Traveling

== Prayer Request ==

My mom is in the hospital today. We have no clue what’s going on. It doesn’t seem serious… Pray, please.

— Update: 04.21.2004 22:55 EST —

Thank you for your support.

Mom is still under observation. Praise be to God, she is not in any pain or discomfort. The primary physician hasn’t given a diagnosis but he suspects heart trouble. The primary physician is conferring with a heart specialist. Pray for God to give the doctors’ wisdom so that they may make an accurate diagnosis. This will make it 2 nights since my mom went into the hospital.

— Update: 04.22.2004 16:23 EST —

Mom and Dad are chilling at the hospital now. Still no word on a diagnosis. Not sure what to think. Life is short, don’t take it for granted? God? Why?

— Update 04.24.2004 01:10 EST —

Mom is back from the hospital. She’s doing pretty well now. Praise the Lord! The doctors gave no diagnosis… but the doctor did prescribe a low strength aspirin regimen (81 mg, once a day). She seems to be doing alright. I’m kinda perturbed that the doctors took blood tests, stuck her on a heart monitor and did an ultrasound of her heart and nada. Anywho, she’s back home. She put up some incense as thanks to those “gods” in the kitchen. I wonder if she’ll see God soon… Thanks for everyone’s prayers. God bless!

~ Email Forwards V:  P.U.S.H ~

     A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light, and God appeared.

     The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might.

     So, this the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all of his might.

     Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.

     Since the man was showing discouragement, the Adversary (Satan) decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the weary mind: “You have
been pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn’t moved.”

     Thus, he gave the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man. Satan said, “Why kill yourself over this? Just put in your time, giving just the minimum effort; and that will be good enough.”

     That’s what the weary man planned to do, but decided to make it a matter of prayer and to take his troubled thoughts to the Lord.

     “Lord,” he said, ” I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?”

     The Lord responded compassionately, “My friend, when I asked you to serve Me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all of your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. ………Your task was to
push.

     And now you come to Me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong
and muscled, your back sinewy and brown; your hands are callused from constant pressure, your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you
have grown much, and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. True, you haven’t moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient
and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. That you have done.Now I, my friend, will move the rock.”

     At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what He wants, when actually what God wants is just a simple obedience and faith in Him. By all means, exercise the faith that moves mountains, but know that it is still God who moves mountains.

     When everything seems to go wrong. Just P.U.S.H.!

     When the job gets you down … just P.U.S.H.!

     When people don’t react the way you think they should. Just P.U.S.H!

     When your money is “gone” and the bills are due….just P.U.S.H!

     When people just don’t understand you … just P.U.S.H.

     P= Pray
     U= Until
     S= Something
     H= Happens

Courtesy of Mr. P.L.  Hope it’s as \o/ UPLIFTING \o/ to you as it was to me…

=== Prayers ===

Father, thank you for another wonderful day. I pray you will stay first and foremost in my heart and my mind. It’s been a tiring, but good day. I have a couple requests on behalf of some friends. My buddy, BC has a promising job lead. It might be a bit of a stretch, but it seems like a good fit. Perhaps this is why you had him laid off? Keep on leading, Lord. Another friend BC has a promising fellowship and graduation comming up. It seems very much like what my friend is looking for. If it is best, may it be so. So much focus on things that will pass away… let it not be so, Lord. DS is also considering a change of scenery. Maybe it would be good to focus less on money and more on things that really matter… people and relationships. Help me to keep shining. PL is considering Cali… as You will, may it be done. RY is thinking about moving, who knows what might happen. Keep her best interests at heart, Lord. Not as we want… but what is best. Forgive me for my impatience and for sinning against you again. knowingly. and wanting to cut corners all the time. Deliver me because I cannot deliver myself. I pray all these things in the name of the Master, Jesus. Amen.

Jesus Lover Of My Soul
by Darlene Zschech

Jesus, lover of my soul
Jesus, I will never let You go
You’ve taken me from the miry clay
You’ve set my feet upon the rock
And now i know

I love you, I need you
Though my world may fall
I’ll never let You go
My Savior, my closest Friend
I will worship you until the very end

==========================================

Have you ever tried to worship… and felt a total hypocrite?

God is beating me down lately… maybe this piece of clay isn’t ready for molding yet.

