The Worst Part about Getting Shot in the Buttocks

In case you haven't seen Forest Gump, the title of this post is an augmentation of my favorite of his quotes, "The best part about getting shot in the buttocks is THE ICE CREAM!" Any time I hear someone use the word "buttocks" I think of this quote. For example, read the following article from BBC News. WARNING: It's a serious article, though the Forest Gump quote is funny, at least to me.

Buttocks Injection Death

The main thing I wanted to think through is the question, "What does this say about our culture's world-view?" Obviously, something is skewed.

We all care about how we look, right? Is that bad? Well, I believe that depends on why we care. The book of Proverbs tells us that "as water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man" - Proverbs 27:19. That's written by Solomon, the wisest man ever. He was saying that the most important aspect of a man, even the essence of who a man is, is what goes on in his heart. Then, someone greater than Solomon, Jesus, came and also taught about the heart as a consistent theme, as recorded throughout the gospels. Jesus compares men and women to trees, where the "root" determines the "fruit," meaning the heart determines the actions (Matthew 12). Of course when we talk about the heart in this sense we're not referring to the blood-pumping organ itself but about what we treasure with our deepest desires and passions. "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be, also" - Luke 12:34. Therefore, the most important part of who we are as humans, from God's eternal perspective, is what we treasure with our deepest desires and passions, our heart.

This being said, the question remains. Is it right for me to care about how I look? Absolutely. However, it is not right to be consumed with how I look. That can become idolatry, where I actually start worshiping myself instead of God alone. The next logical question is, how do I know if I care too much about my image? Personally, I have realized a few ways of discerning when I care too much. If I would be embarrassed to admit how much time I spend looking in the mirror, how much money I spend on my clothes/hair/body, how self-conscious I feel to take my shirt off at the pool, whether proud or ashamed, how much time I spend at the gym trying to get ripped, etc... those are all good indicators that I care too much about my physical image. If you travel to foreign countries to undergo life-threatening cosmetic surgeries organized through the black market, you, also, may care too much about your physical appearance.

Jobs

I would simply like to share how my job search is going, in case anyone is curious, and because I get bored applying for jobs all day and need to take breaks.

So, I have had two small signs of hope with regards to engineering jobs lately. First, I was told I would be scheduled for an interview with a construction company this week! Second, I made it past round one for a civil engineering opening with the Colorado Division of Wildlife, and I'm invited to come take a written exam.

In the meantime, I have been looking for part-time work. So far, the most exciting possibility I have applied for is a swimming instructor. I love swimming! I have taught swim lessons briefly in the past, and I would love to do it again for a season. We'll see what happens.

I don't want to be rich, but I do...

I really want to be an engineer. I graduated over a year ago now, had the opportunity to do a great internship, and am now looking for a full time engineering job. In the mean time, as I have been working a couple jobs outside of my field of study, I have been a bit anxious. It is hard to find an engineering job right now! I am seriously searching hard, as many of my other recent-graduate friends are, as well. I took some time today to evaluate the motives of my heart (which I must do often, because that is the most important part of who I am), and I realized that a significant reason why I want a "better" job is for the money. I love money and want lots of it! Yes, that's hard to admit, but true. Is it wrong? It depends on the reasons, and the reasons are diverse. I want comfort, security, and power. However, I also want to be generous. My motivations are mixed.

I wondered today if my desire to be rich, which I believe we all experience, is given to me by God. While I believe it is God-given, I know I don't always direct it appropriately. C.S. Lewis explains this well in The Weight of Glory:

Indeed, if we consider the
unblushing promises of reward and the
staggering nature of the rewards promised
in the Gospels, it would seem that Our
Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but
too weak. We are half-hearted creatures,
fooling about with drink and sex and
ambition when infinite joy is offered us,
like an ignorant child who wants to go on
making mud pies in a slum because he
cannot imagine what is meant by the offer
of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily
pleased.

Personally, I need to remember that having the comfort, security, and power that comes from having more money is not as good as the riches Jesus offers me. I want to be rich in the way Jesus was and is.... but, he was homeless! He was rich, however, in love. He was an investor, not so much in the market, but in relationships with people. He had twelve men who did everything with him. He had three of those twelve who he could be even more personal and vulnerable with. He was and is an awesome friend.

