't really get a clean ending like a TV show. Our lives go and go and go, all the way up until we die. We don't suddenly start hearing music and everything goes black and credits role with our parents and friends names and such that interacted with us in our lives. NO! We have to keep on rolling along. We don't continuously think about the end though, that's the thing. We live day by day, not really sure of what the end will look like for us, and usually we are too preoccupied living LIFE to stop and think about it; I know that is certainly the case for me. So, what do we do then? The BIG adventure won't usually happen at the end for most of us, it'll happen over the course of our lives, so what do we do? We live life! Have fun while you can. Go on an adventure, whatever that may look like for you. No, this is not a list of things you should do before you get married or a list of dumb things all having to do with that so wrong of phrases "YOLO." This is a calling for you to go out and make your dreams come true. Go have an adventure! Climb through the mountains, travel the Amazon Rainforest, road trip across the US! Do something you've always wanted to because, remember, the adventure isn't at the end, it's happening RIGHT NOW.

Life After Death...And Taxes...

     New background! New format! And last, but certainly not least, a new NAME! Yes, I've changed the name of this blog, and for a very good reason--or, at least I think so.
     As you probably know, I haven't been very active on here for a very long time, over a year, in fact. The reason for that is simple, life got in the way. Before that I would use this blog to chronicle my life (in a way) for you guys to read. I would get on here and write when I got bored or felt particularly spiritual. However, this was before life began to jump up and down screaming, "pay attention to me! Please! PLEASE!" Well, I just had to pay attention, and it's been fantastic!
     In the last year some pretty big things have happened to me and to some of my friends. The last time you heard from me, actually heard from me (no a notice about "Messages from the Flock") was back in May of 2013. I wrote a devotional on...something; I don't quite remember what, but that isn't the point! That was a week before I would spend yet another (my third) summer at camp. Let me tell you about it....
     I went to camp and things immediately kicked into overdrive. Days blended into one another as I entered back into the hectic summer; though this summer would be almost completely different from the last. This summer entered a new relationship, an almost completely new group of friends, new responsibilities, and as always, new kids. It was a rough 3 months, but in some ways it was completely worth the trouble. Though originally only supposed to be the Paintball Supervisor, I ended up also being a Lifeguard, a part-time counselor, and a worship leader. It would be an understatement to say that it was difficult, but that isn't the point. This summer grew stronger friendships than I had ever had at camp, though I loved my friends at camp before also. This summer I made friends that I simply couldn't just leave behind.
     Moving on! Growth. When I came back to school I had left a new girlfriend behind at home, and entered into the most stressful semester of school myself and many of my friends had ever had. As those of you who know me are well aware, I am not the most studious person. I would much rather get hands on experience than sit and read a book or listen to a lecture for hours on end, this is why I love music, as it combines all of it together. Through the semester I began to realize how little I wanted to be there. I loved my friends at school, I loved the education I was receiving, but I needed time off. As the semester wore on, I eventually made the tough decision to leave school for a little bit, to give myself a rest.
     As of December I have officially left Multnomah University for a period of rest. To be honest I've had times where I've regretted the decision, but I believe it still necessary as I've prayed many times and I still feel I made the right choice. If I'm going to pay tens of thousands for an education, I want to be invested in it and get the most out of it. As of now I've returned home for a bit and have begun to help out at my home church as a worship and youth group leader.
   