I see how high, how awesome, how mighty… then see myself…

What kind of love is this, really?

Why did You come? Why me?

I am unworthy, so why out of all the people… me?

Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²²You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.”

— John 4:21-26 (NIV) —

~ Salt & Light ~
(Reaching out to unbelievers… kohpeeboy, this one’s for you)

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven.

— Matthew 5:13-16 (NIV) —

“salt of the earth”
We are the salt of the earth. Salt has a couple of properties that make it useful. For those who prepare dried foods, it is known that salt keeps food from spoiling. In addition, salt is also used as a spice. For us to be the salt of the earth, we must also be doing the same. We help prevent rotting and spoiling but not of food, but life. While we cannot save people from their sin, we can point them in the right path. Nothing in this world is eternal. As a spice, we bring out the best in life, when salt is added to a dish, it tends to bring out the flavors already present.

“loses its saltiness”
How would salt… lose it’s saltiness? Did you know that if you took a salt crystal and broke it, it would break into little cubes? Break the cubes again… smaller cubes. So the structure is still the same. But what if it lost it’s useful properties. If you dilute salt in enough water, it loses the useful properties outlined above. Are we living out lives for the glory of God? Or do we just pay Him lip-service? What good is it to speak of this loving, merciful, and just God… when we do not reflect Him?

“no longer good for anything… to be thrown out and trampled by men.”
Dust… dirt. This is what men walked upon. So if we are not being salty, we will go back to the dust that we came from?

“light of the world”
We are lights. We shine on the path and point out the way to life. But note this, anyone who has been in the dark for a long time will not have a favorable reaction to the light. Too many times I have woken up, walked to the bathroom in a semi-vegatative state and BAM! turning on the lights does not make me very happy at all… 😛 It’s the same way with how we affect people sometimes. Some people love the light, others maybe have been in the darkness for so long that light irritates them. But we are still called to shine, regardless of the circumstances.

“city on a hill cannot be hidden.” & “put it on a stand… gives light to everyone”
Anyone who has eyes will see a city on a hill. Same goes for any place there is light. Sometimes we get discouraged and want to hide ourselves away. But God calls us to shine our light for everyone. We will be placed on this stage called life and our lives are a testimony to what we believe our God to be. How can God’s people be reflect nothing but selfishness and our own desires? We cannot… we must reflect God’s message of mercy… of love, and of hope.

“let your light shine before men”
Jesus doesn’t want us to shine for just our family… just our friends. “before men” as in everyone. Jesus doesn’t seem to really care if you came from a Gentile or Jewish background; tax collector or prostitute. His light shown into their lives to light up all things, to show them the way to eternal life.

“your good deeds… praise your father in heaven”
When people see your good deeds, we need to be careful not to withold where credit is due. This great change in our lives is the work of the Holy Spirit. To think that we can become sons and daughters of God by our own merit is denial. We shine because God works in us toward clean out all things evil from the inside out. People will see the good works and it is your job to tell them why you do them. We do not work for salvation. We work as God directs us, to bless everyone, even those who curse us, because the glory belongs to the Father.

PL, thanks for the chat, it’s always good to be encouraged.
PKB, hopefully this answers your question.
J, I pray that you will turn from your ways, Shine!
HE, sorry, I put my foot in my mouth more often than not. Forgive me?
BH, if we don’t stay God-centered, our world will come crashing around our feet. I’ve learned that lesson the hard way. I pray that you are not following in my footsteps.

Father, forgive me for sinning against you. For all those things I take for granted. For everytime, I see the right path… and go the other way. For each time you pull me out of a hole only to watch me slide and crawl back in. Continue to work in me and to work on this heart of mine. Help me to hold firm to your promises, when I falter and long for darkness. My your will be done in my life and the glory be yours. I pray this in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus. Amen.

<Randomness> *sung out of tune & rhythm* I wanna be in the light… like you are in the light… I wanna shine like the stars in the heaven~! </Randomness>

~ Watching your words ~

“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgement for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

— Matthew 12:33-37 (NIV) —

First, the physical level.

Jesus talks about bearing good fruit and evil fruits. The analogy is simple. He wants our lives to reflect God’s goodness. Inside of being a pit of death and despair. I can’t think of anything that repulses me more than a dark nest of poisonous snakes. We do good because, that is what good trees are supposed to do. You don’t see apple trees growing thorns and you won’t see a cactus give you an apple. What are good fruit? Gal 5:22-23 covers this pretty well. Afraid you’re bearing the wrong fruits? Gal 5:19-21 covers this area.

