Spring Break...A New Perspective

As many of you know we, the senior class of '06 at Porter, are taking a trip to Destin Florida over Spring Break. One thing I want to do one day is to just go out to the beach one night and look at the stars... it's something you can't do very well here in Lexington. I want to look and listen to the ocean... something we don't have in Kentucky. I want to appreciate everything God has created that I take for granted every day. I want to challenge everyone who reads this to try and see creation for what it is... God showing us his greatness so that we will be left without excuse when we say we didn't know he existed. It's like the fast talk on a radio commercial or the tiny words on a T.V. screen, except it's slow-moving so we can understand, huge so we can see, and glorify God because of it. It's hard sometimes to just sit down outside, (especially for me because I have the attention span of a new born), and enjoy everything God has created for us to enjoy.

Don't Waste Your Life...Being a Scientist

For those of you who have never read John Piper's book 'Don't Waste Your Life' it's a good read but it could be a lot shorter than it is. Piper tends to describe a ton and uses a bunch of analogies that are unnecessary, but that is beside the point, his book made me come to an astounding conclusion today in my Physics class. We were watching a film on how 'Life', or creation, has affected the world we live on. It started by speaking of the usual evolution theory along with commentaries by a few scientist's. In the end they discovered that life is destroying itself. That blue-green algae are eating away their own environment, black holes are consuming theirs, and humans are destroying theirs. They claimed to have found the simplest form (or oldest form) of life in the farthest parts of the Earth (which in itself is an idiotic phrase because the Earth is round... how do you go to the farthest point, anyways) they claimed that these early forms of life could could have started the evolutionary process in which humans eventually descended from. Now take into consideration these cells they were describing looked like a sea horse. In my opinion it takes a lot more faith to believe that we came from a seahorse, this is when I stopped watching the movie and started looking at these scientist's for the idiot's they are. In speaking of our planet being the only one (out of all of the ones we know of) that could sustain life, they never even came across the fact that there could be a higher power that created this 'Life'. They showed a picture of the earth from the moon, it looked like an ant on a 1,000 acre farm.

Our sun, the center of our galaxy, is a star. There are an infinite amount of stars, which means there are infinite galaxies around those countless stars, and scientists still believe they all came from ONE, atomic-bomb-like, explosion that happened over billions of years ago. It kills me that educators are leaving out so many details. Lee Strobels book 'The Case For a Creator' has taught me a lot while reading which is probably where the following argument came from. In order for the 'Big Bang' theory to work there would be tons upon tons of dust and ash from that explosion on earth, and every other planet, where ZERO life could flourish, and scientists still believe that life came from this. I don't understand how people who are supposed to be the most educated and intelligent people in our culture cannot see the simplest realization there is, that God is in control. Every time they make a prediction, hypothesis, or theory, it is more often than not, proven wrong by the same evidence the idea was formed from.

Respecting Your Colors...During 'The Pledge'

One thing that makes me furious, is watching people during the pledge. Some stand like they're supposed to, some sit, some keep doing whatever they were doing, and some even go as far as to talk through it. I think the reason it makes me so mad is the fact that we are in a time of war as I am writing this. We are almost getting to the piont of treating our soldiers with as much respect as we did during Vietnam. During the Vietnam War, most Americans were against it so when the slodiers came back from the war, we treated them like they weren't even citizens. We left them out on the street without their homes, which is why there are so many Vietnam veterans at the V.A. Hospital today. I just hope that all of you who read this respect your country, not because of the way they look at God (trying to get him out of everything they possibly can) but because it is a good thing to do.

