Are We There Yet?

All of us, as kids, at one time or another has spoken those favourite 4 words "Are We There Yet?". Sometimes, we are able to resist until a few hours into the trip, other times mere minute pass before we have to utter the phrase, but someone always managed to say it sometime before the destination was reached. Our parents would always try to dsitract us, and keep us from noticing that the trip is taking longer than planned. Even trips to the grocery store would need activity planning. But no matter how much thought went into the trip activities, no matter how many games were brought, the phrase would be said. Sooner or later the game boy games would be finished, the colour books would have lost their appeal, the sibling crossed the invisible line on the seat, every possible I Spy and 20 Questions outcome has been reached, and one child, usually the youngest (right mom?) would utter "Are we there yet?".

Thankfully we grow out of this. It's amazing how, when we get older, we are able to enjoy long trips. We don't need game boys, movies, or car games to entertain us (yet, we still play them just because we can). We enjoy the ride, enjoy the scenery and wait for the final destination, no matter how long it takes. Unfortunately, we haven't really outgrown this cry of impatience in the ride of life.

We all know the phrase, "Be patient, God isn't finished with me yet", and yet we all seem to want to refuse to believe that. We want God to be finished with us. Not in life, but in teaching us lessons and putting us through the growing pains and trials of life. We pray for something, and before we say amen we are thinking "Is it here yet!", "are we there yet?". God is teaching us to be patient, and we have to constantly ask "Are you done yet?" We hate waiting. We want to get to the end already. We don't like the drive, when it comes to God teaching us, evolving us and causing us to grow and mature.

Did you ever realize that, until you asked the "Are we there yet quesiton" the ride went quick...but once that was asked, the ride went painfully slow? The ride would go from enjoyable, to "Horrendous Hell-ride in a Honda" in seconds. Everything became worse. Siblings were more irritating, bumps were bigger, seat was harder, bladder was smaller...it becomes nearly unbearable. Same is true in the character building sense. At first, we almost dont notice that God is working on us. We forget that God is teaching us patience, or putting us through a tough time, and then we ask "God, are you done yet?", "Have I learned my lesson?"...and then time slows to even more of a halt. The trials we are going through are harder, the days are longer, the pains hurt more, and God's chisel cuts away smaller and smaller pieces. Maybe God plans it like that. Or maybe, we bring it upon ourselves.

The bottom line is, we can either sit back, enjoy the ride, watch the scenery go by and reach our final destination before we know it, or we can ask "Are we there yet?", and spend an eternity driving down the winding roads of life, taking wrong turns, and getting caught behind seniors driving 40 in a 100. Either way, God will take us to the destination. We will get where we are going, but the question is, will we be patient enough to enjoy the ride to get there? Sometimes the ride isn't enjoyable. Sometimes we have to drive through some pretty ugly things to get to the end. Sometimes, we blow a tire and God requires us to get out, in the pouring rain and change it. But the destination is always worth it. Just like as a kid, that final destination always made the drive worth it. Whether it was Grandma's house, or Home...we always quickly forgot about the long strenuous ride to get there.

Where God is taking us will be worth it. Maybe each stop along the way isn't as comfortable or beautiful as we would like, but when God is finished with us, it will be worth it. Let's stop being impatient. Let's stop asking God if we have finally arrived. Let's just sit back (figuratively speaking of course, because when God works on us, it requires us to work as well), and enjoy the ride, and think about where God is taking us...wherever that may be!

