Sunday, November 28, 2010

With Mutiny Comes Misery

When my faith was in the "valley of the shadow of death," I mutinied against what I knew was true.  And as John Piper writes in Let the Nations Be Glad, "with mutiny Comes misery."  The following are the lyrics to a song I wrote.  It is the story of a crew of sailors made miserable after committing mutiny against their Captain.  In this song their are two truths: 1) if you choose mutiny, don't expect God's protection and 2) if you ask genuinely for forgiveness, God (the Captain) WILL forgive you of your mutinous ways.  I really, really hope you enjoy.  By the way, if you ever run into me and want me to sing this for you, I might just do it.

With Mutiny Comes Misery

 It was a rough one
The seas had been harsh
The winds just kept blowing
We hadn’t made it very far

Didn’t know what we were doing
The Captain was long gone
We made him walk the plank
What had gone wrong

It seemed right at the time
It was all fun and games
He asked us for help
So we left him out in the rain

We sailed on from there
We were making god-speed
We had the wind in our sails
But with mutiny comes misery

The waves were getting higher
The lightning was so bright
We had done all we could do
But couldn’t make it right

The storm kept on raging
We hadn’t seen the sun
We were getting weak
No need for the guns

We wondered why it happened
Wondered what went wrong
Did all we could do
To the sea would belong

And as we lay
Soaking our resting place in
We remembered the captain
And longed for him again

We remembered the time
He made us work hard
And the first time
He saw us in the shipyard

 He called out our names
Said you will do
Took us on the ship
As his loyal crew

On that day
We made a pact
That we would never leave
We would never turn back

We started so strong
With fire on our bones
Anywhere with Him
Even to the unknown

We recalled what he said
On that dreary day
He said if mutiny does come
Just  call on My name

Now we longed to see that face
And longed to hear that voice
We had made up our mind
We had made up our choice

For the captain we’d return
Even if it costs our death
He can have my soul
The sea can have the rest

And as the ship turned
In the way it should go
There was the Captain
There in the boat

With joy in our heart
And the Captain in command
We hit the high seas
In able hands

When you are with me
You will find me by your side
And if you do seek
Then with you I will abide

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

It's Not Just Because I Am a UK Fan

As I sit and watch the Wildcats fight their way back into a game in Maui (maybe God is calling me there as a missionary (somebody has to go)) and the Tennessee score scrolls across the bottom of the screen, I can't help but to think about the latest news rolling out of the University of Tennessee.  If you haven't heard about what went down in the Volunteer state, Bruce Pearl was found guilty of breaking NCAA recruiting regulations and lying about it.  As for consequences, league commissioner Mike Slive has decided to suspend Bruce Pearl for the first eight SEC conference games and dock $1.5 million dollars of his pay.  All that is old news, though, and not really focus of this post.  The focus of this post is centered around the response to the Pearl's punishment.

Recently I was flipping through the channels on the television (that is "the television" for those of you who don't speak Spanish) and I came across a news reporter who was asking sports fans in the Knoxville area what they thought about Pearl's consequences.  Of course there were mixed responses to the question of whether or not the consequences of Pearl's actions were fair, but what blew my mind was one of the reasons  why some think they are not.  Responding to the question, one interviewee stated something along the lines of, "I don't think it is fair.  He is sorry and regrets what he has done.  I really don't think that he should be punished" (like I said, that is along the lines of what the interviewee said).

Now at the risk of ranting, which is something I will try not to do too often on this blog, that answer tore my heart in two.  It tore my heart in two not because of the interviewees opinion of the punishment, but because of the interviewees mindset concerning punishment for doing wrong (sin is a better word in this context).  I know this position on punishment for sin is a dying breed, but the truth is that sin deserves punishment.  In no way am I saying that we should not incorporate mercy in government type settings, for God has shown great mercy on me, but just because someone is sorry for what they have done does not mean that they should be acquitted of their crime.  That is not true justice.  Unfortunately, the idea that sin should not be punishable extends far beyond the realm of NCAA basketball.  It extends into the mindset of many in our postmodern age, and this mindset is going to accompany many to the grave without hope of life with Jesus.  And I am not saying this just because I am a UK fan. 

