late birthday boast

Have recently accomplished the noteworthy and extremely difficult task of aging another year, I will now proceed to offer my thanks to:

My fellow travellers. It would be a lonely road without you. Christ is enough should we be chosen to a life of loneliness, but it would be arrogant and wrong to take for granted the exceeding blessing of friendship: Brethren, may we all learn to love one another because of Christ, and to love the unconverted because He loves them.

  My family: Y’all are (drumroll, please) fuuuully awesome. Mom and Dad, sixteen years from now, when I’m old and boring, I hope to have supplied the “next best thing,” in abundance (if you follow me). Thanks for preparing for this next stage of childlike manhood; for allowing me to be the only sixteen year old that I know that got Pav lova with a Spider-Man candle on it. For doing more for me up to this point than this blog can express; for taking me to the ER when I plunged from a bunk bed and bit a second mouth in beneath my first one, and the time when I plunged from the window sill face-first with a toothbrush in my mouth. For allowing the humble to confound the proud, the foolish to confound the wise, and for being clay,  and instruments for my Adoption from the spirit of bondage. For being instruments of judgment, and river beds through mercy was sent; and for letting the ultimate goal of marriage and family, which is conformity to Christ, be lived out. To my siblings,  who were there when I drew my first breath, and have been great reinforced ever since: every year of my life, every day of my years, every second of my days, every moment that y’all have been there, will be remembered with gratitude to God as this life unfolds; let us bless Him for the past, strive to know Him in the present, and trust Him for future.

   To the God who holds all things in His hands, and loves us despite our shortcomings: to the Christ Who knows no change, Who’s sacrifice we cannot stifle, and Who’s gift we cannot repay: to the Spirit Who guides in paths to holiness for love’s sake, Who shows us our need, and Who’s wind blows the dust from within this temple, that we may be presented pure and holy to Him that loved us first: to the Godhead three in one be all glory, all desire, all affection, and may those Who have tasted and seen that He is good feel their hearts warmed by His breath to seek their all in Him.

  Let those all those who have reached another year increase in fellwoship with Him in a new way as the journey on life’s road, and may the Lamb that was slain recieve the reward of His sufferings. And may our only boast in new years be of Him.

thy love increase

Sweet the moments, rich in blessing,

Which before the Cross I spend;

Life and health and peace possessing,

From the sinners dying friend.

Truly blessed is this station,

Low before His Cross to lie;

While I see divine compassion,

Beaming in His languid eye.

Love and grief my heart deviding,

With all my tears His feet I’ll bathe;

Constant still in faith abiding,

Life deriving from His death.

For Thy sorrows we adore Thee-

For the griefs that wrought our peace-

Gracious Saviour! We implore Thee,

In our hearts Thy love increase.

-Walter Shirley.

the twilight zone… (or: an obnoxious pot declares an infamous kettle “black”)

“Do not ajust your URL. We are in Control….”

   People used to vote with balls; now we have polling machines. Used to be, if people wanted music, they had to go to concerts or taverns: now we have iPods (and phones). If people wanted pictures, they had to paint or sculpt; now we have cameras (and phones). If people wanted visual entertainment, they had to go to plays (or taverns); now we have movies in hi-def (and phones). Used to be, if people wanted friendship, they have to meet and get to know people; now, thanks to the wonders of modern technology, we have Facebook (on our phones).

   Modern technology makes things so much easier: before movies were invented, watching them was so hard. And now that we have Faceboook, and we can keep up with our friends, and make new ones without even leaving our office chairs. No more need to argue: we’ll just talk about non-controversial stuff. And for those of you who cannot resist arguing, at least it will not turn to anything physical. Hopefully.

   And, if you do happen to run into your best friend in person, (like when you go to the store to earplugs for further transendance into friendship, and less involvement in in materialistic noises of the non-virtual realm), there’s no bother with names and such: you already know them. The only confusion will be when you find out that your best friend has arms and legs, and not just a face. (”Oh yeah,” you recall. “I remember her telling me, and 550 other people, that she was going for a manicure.”)

   By the way, about the arms and legs thing, that explains why those old days people had busts: they would send them as representations of their “face” when they mailed status updates to each other. Back then, Facebook was only for the rich.

   ”You got a friend in me.”

   Another disadvantage the old days people had was that local law enforcement, such as Barney, had very strict rules about not writing on the wall: these days, it is not only allowed, but encouraged so you can enjoy more meaningful friendships.  Now we understand that those babies in the nursury were just trying to connect, since they were below thirteen.