Acting Out Your Salvation...The 180 Change

We all know you can't lose your salvation, but someone always disagrees. The latest arguments at church have been about a stand on salvation that states you cannot lose your salvation, but that with salvation comes a change in which you live, eat, and breath God. This 180 change gives you the want to learn about God and the need for the knowledge of the Bible. How do you know if your salvation is real? Through the fruit of your faith. The greatest example in my opinion is Paul's conversion. Talk about a 180 change this guy went 540 from a profession of killing and persecuting Christians to a profession of learningand teaching God's word. In Acts 9:4-9 "He (Paul) fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him Saul, Saul why do you persecute me?" later it says in verse 9 "For three days he was blind and did not eat or drink anything." I wish my salvation was this dramatic, and it was in a different way. I had been saved years earlier but it wasn't until a few weeks ago until it took full force, or until it had matured enough to see God's will for my life/time at that point. I had an experience one night that I cannot explain, I was getting home late (I don't remember why) and I was exhausted. As I sat there trying to get to sleep I felt the urge to read/sort my sermons from Sunday mornings. In doing this I found a short commentary, I read it and it led to the greatest experience in my life. I got a whole new perspective on my salvation. I now have the desire that I didn't have before to read different opinions on scripture, different practices within our diverse religion, and learn all I can possibly learn about God and his kingdom. The whole basis for the thought of having a dead salvation is being saved but doing nothing with it. How do you know that you are saved if you have nothing to prove it other than a date written in a Bible. We need to strive to increase God's kingdom and show the world his love. Don't have a dead salvation, let it lose and listen to God's 'still small' yet extraordinarily everlasting voice that is telling you what he wants for you each and every day.

Abortion and Cloning Part 2...God's Will

This is a story that I was just recently informed about that really puts into perspective the derangement of abortion. Those of you who have been going to Porter longer than I, probably know this story. There was a young man who made the mistake of having pre-marital sex, and in God's gracious, just, merciful, and flawless will, the girl became pregnant. She wasn't going to be able to support a child so she decided to abort/terminate the child developing inside of her. The young man desperately told her that if she went ahead and had the child, he would take care of her and raise her, she wouldn't have to do a thing. The mother thought this was a pretty good idea so she did it. Today we see this young girl every Sunday and Wednesday as happy as can be, ignorant to the fact that she would not be here if it wasn't through the loving grace of God through her father.

I have no doubt in my mind that God does not have something HUGE in store for that little girl. God has a purpose for each and every 'fetus'/'embryo', that we end every time we abort a child. We as Christians cannot be pro-choice, this refutes our reputation of being loving/caring people of God and makes us look like we don't care what goes on in our world, that we have no want or need for the sinners around us. If we are to win people to Christ, how will we do so if we don't show that we love even unborn children. We should show love for all while staying true to our beliefs. We need to show that if we get rid of abortion, we won't have a need for cloning. I read an article today about how some scientists say 'the reason we are cloning is to harvest people for parenting.' As a people we have gotten so sinful that we as a culture do not want to take part in sex anymore. I know that sounds weird since sex is a sin but that is only when outside of marriage. We are leaving the process given to us by God and are trying to birth children by test tubes rather than by conception. Sex is a pleasure given to us by God, but now we are becoming so sinful that we are rejecting the things he has given to please us, and are making our own methods of creating offspring.

Whipped...Degrading 'The Manhood'

As most of you who read this blog (not many), you know I spend a lot of time with my girlfriend. Some tell me I'm 'whipped' others see it as dedication to make her happy (that would probably just be the girls and/or married men). I try to do everything possible to make her happy even if that means canceling my appearance at the church gym to play a little ball, if I've already promised her we would do something. I try to do all the gentleman-style acts like open the car door (although I must say Niccy B. is a pro at that one), call her beautiful at least twice a day, and purchase all that fatty foods (I don't have the money for) that make her happy. In fact some of the people that say I'm 'whipped' have girlfriends of their own now. Now I know they haven't been dating nearly as long as Jenn and I but they spend just as much time together. I suddenly think they have realized what I've been doing all this time, building. When you tell a girl she's beautiful, she'll come to you when she's feeling... not so beautiful (trust me it happens, even when they're gorgeous), when you open the door it shows you care about them before yourself, and when you buy them fatty foods... well I don't know what that will do in the long run besides make them into the food but hey, it puts her in a good mood for the moment (haha Just Kidding). I guess the point I'm trying to make is this, although being whipped is something that makes a man feel inferior, it makes all the difference to the girl you're waiting for if you've practiced the skills needed to be a husband. To care for her, support her, listen to her, please her, and most of all be there for her whenever she needs you, not just when you don't have something planned with 'the guys'. If you're one like me who prays for their future wife to be perfect for you and your family, I hope you'll want to be everything she prayed for.

