Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Posting
I feel like I might have the tendency to just rant, point blame and fingers, and generally not advise truth and help but strike down failures in our society with my new-found mode of preaching by blogging. I apologize for this, I mean every command or advise with the notion that I do not mean to bring anyone down but only to encourage them to examine themselves or change a course of action. That said, don't take these words to mean that I am out to correct everyone. I need to hear my own words just as much as I intend to spread them. I started the idea about blogging stuff like this with the intent that positive change would happen and not any more religiously condemning speeches. Lord knows we have too much of that already.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Chivalry
I'm not an expert on relationships, so don't ask me for advice, but I do have a message to share that is important.
Men, treat women with respect. All women are beautiful, unique, datable, pursue-able, more than just curves and humps, not property, objects, and they are definitely not unbreakable objects. For example, if men and women were to be objects, men would be a 19th century cast iron furnace. You can smash, check, or ding that thing however you like and it will remain there intact. In contrast, a lady is like fine china or a wine glass. Protect it, savor it, store it, adore it, treasure it.
I see too many examples of this in movies, music videos, tv, and other entertainment performances. I even see it now on one of my friends' wall on Facebook! Women need to know that they do not have to meet a standard in order to get noticed or whatever. They are already in glory by God the Father! As the capstone of Creation women are to be revered and treated better than they are by men.
There are a few men that I know that would agree with this, but not wear it with a button or bumper sticker. The fact is that chivalry is not dead but it goes largely unnoticed. I try to do what I can, and I hope more men do. Another fact is that while actually many men probably exhibit chivalrous deeds, they do not get noticed because they are simply acting out being a nice guy. The only other seemingly opposite trait to this is avoiding being the nice guy and being a "bad guy." Now, I will explain why this trend seems to work better than trying to be a nice guy for getting attention by women but also leads women down a wrong path.
Fact: women want a leader. They would admit this. They would not admit, however, that the reason why they are with a total d-bag a-hole of a guy is because he stands for something, even if it is totally bad. Nice guys stand up for being nice, but a "bad guy" would say he has grown out of that phase and is a dog with a loosed chain collar eagerly awaiting the next fix of adrenaline and excitement. A woman will get drawn to this based on the subconscious--underlying nature--of what a woman wants. They don't want "that guy" and how he has it, but they want what he's got. They want a nice guy to treat them well and a "bad guy" to hang around... they can't have it both, sadly, and this is how many relationships will fail.
So, men, be a leader. Be a chivalrous leader. Don't just do it because it's nice, do it because women need more of it around. And I'm not saying break your back to hold the door for 10 minutes or always put the shirt off your back over every puddle in the sidewalk (chivalry can be overkill sometimes), but respectfully treat them like people.
Men, treat women with respect. All women are beautiful, unique, datable, pursue-able, more than just curves and humps, not property, objects, and they are definitely not unbreakable objects. For example, if men and women were to be objects, men would be a 19th century cast iron furnace. You can smash, check, or ding that thing however you like and it will remain there intact. In contrast, a lady is like fine china or a wine glass. Protect it, savor it, store it, adore it, treasure it.
I see too many examples of this in movies, music videos, tv, and other entertainment performances. I even see it now on one of my friends' wall on Facebook! Women need to know that they do not have to meet a standard in order to get noticed or whatever. They are already in glory by God the Father! As the capstone of Creation women are to be revered and treated better than they are by men.
There are a few men that I know that would agree with this, but not wear it with a button or bumper sticker. The fact is that chivalry is not dead but it goes largely unnoticed. I try to do what I can, and I hope more men do. Another fact is that while actually many men probably exhibit chivalrous deeds, they do not get noticed because they are simply acting out being a nice guy. The only other seemingly opposite trait to this is avoiding being the nice guy and being a "bad guy." Now, I will explain why this trend seems to work better than trying to be a nice guy for getting attention by women but also leads women down a wrong path.
Fact: women want a leader. They would admit this. They would not admit, however, that the reason why they are with a total d-bag a-hole of a guy is because he stands for something, even if it is totally bad. Nice guys stand up for being nice, but a "bad guy" would say he has grown out of that phase and is a dog with a loosed chain collar eagerly awaiting the next fix of adrenaline and excitement. A woman will get drawn to this based on the subconscious--underlying nature--of what a woman wants. They don't want "that guy" and how he has it, but they want what he's got. They want a nice guy to treat them well and a "bad guy" to hang around... they can't have it both, sadly, and this is how many relationships will fail.
So, men, be a leader. Be a chivalrous leader. Don't just do it because it's nice, do it because women need more of it around. And I'm not saying break your back to hold the door for 10 minutes or always put the shirt off your back over every puddle in the sidewalk (chivalry can be overkill sometimes), but respectfully treat them like people.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Jesus: The Vine Analogy
John 15: (NIV, http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+15&version=NIV)
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
I personally don't know how a grapevine grows (except maybe in the Sims 3) but the metaphor is simple: allow yourself to be rooted in Jesus. Learn from Him and His words, follow where He is stretching His arms and feet, grow in maturity (know deep spiritual matters, get to know God deeply and intimately, and discover your spiritual gifts/help the church) producing ripe fruit. The reward of all of this, at least in the immediate sense, is that Jesus promises to remain in you! That is some reward! But only fruit rooted in Jesus, remaining in mutual contact, will produce fruit. Anyone that does not bear fruit, i.e. wants nothing to do with Jesus, will be taken off of the branch.
Now, at this point, there could be something said about not wanting oneself to be cut off and burned, but that's being passive aggressive and cannot be any real motivation. The image that should be the carrot dangling in front of us is that we are one with Jesus and He is growing through us.
