Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of Lent in Western Christianity. For those unfamiliar with lent, in most Christian denominations, it is a forty-day liturgical season of fasting and prayer before Easter. The forty days represent the time Jesus spent in the desert, where he endured temptation by Satan. In that past I have paid little head to this ancient church practice, but today I wish to start by practicing this ancient holiday. Unlike the tradition of giving up meat or food for lent (while I will fast from food, it won't be daily) I will give up the activity of TV watching. David Mcclelland suggested that worldly asceticism is specifically targeted against worldly pleasures that distract people from there calling, and may accept worldly pleasures that are not distracting. To me, the visual media falls into this category, and so to better prepare my heart and mind for the death and resurrection of my Lord, I feel it is only appropriate. Last year I did little to prepare for this event, and the experience was shallow. I believe this year I will take it more to mind and heart. Truthfully, I am not sure I can give it up for 40 days…that's how I know I need to.

short but sweet....thats what she said

Dan asked a good theological question, and I like it so I am going to ask the same. If God is omnipresent, he would have to be everywhere, right? So, with that said, Will God Be in Hell (I say will be, because Hell has not been created yet)? Let me know your opinions on this.

only live once!

Nate’s to do List:

Go skydiving at least one time.
Play a small part in an action movie
Eat dinner with a political leader in your country.
Go on a date with the President of the University.
Sing a song in front of thousands of people at a rock concert.
Travel to the moon with the astronauts on a special discovery mission.
Go bungee jumping from a very high bridge.
Drive a race car over 150 km/hr.
Spend all your money shopping for clothes.
Learn how to fly an airplane.
Travel on a submarine. Travel on a helicopter over a jungle.
Marry someone who is rich and famous.
Publish a book about your life.
Go scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
Go to medical school and become a heart surgeon.
Get your PhD and work for a University.
Chat on-line with a group of friends.
Text message a friend you have not heard from for years.
Ask an employer for a raise.

Run accross the great wall of China
Invite someone to a party on New Year’s Eve.

I haven't bathed in months...

I read Romans 12 today to renew my mind, and it was if cataracts were removed from my eyes. I am reminded again why Satan desires to separate us from the Word, as it is our only offense against him. Since Satan is considered the God of this age (2 Cor. 4:4), it is no wonder that the current mind set seen in the ideals, opinions, goals, hopes, and views of the majority of people are a reflection of Him. It is this world system that he has used to blind me of the things of the true God. Sadly I have formed a clinical addiction to a number of things that are against Him. This happened because I neglected spending any time with God, and when man is left to himself he follows the system of this world , deeping his state of moral darkness. I thank God that He has put in me the desire to read His Word again and be reminded of this. Romans 12:2 reminds me that the “renewing of your mind” (eph. 5:18) is a supernatural process where the Holy Spirit literally transforms our thinking through consistent study and meditation. The best comparison I can think of to understand this transformation process is when we wake up each morning and look in a mirror and take a shower. Forgive the flawed analogy, but what if Satan was able to distract us from this step every morning? Can you imagine in just a week what a state we would be in? The problem is we would not recognize this since we were no longer looking in the mirror. Scripture lets us see ourselves for what we really look like (not just what we think we look like in our minds eye) and the other disciplines allow us to clean (sanctify) our self so that we may be clean. It’s time I get back to bathing (Spiritual disciplines). Thanks God for this reminder!

Back to the basics...

I am reminded of the simple theological truths that the world seems to totally miss regarding the Christian Faith: Jesus Loves You. People try to add things on to this statement such as: "Jesus loves you, but..." or "Jesus loves you, if...", but they are wrong. Philip Yancey in his book "What's so amazing about grace"reminds us that one of Jesus' last acts before His death was forgiving a thief hanging on a cross. Christ knew the thief had converted out of fear. He knew that thief would never read his bible or attend church. He would never make amends to those he had stolen from and hurt. "He simply said 'Jesus, remember me.' and Jesus promised 'Today you will be with me in paradise'. It is a ... shocking reminder that Grace does not depend on what we have done for God, but rather what God has done for us... all we must do is cry 'help'". I encourage you to think on this when you feel burdened that you must "do" to maintain your faith, "God dispenses gifts, not wages". Second, follow the footsteps of our founding brothers in sisters in Christ who were known as history's pesants and simple folk. The many who could not read and write still would memorize the apostle's creed to known the foundation of their beliefs. They did this to keep from being led to beliefs of those that deviate from the Historical Church, being a Christian who affirms the historical church, I probably should do the same. Check it out below:

"I believe in God, the Father Almightly, maker of heaven and earth;And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into heaven, and is seated on the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church (meaning the church as a whole, not to be confused with the "roman catholic church"), the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen."

