Big News

So this is not a complete post, but as I have some great news and not much time to share it here is a shorter version of a future post. Last night I was offered the position of head of FCA (fellowship of christian athletes) next year. It was a huge and unexpected honor. I love what we do in FCA and definitely want to work on marketing it more to get more people involved because it is a great ministry. I used to want to have a ministry but now I realize that no ministry belongs to us, it is God's ministry entrusted to those He hand picks. I feel undeserving of this great honor but will pray about it and I can't wait to get started doing the Lord's work. So often life gets crazy and we lose sight of what we are here for; I may not know what I want to do with my life but I do know that serving God is what really matters.

Happy Thanksgiving

Just wanted to say happy Thanksgiving to all my readers. Life can get hectic and there can be a lot to be thankful for that we lose sight of. I know from experience that this can be true. Though we may lose big things in life, never let us lose sight of all the hidden blessings around us. If I could list out everything I had to complain about I'd have a pretty long list, but if I had to list out everything I appreciated and loved I wouldn't have time in my life to do so. Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels, now it's time for some pre-dinner snacking (I barely eat at college, give me a break).

True, Untrue, or Half True

I was talking with a couple people the other day on the question as to how truthful the Bible is. They claimed that parts of the Bible are outdated, and that parts of it are true but not everything. While they agreed that the entire Bible is not true, they claimed other parts are and that it is still the word of God. My question is this, how truthful is a half-truth? “Tay Tay why is your paper not handed in on time?” “Uh, I’ve been busy with other stuff and could really use an extension.” What really happened: I forgot about the paper and chose to go into Boston one day of the weekend, and watch the Bourne trilogy the next day. Sure I did tell the half-truth, but ultimately the half-truth is a lie. So what is my point? That if something is not completely true then it is a lie. Even if we wanted to say that only part of the Bible is true, which parts? Should we take surgical instruments to it and expertly cut out all that “silly” stuff on miracles? My claim is this, if we aren’t to take on the Bible as 100% true we can’t take it on at all. You get into a sticky situation when you try to discern what is true and what isn’t. That’s faith though isn’t it? Believing in the absence of belief. Yes many parts of the Bible are fantastic, but is not God all-powerful, how hard could it be for Him to preform a few miracles here and there. It’s not easy, sometimes I find myself scratching my head thinking ‘Did this really happen?’ That is what faith is for though, that is what faith is all about. Do I have all the answers? Heck no, I’m only an 18 year old college student who hasn’t a clue where he is going in life, but you know what, no one but God will ever have the answers; it’s up to Him to reveal them to us.

Cans of Worms

So here is a post I meant to write a while later, but as always in college my life is constantly on hold, anyway here it goes. At the same FCA meeting where I watched the film on Stephen Hawkins, we got into a discussion as to whether we should take the Bible literally or metaphorically. Now, to even ask this question opens a can of worms, and I don’t like worms so for the short duration of a blog post I will try to clean the mess up. In short I don’t know, if I say yes take it literally then I face criticism by the scientific community, and the opposite I am deemed a heretic. Nether are good for my blog, and in my opinion not 100% correct either. I believe the Bible is the divine word of God that man wrote it has not bearing on its accuracy, it is God’s word and that is enough. That said, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t metaphorical significance as well. For example, the story of creation fits in with ancient Hebrew poetry, 1000 is the perfect number of years in life, so it makes sense man’s lives would gradually decrease after Adam (lived to 900), and also many stories are rich in symbolism prevalent in Hebrew culture (just look at the use of numbers). Does this mean that they never happened? Well, I can’t say for certain, I’m not just about to say that they didn’t, but I’m also not going to say that they don’t have any metaphorical significance in addition to any historical importance they have. I wrote a post about the creation story, and here I will reiterate my main point, it doesn’t necessarily matter what exactly happened, but what it means in terms of God’s relationship to man. God loves us, that is the main message of the Bible, if we take away that one truth is that not enough?

Post # 112

Officially more posts than last year, I went through a rough time and was lax in my writing but this year I came back strong and will continue to do so until the end of 2011. Then it will be on to 2012!

Found Some Wisdom Today

So this is more of a personal post, and it is also about faith. Lately I’ve been attending a prayer group that I was invited to by a good friend. I invited this friend to a weekly Bible Study I attend and she in turn invites me to pray with some of her friends. I was eager to go, gathering in fellowship with other Christians (especially in a college environment) is always a good thing. I have to admit though, after going I was a little intimidated. Everyone seemed so in tune with God, and strong in his or her faith. Me on the other hand, sometimes I feel like I’m struggling just to get through the next day. I felt intimidated, I’ll admit it, it’s like playing baseball with someone who is truly better than you, you want to duck out quietly. That’s what the devil wants me to do though! I realized that this morning, that the devil will do anything he can to get me to stay away from God. He’ll throw personal issues in my face, he’ll cause me to procrastinate and miss church, and if that doesn’t work he’ll make me feel afraid. Faith can feel like an uphill battle sometimes, but that’s why God gives us a helping hand right? Yeah God can be silent sometimes, but He’s there, always watching. I’m glad I went, I’m glad I have newfound friends in Christ, and I’m glad God spoke some wisdom to me and showed me the light. It’s easy to be intimidated, but is there ever a good reason to be?

Did He Really Say That?

Recently I watched a very interesting video on my FCA (fellowship of Christian athletes) meeting. We were talking about proofs for God, and then we watched a Discovery Channel special on Stephen Hawkins and his conclusions about the origin of the universe. Hawkins claimed that there is no need for God and also no afterlife. He said that we finally found the meaning of our universe and should be proud; he said that this life is all there is and he is grateful for it. I am not so well trained in physics; I’m more of an English and philosophy man, but I do have one question for Hawking. Should we be proud? Should we be grateful? If this world is all there is, then I have very little to be truly happy about. Think about it, if life is nothing more than an “every man for himself” battle for achieving our desires and dreams then what is the point? What does it matter if I continue to live out the rest of my life or end it tomorrow? The answer: it doesn’t. If there is not God, no true sense of justice beyond our relative understanding, who’s to say that that theft, murder, or rape are crimes? The answer: no one. We cannot prove or disprove the existence of God, it stinks but it’s true, but I believe that the world points right to God. That life has value points to God. That our world is defined by the principle of a “good world gone bad” it points to God. That I can have the hope to carry through the trials that weigh me down points to God. Can I prove anything? No, but neither can anyone else. Sometimes you just have to reach out and trust that there is something there, but then again, isn’t it worth it? I feel bad for Hawking, I sincerely do. He lived a hard life and is paralyzed, if this is all there is to life then he led a sad existence. In God’s eyes though he matters just as much as anyone, a life lived for God is a life to be grateful for, a life that is never wasted.