At times this will stop and we will slow in our growth by God's will, but that is Him taking care of you by cutting off unnecessary parts. These can be distractions, ungodly desires, bad relationships, ties to addictions, or it can just be a time God is requesting you to fast from something that is not naturally good or bad like TV, food, or exercise. Then Jesus' words can remain pure and healthy to your growth. There is a guarantee that you will bear fruit! Remain in Him! Do not allow yourselves to go dry and wither. Be saturated like a thirsty plant with His word, which cleans and strengthens.
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
I personally don't know how a grapevine grows (except maybe in the Sims 3) but the metaphor is simple: allow yourself to be rooted in Jesus. Learn from Him and His words, follow where He is stretching His arms and feet, grow in maturity (know deep spiritual matters, get to know God deeply and intimately, and discover your spiritual gifts/help the church) producing ripe fruit. The reward of all of this, at least in the immediate sense, is that Jesus promises to remain in you! That is some reward! But only fruit rooted in Jesus, remaining in mutual contact, will produce fruit. Anyone that does not bear fruit, i.e. wants nothing to do with Jesus, will be taken off of the branch.
Now, at this point, there could be something said about not wanting oneself to be cut off and burned, but that's being passive aggressive and cannot be any real motivation. The image that should be the carrot dangling in front of us is that we are one with Jesus and He is growing through us.
At times this will stop and we will slow in our growth by God's will, but that is Him taking care of you by cutting off unnecessary parts. These can be distractions, ungodly desires, bad relationships, ties to addictions, or it can just be a time God is requesting you to fast from something that is not naturally good or bad like TV, food, or exercise. Then Jesus' words can remain pure and healthy to your growth. There is a guarantee that you will bear fruit! Remain in Him! Do not allow yourselves to go dry and wither. Be saturated like a thirsty plant with His word, which cleans and strengthens.
Jesus: The Cornerstone Analogy
Psalm 118:22 "The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;"
This lesson visualizes how important Christ is in our life not only as our significant portion of instruction, but as the source of all truth and the potter of our hearts.
What is a cornerstone? This is the stone that defines the building. It is laid first so that each stone to the left, the right, and above it will be centered. This is so that the building will be level, correctly angled, and simplifies the blueprint in one stone.
People have rejected Jesus. Every major civilization has eventually fallen, no matter how great. What if they had discovered this passage? How many times have we failed because the plan was not "rooted" right? What decisions have you made that Jesus was left out and the failed miserably?
How central is Jesus in your life? Is He what your life is built around? Does he angle your perspectives in order to see a biblical worldview? Is He the thing you start with for your plans? How does your building look?
This lesson visualizes how important Christ is in our life not only as our significant portion of instruction, but as the source of all truth and the potter of our hearts.
What is a cornerstone? This is the stone that defines the building. It is laid first so that each stone to the left, the right, and above it will be centered. This is so that the building will be level, correctly angled, and simplifies the blueprint in one stone.
People have rejected Jesus. Every major civilization has eventually fallen, no matter how great. What if they had discovered this passage? How many times have we failed because the plan was not "rooted" right? What decisions have you made that Jesus was left out and the failed miserably?
How central is Jesus in your life? Is He what your life is built around? Does he angle your perspectives in order to see a biblical worldview? Is He the thing you start with for your plans? How does your building look?
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Post Ideas
Here are some post ideas that I have in mind to start sometime:
Jesus: The Perfect One (A Study of How Great This God/Man Is)
Jesus: The Vine Analogy
Jesus: The Passover Analogy
Jesus: Jesus: The Cornerstone Analogy
Jesus: The Word and the Way
Jesus: The Author, Teacher, and Shepherd Analogies
Jesus: Our Living Water
Christians: As Salt, Light and other Good Stuff
Sacraments, Practices, and other Religiosity
Christianity and Media: (Multiple Parts)
God: A Zeus-Like Destroyer AND a Loving, All-Accepting Grandfather?
Any other suggestions, comment below
Jesus: The Perfect One (A Study of How Great This God/Man Is)
Jesus: The Vine Analogy
Jesus: The Passover Analogy
Jesus: Jesus: The Cornerstone Analogy
Jesus: The Word and the Way
Jesus: The Author, Teacher, and Shepherd Analogies
Jesus: Our Living Water
Christians: As Salt, Light and other Good Stuff
Sacraments, Practices, and other Religiosity
Christianity and Media: (Multiple Parts)
God: A Zeus-Like Destroyer AND a Loving, All-Accepting Grandfather?
Any other suggestions, comment below
Purpose
This blog will have a purpose, close to the purpose to that of every Christian's duty: to edify, teach, train, correct, and reproof in righteousness so that we may be adequate, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16).
I hope to blog frequently, although this is--practically speaking--going to be hard to do for me. The fact is, though, that from taking a spiritual gifts test I found out to have one of them be "teaching." I thought about it and it could possibly be true. I need an avenue to do this because I don't get the chance to do it enough otherwise.
The thing is, I think of analogies, stories, partial sermons I could share but I do not remember them or have a hard time making it a task to pass on. This is my pretty good way to do this. This blog will be written purposefully/mainly to an audience including those who do not find faith in God and are itching to hear. I will try to get over myself coming up with excuses for not attempting to do this even in my everyday life with passing on truth to those who need it.
I hope to blog frequently, although this is--practically speaking--going to be hard to do for me. The fact is, though, that from taking a spiritual gifts test I found out to have one of them be "teaching." I thought about it and it could possibly be true. I need an avenue to do this because I don't get the chance to do it enough otherwise.
The thing is, I think of analogies, stories, partial sermons I could share but I do not remember them or have a hard time making it a task to pass on. This is my pretty good way to do this. This blog will be written purposefully/mainly to an audience including those who do not find faith in God and are itching to hear. I will try to get over myself coming up with excuses for not attempting to do this even in my everyday life with passing on truth to those who need it.
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