     Now that we've passed that little story of where I've been, I'd like to explain why I've decided to change the name of this blog. When I started this blog, I wanted it to be an expression of myself. It was a place I could share my thoughts and things I thought people ought to know. With this comes a certain level of growth. From the time I began this blog in January of 2012 to last May, I've personally witnessed growth in my life. Since I'm continuing this blog again, I decided a name change would be a nice way to show some of the growth and that I think I've hit a new stage in my life and walk with God.
     When I started at camp in the summer of 2011 I was given the name "Nintendawg." Though at first thinking it weird, I came to love it, and soon after it sort of became a part of my personality. To put it this way, Nintendawg was synonymous of Josh. Since 2011 I would like to think that I've grown quite a bit, though you guys would have to let me know. I've been at camp for 3 years now and towards the end of this last summer I began to identify less and less with my given camp name. In years past, even when hanging out with close friends from camp, we would still refer to each other by our camp names. This last summer was different. We would often call each other by our parent given names, sometimes even mistakingly in front of campers.
     With all that said, when I came back to this blog, I couldn't easily keep it going under the same moniker. Nintendawg is who I was, and a huge part of who I am today, but the name no longer describes who I AM today. I've grown up. Though I will still answer to it, at camp and off camp, that awkward high school kid is now 20 and in a far better place than he was. It's not who I am anymore.
     The next step was picking a new name. This proved far more difficult then I would have thought....Just for kicks, here are some names I thought up then threw out: "Just Me and This Guitar...," "Once A Musician...," and "The Vinyl Countdown." These names all lacked something to me. The first seemed far too sappy for me; too much like a love song. The second seemed to sentimental, seeming to say that I've given up music, which I definitely have not. The third hit on something and was compared closely with the name I ended up choosing, "Life After Death...And Taxes...." Do you know where they are both from? Yes! They're both Relient K songs. I decided to play them next to each other and decide, and when I did that, the decision was obvious. Whereas one just talks about us not using vinyl records anymore, the other talks about how we are always forgiven, no matter what we do, by the one who forgave before we could even sin.
     There is a part in "Life After Death and Taxes" that says...

"Every breath that I inhale is followed by exhaling,

sure as the one who never fails, I know will never fail me..."

- Relient K

I thought this was brilliant! God will never fail us. Never. There's another part in the song that talks about living every day as if jumping off a cliff because we know that God will be there to save us. Later in that same verse it reminds us that though we all do stupid things, all of us, it doesn't matter because we've already been forgiven by the one who died to save us. As long as we believe that crucial truth, that Jesus came down and died so that we may see Him again, we are forgiven. 

     That is why I chose that as a title for this revamped blog of mine, because this is how I want to live my life. I don't want to wallow in self pity because I am a sinner, I want to acknowledge that Jesus has washed my dirt away and left me gleaming. Sin is death, but with Jesus we are given life after that death. Jesus died to wash our sins away and has left us gleaming with a light only He can bestow, so live like it! Live like everyday you're jumping off a cliff for Him, because Jesus will save you. Try and strive to be like Him and show this light to the world. The world is a dark place, and with Him we are candles in the night. 

     So, with that, I give you a new rendition of my old blog: Life After Death...And Taxes....And as usual...

     Thanks for reading these past 2-ish years!!! 

Life After Death and Taxes (Failure II)

Messages from the Flock: REVIVAL!

Hey guys!

     So, I was checking out another blog and I realized I haven't written in anything in about five months!! Freakin' crazy. I remember back in the day when I was writing multiple blog posts in one day and I thought I was being irritating. Anyway, that's not what I'm here to talk about.
     As many of you remember, last year I began what we called Messages from the Flock. This was a time when anyone could send in posts regarding their spiritual life with God and other people. Last year it was a huge success with about 7 people sending in powerful writings about their own life experiences with God.
     As many of us can attest to, there is an unspoken (get it?) power in someones testimony. The act of recounting our own faults that we have struggled over speaks into the lives of others and calls them out on what they have been or are struggling over now. With this said I want to issue a challenge. Tell us your story. Sit at your computer or your writing desk and write it all out. Send it in! It can be signed or you can remain anonymous, but let us in. Allow others to learn from past mistakes. Let us see if we can't make just a few people better off with the knowledge of those of us who understand what they are going through.
     For those of us who posted last year, I would be happy to accept posts from you, but try to be different. Send in something you didn't last year, and also don't forget to encourage others to send in posts also. So, write it out, type it out, or...something! JUST WRITE!
   
     Ready? This year is going to be fantastic.


     GO!



Contact Info:

Written:
Josh Lewis
MSC #222
8435 NE Glisan St.
Portland, OR 97220

Email:
Odyssey312@gmail.com

My Devotionals.

     "Time with Me cannot be rushed. When you are in a hurry, your mind flitters back and forth between Me and the tasks ahead of you. Push back the demands pressing in on you; create a safe space around you, a haven in which you can rest with Me. I also desire this time of focused attention and I use it to bless you, strengthening and equipping you for the day ahead. Thus, spending time with Me is a wise investment. 