So, I now live in Denver, Colorado! I am part of a small new church, Soma Church. I live in a great community, West City Park. I have really cool neighbors and two room-mates who are both crazy about Jesus and total goof balls (with a serious side, too). I'm still looking hard for a job! Plus, I will have tons of daily choices to invest in my friends, to hang out, to help, to laugh, to be open, and to become filthy stinking rich the way Jesus wants me to be. I'll try to invest wisely.

Job [Jobe]

Every time I read through the Old Testament book of Job, it is an interesting experience. Sometimes I find the long arguments of Job's friends boring. Sometimes I see great foreshadowing of Jesus and the cross. Sometimes I realize that the notes I wrote in my margins are so wrong! Also, I don't know of any other book in the Bible where I read a discourse and ask myself, "Wait, which parts of these arguments are true? Is that really how God works? I think he's wrong about that!" I believe we can and should ask ourselves those questions when we read Job's so-called friends' rebukes because God eventually rebukes them for how they act and speak. Consider this statement by the young acquaintance, Elihu...

4 “I would like to reply to you
and to your friends with you.
5 Look up at the heavens and see;
gaze at the clouds so high above you.
6 If you sin, how does that affect him?
If your sins are many, what does that do to him?
7 If you are righteous, what do you give to him,
or what does he receive from your hand?
8 Your wickedness only affects humans like yourself,
and your righteousness only other people.

I think it is important that when we read this we can say, "No, Elihu, you are wrong. Our sin does not simply affect other men. God is not merely a God far-off in the heavens. God is an emotional and personal being. He created emotion. He cares about the little things. When we choose sin over God, he takes it personally. God tells the heavens to be shocked and appalled at the putrid audacity of men, the fact that we actually choose stuff over God. God takes that personally and grieves over individual sin. That is what compelled him to send his son to the cross. If our sins did not affect him to the core, he would never give up his only son whom he loves more than anyone or anything else."

Does anyone else have any interesting observations in trying to understand this book? I think it shares a valuable message from God that can help us to know how to respond to God when we go through suffering, because Job surely suffered more than anyone else I know, bar Jesus. He was practically a human scab with no possessions, no friends, and almost no hope!

Paul's Poems

Here's an easier and more enjoyable way to remember one of the most famous passages in the Bible that is also among the most famous sayings in the world.

Love is very patient,
Love is very kind,
Love is never envious
Or vaunted up with pride.

Nor is she conceited,
And never is she rude,
Never does she think of self,
Or ever get annoyed.

She never is resentful,
Is never glad with sin,
But always glad to side with truth,
When 'er the truth should win.

She bears up under everything,
Believes the best in all,
There is no limit to her hope,
And never will she fall.

This is quoted from the International Standard Version (ISV) translation of the New Testament. To learn more about the power of poetry, especially in the New Testament, I would check out this essay I just finished reading by Dr. David Alan Black. He is a professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and also consistently updates a blog I enjoy following.

I have personally experienced several great benefits from memorizing passages of scripture, both Old and New Testament. I think the approach taken by the ISV of translating passages widely accepted as poetry into English meter and rhyme should have been thought of long ago, but I am glad a group of people finally had the idea and carried it out. Many of Paul's teachings, as well as those of Jesus, were short, easy to remember poems. Learning them as such helps me to remember them, and it also adds a touch of artistic beauty to the teachings themselves that would otherwise be lost in translation. While I know that several of my friends reject thought-for-thought translations of the Bible in favor of more "literal" word-for-word translations, I reject this practice as ignorant, and I proudly and joyfully read and study from a wider variety of translations, knowing that at least some true meaning and intent is lost in a strict word-for-word translation from Greek into English.

If you do not agree with me on this, that's ok. I, however, will enjoy trying to memorize this version of I Corinthians 13, and I hope you will all believe, accept and cherish this fact:

To this world Christ Jesus came,
Sinful people to reclaim.

- I Timothy 1:15 (ISV)

Not What I Have Done

Three instances in the past twenty four hours have served to reinforce a theme in my mind and heart. Firstly, I had a brief, unexpected conversation last night with a new friend who is a member of the Latter Day Saints (Mormon) church. He explained to me that God does not expect us to be perfect but to, essentially, do our best, and Jesus will take care of the rest. We discussed this more, but not as much as I wish we could have. What I take away from this conversation is the fact that what I believe about Jesus is radical. It is contrary to what we as humans want to believe, for whatever reason. We want to earn everything. My Mormon friend wants to earn everything. I want to earn everything. I want to say that I played some part in earning God's favor. I "merited" it. I get a merit badge. That, however, is not what God says is true.

