Seeing Jesus in Everything: Seeing Jesus in Tangled: At the risk of turning in my man-card I confess I watched Tangled again for the umpteenth time with my kids last night. I share this because...
This will be the first time I use this property (feels like tumblr), and also the first time I've seen someone tie in Tangled with the gospel. It actually makes sense too!
Friday, January 31, 2014
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Faith in Christian Athletes
In lieu of the upcoming Super Bowl this Sunday, there has been quite a stir with the Seattle Seahawks and their declaration of "Jesus is better than the Super Bowl."
Here is a video of Pastor Mark Driscoll interviewing some of the players and coaching staff:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8U_ewtHZdw
Even on the other side of the field, people are noticing the importance of faith in the player's lives, such as in the legendary quarterback Peyton Manning:
http://mindingthetruth.com/2013/12/30/peyton-mannings-christian-faith/
Most people who know me know that sports and watching sports isn't really a big part of my life. I rarely watch football (the only game I watched this season was the playoff game where the Chiefs lost to the Colts due to someone poking a voodoo doll), and the only reason was because there was nothing else to do at the Kansas City Airport back to Pittsburgh (watching the game helped me answer questions at PCCC apparently, so I see what God did there). That being said, I notice, or at least notice from other people's observations through social media, that faith has become more and more intertwined in American sports. Sure I believe that most of the players on the field in any sport in the US profess to be Christian, but it has become more and more hyped up through incidences like Jeremy Lin and Tim Tebow.
Somewhere in me a small part of me is skeptical, telling me all of this is fake and that God wouldn't be interested in sports, and that these people are just trying to pull God into their camps. But then, a larger part of me admits God's hand at work, using America's greatest idol to His advantage in revealing His glory in this country. I tell myself, "what if all of this is real? Then man, this could be the start of great change and revival in this country!"
The day when athletes becomes living testimonies for God and Christian leaders in the community would be a glorious day indeed.
Here is a video of Pastor Mark Driscoll interviewing some of the players and coaching staff:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8U_ewtHZdw
Even on the other side of the field, people are noticing the importance of faith in the player's lives, such as in the legendary quarterback Peyton Manning:
http://mindingthetruth.com/2013/12/30/peyton-mannings-christian-faith/
Most people who know me know that sports and watching sports isn't really a big part of my life. I rarely watch football (the only game I watched this season was the playoff game where the Chiefs lost to the Colts due to someone poking a voodoo doll), and the only reason was because there was nothing else to do at the Kansas City Airport back to Pittsburgh (watching the game helped me answer questions at PCCC apparently, so I see what God did there). That being said, I notice, or at least notice from other people's observations through social media, that faith has become more and more intertwined in American sports. Sure I believe that most of the players on the field in any sport in the US profess to be Christian, but it has become more and more hyped up through incidences like Jeremy Lin and Tim Tebow.
Somewhere in me a small part of me is skeptical, telling me all of this is fake and that God wouldn't be interested in sports, and that these people are just trying to pull God into their camps. But then, a larger part of me admits God's hand at work, using America's greatest idol to His advantage in revealing His glory in this country. I tell myself, "what if all of this is real? Then man, this could be the start of great change and revival in this country!"
The day when athletes becomes living testimonies for God and Christian leaders in the community would be a glorious day indeed.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
"...story about a wealthy Englishman who bought a Rolls-Royce, the car
Rolls-Royce was built as the car that would never ever ever break down. As so
he bought this car at a hefty price, and he was driving it one day actually in
France, and the car broke down. And so he called Rolls-Royce and said, 'uh,
well the car you said would never break down has broken down.' And what they
did immediately was put a mechanic on a plane and flew him to France, fix the
car as fast as they could, and the mechanic flew back and the guy drove on. The
guy expected to receive a bill. It's not often that someone will send a
mechanic to you to fix your car and fly him back, so he's a wealthy man and
could pay his bill, but the bill wasn't coming, so he called Rolls-Royce and he
said, 'listen, I'd like to get this behind and pay my bill.' And the people at
Rolls-Royce told that man, 'we're sorry sir, but we have absolutely no record
of anything having gone wrong with your car.'