Monday, November 22, 2010

Justifide - I Don't Care (Pointing Fingers) w/ lyrics



The following song is the only song by this band that I have ever heard, but it is very important to me none the less.  It is so important to me because it is the song I was listening to when I was called into the ministry.  It was at that moment in my life that God spoke to me louder than I had ever heard Him speak.  Please enjoy "I Don't Care (No Pointing Fingers)" by Justified (now Reform the Resistance).

P.S. Please answer the following question in the "Comment" section: Could you personally worship God while listening to this song?

Saturday, November 20, 2010

The Death of Many

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God" (Matthew 19:23-24).

Riches...I wouldn't wish them on anybody.

Friday, November 19, 2010

A Blogger in the Ivory Tower

It is said that philosophers "live in ivory towers" trying to answer humanity's toughest questions while everyone else is busy at work in the real world.  There is not anything inherently wrong with philosophizing.  There is not anything inherently wrong with living in an ivory tower either.  What is wrong is living in that ivory tower and never coming out.

There is a 21st century parallel with the phrase at hand.  The parallel is as follows: there are many philosophers called "bloggers" who "live in ivory towers" trying to answer humanity's toughest questions while everyone else is busy at work in the real world.  And just like philosophizing, there is nothing inherently wrong with blogging.  There isn't even anything wrong with blogging inside the depths of your dorm room or wherever you choose to go with your laptop.  What is wrong is when you refuse to step out into the real world and practice what you preach.

"Lord, may this never describe me."

So, in the words of our friend Big Black from MTV: "Do work!"

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Another Hobby of Mine




Most people think that it is impossible for me ever have a serious moment.  This is probably the reason why.

Monday, November 15, 2010

By the Rivers of Babylon

I really couldn't imagine it.  I couldn't imagine seeing my friends and family killed, the house I loved torn down, and the shop or farm I owned being destroyed.  Unfortunately, for the Israelites, they didn't just imagine it, they lived it.

Because of the highways that ran through it, the world longed to have control of the Israel's land so that they could trade and transport goods safely.  Throughout history you find many battles fought among a number of nations trying to gain control of that land.  And as Babylon expanded and the kingdom of Judah continued to rebel (Israel split into two different kingdoms after the death of King Solomon; Judah was the southern kingdom), the fall of Judah was inevitable.  After years of conflict with Babylon,the infamous Nebuchadnezzar who would become one of the greatest kings of Babylon, sieged Jerusalem.  His siege was successful and Jerusalem was ransacked in 597 B.C..  Nebuchadnezzar left Jerusalem with a large number of Israelites who would become their slaves and many articles from the Temple, the House of God.  The exile of Judah had begun.

Being in exile is apparently bad for many reasons.  Those who are in exile are no longer free but are slaves to the nation who defeated them.  They are separated from their families which they loved.  They are taken to a land where there names may be changed and where they are forced to follow customs that are not theirs and eat food they may not like.  This is the case for the kingdom of Judah.  But, in addition to all that they lost, they lost their greatest joy, the Temple of God.

In Psalm 137 we read, "By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.  There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, 'Sing us one of the songs of Zion.'  How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land?  If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.  May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy" (Psalm 137:1-6).

After reading that Psalm, you may be asking yourself, "What is the deal with Jerusalem and the Temple of God?  Why were they so important?"  The answer is this: that was the dwelling place of God.  That is where the glory of God rested.  Now, God is and always has been omnipresent (fancy word for everywhere), but until the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost (Acts 2), God did not dwell in the hearts of men.  The Holy Spirit did not guide and lead people personally.  Followers of Yahweh, the one true God, met God in the Temple.  The Temple was the prescribed place the people were to worship God.  Therefore, when the people were carried away from Jerusalem , the city of God, and the Temple, the house of God, they were being taken away from the actual presence of God.

