The Apostate

As I mentioned in the video "Recap" I have been considering whether or not to remain on Blogger or begin my own website. After a lot of considering I have decided to begin my own site. It's kind of odd and exciting at the same time. Odd to not be blogging and working off of breathefaith now but exciting because there is still so much opportunity out there to be met. I hope that as I transfer to my new site I will remain in contact with you all via your blogs and my own. I will be leaving breathefaith up until the domain expires, then I may take it down. Several of my posts will be reposted on the new site but along with a lot of new content as well. Again, previously mentioned, but I am expounding my topic choice from here on out as well as write about personal struggles and victories in the weeks, months and even years to come. I look forward to growing with you all and I can never say enough how much a blessing you all have been to me. The url of my new site is http://www.theapostate.org/. For the next few days and probably into next week I will be sorting through some internal issues on the site as well as organizing. I will do my best to keep pushing new content though and look forward to the discussions ahead! Thank you again and God bless you each individual for serving His purpose in your lives as well as being a blessing to others.
 

Recap

Blogging for Summit

So far the only way I can sum up my experience at Summit is this: life changing. Understand I mean that with full honesty, even though it may cliché the emotional stir of the moment. Since entering Summit, I have been introduced to some of the finest Christian speakers in America who not only have a passion for the subjects on which they speak but also hold a fervent desire for the students to take the knowledge presented to them to develop a biblical understanding of our time.


Today is day 7 of Session 4, and each day seems to come and go far quicker than the previous. As with any new surroundings, the first day offered prime opportunity to gain new friendships that would be strengthened over the next two weeks....

[to read the rest of the blog post follow this link: http://www.summit.org/blogs/student-colorado/session-4-day-8-1/]

Off to Summit!

For the next two weeks I will be away at a woldview conference hosted by Summit Ministries. The ministry is based out of Colorado Springs, CO and focuses on preparing Christians with the knowledge needed to have a growing faith in the Lord as well as expose Christians to many false beliefs within the world that we live. I will be videoing a good portion of the trip as I can, obviously I am unable to record the conference itself but I will try and do recaps. I look forward to the experience because one day I want to be a traveling speaker who focuses on apologetics and I know that this conference is going to be used by God to help me in that. Prayers are always welcomed, I am going to need them! The schedule is about 6 lectures a day on a vast aray of subjects, so I will have to sleep when possible! Keep striving after God and I will be home soon to share all I have learned with you all.

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." - Isaiah 1:18

Speak Quick!

I do not know about yourself, but I for one believe that God says certain words just out of humor. Many times in the Bible is there a conversation where Jesus/God responds and the other party is left clueless or speechless. Consider in Job when finally after praying God "answers" his questions. Rather than being straightforward God gives a series of questions and statements to Job that leaves him begging God not to have him respond to what God asks. God then says to Job "gird up thy loins" which in modern English translated "Be a man!". When doing a word search today I came across a verse in Mark. After evaluating and studying the verse I found a slightly humorous aspect being present.

"Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?" - Mark 2:9



Understand though I am not examining in this post what the verse implies, just an aspect of the verse that we would think in our minds if we witnessed the conversation, "He just got owned."


The verse is composed of a question that offers two possible choices. Here is the sentence frame for each possible answer...
Thy sins be forgiven thee


or


Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?
(The words in bold are the words translated from the original Greek, the normal words were understand, such as sins forgiven thee would be understood by the one it is spoken to as his sins were forgiven, easy enough right?)
I looked up in the Greek the words and here is what the key words translate into...
sins: hamartia (ham-ar-tee'-ah); meaning: from the word hamartano that means to miss the mark)
forgiven: aphiemi (af-ee'-ay-mee); meaning: to disregard, to omit [Many definitions for this word but I put in the one that would fit the context I believe of the situation.]
thee: soi (soy); meaning: thee [you, your]
arise: egeiro (eg-i'-ro); meaning: to arouse, cause to rise
and: kai (kahee); meaning: and
up: airo (ah'-ee-ro); meaning: to raise up, elevate
thy: sou (soo); meaning: of thee, thy [you, your]
bed: krabbatos (krab'-bat-os); meaning: a pallet, camp bed
walk: peripateo (per-ee-pat-eh'-o); meaning: to walk

Now to put it all together...


Thy sins be forgiven thee
hamartia (ham-ar-tee'-ah) aphiemi (af-ee'-ay-mee) soi (soy)


Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?
egeiro (eg-i'-ro) kai (kahee) airo (ah'-ee-ro) sou (soo) krabbatos (krab'-bat-os) kai (kahee) peripateo (per-ee-pat-eh'-o)

When you come to the realization of what Christ is saying it's pretty funny! (At least to me it is, if not for you, fake it!) After Christ told a man who had an illness (palsy) the Pharisees were "reasoning in their hearts" and were basically ticked off that Christ just told the man his sins were forgiven. Being fully God as well as fully man, Jesus could have said any phrase He desired and the man could be healed. I found the verse humorous because if you pronunciate in Greek the words for "Thy sins be forgiven thee" it is spoken verbally quicker, or easier than "Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?". It is similar to me saying "I will pick you up in my car at 3 o'clock tomorrow so be ready around then." versus "I will pick you up at 3 o'clock tomorrow." You understand I will be there at 3 from both sentences but one is longer to say than the other.


Again the slightly humorous after thought may just be me, if so let me just have the moment of it. At the end of this verse study I just am reminded again that the Scripture is backed full of "tiny" details we often overlook.

Man, Where Are You?