YES! To think that the Holy God of the universe has looked upon your life and my life based on the suffering servant and He pronounces, 'I have absolutely no record of anything ever having gone wrong in your life.' That is a scandal. Scandalous mercy."
- David Platt
YES! To think that the Holy God of the universe has looked upon your life and my life based on the suffering servant and He pronounces, 'I have absolutely no record of anything ever having gone wrong in your life.' That is a scandal. Scandalous mercy."
- David Platt
Sunday, January 26, 2014
PCCC ACF Retreat
Since I have like...I don't know, some 5-10 blog posts backlogged, I will keep this one short.
I went to the retreat without too high of expectations, as I averaged about 3 a year my undergraduate years, and I wasn't changed in any major way there. I learned a little bit here and there from the messages, got to know a few of my brothers and sisters a little better, and enjoyed just being away from the responsibilities of life (school...dishes etc).
There was a period during the prayer concert that I withdrew a little, falling back onto my weakness and wishing I wasn't so lonely and people knew me better. Then a graduate student from Rutgers came by and reminded me that we are a little older and wiser than our peers, and that it is our place to take initiative to guide and nurture those who come after us. He also spoke of his involvement with his new undergraduate community there, and coming from CMU's spiritually impressive ACF, it must have been quite a change of environment for him. So I recovered from desiring people to come and pray with me, and decided to stand on my two feet with the strength my Lord has given me, and sought those who God has moved me to comfort and guide.
Though this retreat may not have had a huge impact on my life or my walk with the Lord, I did see people who were radically changed, and see hearts revived where death once stalked. That is enough for me. That is enough.
I went to the retreat without too high of expectations, as I averaged about 3 a year my undergraduate years, and I wasn't changed in any major way there. I learned a little bit here and there from the messages, got to know a few of my brothers and sisters a little better, and enjoyed just being away from the responsibilities of life (school...dishes etc).
There was a period during the prayer concert that I withdrew a little, falling back onto my weakness and wishing I wasn't so lonely and people knew me better. Then a graduate student from Rutgers came by and reminded me that we are a little older and wiser than our peers, and that it is our place to take initiative to guide and nurture those who come after us. He also spoke of his involvement with his new undergraduate community there, and coming from CMU's spiritually impressive ACF, it must have been quite a change of environment for him. So I recovered from desiring people to come and pray with me, and decided to stand on my two feet with the strength my Lord has given me, and sought those who God has moved me to comfort and guide.
Though this retreat may not have had a huge impact on my life or my walk with the Lord, I did see people who were radically changed, and see hearts revived where death once stalked. That is enough for me. That is enough.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Bystander Effect
Today I read an article (here) that recites 3 incidences of murder where countless bystanders watched as someone (in one incidence police officers) brutally beat another person to death. I recalled one morning while walking to my nanoparticles class, I witnessed two women scuffling on the ground near the intersection of Bayard and Craig Street. I obviously got there late, and didn't know what started the fight, and I stood frozen and unsure what to do. I watched as a fellow student walked right up to the ball of fists on the ground and took a picture on her phone only to walk away immediately after. Luckily the guard of Schenley House can running across the street and forcefully pulled one woman from the top of the other. She took her crying child nearby quickly away from the site, and the other woman exclaimed loudly what kind of person would attack a pregnant woman.
Again I recalled that even with shame, wondering if there was anything I could have done to help. If I were to see someone getting raped in front of me, would I intervene? I want to say "yes, immediately" but am I truly better than the many who watched Kitty get stabbed, then raped, and finally murdered?
Again I recalled that even with shame, wondering if there was anything I could have done to help. If I were to see someone getting raped in front of me, would I intervene? I want to say "yes, immediately" but am I truly better than the many who watched Kitty get stabbed, then raped, and finally murdered?
