here's to girls with class

I heard a story tonight about a girl that took an extra step to make sure her boyfriends' feelings were protected and I thought....there's a girl with class. That's all...girls with class understand what makes their boyfriends uneasy and they don't push. Guys with class do the same for their girls...

Girls with class dress modestly so their brothers don't stumble...

Guys with class don't lead girls on...

Girls/Guys with class have high standards for dating and stick to them (setting physical boundries goes without saying...)

Guys with class know what chivalry is...

So here's to all of you with class....especially the girls. In today's world, modesty isn't championed...so thanks...mad props to the girls of CSF.

service

Today I was thinking about service in the Church....or....the lack thereof. I find it interesting that only 2% of all money given to the average church is spent on overseas missions. I would guess that only a slightly larger percentage goes to missions within the community. Where does the money go? To fund our 5 pastors, 2 worship leaders, and to heat our giant warehouse of a church...all while people around us are hurting, dying, and searching for truth. Some city on a hill we are.

I also find it interesting that here on campus, fraternities do more community service than the campus ministries do. Interesting when our God is the greatest servant this world has ever seen...so how closely do we really follow him? We go on a mission trip to Mexico once a year and think that's sufficient? Sure, its good to equip people and teach people the truth...and I think campus ministries do a good job of that...but I think campus ministries should also be about doing. Works, whatever you want to call it...stop thinking about doing it...thinking about truth...do it, live it...live Christianity. I'm convinced the Mexico mission trip is so amazing every year because we have an avenue to go serve others...to live out our faith. Why can't we do that here in Kearney? I believe Christians would grow closer together if they actually went and worked together.

Where are the local churches in the prisons...in the trailor parks...? Ghandi said he'd have become a Christian if he'd only seen one...we should be the most visible people in town (they'll know we are Christians because of our love, right). Why don't we feed the poor...reach out to those around us? I'm convinced that the U.S. church is the most equipped and practiced church in the world...it's dying because it isn't put into motion. We'd rather sit back and bicker about doctrinal differences while the world goes to hell around us.

You want to know Jesus? He says that when we help the down-trodden, we actually help him...what we do for them, we do for him. You want a relationship with Jesus...how about starting with making a relationship with your neighbor who just lost his job...or the girl in your class that is struggling with sexual immorality?

What's the difference between the people Jesus talks about below? I think maybe the ones who are condemned were so concerned with their OWN faith that they neglected those around us....and I think that's how our Church is in the U.S. today...maybe I'm wrong...but I think we struggle with doing nothing...

Matthew 25:31-46...

31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

SWEARING *#$()$#*@#$

My friend Josh and I have been trying to figure out a Biblical answer to swearing. Yesterday I came across this site, which gives the origins of some common swear words today.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A753527

What I found interesting about this site is that most swear words (if not all) actually have their roots in an actual language. The "F" word, for example, came from the "Old German 'ficken' or 'fucken', meaning 'to strike or penetrate', was related to the Latin words for pugilist, puncture, and prick." Interesting...the word "fokken" in Swedish relates to cattle. At any rate, this word has an actual meaning. So how did it become a swear word? Why is it not o.k. to use today?

Other words in the English language such as damnation (sending to hell), bastard (one born without a father, and bitch (female dog) are also used in everyday language here in the U.S. and Britain and are not considered swear words...when they are used out of context, however, they are considered swear words. Why?

As with almost everything here in the world, the word is not evil...it's what is meant by the word. Just as sexual intercourse is not evil unless it is perverted by sex outside of marriage or various other perversions. I believe the same for drinking....alcohol itself is not evil...it's when people go overboard and pervert it that it becomes evil. So, when someone says "F-you" to someone...what makes it an evil statement? I can only speculate...but I would guess that it is the strong feelings of hatred that are behind the word. We are called to Love everyone as Christians...therefore, anything that is not done in Love is probably a sin (again, speculation...I don't make the rules). For some reason, however, our culture has not made it a taboo to say the words "I hate you"...and that is a horrible double standard. Also, even Christians struggle with taking the Lord's name in vein...and this seems to be more accepted than using the F-word (think about it...what would shock you more...someone saying "Oh my God" in Church.....or "oh f---"?), again a horrible double standard.