Second, the mind/heart level.

Jesus is talking about “the overflow of the heart” What do we fill our thinking… our dreams… our goals… our desires… What secrets our hearts hold. If you have a good heart, you are led to bear it’s fruit. If you have an evil heart, so you too are led to bear it’s fruit. When each one of us opens our mouths, the words that spill out reflect what is going on inside our minds and heart. Are our words loving? Do they bring peace and joy? Or instead do they ring with discord and hatred?

(This part tripped me up for the better part of last week and this week, Thank God for revelation…)
But how about those who say that say both things? Their words weave been good and evil? Sometimes things that are pleasing to God and other times words that hurt and harm? I noticed that Jesus spoke of what is “stored up” The important part of this is to make sure that our hearts and minds are set upon goodness. To listen for the leadings of the Holy Spirit within. If the Holy Spirit does not lead you, then you are only being led by yourself, your own desire. In other words, misled. The self only knows good for me, that is the only absolute I have found. STORE UP GOOD!

Third, the spiritual level.

When it’s all said and done. You will stand before God as your life flashes by. God will bring to account each careless word. The word said in anger. The spoken word has incredible weight on the day of judgement. It can and will be held against you. May God have mercy on you when that day comes. Impossible without Jesus.

~~~
Summation: Watch your words and what your store in your heart.
Application: Guard your heart from sinful desire, follow the good lead of the Holy Spirit and keep your mind/heart focused upon God’s goodness.

== Meditation Glimpse ==

I see two trees.

One tree digs it roots deep into everlasting streams. It absorbs life-giving water and produces fruit from the life force within. The Holy Spirit rules within. The tree bears fruit over time, taking nutrients from its surroundings and bears 10 fruits: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The farmer goes out looks at this tree and thinks “Good tree.” He brings his family out, they sit in it’s shade… maybe even put up a swing and a treehouse for his children to play in.

I see another tree. It’s roots jut partially out of the ground. It is twisted, nearly uprooted by the passing storms. During times of drought, there is no water, because it’s roots barely penetrate the surface. It flowers but produces not fruit, but 15 thorns: sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissension, factions, envy, drunkness, and orgies. The farmer comes out see this tree half twisted out of the ground with thorns and no fruit. That very day the famer tears it out of the ground and burns it.

== Prayer ==

Father, I pray that you will help me in watch my words. To take care that my words reflect the spirit within. Forgive me for all the careless words I have spoken this day in impatience. Help me to keep your good words written upon my heart so that I may not sin against you, Lord. Help me to root myself in You and bear fruit that will have eternal impact, even though the world may scorn it. All for You, Lord, all for You. I pray this in the name of He who taught us your ways with authority, Jesus. Amen.
God-centered life for brothers and sisters.
Resolution for Iraq and Haiti
Calm fears of disease (chicken, cow, and human) Why fear death? There are worse things… Fear the one who rots the soul.
Praise Night?
Direction for my life.
Honoring non-christian parents
E and AB, job searching
RR, shelter seeking

== Random Side Notes ==

1) Betting 2 pushups/situps per leftover card in ’13’ is painful. You either get smart or buff. Win-win. But getting buff hurts… ^_^;;;

2) Chinese soaps are addictive. I’m watching “Point of No Return” and it’s a romantic comedy/drama. ALMOST as addictive as anime! 😀

3) Ode to Nice Guys – link “borrowed” from Gleefully‘s site.

== Song on my mind as of late ==

Spirit in the Sky – DC Talk

When I die and they lay me to rest
Gonna go to the place that’s the best
When I lay me down to die
Goin’ up to the Spirit in the sky

I’m goin’ up to the Spirit in the sky
That’s where I’m gonna go when I die
When I die and they lay me to rest
I’m gonna go to the place that’s the best

Prepare yourself, you know it’s a must
You gotta have a friend in Jesus
So you know that when you die
He’s gonna recommend you to the Spirit in the sky

Gonna recommend you to the Spirit in the sky
That’s where you’re gonna go when you die
When they die and they lay you to rest
You’re gonna go to the place that’s the best

Prepare yourself
You’ve got to prepare yourself

You know I’m a sinner, we’ve all sinned
But I got a a friend in Jesus
So you know that when I die
He’s gonna set me up with the Spirit in the sky

Whoa, set me up with the Spirit in the sky
That’s where I’m gonna go when I die
When I die and they lay me to rest
I’m gonna go to the place that’s the best
I’m gonna go to the place
That’s the best…

Trustworthy… Who/what can you really depend upon?

