tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90786609823982281852024-03-21T17:52:44.662-07:00Terrysaurus RexSaurushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369311617835613459noreply@blogger.comBlogger98125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078660982398228185.post-88194878793108721362009-02-13T22:00:00.000-08:002009-02-13T22:02:45.174-08:00Don't let DeBeers Fool You<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK5IyZdY93iNikfz_iKS_9qE2Or6YaEwWLw3PTu_tWOE9vab38WKDBLoaj4FcviUwz3doPxBRj4auNp4grq6RClDBIU0ScrS3ZMWprOv55so_PGuCU8Nx1r8vegFyXa4jLspt6FyUr9BZz/s1600-h/diamonds.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK5IyZdY93iNikfz_iKS_9qE2Or6YaEwWLw3PTu_tWOE9vab38WKDBLoaj4FcviUwz3doPxBRj4auNp4grq6RClDBIU0ScrS3ZMWprOv55so_PGuCU8Nx1r8vegFyXa4jLspt6FyUr9BZz/s400/diamonds.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302529307889707746" /></a>This is not love.Saurushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369311617835613459noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078660982398228185.post-63493151391270403882009-02-08T10:51:00.001-08:002009-02-08T10:54:43.231-08:00ReachIt would be a sad fate to die having achieved and gained everything you've ever wanted or hope for.<div><br /></div><div>It would just mean that you were too small minded.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-large;">Reach</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> and reach</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">and reach</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">and reach</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">and reach</span></div>Saurushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369311617835613459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078660982398228185.post-38769258987960837642009-01-26T22:09:00.000-08:002009-01-26T22:17:24.983-08:00New CreationDo yourself a favor and watch this video. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre; "></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre; "><object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pLUqKJz6CCA&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pLUqKJz6CCA&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object></span></div>Saurushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369311617835613459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078660982398228185.post-5858450377459621452009-01-24T11:09:00.000-08:002009-01-24T13:20:01.276-08:00Your Love Is StrongI absolutely love this song and couldn't function without it's truth.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre; "></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre; "><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FHqD3Y4GjPI&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FHqD3Y4GjPI&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></span></div>Saurushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369311617835613459noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078660982398228185.post-77662090057461276642008-12-03T07:36:00.000-08:002008-12-03T07:49:32.952-08:00Wake UpFar too often I find myself settling for temporary and superficial pleasure rather than holding out for deep and lasting joy.<div><br /></div><div>For instance, sometimes I sleep through my appointed quiet time in the morning It feels great...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">until</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> later in the day when I have a real crappy attitude. It happens without fail. So even though sleeping in will seem like the most comfortable option, I know that it's not worth it.</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div>It will be a constant fight until the day I die (because who doesn't like to sleep in), but it's worth it.</div>Saurushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369311617835613459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078660982398228185.post-38732368720161161652008-11-30T10:15:00.000-08:002008-11-30T10:17:45.932-08:00Pollock Live<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family:Arial;font-size:11px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I forgot to tell you about these when they happened:</span></div><div><a href="http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=44061434">Pollock Live at RTC Part 1</a><br /><object width="425" height="360"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><param name="movie" value="http://mediaservices.myspace.com/services/media/embed.aspx/m=44061434,t=1,mt=video,searchID=9ce8e342-9697-4a92-8c90-570750dae334,primarycolor=,secondarycolor="><embed src="http://mediaservices.myspace.com/services/media/embed.aspx/m=44061434,t=1,mt=video,searchID=9ce8e342-9697-4a92-8c90-570750dae334,primarycolor=,secondarycolor=" width="425" height="360" allowfullscreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent"></embed></object><a href="http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=44063158">Pollock Live at RTC Part 2</a><br /><object width="425" height="360"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><param name="movie" value="http://mediaservices.myspace.com/services/media/embed.aspx/m=44063158,t=1,mt=video,searchID=317fd014-5f71-4f7b-a0b0-15a4820932c7,primarycolor=,secondarycolor="><embed