recommended viewing

My recommended video of the week:

Steve Hadley on Mark Biltz's theories

A few teasers: Jewish feasts, lunar eclipses, end times.....sounds interesting, huh? It's crazy!

finishing well

When I went to Hawaii, we had a year-long bible reading schedule so that we would read the entire bible over our year in Hawaii. When I went to the Marshall Islands in the summer, I got behind. I moved back to Oregon....and never finished it. I stopped around the minor prophets - it seemed like they were saying the same thing over and over again!

A few days ago, I found my old SOAPs (Scripture, Observation, Application & Prayer) book. I only had a few books until I had read the whole bible. So, I decided to finish! A little late, but whatever. Yesterday, I read Zephaniah. Today, Haggai. It's crazy to think that by this time next week, I will have read all 66 books of the best-selling book in all of history. 

I wanted to write a little bit about Habakkuk, the subject of the first entry in my SOAP book since last October. Habakkuk begins his book with the lament we have all heard and asked ourselves, 'Where are you, God?' He talks about the injustice in the world - why does God allow it? Why does he put up with evil? 

These questions are littered throughout the Old Testament - Job is the main example. Why do the wicked prosper? I wouldn't say I myself am oppressed by evil men. I'm blessed by the people in my live. I can think of men and women (whom I don't know) who will do anything for profit - they'll exploit others. I think of nations who ravage other nations for resources, for power, for money. Although I am notbeing oppressed directly, when other believers are oppressed, I can cry out. I can cry out these same words for the rape victim in Uganda and the sweatshop worker in Thailand and the persecuted missionary in Chile. We're one body. 

"The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink." ~1 Corinthians 12:12-13

Interestingly, I think the Lord hears the cry of his people, those who follow him, not any other gods (I don't just think this, but the bible backs me up - Proverbs 28:9, Isaiah 59:2). This does present problems for places where people are oppressed and they believe and worship other gods. But what about when Moses cries out for the people of Israel (Exodus 32:9-14)? Because of his prayer, the Israelites, those worshiping the golden calf, were spared. There's power in this type of prayer, huh?

Back in Habakkuk, the Lord responds to Habakkuk's questions. He promises justice. He promises that the wicked will meet his end. And Habakkuk ends with this:

"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights." ~Habakkuk 3:17-19

I rewrote these verses for the prayer of my SOAPs. 

Though this world is enslaved to the ways of sin, though Satan has a good grip on us, though men and women will do anything for profit, though human beings are being exploited by other human beings, though people use the name of our Lord for evil, though my body is less than half of what it used to be, though little makes sense, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior! The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights!

the first post

A few weeks ago, in my Creative Nonfiction class, we were assigned to write an essay for This I Believe. In short, it was a 350-500 word essay on one thing we believe, illustrated through stories of our lives. I will probably post my essay later, which is based around my travels to Zambia, South Africa, and the Marshall Islands.  

I have been thinking about 'belief' since this assignment. Some of my beliefs are unique. I have other beliefs which I share with thousands of people across the world. I have other beliefs which I may share with only a handful of people. Various beliefs connect me with various kinds of human beings - male, female, young, old, rich, poor, Westerners, Hebrews, or Africans. . .the list could go on and on. The thoughts that rule the way we see the world around us link us to people we have never met.

I think there is too much emphasis on 'belief' though. The word, according to Webster, means a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing or conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being or phenomenon especially when based on examination of evidence. It's purely in the mind.

We've all heard the phrase, 'Actions speak louder than words.' It's a proverb found in many languages, including ancient Greek. It seems that humans inherently know that if someone's words don't match up with their actions, then something it wrong.

So, I think about my beliefs, and I wonder how they affect my actions. I am convicted of certain truths - how do they change the way I live?

For example, I believe that there is a God. How does this change the way I live? I believe he first revealed himself to the Israelites on Mount Sinai through His Torah. How does this change the way I live? I also believe that Yeshua of Nazareth was His Son, the Messiah. Does this affect my actions? Should it?

I'm only nineteen years old, and I am still finding out what I believe. My mind is always changing (but I know there are a few that will never change). But for the first post of this new blog, I'd like to begin to look at how my beliefs, at this time, affect my life. An extensive self-examination would take a while, but we could start with the most basic ones. Or maybe they're the most complex.

How does belief in a god change my life? I think it depends on what sort of 'god' I believe in. I believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Joseph. Jewish people still don't speak or write his proper name - instead, they write YVHV. If I believe in the Torah (which I do), then I could see what sort of god this god is.

There's a cool story in Exodus where Moses goes to get new stone tablets (he broke the first ones when he threw them at the golden calf the Israelites were worshiping) and God passes before Moses.

"Then the LORD [=YVHV] came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation." (Exd. 34:5-7)

So, I believe this story is real. I believe God really passed before Moses and said these things about himself and that those things are true - that he is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, but also does not leave the guilty unpunished, etc. Just believing in this god gives me belief that these other things exist - love, faithfulness, rebellion, sin. Of course, many people believe in love even if they don't believe in God - most cannot deny the existence of love. But not everyone believes in sin, that there is a system of right and wrong in this world. It changes the way I act; I would (or at least should) avoid sin, avoiding doing wrong, because in that sin, I experience punishment. But there's still chance to be forgiven by this God of compassion and love.

Crazy. This isn't typically stuff that I think about. This is one of the reasons I started this blog - writing exercises my mind muscles. Hopefully, I can meet some other people stretching out their mind muscles and we can all do jumping jacks together!