I recently got a friend mad at me. And being the usual “huh?”-clueless sort, I didn’t find out about it until rather recently. It got me thinking about friends and what friends are for. And what makes us trust one another… The cynic in me let loose and I couldn’t find one good reason. Unfortunately, the passage I picked reflects most of this… truth isn’t always pretty, I guess…

Do not trust a neighbor;
   put no confidence in a friend.
Even with her who lies in your embrace
   be careful of your words.
For a son disowns his father,
   a daughter rises up against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law –
   a man’s enemies are the members of his own household.
But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD,
   I wait for God my Savior;
   my God will hear me.

— Micah 7:5-7 (NIV) —

Part 1:
I see the words “Do not trust a neighbor” and this mixes with Jesus’ words in Matthew 22:39, “Love your neighbor” How do you love someone… and not trust them at the same time? @_@

and what about “put no confidence in a friend.” ? Aren’t there supposed to be “friends closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24) I can’t trust them either?

Take a flying leap closer. “Flesh of my flesh”… I must be “careful of my words” “with her who lies in” (my) “embrace” Whaa??? Dag, can’t trust my own spouse.

Part 2:
And then it gives some reasoning… “a son disowns his father” and “a daughter rises up against her mother”. This is definitely true. Honoring our father and mother doesn’t seem to be such an important priority any more. <sarcasm> It’s only ONE of the ten commandments. </sarcasm>

Summation of reasoning: “a man’s enemies are the members of his own household” It is very true, in my case anyway. Living in a non-christian household is very hard on living for God.

Part 3:
Then comes an interesting counterpoint: “But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD” Micah places his hopes in God. And things start to fall in place.

I don’t think God means for us to not trust people at all. That would be kind of ridiculous. We have to have some level of trust in order to have any sort of real relationship at all. But we cannot fully depend on a person as if they are God. Humans can never attain that level… at least not in this life. Humans are basically imperfect and trying to depend on that is like standing on shifting sand. God is perfect, forever, and unchanging. What more of a rock can you ask for?

Conclusion:
Part 1 is to get us to acknowledge that we are all sinners (read: imperfect) and we all screw up. As such, it is thoughtless to put your hopes and dreams upon a person. We have to trust (read: depend) upon someone higher up.

Part 2 is just a repeat of part 1. When sin is in your life, this is what happens. The children to parent relationship that is so highly regarded as to need to be etched in stone along with ten others, becomes nothing but pain and hurt. A son disowning his father, a daughter going against the mother who took care of her. And a family which is supposed to be a reflection of God’s relationship with us becomes a distorted image, twisted by sin, till you can no longer tell which house is your home… and which house is the home of your enemies.

Part 3 tells you what to do since we are all such untrustworthy sorts that need God. Place your hopes in God. Don’t follow sinners to your doom. A man is just a man, no matter what our world says he is. But God… is God. ^_^

== Prayer ==

AB, is now looking for a job. Father, when you had him laid off, what was the plan?
N attempted to end her life. Father, be with her and teach her how precious life is.
J got less shady. Thank you, LORD. Keep working in my friend’s heart.
K is sick. Comfort her during this time and help her to rest.
BH is about to take the last midterm. Help my friend to persevere, give wisdom and the strength to finish this test.
E… What should I be doing now? I figured he was a he. He thought I was a she. He hit on me. I thought him gay. Gah, strangeness. Thanks for clearing things up, Lord.
H’s mom’s b-day is up again. Thanks, Lord, for another year.
Father, I need your guidance. What should I be doing? I know what I should do. But how should I go about it? I feel like I’m wasting my time, I know that’s probably wrong, but I don’t understand. So yes, back to square one. Father, I need your guidance. Please shed some light soon. I ask this in the Master’s name, Amen.

== RANDOMNESS ==

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/about/best/lax/23374604.html

== /END RANDOMNESS ==

I don’t know what makes you guys think I’d be a good person to ask about this movie, but ask and ye shall receive, so let it be so.

   This movie is as the title suggests a portrayal of the Passion of Christ. The burning inside of Christ to do God’s will.However, this movie only provides adequate coverage to the time between Christ’s time in Gethsemane till the point of resurrection. There are attempts to give insight into what the character was thinking at the time, but this is not something that can be seen as biblical accurate, althrough the scenes contained in them are mostly biblical teachings drawn straight from the Word. As such, the emphasis within this movie is less upon the resurrection and more upon Christ suffering for what He believes is true.