Talking about the Devil

It seems that a vast majority of horror movies center around the devil. This is the case with M. Night Shyamalan's new movie, fittingly titled "Devil". The movie begins with a story, about how the devil takes human form, usually following a suicide, and then takes a group of people to hell with him. Most of the movie takes place in an elevator; similar to the concept of the movie Phone Booth, where most of the movie takes place in the phone booth. In the elevator, the passengers soon discover, is the physical embodyment of the devil. One by one, the devil begins to kill off the passengers, and take their souls. It is a chilling movie, and left me somewhat shaken afterwards, but it also raised some interesting questions about the power of the devil, the existence of the devil and believing in the devil and God.
I won't spoil any more of the movie, but I do want to ask a few questions, and give my opinion on the answers (and then give you room to give your perspective). The first question is the ability of the devil to take on human form. Can the devil walk among us, and look like us? As the bible says, the devil walks among us "...like a wolf in sheeps clothing". Is this saying that the Devil can put on a mask, hiding among us? Maybe. I don't know for sure, but I do know that the Devil can definately use people for his purpose (just like God uses people for his). If demon possession is real, which the bible sys it is and I believe it is, then it seems only logical that the devil taking possession of a human body could at least be very plausible.
The movie also implies that the devil has control over life. The devil chooses who is in the elevator, who dies and how they die. Also, the devil has power over physical objects, the ability to control peoples mind, and thoughts. Is this true? Does the devil have actual power and control over everyday life? In my opinion, no (or at least, not unless we give him that power). I think the devil can give us ideas, and tempt us with things. I think he can exploit our weaknesses, but I don't think he has actual physical power over us and what we do, and definately not over physical objects.
There are other questions that can be raised, however most of the questions would require a spoiler of the movie, or at least sort of, so I will not do that, because I don't like movie spoilers. There are some insightful quotes however, one being "everyone believes in [the devil] even a little bit", and another, "don't worry, if the devil is real, then that must mean God is real too". I think these quotes are great. It's true that everyone seems to believe in the devil, at least a little bit. Even athiests who claim there is no God, will give credit to the devil for bad things, even inadvertantly. There's a part in all of us who believes in the great villian, the Lord of Darkness, Satan, the devil. We almost WANT there to be a devil, because we can lay blame on him...we can give him the credit when bad things happen to us, and when we do bad things we can blame him for tempting us.
Christians can sometimes give too much credit to the devil, in my opinion. When people are sick, when finances are low, when people die, when disasters happen...we blame the devil. Everything is the devil's fault. We are afraid of watching certain movies because the devil may decieve us, or worse, possess us. We say we feel the devils presence in certain situations, and hear him. i'm not saying that these things can't be true, but I think we tend to focus so much on the devil, that we forget that God is greater than the devil. God CREATED the devil...and if the devil is real, then God must be real too. Like the Christians who are so focused on heaven that they miss out on earth, those Christians who focus so much on the devil and avoiding the devil tend to miss out on the love, mercy and glory of God.
The bottom line is, we have no need to worry. God is greater, God is stronger...God is higher than any other (sorry...got a little carried away with the Chris Tomlin there). Whatever power the devil has, God's power is infinitely greater. Why are we so afraid of the devil? Yes, the devil is the deciever, but God is the forgiver. God is the lover, protector and saviour. God already defeated the devil. The more we tend to focus on the devil, and think about the devil, the power we give him. It's like the old saying "no such thing as bad publicity". The goal of the devil is to keep our focus from God...and the more we think about the devil (even thinking about avoiding the devil), the more we are achieving that goal. So let's keep our eyes on the prize, keep our eyes on God. There is nothing to be afriad of, for God is in ultimate control.
That's my opinion, bu I realize that this topic can easily be discussed and argued over. Please, let me know what you think, ask questions, answer questions and give your own thoughts. And I recommend the movie Devil...yes, it is somewhat frigthening, but it could lead to great discussion. Blessings everyone, and keep focused on Christ.

The Biography of my life

Lately I've been reading a lot of biographies. I read a book called "The Son of Hamas" which was a very interesting biography of the son of the man who started the terrorist group Hamas. His life story is fascinating, incredible and intense. The things he has seen. and the things he has done (both good and bad) make for a very exciting story. I also recently read the biography of Russel Peters, the Indo-Canadian comedian. The book was great, he too had an amazing story of overcoming obastacles and making something of his life. Currently I am starting a long 600 plus page autobiography of Nelson Mandela. While to be honest, I don't know a lot about Mandela, I do know that his story is going to be AMAZING. I do know that he overcame a lot, faced many years in prison and eventually brought together a country on the brink of disaster. These biographies have been fascinating, but they have got me thinking...what have I done? What would my biography look like? At the rate my life is going, it won't be much of a biography. In fact, it will probably be a sad look at a life that is unfulfilled. A life that had such potential, and yet fell short. I don't want that to be the story of my life. I want to exceed expecations. I want to make something of myself. I want God to look down on me with excitement and enjoyment at what I am doing, instead of shaking his head at what I COULD be doing.
So I'm going to try to do something about it. Perhaps it will be through this blog, that like 5 people read. Maybe somehow, God will use the words that I write on the internet, to a few people, and make a difference in the lives of many. I've been thinking of writing a book, and in fact I already sort of started it. The book would be one of those "Blue Like Jazz" or Rob Bell type book, in which every chapter is of a different topic, and yet it all connects and flows together. I would probably use my blogs as a base, and just expand on them. Go into more detail, pull up some key bible verses, quotes and stories. I enjoy writing, and I do feel that my "talent" is being wasted with me only blogging every once in a while. God gave me a passion for writing, and challenging people and I want to use it.
Now, will this book that I am writing ever get finished? Will it get published and become the new "Purpse Driven Life" or "The Shack"? To be honest, probably not, but that's not going to stop me from at least trying. Whether I ever write a book, become a famous actor (which also would be nice), or actually use my BA in Pastoral Ministries isn't exactly the point of however. My goal is to try to live a life of fulfillment. Help those who are around me, spread the love of Jesus (in word and deed), and use the gifts and talents that God has given me. Maybe my life will never be exciting enough for a biography, but that can't stop me from living my life with purpose. God put me on this earth for a reason. And he put you on this earth for a reason too. Let's challenge ourselves this year to live our lives with passion. Live out LOVE, and all the rest of the Fruit of the Spirit. Imagine someone writing your biography. Would the words be uplifiting, and challenging. Would your life story cause others to think "I wish I could live a life like that", or would it cause people to scoff, and laugh and joke "I'm glad my life is more meaningful than that". May this year be a year of fulfillment. May you follow the path that God leads you on, and challenge yourself to make a difference, even in just a small way.
Happy New Year everyone. I hope that this year will be a year of happiness and joy, and more importantly, a year in which you will grow closer to God.

