I was reading through 2 chronicles the other day and got to this part about king Asa.
Check it out.
"The spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded. He went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law. But in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them. In those days it was not safe to trabel about, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil. One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another, because God was troubling them with every kind of distress. But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded."
When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the propget, he took courage."
[2 chronicles 15:1-8]
Firstly, there's a huge theological point to be made by that statement, "If you seek him, he will be found by you..."
Secondly, Azariah the prophet had encouraging words for his king.
He told him to stick with it and to ramp up what he was already doing to improve his kingdom and to glorify God.
The story continues.
"They assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign. At that time they sacrificed to the Lord seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats from the plunder they had brought back. They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul." [2 chr. 15:10-13]
Let's back up a moment.
Asa had been king for 15 years before any of this happened.
He had been doing the "right thing" for a decade and a half before we have any inclination that God even appreciated the efforts, save for a few military vicroties.
And by "right thing", i mean he was trying to abolish idolatry and the worship of "foriegn gods" in Jerusalem. He made his people worship God.
I'm sure he made many enemies. his grandmother was not happy with him.
But he perservered.
And fifteen years later, God sent a profit to tell him not to give up.
There's something to be said there about doing what we know we have to, even when it looks like it's not paying off right away.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
On Malarkey
The last two weeks at my school for seniors go as follows:
seniors stop going to classes and instead spend 20 hours per week on a "senior project", learning new skills or helping the community.
During this time, it is a tradition to play a game of Assassin, where teams of 2 all have another team of 2 to try to kill.
The end result is that when not at their projects, you have 40 teenagers running around Portsmouth, dover, rochester, and stratham with water guns, scheming and plotting endlessly.
It's a big childish game.
And there's really no point.
In years past, cops have been called on students for various reasons.
It's gotten incredibly serious.
Yet there's a small cash prize for all the malarkey it causes. It's more than worth it to simply not play the game.
For what it's worth, there isn't much difference between senior Assassin and "the real world".
Paul said, "Since, then, yo have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." [Col. 3:1-4]
Think about how much of "the real world" is complete malarkey.
Businesses want money and spend all their resources making as much as they can.
Soccer moms spend their afternoons gossiping with each other about each other.
Day in and day out, people run around like nut cases trying to accomplish this or succeed in that.
We forge friendships and then break them.
There's drama and scheming everywhere you look.
All for a small cash prize.
Henry David Thoreau once said, "A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone."
He also said, "Our lives are frittered away by detail."
We live our lives looking intensely at the ground, trying to make something out of it.
But all the while, God has incredible things planned for us. Paul said to set our hearts and minds on the things of God, since we no longer need to worry about all this malarkey that goes on down here.
It's all such a waste.
seniors stop going to classes and instead spend 20 hours per week on a "senior project", learning new skills or helping the community.
During this time, it is a tradition to play a game of Assassin, where teams of 2 all have another team of 2 to try to kill.
The end result is that when not at their projects, you have 40 teenagers running around Portsmouth, dover, rochester, and stratham with water guns, scheming and plotting endlessly.
It's a big childish game.
And there's really no point.
In years past, cops have been called on students for various reasons.
It's gotten incredibly serious.
Yet there's a small cash prize for all the malarkey it causes. It's more than worth it to simply not play the game.
For what it's worth, there isn't much difference between senior Assassin and "the real world".
Paul said, "Since, then, yo have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." [Col. 3:1-4]
Think about how much of "the real world" is complete malarkey.
Businesses want money and spend all their resources making as much as they can.
Soccer moms spend their afternoons gossiping with each other about each other.
Day in and day out, people run around like nut cases trying to accomplish this or succeed in that.
We forge friendships and then break them.
There's drama and scheming everywhere you look.
All for a small cash prize.
Henry David Thoreau once said, "A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone."
He also said, "Our lives are frittered away by detail."
We live our lives looking intensely at the ground, trying to make something out of it.
But all the while, God has incredible things planned for us. Paul said to set our hearts and minds on the things of God, since we no longer need to worry about all this malarkey that goes on down here.
It's all such a waste.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
On Chocolate Chip Pancakes
I ate chocolate chip pancakes for dinner last night.
Actually, I've had chocolate chip pancakes at least once every day in the past 3 weeks.