   As a presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ, this movie utterly fails. If you are going to this movie to try and grasp the good news, I would insist that you NOT go. This is an artist’s portrayal of Jesus suffering. There are lots of tidbits of biblical truths firmly embedded throughout this flick, but not enough to constitute the Gospel. Jesus is portrayed more as a martyr than a victor. Besides for small bits and pieces, Jesus’ divinity is overshadowed by his humanity. Jesus is more like a victim than a victor.

   There are also some concerns about the influence of catholism (sp?) within this movie. If there were any, I didn’t notice them. I come from a Protestant background, so perhaps the reason why I didn’t notice is because it would take a catholic to recognize these influences. This movie emphasizes the death and suffering of Christ, I only caught bits and pieces about life and salvation.

   RATED R. This movie is rated R. No guns. And given that the only scenes that can be deemed even vaguely sexual are a glance and the grabbing of an ankle. Anyone even vaguely aware of what Christ went through will KNOW why this movie is rated R. There is blood, blood, and more blood. Christ’s blood is all over the place. The violence may seem over the top, but the violence seems to be reasonable keeping consideration for the time, the culture, and given that “cruel and unusual punishment” wasn’t a coin-phrase at that time. This movie is not for the faint of heart. I have heard that someone actually died of a heartattack watching this. After seeing it myself, I don’t doubt it. (Not sure if it’s true, but it is definitely possible.) There is a lot of suffering in this movie and some may question the need for it, but in order for this story to be accurate, it is not an element that can “toned down” Highly empathic people, beware.

   Like any other movie, this movie has a plot. Good plot? Bad plot? I don’t think I’d be the best person to ask. I am very unforgiving of movies with a lack of plot. This movie however is one of the few that combines faith and art. The other movie I saw that attempted this doesn’t merit attention. There are no real plot twists in this movie. How can anyone do this while staying biblical accurate? Not possible. The story of Jesus is about two thousand years old. Add on top of that the BIBLE is the best selling book of all time. XX millions of copies sold. Anyway, I digress. 😛 This movie because of its subject makes for a very tense and dramatic environment. The movie deals with it nicely by breaking the tension throughout. No comedian for a sidekick though. Sorry to disappoint. ^.^

   Within the limited scope of this movie, there is pretty good character development and we see mostly realistic people with multiple dimensions instead of flat characters. There are some quibbles over some characters, but then again, any point of view will have its critics. Anti-Semitic? I’ll warrant that this movie does put Jews in a bad light. The head priest is portrayed as a major baddie, but then again, in light of the bible, any other portrayal would be contradictory. For each point made, there are counterpoints. If you watch this movie, you can see and decide for yourself. Jews have seen an increase in anti-Semitism in Europe, so I don’t really blame them for crying fire where there (seems to me…) is fog.

My advice:
   Read up on the word. I would advise a through dose of 1 to 4 of the gospels before watching this. The whole movie is in Aramaic, so unless you happen to be one of the few to be fluent in that or happen to speed-read, the subtitles may be a little too quick for you to catch all the detail and intent within this 205 min flick. There is alot to get confused over in this movie and this is definitely a movie that would be better enjoyed after reading the book. If you can’t handle suffering, blood, and visuals of such, DON’T GO. If you are very empathic to suffering, CONSIDER CAREFULLY. Non-christians and others not very familiar with the gospels will have a hard time keeping track of the characters and the plot. A bible study may be in order. ^_^ This is not a movie for regular movie go-ers. Consider yourself warned.

Summing up:
A beautifully-made, viceral, and wrenching artist’s portrayal of Jesus’ struggle to do God’s will in His life from Gethsemane to Resurrection.

Fighting fire with fire water!

I was watching the final episode of an anime series, Gate Keepers… The main character is faced with a best friend/significant other who has turned into an enemy by the hate inside. As the enemy pours on the hate, the main character turns on the love. I don’t mean that sappy stuff… I mean the smack-u-up-beat-u-up-b/c-u-need-it-then-kiss-u kind of love. The love displayed breaks through the hate and reaches to the heart of this friend-turned-enemy.