src="http://mediaservices.myspace.com/services/media/embed.aspx/m=44063158,t=1,mt=video,searchID=317fd014-5f71-4f7b-a0b0-15a4820932c7,primarycolor=,secondarycolor=" width="425" height="360" allowfullscreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent"></embed></object></div></span>Saurushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369311617835613459noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078660982398228185.post-13673439333739485332008-11-29T06:01:00.000-08:002008-11-29T06:21:40.170-08:00Jenga<div>I was thinking about new birth and regeneration and what that moment looks like. I decided that it can not be a gradual shift. If we are to believe in the God of the bible (and we are) then He is so amazingly magnificent that the moment you clear your eyes and see any part of His Glory you are shaken to your core. You realize the power of God and the depth of His mercy, and a lifetime spent for Him becomes not an inconvenience but a joy. You don't understand who God is then walk away and think about what that means; You understand and are instantly and completely changed forever.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's like the opposite of Jenga. The whole point of Jenga is to remove one piece at a time slowly working until someone removes a piece that was necessary to keep the whole thing standing and it topples and falls in on itself. If we are to give our lives over to God (and we are) He doesn't want small parts of your life one at a time until you feel comfortable giving another part all the while holding on to the rest of the stack thinking that we have it under control. Instead, find out what your bottom level Jenga blocks are and remove them. </div><div><br /></div><div>The sooner the better, I promise.</div>Saurushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369311617835613459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078660982398228185.post-34853499518568125102008-11-27T06:05:00.000-08:002008-11-27T06:21:29.895-08:00Jesus as GenieI saw a website recently that was trying very hard to prove the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">nonexistence</span> of God using Matthew 7:7.<div><blockquote>Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.</blockquote></div><div>They tried to make the point that even if you ask for wonderful things that benefit everyone, nothing would happen. The author encouraged the readers to "get on your knees and sincerely ask God for the end of world hunger." (Apparently the proof that God doesn't exist, is that He doesn't respond to your whims.)</div><div><br /></div><div>There is nothing wrong with praying for the benefit of the world. In fact, I recommend it, but this guy was completely missing the mark. </div><div><br /></div><div>The whole point of the new birth is to be more like Christ. You die to yourself to put on the life of Christ to demonstrate His love to the world. When you make Him the center of your life, His wants become your wants; His plans become your plans, so the idea of demanding action from God in order to prove Himself to you is laughable. </div><div><br /></div><div>God is not the genie in the lamp. He is not compelled to follow your direction.</div><div><br /></div><div>The idea behind Matthew 7:7 is an instrument to prove your own devotion to Him not the other way around. When what you ask for is that God's plans become reality and not your own, you have truly died to self and can take up your cross and follow Him.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you try to use God to fulfill <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">your</span></span> vision for the world, you will be sadly disappointed every time.</div>Saurushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369311617835613459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078660982398228185.post-79154937477757630562008-11-25T08:49:00.000-08:002008-11-25T09:04:00.636-08:00Musicology (not by Prince)Creativity is the approximation and synthesis of the unseen and unheard.<div><br /></div><div>You'll never get to see or hear the inside of my head, so you'll never truly get what I mean when I sing a song, because the song itself isn't the thought or feeling I had, but rather a description of a thought or a feeling that I had.</div><div><br /></div><div>Hopefully (if I do a good job), I can synthesize that feeling inside of the listener (or at least something close). That is my constant aim when writing new songs; for you to feel what I feel.</div>Saurushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369311617835613459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078660982398228185.post-26081812692034377282008-11-25T05:41:00.000-08:002008-11-25T06:36:47.789-08:00Music Suggestions (other than me of course)<div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9AfKcHwoP4">Old School Rock</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzXMBmvMgl4">Dance Pop</a> (it's totally cheesy, but I can't help myself)</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpjfVCD_5v8">Experimental Soul</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAhdmfcVK9s">Worship</a> (sorta)</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x9CRogsSfY">Hip Hop</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Enjoy and tell me what you liked/didn't like.