Had them for breakfast the day after the ap calc test.
then had them for breakfast almost a week later after the ap physics test.
and had them for dinner yesterday.
Here's the deal about chocolate chip pancakes.
I love eating them, so much.
All you have to do is say, "this place has pancakes", and i will immediately crave them.
There's a single other food item that works this way for me: tacos from Dos Amigos.
For all of the first semester this year, i had 4 beef tacos every friday for dinner.
And i didn't get sick of them because they are so delicious.
And you know what? all you have to do is mention tacos and i'll crave them.
There's something else that we should crave at the very mention.
Jesus said, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded to you." [matt. 28:19]
Telling people about God's promise to us and sharing the truth should be something that we always want to do and never get tired of.
It's better than eating chocolate chip pancakes and tacos.
It has eternal rewards rather than brief satisfaction.
Actually, I've had chocolate chip pancakes at least once every day in the past 3 weeks.
Had them for breakfast the day after the ap calc test.
then had them for breakfast almost a week later after the ap physics test.
and had them for dinner yesterday.
Here's the deal about chocolate chip pancakes.
I love eating them, so much.
All you have to do is say, "this place has pancakes", and i will immediately crave them.
There's a single other food item that works this way for me: tacos from Dos Amigos.
For all of the first semester this year, i had 4 beef tacos every friday for dinner.
And i didn't get sick of them because they are so delicious.
And you know what? all you have to do is mention tacos and i'll crave them.
There's something else that we should crave at the very mention.
Jesus said, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded to you." [matt. 28:19]
Telling people about God's promise to us and sharing the truth should be something that we always want to do and never get tired of.
It's better than eating chocolate chip pancakes and tacos.
It has eternal rewards rather than brief satisfaction.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
On Tailfins
Everytime i see a cadillac on the road, i get a little warm-fuzzies.
Not because i like them, or think that they're good cars.
I have more negative feelings toward Escalades than any other car ever made.
No, these warm-fuzzies stem from a simple fact: Cadillac still makes cars with tailfins.
Whether or not the breaklights on the back of a CTS are actually "fins" is up to you, but the fact is that ever since the 50s, just about every cadillac car has had verticle tail-lights. I don't think that cadillac does it to be remeniscent, either. I think it's part of their identity. People see vertical taillights and they instantly know, "that's a cadillac."
Also, notice that Cadillac doesn't make a single model name that was around 20 years ago. Their entire line is like 10 years old. Most auto makers have at least a few models that have survived a few decades. Not cadillac. Everything's new. They haven't kept anything except the leather and the fins.
I've been thinking a lot about identity lately.
Seeing as how I have less than 10 days to decide where i spend the next four years of my life, I think that's perfectly okay.
But while wrestling with how different my life could turn out depending on this one simple decision, I've realized that we all have our own vertical tail-lights. No matter where I go, I'll be taking me along, too. Sure, my life could be different depending on where I go to school. But it won't change who I am, and it won't change the way I think and the way I react to situations. Different opportunities will come and go, but who we are remains who we are.
Not because i like them, or think that they're good cars.
I have more negative feelings toward Escalades than any other car ever made.
No, these warm-fuzzies stem from a simple fact: Cadillac still makes cars with tailfins.
Whether or not the breaklights on the back of a CTS are actually "fins" is up to you, but the fact is that ever since the 50s, just about every cadillac car has had verticle tail-lights. I don't think that cadillac does it to be remeniscent, either. I think it's part of their identity. People see vertical taillights and they instantly know, "that's a cadillac."
Also, notice that Cadillac doesn't make a single model name that was around 20 years ago. Their entire line is like 10 years old. Most auto makers have at least a few models that have survived a few decades. Not cadillac. Everything's new. They haven't kept anything except the leather and the fins.
I've been thinking a lot about identity lately.
Seeing as how I have less than 10 days to decide where i spend the next four years of my life, I think that's perfectly okay.
But while wrestling with how different my life could turn out depending on this one simple decision, I've realized that we all have our own vertical tail-lights. No matter where I go, I'll be taking me along, too. Sure, my life could be different depending on where I go to school. But it won't change who I am, and it won't change the way I think and the way I react to situations. Different opportunities will come and go, but who we are remains who we are.
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