Could you imagine it?  Could you imagine sitting by the rivers of Babylon being forced to sing of Jerusalem and the Temple of God, the place you once called home, the place where God dwelt.  I can't.  But my prayer is that of the writer of the Psalm.  My prayer is that I would long for the presence of God.  My prayer is that the only place where I find joy is being in the presence of God.  And if I am ever at a place in my life where Jesus Christ is not my highest joy, "may my right hand forget its skill."  May my fingers not be able to type.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

If

At what point in your life were you more scared than you had ever been?  The scariest point in my life was when everything I had based my life around was at the point of crashing down around me.

I have a very unique family that I love and don't thank God for enough.  My grandpa was a pastor and my uncle and dad are pastors.  They are not only pastors by trade, though, they are pastors by heart.  They love God and serve Him because they love God.  The same goes for all of their wives.  To say the least, I was brought up in a Christian family which took me to church and that trained me to love God.

I am not sure of the exact date, but one day while I was in the seventh grade I  genuinely asked God to forgive me and I gave Him my life to do with as He pleased (I had said a prayer when I was five, but I really didn't understand what I was doing).  In a language known as "Christianese," that is translated "I got saved."  I am not sure of the exact year, but somewhere around my sophomore or junior year I  did what my teachers told me and I began to think more subjectively.  And as I thought subjectively, I began to give ideas and philosophies more leeway in my mind.  By my freshman year of college at Clear Creek Baptist Bible College, I was a skeptical Christian, a Christian molded by an" I have to see it to believe it," rationalism based generation.

Ever since I had become a subjective thinker, my faith in everything about God, from the deity of Christ to the existence of God, had dwindled.  To say the least, I was miserable.  I was miserable because I knew the Truth. I knew that there was a God.  I knew that I had sinned.  I knew that Jesus was God's Son and was sent to the earth and I knew He died for my sins and  was resurrected so I could have life.  I knew that, but I doubted it because I had not taken every thought captive and "obedient to Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5).  Those were the scariest days I have ever faced because those were the days when I felt everything I had based my life around seemed to be falling asunder.  Because I knew the truth and the joy in Jesus Christ, I was not willing to give it up.  

All the while I was battling these thoughts that are straight from the mouth of Satan, I kept a spiritual journal.  On the night of January 26, 2009 during my second semester of college, I wrote the following: "If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget it's skill" (Psalm 137:5)."  And at that moment, on that night in January, I asked God that if I ever came to a point in my life that I did not believe anymore that He would remove from me every ability to function as a human being.  Why?  Because there is not life outside of Christ and I know it.

Friday, November 12, 2010

A couple of days ago I signed up to be a "blogger"  and ever since then I have been thinking about what to post as my very first blog.  I have been trying to decide whether I should do an introduction blog where I tell you a little bit about who I am or whether I should jump right in and write about something that has been on my mind.  After minutes of pain staking thought, I have decided to just do both.

The first thing I think I should tell you about myself is that I am a hypocrite.  I admit it.  I tell everyone how I hate technology yet today I am writing my first blog and bought a b-e-a-utiful orange, refurbished, eight gigabyte Ipod Nano that is being shipped to me for free.

The second thing I want to tell you about is that I am a hypocrite.  I admit it.  Ever since I started writing papers some time back in elementary school, I have dreamed of the days I would never have to write again.  Yet here I am, writing something someone will probably never read.

The third thing I want to tell you is that I am a hypocrite.  I admit it.  I mess up...a lot.  But, you know what? Thanks to God, all those times I have messed up and will mess up have been forgotten.   See, by His grace I am saved.  And when I say grace, I mean grace.  I mean I did nothing to deserve it and I didn't buy it with money or good deeds.  I asked for it and He gave it to me.  And thanks to that grace through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus on the cross and His Son's resurrection from the dead, I am alive.

The last thing I want to tell you in this inaugural post is why my blog is called This Old Dome.  This Old Dome is me.  What I write in this blog will be things that I have learned or incites that I have received that all go through This Old Dome.  See, in my vocabulary, the "dome"" is the "head" that you can bump or the "mind" in which one thinks.  And after I got into college, and especially since I am a junior now in college, I like to think of myself as old and wise.  Even though I know I am not, that's what I like to imagine.  Thus, This Old Dome.