</div>Saurushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369311617835613459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078660982398228185.post-7834565286279656012008-11-24T20:56:00.000-08:002008-11-24T21:32:15.041-08:00Persistent Sin<div></div><blockquote><div><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote></blockquote>the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.</div>1 John 3:8</blockquote><div>This was the arrow that pierced my heart today, because "the one who practices sin" could be on my business cards as my title. I like the American Standard translation because it uses the word "practice" instead of "does." We're all sinners. That is inescapable, but someone who clearly sees and understands what is good and right and makes the conscious choice to do otherwise (herein called practicing) is "of the devil."</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, we all love to think of Jesus coming to Earth to spread peace and love, but we don't like to think of the rest of the totality of Christ's message. It lays out some of the rest of His plan up there in verse 8. His purpose for coming to Earth was to "destroy the works of the devil." If you are making a practice of sinning, I'm fairly certain that you can expect to receive your fair share of that destruction.</div><div><br /></div><div>My interpretation of the gospel includes this: Comfortableness is dangerous. There are all sorts of things in my life that I keep around because they make me comfortable. I'm sure I'd be ashamed if Jesus showed up and while I was watching Family Guy. (I don't think the show is evil outright, but I do know the time I spend watching it could be better spent reading the scriptures or praying or even having a meaningful conversation with someone.)</div><div><br /></div><div>I don't even know what it means yet, but I want to live an uncomfortable life. I want to be beset on all sides by the power of darkness because of the great works that God is accomplishing through me. I want to charge the gates of hell and know that they cannot stand against me because Christ is for me. And I know that's not going to happen until I ask God to separate me from my indwelling, persistent sin, because He cannot be for someone who harbors the works of the devil.</div>Saurushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369311617835613459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078660982398228185.post-52779153865154747942008-11-22T16:18:00.000-08:002008-11-22T16:31:57.170-08:00Let Go to Grab HoldIf you grip tightly the things in your life that you have gained of your own ability, they will keep you from grabbing hold of what God has in store for you. Even holding onto the things God has provided for you can prevent you from following God.<div><br /></div><div>While the Jews wandered the desert for 40 years God provided food that could not be kept overnight to reinforce the idea that they should be dependent on God. The manna was a good thing. It was from God, therefore it <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">had</span></span> to be good, but it was not the point. God didn't provide a quickly perishing food because he couldn't have given them something that lasted. He did it purposefully. </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">He</span></span> was the sustenance! <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">He</span></span> is the goal! <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">He</span></span> is the point of creation! Not your comfortableness. Not your superficial satisfaction.</div><div><br /></div><div>Don't hold on to things. Hold on to God!</div>Saurushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369311617835613459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078660982398228185.post-55299094037506355862008-11-20T19:09:00.000-08:002008-11-20T19:39:01.604-08:00Psalm 56:10-11<blockquote>In God, whose word I praise,<div>In the Lord, whose word I praise,</div><div>In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid.</div><div>What can man do to me?</div></blockquote><div></div><div>Oh God, make this trust real. Be my rock and my firm foundation. All else is sinking sand.</div>Saurushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369311617835613459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078660982398228185.post-70795499218457756192008-11-19T13:24:00.000-08:002008-11-19T13:33:46.175-08:00PrayerI've become a better pray-er by becoming a worse pray-er.<div><br /></div><div>Everybody gets nervous in group prayer. So you spend all the time you aren't speaking thinking about what you're going to say, at the expense of praying along with the others. Then when it gets to your turn you say that prayer that you rehearsed in your head a dozen times and two things happen: You didn't pray along with the people that you're there to pray with and when it finally came to your turn you didn't even pray what you had rehearsed because you were too worried about sounding like you had a plan going into the prayer.</div><div><br /></div><div>Forget about that.</div><div><br /></div><div>Listen and pray what they're praying. Don't think about anything else. Then when it comes to your turn, split open your heart and just let whatever is in there spill out all over the place. Who cares if you conjugated your verbs properly? Not God! Who cares if you pray the same thing everyone else already prayed? Not God! Who cares if you pause for a few seconds mid sentence to compose your thoughts? Not God! Who cares if you come off sounding a little silly? Not God!