     Bring Me the sacrifice of you precious time. This creates sacred space around you--space permeated with My Presence and My Peace." - Jesus Calling

     I was convicted after reading this latest entry in my devotional earlier tonight. Often I go about my day without stopping to give God my time, knowing that He is always with me and I always have prayer on my side. God understands that our days are busy and that our time is precious, but we should not use take advantage of this understanding. 

     In this busy and corrupt world, any time we can spend with a pure and righteous God is valuable. We shouldn't just pray every now and again though; yes, praying is good, but He wishes that we spend more time with Him, quality time. Any time spent in the presence of God should be worthwhile and not spent thinking about the petty things in life. 

     With all of this said, push back the demands of modern life and just sit down with your Savior. God wants nothing more than to spend time with you so you can share in the joy of his everlasting love. Take some of the time that would otherwise be spent flitting around worrying and rest in His presence. Any time you can use to worry He can use to bless you if you will only let Him. 

God, 

     

     You understand the stresses of this world. You understand that in this world, our time with You can become strained though You do not intend it to be so. Lord, calm our hearts. Let us know that though we ought to set aside time for You, that we can spend every moment in Your love. 

Amen.

There is Power in the Image of God!

     On the way to volunteer for my churches rummage sale set up I was listening to the radio. As the car started the first thing I hear is the lady on the radio talking about how we were created in the image of God and how this image held power. Though she was speaking on not letting fear into the house hold, I wish to center my talk this morning on this idea that there definitely is power in the image of God.

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in out image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

27 So God created mankind in His own image,

in the image of God He created them;

male and female He created them.

28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

     God made us in His image to rule over the land, to rule over the birds in the sky and fish in the sea. God intended us to be the stewards of His creation. The image of God is one of power and this is evidence. If we were beings of lesser power then we wouldn't have the ability to rule. Though intelligent, if we were to look like, say a cow, then even though our intellect may out match any other beasts, we would not have the power to rule. God intended us to be beings of power, beings of influence.
     Perhaps this is why we have such a strong influence upon each other. The most haunting images among ourselves is seeing harm fall upon a fellow human being. We have power over one another. We alone possess the power to stand up to one another, we possess the control because God has given it to us. Yes, we can be trained as animals, however, the allowance of thought and therefore, the ability to break these bonds are the tools our creator gave us.
     We lead. God gave us the power to lead. We are given the will to lead one another. God leads us spiritually so that we may lead each other physically.
     And perhaps most important, we are given free will to choose. Though given a pure example of perfection, we are given the ability to choose to follow...or not. Even in the Garden we were given the free will to follow. God planted the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil allowing us to have the free will to either eat from or not to eat from that tree. Though strongly encouraged to not choose the fruit, and even given the ultimatum that if we did we would be kicked out, we used that free will to commit the very first sin.
     Though we are allowed free will and we use it freely and against God Himself, He loves us regardless. God granted us power as we are His creation in His own personal image. We are given power over ourselves as well as all of His creation, just as long as we are humbled by Him and follow.

Not in the Name of the Doctor (Series 7 Finale Theory).

*SEVERE SPOILERS AHEAD! PROCEED WITH EXTREME CAUTION!*

"The Name of the Doctor" (Final Moments)

     Now, usually I don't post works like this. However, at the end of the latest installment of Doctor Who, we witness the Doctors big secret, and in light of all the theories popping up, I simply wish to share mine. 

     "What I did, I did without choice." 

"I know"

"In the name of peace and sanity."

"But not in the name of The Doctor."

     These are the words spoken just before the scene closes, Matt Smith walks off with Jenna-Louise Coleman in his arms, and John Hurt turns around. Ok, let's analyze what we know from this scene: 

- The Doctor has more regenerations than we yet know about. 

- This new regeneration has done something terrible that somehow violates what The Doctor stands for.

- The actions this regeneration did, he did so without having a choice in the matter. 

- The new regeneration is not known to Clara who, as we see in a previous scene, walks into the time-stream of The Doctor to save him from the Great Intelligence. 

- This new regeneration is one that The Doctor we know is trying to forget. 

- The Doctor has a violent and vengeful streak that does not seem to make any sense given what we know he believes in. 

     One theory surrounding this event is that John Hurts Doctor is a new regeneration, that is to say, a regeneration that happens post-Matt Smith. I would say this is false in that Smith's Doctor seems to know who he is. Thus this theory is logically incorrect as The Doctor is usually (that is until this episode) strongly opposed to traveling along his own timeline. 