   Facebook allows us to enjoys the joys of friendship like never before, and comparatively few of the glitches involved.  And who knows, you might find out you like your roommate; you may even fall in love. Just as a reminder though, if you marry, in order to keep up intimate relationships between husband in wife, make sure the household has two computers. And if the Internet goes out, assign each other different wall in your home, on which you can write messages to each other.

   In the real world, I’ve found that, especially since I turned thirteen, that friendships can be disappointing. We must Face the fact: we don’t want to be alone or bored: we want to be Booked. Let us enter teh Twilight Zone of friendship online, and you will find that you start to understand what people are talking about when you see them in person.

    And if you take any of the above seriously, you really don’t meet the criteria for a reader of this blog. I am not against Facebook; I hope I don’t join any time soon, but I think some things about it are very beneficial; and who knows, Maybe I had the same thing for breakfast that you had. (And yes, I know, running a blog is no better).

By the way, here’s a neat, and fair, artical on the subject.

effects or cause? part one

  You wouldn’t believe the things Sherlock Holmes can do to you. I was riding home from work (no, that’s not a typo) with a friend the other day, and we were attempting to deduce all that we could about people from their cars. We came behind an older Jeep Cherokee, and we began to guess things about them by their tag, the car dealer they got the car from, et cetera. As one threw a cigarette stub out the window, I commented, “They don’t seem as nice as the other person was. They litter.” Spotting one of those ridiculous air fresheners hanging from their mirror, I added “They smoke, but they do not like the smell to linger in their vehicle.” My friend gave this intriguing remark: “It’s funny how people attempt to treats the effects of a problem rather than the source.”

    “Like us.”

   It’s a problem that’s as old as the hills. Unless we are enlightened by grace, we will always look to the symptoms instead of the sickness. Like, what or who do we think about? To answer this question, I find that I often try to force a change in my thought life. We force ourselves deeper when we consider, What are we spending our time and effort on? Which leads to, What do we love?

   We decieve ourselves into thinking that if we clean the outside, the inside will take care of itself .  Or if we clean out the things on the inside that “disturb” us, the heart will be right. It manifests itself in different ways for different people. And the source lies, I believe, in self-sufficiency. It may be pride, wanting to sort out our own problems, which drives us to the things that we think we can fix on our own. Or it may lie in unbelief, or, to try and express what I’m thinking most clearly, an uncultivated faith, which should be just as wrenching to our souls. Only by looking to God can our hearts motives be changed. And, if we are looking to Him, He will change us by the power of His love. 

  Self-sufficiency, I find, will find difficulty in looking a problem in the face; belief desires to see a problem for what it is, because it sees God for Who He is. The struggle against sin is a war, not a skirmish; yet it is a battle in which the winner is already decided. When we are caught up in “sanctification by Thursday” it is easy to loose trust in our Captain, and self-sufficiency takes over.

    Patience, which is faith, is needed to trust God to do His good work, in His perfect way, in His perfect time. There is the need to strive after conformity: but we must let the peace of God rule. The rest that comes from this surrender is something which words will not describe. Impatience, on the other hand, is a manifestation of pride. 

   Of course, we can react to any problem the wrong way. Let us do more than just say or write what we know to be true; let us not just make resolutions: let us seek the answer in the Word and on our knees. 

song for missions (again)

I posted this same song last year when Anthony and some other friends went to Ethiopia. I’ll do it again, this time for Anthony, Trey, and Rebekah.

If You ask me to leap,

Out of my boat on the crashing waves,

If You ask me to go,

Preach to a lost world that Jesus saves:

 I’ll go, but I cannot go alone,

 ’Cause I know I’m nothing on my own,

  But the power of Christ in me, makes me strong,  makes me strong:

    When I’m weak, You make me strong, 

   When I’m blind, You shine your light on me,

   Cause I’ll never get by, living on my own ability;

   How refreshing to know You don’t need me,

   How amazing to find that You want me!

   So I’ll stand on Your truth, and I’ll fight with Your strength,

  Until You bring the victory,

   By the power of Christ in me.

 If You ask me to run,

And carry Your light unto foriegn lands,

 

 If You ask me to fight,

Deliver Your people from Satan’s hands,

I’ll go but I cannot go alone,

‘Cause I know I’m nothing on my own,

 But the power of Christ in Me, makes me strong, makes me strong:

 ( repeat chorus)

 By the power of Christ in me:

To reach out with Your hands

    See the world through Your eyes,

   To love with the love of the Saviour:

   To feel with Your heart,

 And to think with Your Mind,

  I give my last breath for Your glory!