</div><div><br /></div><div>He's interested in your heart! Don't keep it from Him.</div>Saurushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369311617835613459noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078660982398228185.post-29016541802855023592008-11-18T04:17:00.000-08:002008-11-18T05:00:21.237-08:00Living Sacrifices<div></div><blockquote><div>Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer yourself as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship.</div>-Paul, Romans 12:1</blockquote><div>There are a few key words here: Body, Living, Holy and Acceptable (to God). Let's take a look at each one of these individually.</div><div><br /></div><div>Body: Why would God want our bodies anyway? The Old Testament always said that the best bull or the best sheep or the best goat was to be sacrificed. He can't possibly mean that, can He? We're overweight, or underweight, or ugly, or awkward, or short, or tall, or _________. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">That's not the point!</span></span> Christ is the only sacrifice good enough to remove the sin of the world (and each individual...don't forget that it's a very personal sacrifice Christ made for <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">you</span></span>...not just for us), and He made that sacrifice already. That debt is paid. He's not calling you to bear the weight of the sins of the world (or even of just yourself).</div><div><br /></div><div>Living: This is not a call to die! We are called to live for Jesus. It's true that some of us will die in the name of the Lord (and as strange as that sounds, that will please Him greatly), but that is not a necessity for God and is far from the norm. (You don't get excluded from heaven because you died of a heart attack in a Ruby Tuesday's.) The point is to make your life about Jesus. Think about Jesus. Talk about Jesus. Etc. Etc. Etc. Live for Jesus!</div><div><br /></div><div>Holy: As is written in Romans 6:13, use your body for the will God. Accomplish <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">righteousness</span></span> with your hands and feet and mouth. (Philippians 4:18, Hebrews 13:15, 16) </div><div><br /></div><div>Acceptable to God: Your motives are as important as your actions. Just because you do good deeds doesn't mean that you are glorifying God. Make it known that God is your purpose for the actions.</div><div><br /></div><div>All these things together make up a worshipful life. Make much of Jesus as you serve people in love. That is how you present yourself as a living sacrifice to God.</div>Saurushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369311617835613459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078660982398228185.post-2426495322110718122008-11-17T04:32:00.000-08:002008-11-17T04:56:04.733-08:00Crystal Ball Christians<blockquote></blockquote><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote></blockquote>From time t<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">o ti</span>me, I find myself waiting for a message from God. Like He's going to beam an answer to a question straight to my brain.<div><br /></div><div>As far as I can tell, God doesn't work that way.</div><div></div><div></div><blockquote><div>Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is his good, pleasing and perfect will.</div><div>-Romans 12:2</div></blockquote><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"></span></div><blockquote><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.</span><br /></div><div>-2 Timothy 3:16</div></blockquote><div>From this I can tell, that I shouldn't sit around waiting for some divine message to pop up and tell me what to do. A transformed mind should be able to test and discern God's will. A man knowledgeable about the scriptures is equipped for every good work. (Not just some good works. Every good work.)</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm still not exactly clear on how to go about using the bible to make decisions, but I know that I should keep God first in all things. The more I read the bible the more I understand who God is. So the more I read the bible the more I understand what God wants.</div><div></div>Saurushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369311617835613459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078660982398228185.post-62463817701200332922008-11-17T04:29:00.000-08:002008-11-17T04:32:47.001-08:00Churchy SetlistsSalvation Is Here<div>Your Love Is Strong</div><div>All I Need Is You</div><div>You Are God</div><div><br /></div><div>Full band! Woo!</div><div>We sound great when we're all there.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then Matt went and talked about sex...awkwardly...really awkwardly.</div><div>Sex is not the point of life. God is!</div>Saurushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369311617835613459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078660982398228185.post-58149279284127488052008-11-14T08:26:00.001-08:002008-11-14T08:36:48.456-08:00Last DayToday is my last day of wasting my time between the hours of 7:00am and 5:00pm Monday-Friday.<div><br /></div><div>It's not my last day of work. I like to think that my work is just starting. I'll work fewer hours to be sure, but I'm going to cram much more work into those hours.