…
I’m a sucker for happy endings, God. What’s mine going to be like? What’s the journey going to be like? As far as the BOOK says, God wins. I like it when the good side wins.

“You have heard it said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

— Matthew 5:43-48 (NIV) —

Don’t listen to hearsay… loving your neighbor and hating your enemy. It sounds so reasonable…but think it through. The math just doesn’t add up!

Fighting fire with fire => big flames
Hating those who hate you => What’s love? Only loving those who love in return?
Giving love even to those who hate you => Godly.

Truth:
What our Father want us to do…
Love your enemies & pray for those who persecute you.

The best example I can find of this truth being lived out is when Jesus is nailed to the cross.. and he prays to God: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34 NIV)

How we know our Father in heaven is like this:
He does good for both the good & righteous as well as the evil and unrighteous…
 
Love isn’t just treating people nice…
we have to have the right intentions…
      not for a reward like tax collectors…
      but for the same reason God does: Its right thing to do.

How do we love people?
Reach out… but make sure you aren’t just reaching out to brothers in Christ…
 reach out to everyone, reach out to the world… don’t shut yourself away from it.

Justification for all this?
     Be perfect… perfect like God… like God is perfect.

== Prayers ==

AB just got laid off. Father, what is your will in this matter? Let my friend’s eyes be opened.
H is being shady. Father, help me to shine the light.
EG is … interesting. What did you want done here?
PL seems to be at a crossroads with D. Shine, PL, Shine!
BC is/was holding something against me. Remind me to ask for forgiveness… not just from you, but from those who I wrong as well.
Thank you for getting me through another week. Help me work hard for you, Lord. Guide my steps so I may not stumble in the dark.
Helps me to better balance my time so that you may be glorified in my handling of family, work, and friends.

I pray all these in the name of the head of the church, the one in whom we may abide forever, Jesus. Amen.

== EDIT ==

== Random Prayer ==

Marriage and God

“Will you love her, honor her, comfort her, and keep her in sickness and in health; forsaking all others, be true to her as long as you both shall live? … to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.” – Traditional Wedding Vows

(Cynical, & logical aspect speaking…)
Till death… do us part. That’s an awfully long, long time. What’s the average lifespan of a human again? I know it depends upon where you live and your lifestyle, but still that’s a while. So what ?

When we get into a relationship, most of the time we look for someone who we are compatible with, someone who makes us laugh and enjoy being round. But come on, people change. Who’s to say that anyone would still get the same treatment after a couple of years or so? What guarantee do I have after I marry someone that I will be happy? I’ll tell you, none… none whatsoever.

So what reason do we have to get married? Sex, nah, I think our culture shows that marriage isn’t necessary for you to get sex. Healthy for the mind and soul? probably not, but that’s going off on a tangent. Loneliness? HA! If you think following emotions are gonna help, think again. What are you going to do when your thoughts hop between I-love-you-I-hate-you and back? Money? Power? Good looks? hahaha, if you think those things are going to last, think again. Money can be lost, same goes for power… and as for good looks, it’s called… aging.

So yeah, the logical cynic within me agrees that all the above reasons don’t validate committing  to a single person for the rest of your life. Maybe you might have some ideas that my cynic missed, feel free to interject anything that comes to mind…

So let’s take a look at what the WORD has to say…

“But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” – Mark 10:6-9 NIV

Jesus had some choice words about divorce. God made marriage to be a lifelong commitment: “What God has joined together, let man not seperate.” No matter what we humans think… God chose marriage to be lifelong. When a man and a woman are united, they become “one flesh.” In other words, your spouse becomes like your right arm. Needless to say, no one appreciates losing their right arm at any point in time. We were made to be companions for each other, marriage is making a commitment to be companions… for life. But still… How will I know when this is a “right” person for me?

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there betweeen Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:”I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” – 2 Corinthians 6:14-16 NIV

It has be a christian. That much is apparent. But when you read the last line, you notice how God-centered Christians should be. We aren’t just followers of Jesus, but we are “the temple of the living God.” When I think of a temple, I think of a place dedicated to the glory of God. If each of the people in this relationship are dedicated to the glory of God… I think it’s a pretty logical leap to say that the relationship is a way to glorify God as well.