Again, if we say oh shoot and we mean the same thing as we would with oh s---, then what's the difference. I don't know if we mean anything behind that word besides...."this isn't fun"...is that a sin? I don't know. This type of stuff is complicated...does anyone have any suggestions...seriously, I would like to hear them. I don't cuss much and it's something I try not to do...but is that to avoid sinning or to please the public and Christians around me?

So the Bible says to not let anything unwholesome come out of our mouths...is it talking about "swearing"...using the Lord's name in vein...gossiping....one or all three? I would say gossiping goes on more unnoticed than swearing as well...yet we rarely pre-judge someone for doing it....anyone?

I wonder if this is one of the ways in which the Churhc is hypocritical...condemning swearers...and then gossiping about them

networking

I went to my law school open house today. It's difficult going from a mission trip in Mexico to an open house for law school. I've always seen people strut and try to psyche each other out in sports...today I saw a type of intellectual psyching going on.....freakin' lame. You know what I mean...people who aren't reeallly all that smart pulling out all the words their grandma taught them yesterday in order to try to impress anyone within an earshot. C'mon people. Then we talked about "networking"...you know...using people you barely know to land a really good job. When I thought about that for a minute...amidst all the intimidation that bounced off me...I thought about how great it is that we don't have to network to get to God....but I think some people try.

In the end times, I have a feeling that people are going to "give Jesus a call" and say..."remember me...I talked to you once in third grade"...."could you hook me up with the great gig in the sky?"...naw. We shouldn't use people like that and we can't use Jesus like that. It makes sense now...the whole "you need to have a relationship with Jesus"....it's all about knowing Him first. If I got a call from some kid I barely knew from 10 years ago and he asked for a job recommendation...I'd deny them. I wonder if when we ask Jesus for things he sometimes thinks "well you seemed to think you were fine on your own the past two years...now you want my help to get something good?" Sad, but that's how we treat Him sometimes isn't it...a superficial faith that is a downright slap in the face to the guy who....oh yeah...put the weight of the world on His shoulders for US. Best thing about Jesus though...He wants to help us through life...what an investment he's put into us! The least we could do is get to know him before we go off acting like we've been buddies the past 10 years so we can land a condo in Heaven.

Dating...crazy human practice

I've been single for about....a little longer than 3 months now (before her, I was single for more than 2 years...it takes me awhile to find someone I really want to date). I've been taught many things by God in that time...it's been difficult, but I am an eager student of life. I've had a great deal of difficulty dating in life. One of my traits, and I don't think it's a bad one, is that I am loyal to the death. When I have someone I can call a friend...that doesn't mean an aquantaince to me...it's something much deeper...someone that, as Jesus says, I would show the greatest love of laying down my life for. I've always had a hard time getting to that level of trust in any relationship, whether it be friends or girlfriends...and it doesn't work out when I'm that loyal and they aren't. So, you could see my dilemma. I have few true friends, many acquaintances, and few possibilities for dating (this is all due to my standards, I know...but I don't think I should compromise).

Dating makes me mad at myself. I don't like the way I feel, act, or think when a girl that I like is in the room. I don't mean I think impure thoughts...it's not that at all. I don't like the way I feel the need to impress her when she's in the room. There's this little voice in my head from junior high that screams "pick me"...freakin' ridiculous. I like having a girl as a friend first...but that's kinda hard when the first time you meet and hang out with them they are so cool that you think of them as a potential girlfriend (and I'm not referring to their looks). As a side note...after coming to UNK, I've seriously not been dumfounded by anyone's beauty. Actually, when a girl is overly beautiful here...say I see her in class...I pay no attention because I know how pretty girls can be. That's probably a pre-judgement, but then I hear them talk about losing their entire Friday's worth of nourishment in the toilet because they made friends with Jack Daniels that night and my judgement rings true. I'm talking about girls I meet that are true Christians with great personalities that I'm attracted to. They're hard to find...extremely hard. So if I find one, I really want them to like me back and that's what makes me mad.

