Miracles: Old versus New

I’ve been doing some thinking about miracles. I was discussing my surprise in the doubt of many when it comes to the miraculous, especially pertaining to the Old Testament. Many Christians readily claim that the Old Testament is a book of stories and nothing more, but when asked whether or not they believe in Jesus’ divinity the say “Why yes, of course I do.” I have a few friends at college who aim to emulate Jesus in all they do, yet refuse to acknowledge the Bible’s perfection and authority. I ask you this, what is easier to believe, manipulation of a natural phenomenon, or something completely outside of nature? Well, I’d think that the most logical (and sane) answer is the first. Looking through the Old Testament many miracles are nothing more than a manipulation of nature. The plagues of Egypt were very commonplace yet unfortunately timed occurrences, the great flood is a magnification of an everyday tragedy, and the appearance of quail in the desert could easily be verified. In short, God’s miracles of the Old Testament were simply His intervening in the natural world. God made the word and the laws that surround it, shouldn’t he have the right to step in every once and a while to sway the pieces to His desire? Jesus is very different though, His miracle of rising from the dead is unprecedented in nature. Floods and hail storms happen all the time, but no one rises from the dead. I do not mean to discount the miracle of Jesus, of course it happened and He is our true Savior. I just write this to ask those who disbelieve the Old Testament to look at the straight facts. If you are willing to believe in a miracle completely outside of nature why do you discount a natural occurrence as a child’s story?

Disagreements in Boston

Here’s a story for the books. I was waiting for my train at a T stop in Boston earlier today when I was accosted by a young man. H asked me if I had a moment and then pulled out a Bible and began talking with me. Initially I was happy ‘Good for this guy’ I thought, but things quickly went downhill from there. He began talking some new theology about the “mother and father God” how God is not simply a trinity, but there are two gods, the mother and father. I knew I couldn’t let this slide, so I asked for his Bible telling him I too am a “praying man” and quickly pointed out how he was wrong, how there is only ONE true God. He got mad at me, and let’s just say I made a dramatic exit onto my train. I realized, while on the train, that there are many like this man who try to pervert the Gospel to suit their own purposes. Jesus said that many would come in His name yet speak lies and not the truth. Indeed the devil is crafty in his ability to take seemingly godly men and twist the Bible to something else. I told the man that I would not let the devil use people like him to shake my faith and that I believe in the true God that sent His son for us (hey I said it was a dramatic finish). I don’t tell this story to point out how I did a “good thing.” No instead I credit God who gave me the knowledge of His word, and spoke through me to call out evil when I saw it (granted I could have put it a little nicer). Watch out there, on the streets there are many “street preachers,” the majority of which I am not very fond. Many try to come in sheep’s clothing, yet are really trying to pervert God’s word to trick those who listen. That’s why knowing what the Bible says is important. This man tried to show me scripture, but thanks to my knowledge I proved him wrong with not only the same scripture he used, but a few other references as well. Dogmas are well and good if they help us understand God’s word, but they can get in the way too. Over the summer try to dig into God’s word daily, look for His answers to our questions instead of asking around. You’ll be surprised by the clarity, practicality, and truth in the words you read.

Summer Challenge

With the beginning of my summer comes a brand new challenge. I was invited by a former youth pastor to join the G90X challenge. Many have heard of P90X, but this challenge focuses on the body and heart (spiritually speaking). I thought about making easy goals, but how does that improve me? As my old baseball coach said, “if you are not getting stronger, then you are getting weaker!” (imagine hearing that while lifting in the gym at 6:00 am!). Anyway, to keep me honest to my goals and to actually follow through with this, I am posting them here and will be writing any updates/developments/struggles that I have. For the body, I will work out 5 days a week, I will lift 3 days and do cardio 2 days (or switch it up and focus on cardio). For the heart I will read 3 chapters of the Bible a day, memorize 1 verse a week, and spend 30 minutes in prayer a day. These goals will be very hard to follow through on, but as with all things that require work/effort they are well worth it. I will improve my physique (which has gotten gradually worse with stress, bad food, and lack of exercise) for baseball, and grow closer to my Creator. Well, here we go, challenge accepted.