My 2010 Book Review!

So, I thought I would try something different right now. Lot's of people are starting to get resoultions ready, and looking back on their year. I thought I would look back on my year too...but I'm going to focus on the books that I read in the past 12 months during the year of 2010. I will give my review of the book, and a score out of 10 for that particular book.
Chances are, I am going to forget a book or two that I read, and there is also a good chance that one or two of the books I mention here will have actually been read by me at the end of 2009...but oh well. These are in no particular order:

1) Son of Hamas (Mosab Hassan Yousef)- This book was, simply, AMAZING! It's a story about the son of one of the people that started the terrorist organization Hamas. Incredible events, well written, and really gives a fresh new, REAL perspective on the conflict between Israel and Palestine. This guy went from Hamas, to working as a collaborater for Israel to becoming a Christian. He is now in hiding in the U.S. I bought this book on Thursday, and it was finished by Friday night. The deduction is because sometimes the names got confusing (not his fault as it's his true, life story...but made it kind of hard to fully grasp everything sometimes). 9.5/10

2) Gone, Baby, Gone (Dennis Lehane)- A real page-turner. It's the story of 2 detectives, who are reluctant to take on the case of a missing infant, but when they do the stakes get high and more and more questions are raised, with less answers being given. Lehane is the author of Shutter Island and Mystic River (both to be reviewed later). While this one is better than Mystic River, it falls short of Shutter Island. Overall tho, a great read. 9/10

3) The Town (originally published as Prince of Thieves, Chuck Hogan)- As I read this book, I couldn't get Eminem's song "I'm Not Afraid" out of my head...as it is the theme song of the movie trailer (which apparantly isn't in the actual movie). An incredible story of bank robbers in Charlestown, one of which falls in love with one of the people that they robbed. It has romance, action, some humour, a bit of mystery...it was a great read and was definately better than the movie (although the movie was pretty freakin awesome too!). 9/10

4) Jesus Want to Save Christians (Rob Bell)- I am a big Rob Bell fan, and this book does not disappoint. He writes in his classic style of short, often incomplete sentences...and it reads like his NOOMA videos. He raises excellent questions about the church, while going through the story of Israel. 8.5/10

5) The Rainmaker (John Grisham)- A typical Grisham novel...about a lawyer. This one is all about insurance fraud. If I were to tell you that a book about lawyers and Insurance Fraud would be good, you probably wouldn't believe me...but you should. It's not the best Grisham, but it is good enough to read quite quickly. 8.5/10

6) The Broker (John Grisham)- I was really excited to read this one, about a notorious broker who gets pardoned by the president, in a plot to get him assasinated. It sounded like it would be action packed...but in typical Grisham fashion, the real action doesn't start until three-quaters of the way through the book. It had it's moments, but it was far less then I expected. 6/10

7) The Guinea Pig Diaries (A.J. Jacobs)- This was another book I was really excited to read, and once again minor disappointment ensued. I say minor, because each chapter in this book is a different 'experiment' that Jacobs puts himself through, such as being 100% honest all the time, outsourcing his life, and doing only 1 thing at a time. Some chapters were great, others were ok and a few weren't as good as they could have been. After hearing reviews about his other books, especially "The Year of Living Biblically", I was really excited for this one. Too bad it wasn't as good as it had the potential to be. 6.5/10

8) Boneman's Daughters (Ted Dekker)- For being a Christian Novel, this one was really good (Did that sound cynical?). It kind of had a "Kiss the Girls" type feel (the movie with Morgan Freeman..check it out, it's a good one), and was a good page-turning thriller. I like that Dekker doesn't use this novel to preach at us, as other Christian novelists often attempt to do (even he does in some other books...more on that later as well). A decent 8/10

9) Plan B (Pete Wilson)- I read this book when I was going through a phase about what Faith is. This book was exactly what I needed to read. He talks about when life throws us unforseeable curveballs. When our Plan A becomes a Plan B or C. He uses real life stories, and has some great points. A good book to read for anyone going through a Plan B in life, or who knows someone who is. 9/10

10) The Summons (John Grisham)- 2 brothers, a father's will, and a big secret. This one isn't as much of a legal thriller as other Grisham novels, which is a nice change. It still has lawyer-esque elements to it, but it stays out of the coutroom. Surprisingly good story, typically well-written, and nice shocking moments throughout. 8/10

11) Blessed Child (Ted Dekker)- One of Dekker's first, and not one of his best. It's about a child who has a special connection with God. It has the cheesy Christian novel feel to it, almost to the point of frustration. A few action packed moments wasn't enough to save this one. Sorry Dekker fans, this one is a 5/10