Wives, submit to your husbands as to the LORD. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. – Ephesians 5:22-28

What do you think? Besides for a God-centered marriage, any other good reasons to tie two people together for life?

== EDIT ==

Any praise/worship leaders out there, nahyujahmajah would like a word with you…

~Sacrifice~

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forgeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man comming in his kingdom.”

— Matt 16:24-28 (NIV) —

Have you ever played an RPG? I remember playing a game and trying to represent the side of good. The character I picked was very similiar to a paladin. It was very, very easy to battle evil. But building up your character and your actions were limited by your God and actions deemed to be evil. Underhanded actions were disabled and some skills were useless to you. In some situations where a lie or quick backstabbing would have made things easier, your character would have to take the long way around or fight it out fairly with an enemy. Needless to say, I replayed this game with neutral and evil characters, it was easy to cut corners….

So all this is good, but what the heck does this have to do with the bible verse, you ask? A paladin is the image of a knight on shining white horse, representing God and all things good. This naturally makes me think of the lights that Christians are supposed to shine into the world. But for this to happen, we have to make sacrifices. Jesus puts it into simple words: “he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” A paladin has made a vow to stand and fight for what is right, even when it is not in his best interest to do so. To pledge his life in service to his god, no matter what happens… that he will not be budged by threats to his life, temptations of power and temptations of wealth. When death comes… and it will come… Glory awaits. “he will reward each person according to what he has done.“

Father, I pray that you will give us the strength each day to serve you well. That we will stand as shining examples of what is right and good, so that people may see and praise You, Lord. Jesus, you did what was right, even when God told him to die upon a cross, for sinners that didn’t deserve redemption. Thank you. So, that we will not be mislead by what the world thinks is right, help us to follow Your Word and Your Will. Thanks be to my Rock, God, onto whom I can depend. I pray and hope that you will touch people and shine through them… until every knee shall bow and every tongue confess, that yes, You are Lord. I pray these things in the name of the Master, Jesus. Amen.

Randomness:
bleuciel’s sister’s impressions of moi:

1) You smile alot.
2) You talk to yourself

bleuciel: “You strike me as an only child.”
ha256: “hahahhahah”

S.C. ‘s grandmother passed away. Pray for her and her family. May the peace of our Lord rest upon them and comfort them during their time of grief.
V-day gathering is comming up. Let your will be done, Lord.
S.R. is being shady. Straighten my friend out, Lord. Don’t let this sheep get lost. Help me in my dealings with my friend.

Where’s the WORD?

So I’ve been kinda busy lately. My weekends have been kinda packed visiting nearby buddies and seeing how old friends are doing, gotta make time for my family and stuff. You haven’t seen any bible quotes for a week cuz I’ve been typing up Jesus’ words for a little line of text on my xanga. If you drop by my site, you’ll see it up near the top in red… I’ve had Jesus’ words bouncing around in my skull from all the stuff I’ve typed in, which is a good side effect. It’s like my grey matter is drowning in God’s word… Anyway, I had a nice train of thought about sacrifice, resisting sin to the point of bloodshed, and possible a reference to paladins… but it has kinda faded out, so I don’t know if I’m going to try and retrive it from the back burner of my mind. I had a post planned for this week specifically for the single people who are getting beatdown by this holiday we call, Valentine’s Day. We’ll see. Maybe if people request one or the other, I’ll figure out which one to post. Anyway, Hope God’s working in your life as hard as He’s working in mine. God bless!

There’s a V-day singles get-together on Saturday. Pray that people will get to know you better. Pray this doesn’t turn out to be some sort of “hook-up” fest. ~wherever two or more gather in my name, I will be there~ ^_^

== Prayer ==

Father, my older-younger sister has been troubling me. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to act or talk to her. Help me, Lord. My parents have gotten used to my reading Your word around the house, thank you, Lord. Even the stupid jokes are better than how it used to be… I pray that you will continue to work in our lives and mold us into shape, Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.