  When I’m weak….

In Me, Mark Hall, Casting Crowns.

   We’re praying for all y’all across the pond in…. Africa. We love y’all!

give me Your eyes, part two

  Because if we refuse to look at the world through the eyes of God, or rather, if we don’t look through eyes of jealousy guided by His Word, the only other options are pharisaic complacency, or selfish conformity.  I been seeing more around me that reinforced what has already been said, with petitioning, as before. At festivals, the Mall, church….Ironically, the last time I wrote a post with this title, I said something about the song “Proud to be An American.” Not long ago, I went to a friends GED graduation (yeah) and that song, along with a mangled version of “Amazing Grace” was sung to commemorate those graduating. A man, a preacher I was told, stood to give his graduation speech. It was cliche, and all about self-esteem. Tell you the truth, I cannot see how anyone could himself a preacher and stand before a sniffnecked generation and preach sin to them. Yes, stiff-necked. The entire crowd reeked of rebellion.  He would have done better to crawl up on that stage, with bruised knees, and simply to the crowd, “Let’s pray.” It’s what I would have done. It’s what most of us would have done.

Right?

    Under the pressure of the crowd, what would we say? Our words might be different, but our motives might have been exactly the same. We cannot look at the  world with different eyes than the ones with which we examine ourselves. I cut off that list I started earlier, ending with the church. That last two might ought to be: our families, and ourselves. I believe that any time in which we feel need on behalf of our land; when we see sin, and are grieved because this adulterous generation, and those feelings are not coupled with grief for the state our own hearts, they should at least be challenged and examined. Are we also proud to be Americans, like the Pharisee was probably proud to live amongst tax collectors?

    Or to go at this with a different angle, it all goes back to rebellion; which in turn will go back to pride and unbelief. The reason people do anything they do that looks repulsive in our society ultimately begins with desiring that sensation that comes from rebellion. I mean, I don’t really believe it was Barack Obama’s politics that got him elected. If he had won the office by telling straight lies, he would have been titled “a conservative”. His incentive for change is really just the inevitable, when our hearts taek the wrong course. There are other examples. I mean, I don’t really have too much experience, but what other than a lust after rebellion and defiance causes anyone to live a lifestyle like homosexuality? People are taking the merciful warning of God, and like the Israelites think they can look God in the face and say, “Watch me.”

   But what about us? As has been rightly said, in a land so saturated with church buildings, the people who profess Christianity cannot follow in natiowide rebellion: they must be leading in it, if it be there. Have we, you, me, our own hearts, let go of the hand of Christ and taken hold of that of the world? We are not independent: we must hold onto one or the other. Have we, in proportion, having been shown mercy and grace, become greater rebels than the world?

    I often respond to this in the wrong way. I am constantly thinking I should spend less time thinking about world, or even local revival, and more in self examination. Where is the answer to how we should respond?

   I think the answer must lie in the title. God must give us grace to see. We will never be sinless, until we reach heaven. And there won’t be much need for revival there. Those men who were parts of revivals in the past: who really, and truly had the Power of God upon them, in a way so glorious that our spirits seem to join them when we read the accounts, they felt their own sin more than we do. What could cause a lack of confidence in us, except unbelief and pride? How are we to find the balance in seeking revival, in the world and in our own hearts?

    The answer to this question- as all other questions- lies in looking unto Jesus. In Him will we find the peace that is required; in Him will we find hope to carry on. It is my firm belief that the roots of revival, holiness, lie in getting to know God. There are many practical issues that we can discuss: and they should be talked about, but this is the culmination of them all. In this, self-revival and cultural revival are not just balanced: they are linked.

   In Christ, faith in what He has done must rule our hearts. We must be jealous for His name;  let us go forth as soldiers, because right now, at the Mall, at Church, in our hearts, our Lover, our Saviour, our Christ is King. And though all around people choose to rebel, let us not be discouraged. Rather let us remember that He has already made the Great conquest; He has shaped human hearts to love Him.

   Lord, give us Your eyes, to see the way see the multitudes all around me. And let me, as Tozer prayed, behold you in and around me.

  That really wasn’t what I wanted to write about, but it’s where I went, so we will leave it with this incredible verse: “[Christ] Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Cor. 1:8. Let all our efforts at self-revival be thus grounded in Him.

faber on prayer.