Summer Begins (Finally!)

Well my last exam was Monday and after a day off I am ready to blog again. My efforts have lagged a bit, I get worked so hard at Holy Cross that expending the little mental energy in my free time to write is not very high on my priorities. That, I think, is unfortunate as blogging has been a huge part of my life and I really do miss it. Anyway, here are a few thoughts on the college experience. It was amazing yet challenging as well. As a kid I was faced with many temptations, as a young man on my own all those temptations are multiplied by 1,000,000. Added to that, I stand out as a moral oddball and it can be hard to walk the straight and narrow. While I tripped up on a few occasions God kept me close to Him and didn’t let me go. For that I am extremely grateful. My first post away from home was filled with determination but also fear. In the back of my mind was the thought “What if I do fail, what if I do fall down?” I’ve never been one to give up, but what if I fell away from God and became something I’m not? While life has changed me a bit, God has kept me the same. I’m the same old Tay Tay, I love God more than anything else, and I work hard to be just like my Father in Heaven. I’m involved in a foster care center and am looking forward to being the head of FCA. God has taken me for an incredible ride—sure there were a few stumbles along the way, but He was there every step I took.

Landmark Post

Post # 521, any fans of good 'ole Ted Williams will know this is the number of home runs he hit in his career. Well I guess if I was a major league ball player, averaging upwards of 100 homers would land me with a steroid investigation. Good thing blog posts don't correlate to baseball (although with the Red Sox, I wouldn't ming).

He's all that Matters

I really need a better first sentence than “When I read my Bible this morning something stood out to me,” but that’s all I’ve really got as a starter. Perhaps over the summer my goal should be to come up with a rotation of openers to my posts to keep it interesting, anyway, I’m getting off topic. As I continue trudging through Acts (reading isn’t the correct term anymore as I have been falling behind often). I was reading chapter 20, and verse 22 really spoke to me this morning. Paul is speaking to the Ephesian elders and leaves them with a simple message. Before leaving he says “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish eh race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the Gospel of God’s grace.” That’s really cool, not in a  “skater-dude” way but in that it’s an amazing outlook to have. This sentiment is not found often. I used to think that I had to play baseball to have a good life, or be really smart, or meet the girl of my dreams. But all that stuff is just, well, stuff. It’s worthless in the end. When I grow old and die (yeah morbid, I know) what will it all have done for me? The only lasting thing is God; His grace is the only possession that matters and can carry through any storm. At 18 I already feel like I wasted my life, imagine if God spoke these words to me in my 40’s? But the great thing is that is never too late. No matter how late you start, every moment spent for God matters more than any hour spent on the world. Today, and going forward of course, put God at the top. Look to Him as your supreme source of strength and hope, and live a life dedicated to Him. Life is short enough as it is (even shorter in college), why waste in on things that will pass with the rest of the world? 

What do You Trust in?

Well I am leading FCA tonight for its last meeting, which means I get to test out what I am going to say right here. Lately I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about security. Not national or home security, and not run security (it’s a baseball thing) either. I’ve been thinking about security as a person. What do you put your trust in? Do you put it in your job, your home, or financial assets? Maybe your golf game? For younger people, do you put it in your relationships, social status, physical appearance, or grades?  When you put your security and faith in the wrong things you often end up getting hurt very badly. You end up facing defeat, and leave unsatisfied. I was struggling to think of a verse that applies here, mainly because there are so many. One verse stood out in my mind though, Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, and ever-present help in trouble.” That was one of my favorite verses once I read it; it says so much that we can take into our lives. While things of this world may fade, God is “ever-present.” He never leaves and He never fails. If you put your trust in God you will never be disappointed, you may have to wait a bit but you won’t walk away lost. I admit that there are times (heck, many times) where I put my trust in other things, and I ALWAYS end up lost. It’s really easy to fall for tricks though, it’s really easy to desire immediate satisfaction from the things around us, but it never lasts. This week try to think about what you put your trust in, and if you find that it is something other than God pray about. I know that last part is cliché, but God always answers prayers and will take everything you give to Him. God is good, trust in Him for all your needs.