Monday, January 20, 2014
"We need to teach well what love is, I mean come on, the most unsexy form of love in our culture is the love of the will that says 'I'm in this and I'm not going anywhere,' and instead our culture views that as 'oh you poor soul, you mean you don't have a bunch of emotive butterflies in your stomach every time you see this person? Well man God didn't want that for you, God would want you to feel that emotive love.' As someone who did lay on the floor and was completely helpless for 18 months and have his wife go 'I love you, I'm not going anywhere.' Let me tell you, It is a far sexier love to have someone see you when you got nothing to offer and are definitely not meeting any kind of their needs to say I love you than those butterflies would ever be. So you got to teach what love is, and you have to teach why this is a gospel issue." - Matt Chandler (from Social Justice and Young Evangelicals | John Piper, Matt Chandler, David Platt by Gospel Coalition)
"When I kissed my wife for the first time, I felt electricity flow through me, and now 35 years later I no longer feel that, because that feeling was just my ego, me being in love with the idea that a girl loves me...I would never ever want to go back to the shallowness of the feeling I had when I first kissed her." - Tim Keller
I Didn't Love My Wife When We God Married Though written by a Hasidic Jew in a non-religious way, this post of his has inspired changed the marriages of many Christians, Jews, and even Muslims alike.
After thinking about it, it is very obvious why the most sexy love appointed by Jesus through the scripture is considered the most unsexy by the world. The two just don't mix (the world hates God), and we need discernment to distinguish between the two standards of love.
"When I kissed my wife for the first time, I felt electricity flow through me, and now 35 years later I no longer feel that, because that feeling was just my ego, me being in love with the idea that a girl loves me...I would never ever want to go back to the shallowness of the feeling I had when I first kissed her." - Tim Keller
I Didn't Love My Wife When We God Married Though written by a Hasidic Jew in a non-religious way, this post of his has inspired changed the marriages of many Christians, Jews, and even Muslims alike.
After thinking about it, it is very obvious why the most sexy love appointed by Jesus through the scripture is considered the most unsexy by the world. The two just don't mix (the world hates God), and we need discernment to distinguish between the two standards of love.
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Corey Russell: Revival is Jesus! Jesus is revival!
Francis Chan: Even when there is no revival, even when all there is rejection, suffering, and pain (as exemplified in the lives of the OT prophets), Jesus was there (he was the 4th man in the furnace).
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When Corey preached on Psalms 132 about how King David wanted to build a house for the Lord, and how the Lord was "impressed" and wanted King David to do it, I was like, "wait a minute...didn't God say no?" Great way to start a message on riling up people to growth the prayer movement of IHOP into the world.
Is God impressionable? I am not sure if King David ever impressed God, but God did find favor in him and loved him. Though God rejected King David's offer of building the temple because David's hands were too stained with blood (by God's commands mind you), God did pass the privilege to David's son Solomon (who did "impress" God with his answer to God's question on what his heart desired the most). Nevertheless, God called David "a man after my own heart," which is one of the chiefest honors anyone has gotten in the Bible as King David never put the fear of man over the fear of God.
What is the definition of revival anyways?
Francis Chan: Even when there is no revival, even when all there is rejection, suffering, and pain (as exemplified in the lives of the OT prophets), Jesus was there (he was the 4th man in the furnace).
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When Corey preached on Psalms 132 about how King David wanted to build a house for the Lord, and how the Lord was "impressed" and wanted King David to do it, I was like, "wait a minute...didn't God say no?" Great way to start a message on riling up people to growth the prayer movement of IHOP into the world.
Is God impressionable? I am not sure if King David ever impressed God, but God did find favor in him and loved him. Though God rejected King David's offer of building the temple because David's hands were too stained with blood (by God's commands mind you), God did pass the privilege to David's son Solomon (who did "impress" God with his answer to God's question on what his heart desired the most). Nevertheless, God called David "a man after my own heart," which is one of the chiefest honors anyone has gotten in the Bible as King David never put the fear of man over the fear of God.
What is the definition of revival anyways?
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