</div><div><br /></div><div>I've spent most of the day so far cleaning out my office, and distributing stuff to the people that need it after I'm gone.</div><div><br /></div><div>It feels more like <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">vacation</span> than the end. I wonder what it will feel like after next week.</div>Saurushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369311617835613459noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078660982398228185.post-75530597594594247832008-11-14T02:33:00.000-08:002008-11-14T04:42:54.520-08:002 Corinthians 4:13-14<blockquote>It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." (Psalm 116:10) With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in His presence.</blockquote><div>For a long time I believed myself a christian, but seldom if ever acknowledged it with my words or my interactions with other people, whether they be close friends or complete strangers.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here, the apostle Paul quotes Psalm 116:10 in saying that if you truly believe, God's name would be constantly on your lips. You would proclaim Him even in the mundane, because to do so is to obey the Lord's command.</div><div><br /></div><div>Over and over again, the bible teaches to "love one another." (John 13:34; Romans 12:10, 13:8; Galatians 5:13; Ephesians 4:2; 1 Peter 1:22, 3:8, 5:14; 1 John 3:1, 3:23, 4:7, 4:11; 2 John 1:5) What greater love is there than to share the gospel with your fellow man? There is none better.</div><div><br /></div><div>The word of God brings life. At best, everything else will die with the world. At worst, it will distract you from Christ as the focus and <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">kill</span></span> you.</div><div><br /></div><div>You might be thinking to yourself, "There's no way I (the failure, the idiot, the sinner) am qualified to bring this message to others. Wouldn't God want someone better to tell these people the gospel? Doesn't He know that I'll screw it up?"<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Jump back a few verses to 2 Corinthians 4:6-7. "For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us."</div><div><br /></div><div>You're right! Your are nowhere near qualified, but He made you as a "jar of clay," the most plain, ordinary, average, fragile, replaceable vessel there was, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">on purpose</span></span>! You telling people about Jesus has nothing to do with you! Obviously, you're there, but that's about the extent of your involvement in the transformation of a person's life. God calls us to love people by telling them about Jesus <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">not</span></span> so that we'll change their lives (only He can do that), but so that <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">we</span></span> might be changed. Your willingness to tell people about something is a great indicator of your own faith<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"> in</span></span> that thing.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's not normal to talk to strangers. We drill that into our children's heads over and over and over. "Don't talk to strangers!" God is calling us to the exact opposite; "Talk to strangers!" Do it. It's awesome.</div>Saurushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369311617835613459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078660982398228185.post-58377998063791043532008-11-13T09:07:00.000-08:002008-11-14T04:43:35.725-08:00QuarksI'm sorry. Quarks are hilarious.<div><br /></div><div>There are 6 flavors of quarks: Up, down, charm, strange, top and bottom.</div><div>There are 6 flavors of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">anitquarks</span>: <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Antiup</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">antidown</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">anticharm</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">antistrange</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">antitop</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">antibottom</span>.</div><div>There are 3 color charges a quark can have: Red, blue and green.</div><div>There are 3 color charges an <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">antiquark</span> can have: <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Antired</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">antiblue</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">antigreen</span>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Flavors? Color charges? I'm pretty sure quarks were discovered by <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">kindergartners</span>.</div>Saurushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369311617835613459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078660982398228185.post-80304021450024408602008-11-13T08:52:00.000-08:002008-11-13T09:02:53.213-08:00Trees and Smoothies and Marbles and Quarks and Polyurethane<div>From atoms to galaxies, things are more complicated than they seem. Peel back the shell and there is always another layer to discover. Take a step back and there's always a bigger picture.<br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div>Like my friend David said, "The natural world is complicated."