12) The Street Lawyer (John Grisham)- Not very action packed, but packed with heart. Grisham takes on the homeless situation, and he does it in a profound, almost tear-jerking way (yes...I think I teared up a little in this one). This book inspires me to want to get out and DO something...which is rare for a novel. 9/10

13) The Pelican Brief (John Grisham)- Let's get my last Grisham novel of the year out of the way. This one was good. Excitement, explosions, intrigue. Not much to say, other then Classic Grisham. 8.5/10

14) Deadline (Randy Alcorn)- I did a whole blog on this book (and not in a good way) a while ago. This one takes Christian Fiction cheesiness to a while other level. This book comes in 3 parts, the main story about a murder (which was good), a characters experience in heaven (unnecessary and complete b.s.), and Alcorn's stance on abortion. To say that I felt preached at would be a huge understatement. 3/10

15) Shutter Island (Dennis Lehane)- Words can't express how much I loved this book. Just hands down, one of the best works of fiction I have ever read. Chilling, exciting, very well written. Just an amazing novel from beginning to end. The only reason I am giving it the score I am is because I somewhat predicted the ending. I fit could have actually surprised me in the end, it would be a full on 10. 9.5/10

16) Adam (Ted Dekker)- This book started well...with a serial killer. Then it turned into a weird "kill me so i can get a near death experience" book (The main character dies about 3 times in this one). And then, if that wasn't enough, it turns into an Exorcist type book...which wasn't what I expected when I read the last few chapters while in bed ready to go to sleep. Definately not Dekker's best. 4/10

17) The Lost Symbol (Dan Brown)- Any book that I use as a discussion starter for my status on Facebook has to be good. Brown delivers another winner. I read this one fast, just like his other ones. Raises great questions about the mind...and the power of prayer. Whether you agree with his stance or not doesn't take away from the exciting story and his amazing writing ability. This one actually did surprise me...so for that, I give it the much awaited and highly anticipated 10/10.

18) O Me of Little Faith (Jason Boyett)- Moving from a Dan Brown novel, to a non-fiction book about doubt. This book was incredible. Had sort of a Donald Miller, Pete Wilson, Rob Bell feel...and was just what I needed to read. It didn't challenge me, as I already agreed with everything in the book...but it did encourage me that I am not alone. A great read for all those who doubt. 10/10

19) Crime and Punishmen (Fyodor Dostoevsky)- My critique with Son of Hamas was that the names were tough at times...that would be an understatement for this one. Not only are the names Russian (such as Raskolnikov)...but Dostoevsky gives each character about 3 or 4 different names throughout the book. The story itself is interesting, and raises ethical questions, but the name issue, and the fact that the book had many slow moving, too-much-detail moments turned this classic into a bore for me. (In fact, this book took me so long to read that Kristi said it was very painful watching me slowly get through it). 3/10

20) Lord of the Flies (William Golding)- I never got the chance to read this one in High School, which disappointed me. I had low expectations for this one, as everyone seemed to hate it that I talked to. But I actually enjoyed it. I mean, it wasn't spectacular...but it was a good read. It took on some very interesting issues, and really brought into question the raw nature of mankind. Plus...who can hate a book with a nerdy kid with "athsmar" named Piggy. 6/10

21) Mystic River (Dennis Lehane)- As I mentioned in the Gone Baby Gone review, this book wasn't as good as his others...which isn't to say that it's not great. It's about 3 boys, one of whom gets kidnapped by perverts. After he returns home, he is different (not Tobey Maguire in "Brothers" different...but different). The story mainly focuses on their adult years...and ties them all into a murder investigation. If you want the best Lehane book, read "Shutter Island", but this one is still great. 8.5/10 (I couldn't give it the same score as a book I said it wasn't as good as).

22) Evil and the Justice of God (N.T. Wright)- No book review would be complete without N.T. Wright to end it off. This was a book I 'read' while at Bethany...but I literally skimmed through it so fast that I didn't remember anything from it. To be honest, I expected a bit more, but at the same time Wright is such an intelligent thinker and writer, that the book was exactly what it should be. Why is there evil in the world? Will it ever end? Great questions, and he does a great job of attempting to give a satisfactory answer to those, and other, questions. 8.5/10

Well...that's my review of the 22 books that I read over the past 12 months. That averages to almost 2 books a month, which I guess is a pretty decent number if I do say so myself. So what do you think? Do you agree with some of my reviews? Was I too harsh on some, too lenient on others? Did I inspire you to read some of these books? What have you read over the past 12 months, and what books should I read in 2011? Let me know. Merry Christmas...and hope you enjoyed this review...and if not, then that's ok too. Blessings everyone, and Happy New year (perhaps a bit early for that...but it's close enough).