"You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Matthew 5:48

"None is righteous, no not one. No one understands, no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless. No one does good, not even one."
Romans 3:10-12

"To the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift, but as his due. But, to the one who does not work, but trusts Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness."
Romans 4:4-5


(from pe.com)

Secondly, I had the privilege this morning of telling the story of Jesus' birth to the elementary students at my church and explaining why it is such good news. I told them that even Jesus' name means something! His name is translated from Hebrew and means "God saves." When I embrace a "works mindset," believing I somehow receive blessings from God because I have done enough good things, God no longer saves. God gives me my wage, my earnings, my merit badge. That doesn't even fit with his name! I don't know how to say "God pins badge" in Hebrew, but it's not "Jesus."


(from melrosetroop68.org)

Thirdly, during the praise music at church this morning, we read the following verse out loud together:

"Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: 'The LORD is our righteousness.'"
Jeremiah 23:5-6

This is a prophecy about Jesus, and it tells us of another well-suited name for my Savior, a name which I very seldom hear mentioned. "The LORD is our righteousness." This is the essence of the gospel, the good news of Jesus. Because of my utter failure to conform to God's perfect law, Jesus did it for me and offers me his record.

The point is this: In thinking about my standing before God, I often want to subtly mix in one teaspoon of trust in my own efforts and achievements. Instead, I will, and I must continuously decide to accept Jesus' offer, his penalty paid in my place, and his perfect record substituted for mine. From this kind of trust flows all my freedom to love God and run in the path of his commands. When I realize how much I've been rescued from, I am grateful to God and want to love others in the same way. When I deceive myself into believing that I earned what I have, I swell up with pride, wait for others to pat me on the back, and I sit on my pompous butt.

(from frealfitness.com)

Denver, Baby

This week I finally made my final decision. I am going to Denver for two years! Six months ago I decided to move here to North Carolina, live with my brother, Andy, and learn more about the church plant he is helping to lead in Denver. Soma Church(which means body, as in the body of Christ)is going to be in Denver metro, and the vision of the church is to love God, love each other, and love the community. Doesn't that sound great? Well, the tricky thing is this... all kinds of churches have vision statements just like that. The way I have learned what Soma is really all about has been by living here with the team, praying with them, confessing sin with them, studying the Bible together, hanging out, and "doing life" together. They are all sinners! They know that and are quick and open to tell you that. However, they are genuine people whom I now trust, and I am happy, excited, and, let's be honest, a bit nervous to be heading out there with them in about a month.

Doing life together has been great, but it has not been roses and peaches the whole time.


(Picture from carolchambers.biz)

I have been learning about my idols, learning how to take responsibility for myself in a lot of new ways, learning to embrace confrontations, and learning how to cut grass! Yes, I have had the privilege of being on a landscaping crew with a few really cool guys who have patiently trained me in the art of lawn care. While it is a fun and rewarding job, I hope to be able to use my civil engineering degree eventually, and I have been putting out applications like crazy in Denver. Here is a small example of a confrontation I've faced: at one point, about three months ago, I literally said out-lout to God, "I don't want to go to Denver with Andy, I don't even like him!" We had just had an argument about me "stealing" his peanut butter, and I was pretty mad at the way he treated me. (Isn't that ridiculous?) However, and this is what I want to mark everything in my life, we applied the gospel, the good news of Jesus. God covers up all my offenses, yes, all of them, and he gives me the perfect record of Jesus the Messiah, instead. How in the world should I not forgive my brother? We admitted our selfishness, we followed Jesus in forgiving each other, and we agreed on a good peanut butter system to avoid confusion in the cupboard. That is a dumb story, I know. However, I pray that God will teach us, Soma Church, to apply the gospel to everything we do in Denver Colorado, specifically, in loving God, loving each other, and loving the city. Actually that is the vision statement of the church sending us, The Summit. Our vision is the same but we say Gospel, Community, Mission. (I guess we love the idea but want to appear original.) I want to see a gospel movement, because Jesus is worthy!