I feel like I lose my focus at that point...lose my reference in the world. Its not that I obsess about it...it just annoys me that I try to please a human so much. I think things would be better if I just sat back and treated her the same as everyone else...but that's also hard given that you already have set them apart from other girls in your mind. Another kind of a dilemma. And I'm not the type of person to just walk up to a girl and ask her out if I have no indication that she feels the same way. I don't see the point...then it's worse...I have to spend the rest of my time with her proving to her that I'm worthy of dating. Even worse...it makes things awkward...my freshman year, I asked a girl's roomate to see if there was any chance before I asked the girl out because I was involved in the same Christian organizations with the girl...we ended up dating for a time, but it didn't work out. If I had been rejected at the get-go, I probably would have felt awkward around her from then on...and she around me...who loses out? Jesus.

So...yeah, dating kinda makes me mad...I know it's necessary and all but if I could just find a girl that felt the same way about me and we just got married and bypassed all that....things would be easier...that'd be a trip though. Then you'd really have to know what you're looking for...and with my dating record...it's obvious that I've been wrong in the past. So, dating is a necessary evil...I just need to pray to God to ease my mind with it all and to keep my focus on Him.

"Getting it"...Back from Mexico

Wow, Mexico was an amazing trip...life changing for sure. I really want to do something big for God in my life...the hard part is deciding what. I found that many people in Mexico have never read the Bible before...some don't have the money to buy one and those who do may never have seen one. We met advisors of the Governor of Coahuilla and President Fox at the Pasta de Canchos mine tradegy site...and we had to explain what the "nueva" and "antigua" testaments were (new and old) to them. The people there loved the Bibles and we actually gave out 96...and they were asking for more. They actually bypassed the food we brought to go straight to the Bibles...amazing!! There was a real hunger for truth and hope there...one that I had never seen.

While I was tied to one of my friends on the roof in Musquiz (we were putting tin sheets on a roof and I was tied to Shane who was nailing them down near the edge of the 20 foot tall roof...safety precaution...it was insane)... I was talking to him about people that "get it". I'm just convinced that there are people in life that get it. Some are on their way to getting it and some never will...but from my perspective, there were several people on the trip that "got it"...I wrote that to them on their comment sheets and haven't explained to them what it means yet, because I'm still not quite sure. I was talking to Josh and said...yeah, there are some people who just "get it", but I don't know what "it" is...but I can point out those who do "get it". They are refreshingly cool, easy to talk to, and deep. They understand principles in the Bible and they live them in their lives. When I talk to them, I don't feel like I'm hitting a brick wall or dipping into a shallow pond...there is depth, a willingness to listen, and an overall hunger for truth in life. These are the type of people I want to be around forever. There are people in my life that I have always had a hard time relating to...it's because they don't get it....they don't get that life is not about us, money, and power...that you need to open up to and share with others. Life is about loving others, not putting yourself above others by climbing some ladder to somewhere other than to God...stepping on the fingers of those below you and hanging on the ankles of those above you. I don't want that life...I want to get it! Life is deep and wonderful...Jesus was an amazing example of getting it, I think. Maybe those who I think "get it" reflect the qualities that I see Jesus acting out in the Gospels. People who get it aren't up tight and repulsed by new ideas. So, if I ever tell you that you "get it"...it's one of the highest compliments I can give.

I didn't get the outstanding senior award...I was one of 12 finalists and they pick 5. I love being a Christian...I don't really know why I applied for the award and why they ask people to apply to prove that they are outstanding. It was kind of an interesting process...and I got to tell each of my interviewers about our Mexico trip and the impact it has had on my life. When it comes to outstanding...As far as I'm concerned, after Jesus, we are all just humans...all on the same page, all sinners that can be saved by God's wonderful grace. Being saved is outstanding and the one who saves us is outstanding...I have done outstanding things for God...but I can only give the glory to Him who made it possible. I am not outstanding...I want to be called a humble servant by God. Those who "get it" are humble servants...

Until next time, I'll just be mulling over the concept of "getting it" in my head until I get it. Peace...

Mexico!