Merry Xmas, Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays everyone! And a Merry Xmas to you all as well! What? now your upset at me because I am being rude and inconsiderate to Christians? You think I have taken Christ out of Christmas? Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad? Is that better?
I'm sick of people who get up in arms over taking Christ out of Christmas. Give it a rest people. Seriously...let it go. Here is why I have no problem with the Merry Xmas and Happy Holidays.
1) X is NOT exing out Christ from Christmas. That would look like, "Merry ____mas". The X is an ancient symbol FOR Christ. It's greek. It's a shorthand and a symbol...nothing more, nothing less. Do some people use it to take Christ out of Christmas? Maybe, but the X itself is not an insult to Christians and Jesus...so stop taking offense to it.
2) Christians AREN'T the only people who have a holiday in December. We act is if we own the month, when in fact, we don't. To be honest, Jesus wasn't even born in December (or at least it is very unlikely that he was)...so why do we act as if everything in December is holy? It's a freaking month people...and the 25th was a day chosen because it coincided with an ancient pagan festival, and the winter solstice. What about Hanukkah and Kwanza? Plus countless other festivals and religions who have celebrations around that day? Why do we think that we are better then everyone, and deserve exclusive rights to this day and the traditional greetings of that day.

Let's put ourselves in other peoples shoes for a second. Let's assume that Christians are the minority, and the common holiday is Hanukkah. We still celebrate Christmas, but everyone comes up to us and says, "Happy Hanukkah"...and when we reply with, "Merry Christmas", or "Happy Holidays", they get upset and angry, and tell us that we aren't celebrating the TRUE meaning of the season. How would that make us feel? We are celebrating what WE think is the true meaning of the season, and no one seems to respect or acknowledge it. Same can be said for those who have their own celebrations and festivals around the Christmas season. And what about those who DON'T celebrate it, like Jehovah's Witnesses, and atheists...how do they like having others beliefs thrown intho their face? The truth is...we can't really know what others believe. We don't know who is Jewish, who is Christian, who is muslim, hindu, atheist, jehovah's witness...we can't tell by looking (we can assume in many instances...but we all know what happens when we assume). Which is why Happpy Holidays works well for everyone. Everyone is celebrating some sort of holiday, whether it be Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza or just a holiday from work and school. Is it an attack on the Christian faith to be accepting of ALL faiths, beliefs and religions? In fact, I believe it is MORE Christian to be more aware and accepting of others.
Saying Happy Holidays does not take Christ out of Christmas. Santa Clause, Christmas Trees, Presents, Reindeer...those don't take Christ out of Christmas either...what takes Christ out of Christmas is Christians who claim that they are followers of Christ, and yet they don't serve him. They claim that they love God and Jesus...and yet they neglect the poor, needy and homeless. THAT is what is taking Christ out of Christmas. Who cares what greeting we say to eachother. That's my Christmas rant. What do you think? Agree or disagree?
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Merry Xmas, Happy Hanukkah...and to everyone else who I don't know the proper greeting for your celebration, I hope that your celebration is great!

note: I got the idea for this blog from Stephen Colbert, as well as a friend of mine's (Paul Woodburn) blog. So...credit to them!

O Me Of Little Faith

Many of you may not know this, but 2 weeks ago I got a job at the Christian Bookstore in Abbotsford. It's been an amazing experience so far, although I am right now hoping that it won't only be a seasonal job but will instead become a full time thing. Anyway, that's not really the point of this blog...just an update. While on my break at House of James, I have been reading a book that was kept in the staff room called "O Me of Little Faith" by an author named Jason Boyett. I can honestly say that I have never read a book like this. It is refreshing, it is honest and it is funny. Like, laugh out loud funny (and I don't mean that in the lame 'lol' texting/facebook way). But the main thing that is getting me about the book...is how I can relate to almost everything in it. Usually when I read a book, there are a few things that I love, many things that I like and one or two things that I hate and despise...so far, this book has been exactly what I needed to hear (now, I'm not done the book yet, so there may be something coming up that I won't like...but we'll have to see about that). Anyway, so far, here are a 3 of the main points that Boyett makes, that I think are excellent (even though they do push against the Christian norm).
1) People give God too much credit. Now before you rebel against me, and burn every copy of Boyett's books, note that those words are my words and not his. Secondly...let me explain. Boyett talks about people who thank God for a parking space, for sound and video equipment working, for finding a job, for weather...you know the type of thing I'm talking about. What he says is that, he's a logical person. If the sound and video equipment works...it's because the people who made the equipment did a good job. Did God have a hand in it? possibly...but does he deserve ALL the credit for that instance? likely not. Now, this isn't to say that we should never say "Thank God", or pray a prayer of blessing before we eat, or recognize the hand of God in everyday occurances...but I think it's safe to say that God doesn't need to be recognized for everything. First of all, because many things are just natural occurances, or coincidences, and secondly...even if he is involved in all the mundane details of our life, he is big enough and mature enough to not need the credit for everything. He's not that much of an egotist that everything has to be credited to him.
2) Arguing doesn't convert people. I knw there have been many times in my life when I get into a heated argument with someone who believes something different than me, and when the argument is over we are both just frustrated and don't believe anything new. Why do we have this incessant need to always be right? Why do we always have to speak up when something is said that we slightly disagree with? And more importantly, even if what we believe IS right and everyone else is wrong, we still have to treat them with love and respect. The moment we argue with others, we draw a line that says "you are over there, and I am over here. I am right, you are wrong. You have to agree with me". Do you ever notice that when the pharisees wanted to make Jesus look bad, they tried to get into an argument with him? Jesus never went for the bait. Instead, he showed love, respect and had very creative responses to their difficult questions and traps. From what I gather from the Bible, Jesus didn't get into arguments (at least not in an attempt to convert someone). Arguing is ok..there is nothing wrong with a heated argument every once in a while...but arguing doesn't make people believe in God.
3) The Sinner's Prayer is not Biblical. This one will probably cause the most controversy, as it is something we all grew up with. But it's true...where in the Bible does Jesus say, "I am the way, the truth and the life...anyone who wants to see the father must pray a certain prayere with certain words, asking me to come into their hearts and forgive them of all sins". The main problem I have with the sinner's prayer, is that it becomes the end. People pray it, and then move on with their lives...knowing that "Well, I'm good now, God will forgive me and I'm going to heaven. I can do what I want". Perhaps not everyone is like that, but it at least opens that door of possibility. I appreciate that the Sinner's Prayer can be a starting point. A beginning of a journey, it's too bad that it is often portrayed as the destination rather then the starting line. Jesus calls people to be like him, to follow his example, to have faith like a child, to love Him and love others, to put others first, to turn the other cheek, to forgive the unforgivable...he never says that to follow him you must walk down the long aisle to the altar and pray one particular prayer