<br /></div><div><br /></div></div><div>The heavens declare the glory of God.</div>Saurushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369311617835613459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078660982398228185.post-33449342585089416062008-11-12T06:51:00.000-08:002008-11-12T06:56:22.838-08:00Quote of the Day<div><blockquote>I am concerned that our reading and our writing is gravitating to the lowest common denominator so completely that the great themes of majesty and nobility and felicity are made to seem trite, puny, pedestrian. . . . I am concerned about the state of the soul in the midst of all the cheap sensory overload going on today. You see, without what Alfred North Whitehead called “an habitual vision of greatness,” our soul will shrivel up and lose the capacity for beauty and mystery and transcendence. . . . But it <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">isn</span>’t just the substance of what we say (or write or read or hear or see) that concerns me. It is the way we say it. To write pedantically about radiance or infinity or ubiquity stunts the mind and cramps the soul. To find the right word, to capture the perfect image, awakens the spirit and enlarges the soul. Mark Twain noted that the difference between the right word and the almost right world is like the difference between the lightning and a lightning bug. . . . The ancient Hebrew prophets cared enough about their message that they frequently delivered it in poetic form. May new prophets arise in our day that will call us to faithful living in words that are crisp and clear and imaginative.<br />-Richard Foster</blockquote></div>Saurushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369311617835613459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078660982398228185.post-43401317538569299772008-11-12T04:28:00.000-08:002008-11-12T04:49:19.309-08:00MirrorsRecently, I've been listening to a whole lot of sermons online in an attempt to learn more and more about Jesus and His mercy.<div><br /></div><div>I kept picking topics that spoke to the situations in which I find myself most often, topics about the kind of man I want to be, topics about me. Every time I would listen and think to myself, "Oh, you picked a good one this time. This is exactly what I was looking to hear."</div><div><br /></div><div>Then I ran out of obvious topics and picked a few that spoke to situations my friends were in so I could speak the word of God into their lives, and I'd say, "Oh, you picked a good one this time. This is exactly what they're looking to hear...I guess this kind of speaks to me too. Great, two for one!"</div><div><br /></div><div>Then I ran out of obvious topics for my friends.</div><div><br /></div><div>So I listened to some about things I felt I had under control to affirm myself in my Godliness. I got through the first one without noticing anything strange. It was a good word and I was glad to have bolstered my understanding in another area in my life. (There were a few pangs of conscience telling me to listen harder.) I listened to a second one that I thought had little bearing on where I stood with God at the moment and I started to notice a pattern.</div><div><br /></div><div>Everything I was hearing had to do with me.</div><div><br /></div><div>Every little word hit me dead center like an arrow to the heart. "If you love God, you'll <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">show it</span></span> by loving people!" "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">No one</span></span> who is saved makes a practice of sinning!" "The righteous heart <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">delights </span></span>in the commands of God!" "God has <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">ordained</span></span> sin and evil to fulfill a purpose in my life!" etc. etc. etc.</div><div><br /></div><div>These were all things that I knew...but these were all things that I didn't <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">get.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div>Oh God, forgive me for my blindness.</div>Saurushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369311617835613459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078660982398228185.post-69385838784179514182008-11-11T04:20:00.000-08:002008-11-11T04:49:24.847-08:00Faith In. Love Out.Faith and love are <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">inseparable</span>. They are not the same thing, but they always go together. <div><br /></div><div>Faith is the welcoming in of Christ.<div>Love is the outward manifestation of the indwelling Christ in your life.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you have faith in Christ, but that doesn't show up in how you love other people, you don't have faith in Christ. If you truly believe, then you wouldn't be able to contain the gospel inside of you. It would leak out of your seams. It would pour out of your mouth. It would show up in the things you do with your hands. If you truly believe it, it's the greatest news that there could possibly be, and loving other people would mean <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">telling</span></span> other people about Jesus.