Here’s a poem on prayer. It was the first that i alighted upon in the book The Christian Book of Mystical Verse, compiled by Tozer. You should read it carefully, and with a comtemplative spirit and feeling of need. Listen to what Faber writes:

Ah dearest Lord, I cannot pray,

My fancy is not free;

Unmannerly distractions come,

And force my thoughts from Thee

 

The world that looks so dull all day,

Glows bright on me in prayer,

And plans that ask no thought but then,

Wake up and meet me there.

 

All nature one full fountain seems,

Of dreamy sight and sound,

Which, when I kneel breaks up its deeps,

And makes a deluge round.

 

Old voices murmer in my ear,

New hopes start to life,

And past and future gaily blend,

In one bewitching strife.

 

My very flesh has restless fits,

My changeful limbs conspire,

With all these phantoms of the mind,

My inner self to tire.

 

I cannot pray, yet Lord, Thou knowest

The pain it is to me,

To have my vainly struggling thoughts
Thus torn away from Thee.

Sweet Jesus! teach me how to prize

These tedious hours when I

Foolish and mute before Thy face,

In helpless worship lie.

 

Prayer was not meant for luxery,

Or selfish pastime sweet;

It is the prostrate creature’s place

At his Creator’s feet.

 

Had I, Dear Lord! no pleasure found,

But in the thought of Thee,

Prayer would have come unsought, and been

A truer liberty.

 

Yet Thou art oft most present Lord

In weak distracted prayer:

A sinner out of heart with self

Most often finds Thee there.

 

For prayer that humbles sets the soul

From all illusions free,

And teaches it how utterly,

Dear Lord! it hangs on Thee.

 

The heart that on self-sacrifice

Is covetously bent, 

Will bless Thy chastening hand that makes

Its prayer its punishment.

 

My Saviour! why should I complain?

And why fear aught but sin?

Distractions are but outward things;

Thy peace dwells far within.

 

These surface troubles come and go,

 Like rufflings of the sea;

The deeper depth is out of reach,

To all, my God, but Thee. 

Fredrick William Faber

high-flying!

   I didn’t really want my next post to be another movie review. And this one will be difficult, since I’m trying not to reveal anything about the plot. So, we will see how this works.

    Pixar’s brilliant advertising usually revolves around what they get the audience to expect. They interest them just enough to step into the theatre, and monotone expectations are so over-gratified that people are left feeling like it was the best movie in the world. Well, when I saw the  ”shock and awe” previews for Up, with the elderly fellow hoisting his house with balloons, I thought to myself: “That’s cute…..How on earth are they planning to pull this one off?” Friday night gave me the answer.

     What looked like a quaint and funny little family film turned out to be one of the most artistic and ecstatic works the celebrated family film company has ever done. Perhaps the most. From those silly previews came what might be the best story Pixar animation has yet told. The swashbuckling, fictitious storyline coupled with the intense emotions was something that few movies, even live-action ones, has hit upon.  And it simply goes without saying that it was accompanied gorgeous animation, and good, hearty, multi-generational humour.

   A warning: If you go and see this film, do not read any of those reviews that give everything away. And remember when I said to wait for the DVD with Night At the Museum? It won’t work this time, since you can’t get get home movies in digital 3D. This was the first film I’ve viewed in that format, and it was well worth the extra bling. When the message came on the screen that instructed us to put on our glasses, followed by the preview for Ice Age 3, I almost freaked. You probably don’t know what it’s like to see Scrat, his acorn, and his mean female counterpart come right out of the screen at you. 

   A second warning: If you go and see this film, expect to miss a few unimportant lines. During several moments, I couldn’t hear what characters were saying because everyone, myself included, was laughing so hard. We really couldn’t help it.

   A genuine warning: Even this masterpiece has it’s bumps. I noticed that, other than The Incredibles, this was the only Pixar film to receive a PG rating. And not for a bad reason. The storyline, in a couple of key scenes, is so uncommonly intense that at least two dozen times the entire theatre erupted with “AAAAWE.” A lot of moments were really endearing; and some brought me close to tears. At one point, a child actually started bawling out loud. And the films packs several moments that a kid of weak constitution would find quite frightening. Fortunately the most intensely sad part for me went over most young heads (it’s near the beginning, by the way). It shouldn’t be a problem for most families, so don’t let it dissuade.