Today I heard a sermon by Pastor Mark Driscoll of the Mars Hill church located in Seattle, Washington. The sermon was entitled: Trial: Marriage and Men. In this sermon Pastor Mark examined what a biblical man should look at and how he should act. In my post today I will summarize and expound upon what he spoke, so understand the key points are from him, not myself. The role of a man in today's Western culture is being less and less prominent and more and more kept in the background of daily life. What does the Bible say concerning the man's role though? How is he to act as a father, husband and leader? Men are to be the head of the house, not the abusers of it.

"Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered."  - 1 Peter 3:7

Men are first off to be men, not boys. Many grown men today act as boys. Twenty-eight year old boys are living at home playing their Xbox and Playstations, not being men at all. Before a man can be ready for marriage or any committment he needs to hold a job so the incomc is steady. Priorities need to be straightened. Life's focus should be on reality and biblical principle not self-indulgent fantasies.

A man is to be the head of the home. To many self-proclaimed Christian men abuse their wives and families both physically and emotionally. Being head of the house does not entitle a man to be chauvinistic whatsoever. He is to treat his wife properly, never harm her in any fashion but to know her and to meet her needs. Meet the need of his family emotionally not just financially. Men and women are created differently yes, however that does not exclude a man from being compassionate to his wife and caring toward his children, not forsake them in need. Men and women bear burders, of course. A man's burden will be harder and will demand more output of hard work if he wants to beat the other men to provide for his family.

A man needs to honor his wife. His wife wants him to lead the home spiritually and build relationships within the home. It is the husbands job to teach, instruct and discipline his children side by side his wife, not leaving it to a school or another person. Having children is not some sort of burden but a privilege because God allows for you and entrusts you with those kids. Spend time with the boys doing guy stuff, spend time with the daughters by having quality outings. A man's focus needs to be on his family.

Rather than being a joke in today's society, Christian men need to stand up and be men. Grow up, get a hold of reality and understand the importance of all your choices. Ask hardly anyone how the future looks within this society that is constantly lowering its opinion of men and see how it looks in the end. We need for men to stand, we need for men to use their voices and speak God's truth.

My small overview is absolutely nothing compared to Pastor Mark's sermon. His podcasts can be downloaded off of iTunes and I promise you will not regret listening. He speaks with passion, he speaks with the power of God. What I love about his speaking is not only addresses the issue at hand but offers great guidance and plausible solutions. If your a man, live as a man of God, not a hypocrite. If your a woman, live as a woman solely devouted to God. God put you in your current situation for a purpose no matter your gender, live for God. Men, be the leaders, have a voice that glorifies and exemplifies God.

Christ set the perfect example of a marriage. Christ died for his bride. As a godly husband, be ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for your wife. Follow Christ's example that is the only way to go.

Amuse Me!

Entertainment is obviously a booming industry. Between the latest music sensation to the best new drama on television, entertainment is quite literally everywhere in Western culture. The question Christians should pose then is what kind of entertainment should we allow ourselves to view? Some Christians believe that listening to curse words or viewing suggestive images are alright as long as you do not live a life filled with swearing or promiscuity. I would disagree with this idea, especially in the case for men. Men's emotions are filled with the physical. That split image could last years, that phrase spoken could be repeatedly heard hundreds more times. I am a fan of going to movies and listening to music. I make the attempt though to make sure anything I see or hear is edifying. Do I fail and let some inappropriate scenes in? Yes, however I do my best to keep it out. Discernment is not just meant for moral judgment but in everyday living.

"The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in theee be darkness, how great that darkness!" - Matt. 6:22-23

Television in particular has been a huge role in Western culture for quite awhile now. Nearly 98% of all families own one or more televisions in their homes. As beneficial as television may be, I feel it is often a cause for child neglection and the destruction of marital relationships. The husband has his sports teams to cheer on while the wife has her dramas and the children are left to view whatever keeps them silent. Balance is what needs to be sought with entertainment. I am currently reading a book called Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman. The theme of the book is how overly entertaining our lives takes away from every aspect of life. When churches must be filled with entertainers so the congregations remains, when schools must entertain the students to maintain focus. when mere newscasts must have a form of entertainment just to relay the evening highlights we find ourselves in a degenerative society due to overindulgence.

Balance. Have your entertainment, but hold on to reality and acknowledge the difference. Your focus should not be when the next drama kicks off but what needs to be done with your family, friends and most importantly relationship with God.

One of the most stunning results from to much entertainment is how it numbs our senses towards humanity. With so many images of chaos and death, when we see real death in the news or hear stories from distant friends we feel no compassion. The children I work only confirm what I initially believed. They tell me daily of what games they play that involve mutilation and bloodshed and when another child experiences a loss in the family, no sympathy is shown. Why? Because in their mind they already know what death should look like, does look like. Now I am not trying to ridicule these children by no means, the parents are held accountable for what it permissible in the home and it is their choice. I am just writing how I see the results of overindulging in entertainment on a daily basis.

For Christians to much entertainment often results in a weakened resistance to sin. When viewing of what life should look like on reality shows, we see sinfilled lives without consequences. The expectation then is that we can sin without consequence and no longer feel the need to fight off temptation but to indulge in its pleasures. If you think about it, how many shows truly have any moral order found in them? Most present an unrealistic form of moral relativism that only meets the optimistic needs of the characters in the show.

Altogether though I would say television simply gives a fake reality that we so desperately wish to escape in. How nice would it be that after every fight with the spouse, they would return home with flowers and an apology. How nice would it be that after a loss, life could simply move on quickly and pain free. How nice would it be to reap what you did not sow. Life is not the fake reality depicted in the entertainment industry, it is so much more. Although life is presented worry free on the television, we experience worry but we also experience the joy that follows. We go through times of struggle and we live out lives of victory. In the hard times we learn the most, not in the carefree moments. Again I say it one final time, balance. That is what we need. Some entertainment is fine, as I stated I too enjoy it. Life though, must be first priority and not a neglection.