Katrina...Losing Everything

Today I was watching the Discovery Channel during my off time for EBCE/internship(for all you who don't know what it is). Make fun of me all you want for being a nature nerd but sometimes I just like to see all the cool stuff God can do with simply his creation (and sometimes how mysteries are solved and other 'cool' stuff like that). Today was weird because the first story was about a man who had fallen over board in a storm with his friend, he was saved and hi friend died, but then it went straight into another story that moved me in a strange way. This was about a 12 year old boy named Donald, living in New Orleans. He was an inspiring new artist, drawing everything from realistic landscapes to unbelievable fantasy characters. His family (himself and his mother) did not own a T.V. or a radio and did not know about the incoming storm. The waves hit their house, breaking a window and instantly flooding the house. Neither knew how to swim and the water was rising. His mother frantically grabbed him and held on for dear life as the water rose. As they waited, Donald remembered saying to his mother, 'we're not going to make, it we're going to die'. Moments later his mother's grip became loose, and he watched her slip down into the water. He watched his own mother drown to death not knowing how to save her. All he wanted to do was die that second with her, so he let go of the light he was holding onto, and did not take a breath before diving down into the water. He held his mouth closed for as long as he could. He began to black out and remembered seeing himself in heaven, with his mom. Then a picture came into his mind, 'given to him by his mother', it was the way out. He pictured the window that had been broken by the waves, without thinking he swam under water (without going back up for air) and out the window. The boy who didn't know how to swim was now on top of his home waving to other survivors for help.

If this story does not make you feel blessed I don't know what will. I too have been in a situation where I thought I would lose my family but God got us through that (if you want to know about it let me know and I'll post it). I can only imagine what my life would be like now had I lost my mom and three youngest brothers. The kid was 12, his whole life ahead of him, and now has to live the rest of his life without the things he grew up with, without any of his drawings and artwork, and most of all without the one person he loved most, his mother. This to me shows how blessed we all are.

Abortion and Cloning... The oxy-MORON

Yesterday I was helping Jennifer with a report on Roe vs. Wade. Now I know that's kind of a broad range of topics but obviously being a girl she had to pick the baby topic to do her report on. Upon doing a little picture search to find 20 images for the report I came across some things that are unexplainable. Diagrams of how they get the baby out, showing scissors going into the mother and cutting off the limbs of these babies or, as anti-life (pro-abortionists) citizens like to call them , fetuses. I hate that word because it makes it sound like an organ or bodypart rather than a living, breathing, laughing, moving, growing, creation of God. I just can't fathom the concept of killing your own child because you don't want the responsibility of raising it. God set adoption in our minds so that we wouldn't have to do this. Some say 'well what about victims of rape and insest', have the child and set it up for adoption if every time you look at that baby makes you remember the torment you had to go through that resulted in it's birth.
the one thing that gets me every time I think about this topic is John 3:16. 'For God so loved the world, that He gave (killed) is only Son... for the sins of the world'. Does this verse even have an impact on our society today. Everyone is killing there 'only child' and it doesn't mean a thing to them. And if killing children isn't enough we want to play god even more, so we try to create a child... after we just killed one? WHY!! If we are killing babies that are unwanted by there parents and then creating ones for couples who can't have children, do you see a solution. It just seems stupid to me to do both of these things in the same world.

Simon Says...The True 'Brutally Honest' Man

A few days ago I watched American Idol. Every time I see it I love Simon even more. He doesn't care what the audience or his fellow judges think about the person singing, he doesn't care about how old they are or how good looking, he just listens to them sing. Usually I agree with his stand with most of the singers. The whole point of the show is to find the best singers out there and get them signed. Simon does a very good job, in my opinion, of getting the right people into the finals. I am eager to see who will be in the finals.

So this is my first post on my first blogsite after my first 'revival night' by myself. I used to think this stuff was really stupid and for people who don't have any life what so ever, but further meditation on the concept of 'blogging' has made me rethink this stuff to the point where I wanted to make one of my own. This site is pretty lame right now but soon I will at least have links on here. I think this is a really good way to stay accountable for things and let out your feelings and thoughts about topics for all of the 'bloginators'. I look forward to making another blog although I probably won't have as many things to say about theological issues... yet.