That are the three main points of the book (as I gather them anyway...there are other great points and comments in the book) so far. Perhaps when I finish the book I will do a final blog summarizing everything. I hope that this blog encourages you to read the book (it's fascinating...really), and more importantly, I hope it helps you to realize that you don't have to believe everything that everyone else does. You can push the envelope a little bit, have a few doubts. Doubts are a good thing. Without Doubts, we don't ask questions. Without Questions, we don't have any answers. Without Answers, we won't learn anything. Blessings guys...and an early Merry Christmas to you all!

Come, Emmanuel

I love Christmas music. Carols, Hymns...it's all good. I love the fun Rudolph and Frosty, and the more solemn Silent Night. But the one Christmas song that I never fully understood, as a kid anyway, was O Come O Come Emmanuel. What's all this talk about "ransom" and "captive"? This song doesn't mention shepherds, wise men, Mary, Joseph, the inn, sheep...how is this a Christmas song? And then, recently, it hit me. O Come O Come Emmanuel is THE Christmas song...while other Christmas carols focus on the angels, the shepherds, the inn, the sheep, the wise men...the shoes...this one focuses on the attitude of the people. It focuses on the REASON for Christmas.
Before Jesus was born, before God came to Earth as a baby, the people of Israel were crying out for God to save them. To ransom them. To free them. While they weren't in slavery in Egypt anymore, or in Exile in Babylon...they were enslaved by the Romans..in their own city. The Romans had taken over...Caesar was king, was god. The Israelites wanted God to come, and shoe the Romans who was boss..."Come and Save us! Ransom us! Free us!". And so God did. He sent Jesus to save them. Rescue them. Redeem them. Ransom them. Unfortunately...he sent him as a baby. Jesus didn't part through the clouds, with sword ablaze, white horse galloping towards the Roman soldiers...he came as a lowly, infant child, born in a stable to an unmarried virgin. Not like he was expected to arrive.
But that's the point of Christmas isn't it? The point of Christmas was that God would lower himself...not only just to human form, but to the weakest, most vulnerable of human form...a baby. Christmas is about God hearing the cries of his people...of the poor, the outcasts, the sinners, the weak...and answering their prayers. But while the people wanted the coming of the Savior to be the end...they wanted it to happen fast..."God, Come down, rescue us, kill our enemies and then go back up to heaven so we can worship and praise you forever (or until we end up in exile again, in which case we will forget you for a while)". But that wasn't God's plan. It was to be a slow process. Instead of going all Chuck Norris on the Romans...he took more of a Ghandi approach. Instead of being born into a royal family (or skipping the birthing process altogether and just arriving as a fierce warrier), he came as a baby to a poor carpenter's family.
Christmas isn't really about the nativity at all. It's not about the shepherds, it's not about Mary and Joseph, it's not about the Angels. It's about God, hearing the cries of his people. Christmas is about God arriving, listening, caring. Christmas is God finally saying "enough is enough", and taking matters into his own hands. That is what Christmas truly is all about. It's about God's people crying, "Come Emmanuel. Rescue Us. Save Us. Ransom Us"...and God coming. Merry Christmas everyone...let's praise God that he heard our cries, felt our tears, and came to our rescue.

God, Apathy, and the Windows 7 Phone

One of my new favourite commercials is for the new Windows 7 phone (I'd never buy the phone, but the commercial is GREAT). This is the full, minute long extended edition of that commercial...