In a week, I'll be chillin' in Mexico...maybe not chillin', but I'll be in a laid-back state of mind. I have a test today over the history of Sweden...I think I'll do fine. I just don't care anymore. With Mexico around the corner, I feel like everything I do here in the U.S. is fruitless.

I was talking to Jeremy today about going to Mexico and I can't help but get excited. We have a large budget this year, some of which will go to help miners' families affected by the recent mine cave-in in a mine 5 miles from the church we'll be at. I've been blessed to have a part in organizing this project. I get excited when I know that some of these people on the trip won't return home the same people they were. Not that they were bad people before, but they'll have a newfound depth added to their life...one only given by God and revealed through working with the poverty stricken people of this world. When I'm in Mexico, God just seems more near and real. Here in the U.S. I feel like money, deadlines, and t.v./cell phones all get in the way of truly loving others. I want to make a difference in the world. The more and more I live, the more I find that I don't want to make that difference as the head of a corporation or as a politician (I would take those roles if God put me there...He's God)...I think we have to change the world from the bottom up. Angels rejoice when a single soul is saved...I wonder if they would even sing if I became President...probably not. I want to do something with my life that has eternal consequences...because all presidents will die.

When I get my law degree, I more or less want to be a "money factory" for God. I want to live modestly and make a ton of money to give (no, I don't want to be the guy churches go to when they want new carpet...something deeper than that). I remember making a deal with God about that back in High School...if he provided me with success, that's what I'd do with it. I remember sitting through a lecture at a youth conference (CIY) in which the speaker said we could buy a slave in India out of bondage for just $10...these kids are sold by their parents for money...and this organization was buying them back. I gave $10 and hope it was given to set a slave free. But I think I even hesitated to give $10 back then. Isn't it funny...Jesus gave his life to set us free, and I struggle with giving $10...how pathetic. Anyway, I want to set up a farm where these kids can work...or go home if they wish. But at the farm, I'd buy as many kids as I could...give them a farm to work at (and eat from)...and learn about Jesus if they choose. We'll see where that goes...He has me on a path that could hypothetically mean earthly success...and I want to follow through.

That's how I'll help change my world...or even if it's just my block. But we have to start one block at a time, don't we? I don't mean that I'll just merely throw money at the world's problems...money is one of the world's problems. I want to use money to show love to others...love is the only thing that will change our world...and that love was made possible by Jesus.

Until then, I'll go to Mexico and see what I can do there...

chivalry

Today I'm studying for a test...learning about the Swedish Empire from 1500 to 1700...interesting stuff. I learned about one King who decided it would be a good idea to make a giant ship named the "Vasa". The ship would have been the greatest warship in all of Europe at the time...and he loaded it down with beatiful pieces of art to show that Sweden was not only a military power, but a cultural influence. Unfortunately, the ship builders only put one row of guns on the deck of the ship...and the King demanded two. So, against expert advice, the ship builders were forced to put another row of guns on the ship...creating a top-heavy disaster waiting to happen. Did I mention the ship was worth one year of the nation's GNP? So anyway, the ship sailed for 15 minutes and was blown over...and sunk right in front of the King's castle. For several years after that, when the King would look out over the sea, he had to look at the mast of the ship sticking out of the water...he later ordered for it to be cut down. Pride is present in about every culture and time period, eh?

Anyway, with all this studying about princes, kings, nobles, and Knights, I had a discussion with a couple friends yesterday about chivarly. These two young ladies asked me why guys don't get the door anymore...why they don't feel like they should treat girls like ladies...I wrote this thinking about it...I'll put it to a melody later...

Where have all the princes gone
They' slayed their dragons, now they've headed for home
Conquering beasts, they used their swords,
now they won't even get the door

Where have all the ladies gone
Exchanged their flowers for gold, their love they've sold
Supporting themselves, they work by day
they wonder why the princes won't pay

So that was a rough sketch...lame admittedly. But, the idea is there...girls aren't acting like ladies anymore and guys don't act like gentlemen. Our society has blurred gender roles...now if a guy acts like a prince he may insult a girl...if a girl acts like a lady she may be regarded as uptight. I've come to the realization that our culture pretty much sucks. I'll be going to Mexico next week...I'll make some observances and get back to you.