Have we lost our Roar...

Of course narcissistically I title this entry "have we lost our roar....", when in fact this is a confession of my own lack of courage. Yesterday while Ben (my office mate) and I were walking from our psychotherapy class back to our office, he was stopped by a fellow student and asked to fill out a blue survey. Ben reluctantly agreed to fill out the survey. I continued walking with a greater sense of urgency to avoid sharing his fate. I was in our office only a minute when he walked in. He informed me that the survey was for Campus Crusade, knowing I occasionally attend the event. He then proceeded to tell me the type of questions on the survey. Interestingly he started first with the declaration that he was "already set in faith" and then continued, "it asked me if spirituality was important to me, and if I wanted to know about Jesus more". He caught my interest, and I asked his response to the question. His abrupt reply of "No" caused me to miss the rest of the sentence. I was silent for a moment, and then asked him what he believed. He responded, "About what?" I clarified that I was interested in what his religious beliefs were. He stated, hesitantly at first, that he "Believed in Jesus Christ came and died on a cross. Again my surprise of his answer caused the remainder of his words to fall on deaf ears. I was perplexed on this acknowledgement Jesus. I responded by nodding my head in silence, but the voice inside me was anything but silent. It knew exactly what to say. In that moment was a chance to bring to light the apparent contradiction of Ben's beliefs. If he truly believed that Jesus came to earth and died for him (I knew from previous conversation that he was aware Jesus’ claimed deity), than it would only make sense that one would want to know Jesus and reciprocate this action through serving Him. I knew such a question would challenge Ben, perhaps cause him to be uncomfortable. I remained silent; Ben's conflicting statements remained hidden; his paradigm escaped unaffected. Ben probably would have preferred that at the present, yet I was convicted, for I knew I had missed my chance to speak truth into Ben’s life. Pondering this defeat has reminded me that if I am to impact lives as and when Christ calls me to, I need to show courage. I need to be able to challenge people even if it makes things uncomfortable. Considering that people often surround themselves with those who have perceptions like their own, it's possible such opportunities, when taken, can echo in eternity. I only can hope the Holy Spirit gives me another opportunity.

Always time for distractions....

Even with exams all around me, I am trying to keep up with the updating. Although to be honest, I am cheating. I am posting some of my newly discovered favorite web sights. There is so many awesome web sights out there, some are a little too addicting (as those of you know with my previous Veoh obsession. So, here are some of my favorites:

http://www.peevid.com/ –ok, get your mind out of the gutter, it is a website that lets you watch movies and TV online. Not like Veoh though, you don’t download. Instead you just watch them online. So far I have watched Mario Brothers, Blood and Chocolate, and A Smallville episode. Best yet, this lets you put it full screen, so forget going to family video (although the quality can be somewhat lacking).
http://www.veoh.com/ –yeah, I am listing addictions. This website is my favorite for downloading video. I downloaded (and sadly watched) all episodes of X-men (the cartoon fro the 90’s), Sliders, Smallville, and a few others. The best thing about this sight is there is a filter, so it keeps you from seeing the stuff you don’t want.
http://www.channelchooser.com/ – ok, you’re your probably sensing a theme here. This lets you watch live television. Although most of the channels aren’t your average channels. Still, it’s entertaining, fun to check out.
http://www.techsupportalert.com/best_46_free_utilities.htm#1 – this website is freeware that replaces some of the best programs out there, but does a better job. This is coming from a computer analyst, it’s my job to fix computers that professors have busted. A lot of the programs I knew about that I thought were under the radar were on this sight. Who would have guessed anyone knew about Opera (internet browser). Although the sight doesn’t have one program that it should… Ccleaner- best program out there for fixing your registry. http://www.ccleaner.com/
http://www.stumbleupon.com/-This is the best of all of them. All you do is download this program, and tell it what you like. It then finds websites that have been rated high by other users. Forget having to find the best websites from your friends, this does it for you. I have been seriously impressed with some of the sights it showed me…its actually how I came across peekvid.
http://www.ultrasonic-ringtones.com/ -It’s true, there are actually sounds out there that you soon are unable to hear. Well, not that soon, try 20+. People are using them as ring tones know in school so that teachers can’t hear when their phone goes off.

And why your at it, check these fun sights out:
http://www.christiantuner.com/ - listen to any Christian radio station
http://www.thinkgeek.com/ -website that lets you order fun stuff.
http://www.ruckusnetwork.com/ - if your in school, it means free music for you.

And don’t forget if your down with the Jesus movement…
http://www.wordmadeflesh.com/
http://www.hisholyspace.com/
http://fourthseason.blogspot.com/
http://www.projectmanuelito.org/
http://www.micahcentral.org/