Ok...now that you are laughing and entertained, I'm gonna put a spiritual twist to this commercial. I find that, while we can laugh at these people in the commercial who miss out on life because they are so focused on their phone, many Christians do the exact same thing with the Bible. I know right...bold. But think about it. So many Christians go around, with verses in their head, stories, themes, ideas, whatever...all fine and good...but they never live them out. They never use those verses, stories, parables, ideas, lessons. While it's not like we are walking around with a Bible in our face, running into people and forgetting about our wives and family, we do seem to have a lot of "ideas" in our head, and not a lot of "action" in our life.
For example...we read the story of the Good Samaritan, or the passage about "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat", and we feel good about ourselves. We take something from the passage, we try to see Jesus in the homeless, in the forgotten, downtrodden, outcasts, poor. But instead of helping them, we walk by, give a smile and move on. Or, we read about love and acceptance, and see how Jesus hung out with sinners, hookers, drunkards, theives...and yet we stay in our small little cliques. We judge those who are different, we ignore those who disagree with us. We fail to comfort those who are mourning. We read the stories, we get the point in our head...but we don't do anything about it.
Like the commerical...we are missing out on life. Phones are supposed to connect people, and yet the people in the commercial are more disconnected then ever. The Bible is supposed to inspire us to action, and yet we don't act. By just reading the Bible, and doing nothing with our knowledge, nothing with the words, themes, ideas, parables, lessons, we are misuing Scripture. It becomes just a book. And I'm sure, God is looking down from heaven...seeing all of his so called "followers", who claim to love him, serve him, and follow him, and yet they do nothing. They are in their own little world (I should say, We are in our own little world, cause I'm including myself in this too), missing out on opportunities to love, opportunities to serve, and opportunities to show people the love of God...and he is yelling down at us, "REALLY?"
Look up from the pages of the bible. Look outside the windows of the church. Instead of walking around with your head focused on Heaven to see if Jesus is descending, look at the ground to see who you can BE Jesus For?
Anyway...that's just my opinion. What's yours?

Fmylife

A While ago, I bought a book called "Fmylife". Yes...the "F" stands for exactly what you think. The book is a collection of very short anecdotes about crapy things that happened to people. I'm not going to lie, it's a freakin hilarious book. To be honest, while I was reading through it at HMV, I was literally convulsing at moments, trying to contain my laughter and to not cause people to stare at me (because having a 23 year old shaking and crying tears of joy wasn't distracting at all). Now, I'm also not going to lie and say that the book is full of appropriate material that everyone can read, and is fun for the whole family. There is a lot of content that is...sketchy, to say the least. However, I am going to share some of my favourite clean stories, and perhaps edit a few of the sketchier ones. I hope it makes you laugh a little bit...and then I will finish this blog off with some spiritual relevance, I promise. So...here we go:

1) "Today, I was at work at the grocery store, and a woman pulled a cart toward me filled with chips, breads, lunch meats, and sodas. I said 'looks like your going to have a fun party', she replied 'my mother just died. This is for after the funeral'"-fmylife

2) "Today I was walking through a bookstore with my girlfriend when we passed a stand selling Girl Scout cookies. I saw a box of my favourite kind, so I pointed at them and shouted 'Yeah!'. My girlfriend looked shocked. Behind the box of cookies was a nine-year-old scout bending over with her bottom pointed at me"-fmylife

3) "Today at a rehersal, a friend poked me and said, 'my mother is in the orchestra. Guess who she is' I jokingly answered, 'the fat singer?'...it was"-fmylife

4) "Today I was at an interview for a music school. When I got my guitar out of it's case, I realized that my friends thought it would be funny to replace my real guitar with one from Guitar Hero"-fmylife

5) "Today I went to the gym to get into shape. I pulled a muscle while taking off my sweater in the locker room"-fmylife

6) "Today my anatomy teacher was putting together a skeleton model for class. A leg bone was missing, so I jokingly said 'what's the matter, lose a leg?'. Unfortunately there is nothing funy about asking that question to a guy who's had a leg amputated"-fmylife

7) "Today my crush talked to me for the first time. He told me to stop staring"-fmylife

8) "Today I fell asleep in drivers ed, and woke up in the middle of a dream, laughing. Everyone was staring at me. I found out that my teacher had just told a story about his niece who didn't wear a seatbelt and is now brain-dead"-fmylife

9) "Today, while at work, a kid of about 5 was having trouble zipping his jacket". When I reached to help him, he started screaming 'No, bad touch! bad touch' and kicked me in the knee. Everyone looked"-fmylife

10) "Today in the middle of a date, I went to rest my chin on my hand, missed, and stuck the straw from my drink straight up my nose. My nose bled all over the table. He hasn't called me since"-fmylife

11) "Today I got a Save the Date card for the wedding of a couple my husband knows. I emailed the bride back saying 'I got your S.T.D.', and hit send before I realized how that sounded"-fmylife

12) "Today my parents met my boyfriends parents for the first time...bailing us out of jail"-fmylife

13) "Today, my professor, who was born without arms, asked somebody 'Need a hand?'...there are over 300 students in the class, and I was the only one laughing"-fmylife

14) "Today I got 31% on a chinese test at school. I moved here to New Jersey from Beijing 2 months ago"-fmylife