  So, in conclusion, I find myself daring to say that, at least as far as storyline goes, it seems that Pixar has exceeded itself. This film comes with a load of themes, but I will leave those for you to decipher. To quote, or paraphrase, one reviewer (whom I didn’t read till after I watched the movie) “It makes me wonder why more people aren’t making movies like this. And I’m beginning to think they simply don’t know how.” It made a lot of even the cool action movies look just stupid.

65% funny, 100% pointless

I didn’t know when the next time I would write was going to be. And I didn’t it was going to be this. But for what it’s worth, here.

  What word would you use to describe the way the movie Prince Caspian compared with The Lion, the Witch, adn the Wardrobe?   Well, you can take that term, and apply it to Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian and it might fit.

  Then again, that might be a bit strong. This film was far from top notch, but so was the first one. And of amongst all the continuations of stupid franchises that have been released every weekend this season,  this one starts to look pretty good. (That’s always the way Hollywood works: by relativity).

  Picking up two years after where the first one left off, this film find Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) at the top of his game. He has quit his job as a night  guard, and is now running his innovation company (like he dreamed of before). And he has less and less to spend with his somewhat embittered friend at the Museum of Natural History. So he is surprised when he finds out that all his old friends- Jedediah the cowboy, Octavious, Sacagawea, Dexter the Capuchin, Attila the Hun, etc, etc.- are being boxed up and sent to the Smithsonian’s archives, to be  replaced by new technology. (as a side note, this is hugely accurate, in that more and more museums are morphing into interpretive centres). There is one final reunion, then they’re all packed away. Without the Tablet from the first one.

   Imagine Larry’s surprise, then, when the next night Jed calls him and tells him that Dexter has stolen the Akmunrah tablet, and now the biggest museum on earth is coming to life. And apparently, an evil Pharaoh, Kahmunrah (who has a lisp), has plans to take over…..

   True to the first one, the new Night  is packed with goofy humour. But while it exceeded in quantity, it slumped in quality. I laughed out loud while in the theatre, but little of the humour was mature. What kept a slight air of sophisticated fun were the historic figures: The dozen or so Einstein bobble-heads (hee hee), Amelia Earhart, General Custer (heh heh), and the compatriots of the evil Pharaoh: Ivan the Terrible, Napoleon, and Al Capone. Other new character or items would include a space monkey, the Thinker, paintings, skeletons, animals, and Cupids. These, along with all the characters from the first, set the stage for a Chronicles of Narnia style battle scene at the end, only funnier.

   Of course, having more of almost everything than the first one, it’s  only fitting that this movie should be more annoying and in some ways more stupid.   A pointless romance between Larry and the feministic Amelia is shoved in. Abraham Lincoln is given airtime, enough to shoo away a crowd of creatures that Kahmunrah has called from the “underworld” with the Tablet. And to some extent, the whole shape of the movie was pointless, since instead of a climactic battle it would have been a lot easier for Larry just to wait till dawn and fix things then. And of course, like the first, this film pushes a feel good Hollywood message, this time about doing what you love.

    So, on a scale of one to five, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is a 2.5. But, then again, in the genre of action comedies of this type, it would have to be moved up once. My advice: If you liked the first one, and want a funny view, you should…wait for the DVD. 

caught in the middle

Somewhere between the hot and the cold,

Somewhere between the new and the old,

Somewhere between, who I am and who I used to be:

Somewhere in the middle, you’ll find me.

Somewhere between the wrong and the right,

Somewhere between the darkness and the light,

Somewhere between, who I was, and who your making me:

Somewhere in the middle, you’ll find me. 

Just how close can I get, Lord, to my surrender,

Without losing all controll?

Fearless warriors in a picket fence,

Reckless abandon, wrapped in common sense,

Deepwater faith in the shallow end,

And we are caught in the middle

With eyes wide opened to the differences:

The god we want and the God who is.

But will we trade our dreams for His? Or are we caught in the middle.

Somewhere between my heart and my hands,

Somewhere between, my faith and my plans,

 Somewhere between the safety of the boat and the crashing waves;

Somewhere between a whisper and a roar,

Somewhere between the altar and the door,

Somewhere between, contented peace and always wanting more,

Somewhere in the middle, you’ll find me.

Just how close can I get, Lord, to my surrender,

Without losing all controll?

(chorus again)

Lord, I feel you in this place,

And I know your by my side,

Loving me even all these nights:

When I’m caught in the middle.

Mark Hall.

That may or may not have sense to you. But, typing it out, it’s all to clear.