     Another theory concerning Hurts Doctor is that he is somehow Doctor number 0. This theory postulates that the Doctor did something horrible that caused him to have to leave Gallifrey in the first place, later taking up the title of The Doctor as a promise to heal the galaxy. This theory though is proven incorrect as it is accepted that William Hartnell is accepted to be the very first Doctor, no previous regenerations coming before him. 

     The third theory is a theory concerning Hurt being the real ninth regeneration of The Doctor. This is the theory that I personally buy into. The theory states that Hurt is the Doctor that fought in the time war; that he is the regeneration that takes place in between the eighth and ninth Doctors. This means that nine is ten, ten is eleven, and eleven is actually twelve. The theory goes on to state that the action Hurts Doctor did without choice, to preserve peace and sanity, is destroying Gallifrey and locking the time war off from the rest of the time and space. This action would be against the name of the Doctor as he is a man who stands against violence, relying instead upon logic and words to ease tense situations. 

     I personally believe that he is the 9th Doctor. You see, when people go through traumatic experiences, their minds possess the power to block out the memory so that it doesn't haunt them and inhibit their lives forever. I think a version of this happened to him. Hurts Doctor fought in the time war and did what he had to rather than what he had promised himself and the universe. Rather than fight with words and logic, he realized that both sides of the war were never going to stop, so he destroyed both and locked the time war away so it wouldn't effect anyone or anything else. He is the Doctor that broke his promise of healing. The Doctor realized that if both sides were to continue, they would rip apart the whole of time and space, so he did what he thought he had to: he destroyed them so they wouldn't destroy anything else. 

     This theory would seem to allow compensation for such incidents where the Doctor showed a violent streak that didn't seem to fit his character. Such times would be in series 1 when, upon finding out about the existence of a Dalek he thought dead, The Doctor snaps and attempts to destroy it with an alien weapon found in the alien museum the event happened in. Rose would later have to talk him down. Another event is during the final moments of Tennants Doctor. Donna's grandfather gives the Doctor a gun, and rather than refuse it, he takes it. Later we find The Doctor in a stand off between the returning Gallifreyan court and their president, Rasilion, and the ever insane Master. Two enemies The Doctor had thought dead, both coming back against him. In this moment the Doctor raises the gun to Rasilion then alternating to the Master. The Doctor claims to despise guns, yet in this moment he uses it to try and fend off his two supposedly fallen enemies. In these, and many other moments, the violence and vengeance of Hurts Doctor shows through. Previously, we had no standing for why The Doctor seemed to become violent, yet now there seems to be an example of reason. 

     In the scene posted above we see that Clara has no idea who this regeneration is. She becomes increasingly worried as she explains to The Doctor that he is the eleventh Doctor. She has absolutely no idea who this man is though the only other person than herself is the other regenerations of the Doctor. This can be explained. When Clara walked into The Doctors time stream, she did so to help save the Doctor from the Great Intelligence who had begun to kill the Doctor at every moment in his time stream. However, she never helped Hurts Doctor, which doesn't seem to add up. I believe the reason for this to be that his regeneration is time locked. 

     Hurts Doctor was the Doctor that fought within the time war, which he time locked. When Clara helped all of the Doctors, she could not have helped this Doctor as she could not go into the time war. All the events of the war (including himself) being locked within. This would also explain why we have never heard the Doctor explain about his secret. The Doctor seems never to explain about himself until it is absolutely necessarily, life or death necessary.  If Hurts Doctor is a regeneration locked within the confines of the time war, then there wouldn't seem to be any scenario where The Doctor would need to explain about him. At the end of The Name of the Doctor, we see Smiths Doctor explaining about his secret because he realizes that he is about to become an integral part of his life once again. 

     I believe Hurts Doctor to be the actual ninth regeneration, the regeneration that fought within the time war. At the conclusion of time war, The Doctor destroys Gallifrey and his people, committing genocide. The destruction of Gallifrey was the decision made without choice, yet also against the promise he had made to himself and the universe. The promise to be a healer and wise man to all in need. 

 "What I did, I did without choice." 

"I know"

"In the name of peace and sanity."

"But not in the name of The Doctor."