15) "Today, in front of 20 guests, I yelled at my husband for not coming to blow out his birthday candles. It turned out that he was in the other room, quitely changing his disabled friends adult diaper"-fmylife

16) "Today for the first time every, I met someone with the same name as me. I'm 20...he's 97"-fmylife

17) "Today my boss asked me, 'Can I give you some constructive criticism?', I said sure. He said 'your work is [crap], you have no talent and i can't figure out why I hired you"-fmylife

18) "Today I found a bone in my sandwich. It was a veggie burger"-fmylife

19) "Today I walked into the kitchen and accidently broke my mothers vase. I said 'Acciden't happen', to which she replied, 'Yeah. Like your birth'"-fmylife

20) "Today I told my dad that I was going to get some beauty sleep. He said, 'see you in a decade'"-fmylife

21) "Today, at a strategy meeting, my manager displayed a flow chart of his employess. I wasn't included. Turns out I had been fired, and they forgot to tell me"-fmylife

22) "Today, while shaving, I cut myself. With the blade protector"-fmylife

23) "Today I made fun of my friend when she tripped over a curb. I said loudly, 'haha, you can't even walk'. Then I noticed the man in the wheelchair a few feet ahead of us"-fmylife

24) "Today I asked my boss for a raise. He responded by saying, 'Who the hell are you?'"-fmylife

and finally...
25) "Today I met a really attractive guy, who introduced himself as Wyan. He was really cool and sweet, and we got along pretty well. Later someone told me that his name is Ryan and that he has a speech impediment. Througout the conversation I had been referring to him as Wyan"-fmylife.

So, you are likely wondering...what is the point? Why list 25 embarrassing stories? Well, to be perfectly honest, we have all been in similar type situations. Ok...maybe not those exact type situations, but we have all done embarrasing things, humiliated ourselves and put our foot in our mouths. We have all had days that made us feel like our lives our pointless. Worthless. We have all thought that nobody could possibly have a worse life than we do. Well...it's not true. No matter how bad our lives get, or how humiliating a day we have...someone, somewhere has it worse. Life can throw curveballs. Life can be unpredictable, and devastating...but life goes on. The embarrasing situation you had the other day, will be forgotten by everyone eventually. Will you let it go? Will you move on from it? When you focus on your mistakes, on your embarrasments, you can't truly enjoy life. When you are focused so much on not humiliating yourself, you can't truly live. Life is full of embarrasing, humiliating situations. Stop dwelling on them. Life will get better. Life will go on. Enjoy life. Have fun. Your life isn't over because of one mistake, or one humiliating moment. Laugh it off and move on.

Lest We Forget...until tomorrow.

Today is Remembrance Day (Or Veteran's Day, if I happen to have any American readers). It's a day set aside to remember the men and women who served, and currently serve in the Armed Forces, protecting us, and earning our Freedom. More specifically, we attempt to remember those whose lives have been lost while fighting for our rights and freedoms. The thousands, upon thousands of young men and women who have fallen in the line of duty. Many people attend Remembrance Day Ceremonies, wear poppies, visit veterans, fly flags at half mast. There are numerous ways to show our love and appreciation for those who fought, and are fighting overseas.
Remembrance. It's important to remember. Lest We Forget! For many people, today is the only day they really think about the soldiers, the wars, and the lives lost. To some, Saving Private Ryan is just an entertaining movie, and never really think about the real lives, the real people who died, in horrible, gruesome ways. As Christians, we are called to remember. Unfortunately, like many who only think of veterans during Remembrance Day, many Christians only think of Jesus death and sacrifice during Easter, or communion (even though many people only see it as a meal, and don't take much meaning out of it). Why is it that we only remember one day out of the year? Why do we only praise God one day a week? Why is Christmas the only time we think about Jesus being born? Now, I'm not saying that we should eliminate these special holidays and just treat every day like a holiday...but I am saying that we should be constantly remembering. Every day should be an act of worship. Every meal we eat, we should be thinking about the Last Supper, and Jesus sacrifice. Every time we see a veteran, we should remember the cost of our freedom. Whenever we look at our flag, we should think of all those young men and women who fought for us. Who gave the ultimate sacrifice so that we may live in freedom.
Too often, we think about the veterans during Remebrance Day, think about Christ's birth at Christmas, his resurrection at Easter...and then once the day passes we don't think about it again for a year. Lest We Forget doesn't mean that we only remember once a year...it means that we should NEVER forget. Even for a day. Remember the sacrifice. Remember the love. And with remembering, look ahead. Look to your future, your present...and think about how you will honour God with your life? How will you honour the veterans with your actions? It's more than just wearing a poppy for a day or two, or putting a Jesus fish on your car. Live out your gratitude. Live out your appreciation, your love. If those thousands of soldiers didn't fight for our freedom and pay the price for it...our live would be drastically different. If Jesus decided that we weren't worth it. If he fought back, and refused to go to the cross...think of how meaningless our lives would be? Let's Remember. Shall we never forget!