</div><div><br /></div><div>Likewise, if you love people but that doesn't manifest itself by your faith in Christ, you aren't loving people. The gospel should be the point of your interaction with the people around you simply because it is the most important thing. These people <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">will</span></span> find out that Christ was the point of their lives whether that happens now, later or when they stand before God and he executes judgement for them, but it <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">will</span></span> happen. God wants them to find out on this side of the grave because He doesn't want them to go to hell. He wants to spend eternity with them.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's like recess soccer. (If you could get grades for recess, my GPA would have been much, much higher. I loved that 30 minutes after lunch to just run around and be a stupid kid. Heck, I'd do it now if I didn't care about looking like the developmentally stunted idiot-kid that I am in my head.) You can be the one who owns the ball, but the only way recess soccer is any fun is if you get other people to play with you. It's really fun with 10 people, but it's even more fun with 11, and 12 is even better than that. The more people you have playing, the harder it is to get that idiot-grin off of your face.</div><div><br /></div><div>The kingdom of heaven is the exact same way X 1,000,000 (,000,000,000,000,000...etc).</div><div><br /></div><div>It's a Jesus party, and the more people that show up, the more fun the party. Don't be that jerk on the recess field who takes the ball off to play by himself. (Nobody liked that kid for a reason) Tell people about it. Invite more people to the party. Tell them to bring friends. They don't even have to bring a snack or beverages. or plastic cups or hot dogs. Just come.</div></div>Saurushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369311617835613459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078660982398228185.post-63546068465414651822008-11-10T12:21:00.000-08:002008-11-10T13:15:30.565-08:00Romans 12:11<blockquote>Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.</blockquote>Of late, my greatest fear is spiritual burn out. So I took another look at this verse that I've read a thousand times and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">noticed</span> something new about it. <div><br /></div><div>Romans 12:11 is <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">not</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">a suggestion</span>.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's obvious, I know, but take another look. It doesn't say, "Serve the Lord when you feel like it" or "Try to be excited about serving the Lord" or "Serve the Lord with Zeal on Sundays." (I looked up ever translation I could find...it's not there)</div><div><br /></div><div>It says "Never <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">be.</span></span>"</div><div><br /></div><div>I don't think I need to go into the nuances of the word "be." It's about as simple as it can get, but it's <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">preceded</span> by the word "never." "Never be." (When the Bible says never, you should probably start listening.)</div><div><br /></div><div>This is a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">command</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">. God is commanding that you never lack zeal in serving Him. My first reaction here is, "yeah, but what if_______." (And these can be serious issues here, not just flippant laziness.) What if some Earth-shattering event just took place in my life? What if my parents just died? What if my wife files for divorce? What if my kids are doing drugs? What if? What if?</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Forget all that. There is <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">no</span></span> wiggle room here. There's no modifier to this command. There's no loop-hole to squirm your way through.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">NEVER BE</span>.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">God</span> is demanding that we be in constant, cheerful service of <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">God</span>. He is the point of life, not your parents, not your spouse, not your kids....<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Him</span></span>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Take a look at Luke 9:59-62. This is serious. God is serious about you putting Him first, not because He's a bully or because he doesn't care about you, but because He <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">MUST</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"> proclaim Himself as the most important thing in your life. He must because it's the truth. If He were to say that something else was more important, He wouldn't be God.</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div>What do you do? It's not possible for a man to give God a worthy share of service or the proper amount or excitement for the effort, because He's worth more than you have to give. So, you give everything you have, beg for mercy, and thank God that he is merciful.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>So, now I have that figured out, I need to go figure out what that means.</div>Saurushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369311617835613459noreply@blogger.com0