Yeah, the title says it all. It’s going to be about Christian Rock. Note: just because it’s on kLove and is about Jesus does not mean it’s Christian Rock. I want something with a beat that is faster than 10 bpm’s. Find it at http://monkeeboyyschristianmusicblog.wordpress.com/
I think there may be someone who thinks I’m hilarious. I hope they get a life some day.
So I don’t think of stuff all the time, which makes for a really sucky blog, and unless you check about twice a year, you probably won’t see a whole lot going here.
Anyhow, on to the interesting stuff. You know, we spend a lot of time being unhappy. I think that’s just stupid. Why are we so pessimistic as a society? Look at American politics. First there was global warming but when that wore off everyone got bored. Now people are up in arms about the financial crisis! I’m not saying there isn’t one, but please, take a friggin’ break!
Yesterday, I put up a new status on Facebook saying that I felt pretty awesome and wanted to feel like that more often. Someone commented on said status asking if I was gay. See anything wrong with that? He later said he didn’t really think I was gay, but the connection is still there.
You know, I really like what Gary’s been doing recently. I don’t mean to be hypocritical, because I don’t do it, but why don’t we all start writing out daily thanks? It’s a good way to see the happiness in life.
If we all just start enjoying ourselves, I’m sure good things will happen in our lives. I’m not saying ignore the bad or anything, because it still needs to be dealt with, but when are we going to stop and smell the philosophical and occasionally real roses?
Yeah, I’m pretty bad at remembering to post regularly. Anyhow, I’ve been thinking about something recently. I don’t think it’s a whole thought, but that’s part of life.
If someone asked me what emotion I regulary felt when I was at church, it would be devotion, love, dedication, any of that. It would be boredom. This is bad, but not on my part (oddly enough). Church is supposed to be something you look forward to. A break from the monotony of your bleak everyday life, but unfortunately it often becomes the exact opposite. I constantly wish I could hook up my iPod, listen to some rock ‘n’ roll and go do something useful with my life.
My dad has a shirt which I love more and more as I grow older. It says “Church shouldn’t be a funeral.” While there are the obvious sit-down-and-shut-up implications, I think there’s more to it. I believe it means that we make church a place where we go in, say hi to everyone, sit down, cross your arms, listen, sing, stop singing, listen again, take communion (remember Jesus or you’re going straight to hell), then leave after talking to a minimum of five people.
What if church isn’t a place to think about Jesus’ death all the time. It’s a time to help each other. I remember a quote, “Don’t let the important things get in the way of the holy things.” This simply means, don’t get so rapped up in your religion that you completely miss the point.
Yeah, like I said, not a whole thought, but I might as well let people see what I’m thinking so they can tell me what they think.
I figured out the connection. The office episode that I watched the first time was what the world sees of Christianity. It’s twisted, backwards, and while certain parts may be true, others are just downright wrong. The second watch through was what we see. It’s simple, true, and we can’t figure out why no one would like it.
Think about it. Why wouldn’t someone want to be saved and live with God in a wonderful place forever? It’s because they don’t know the whole truth, or someone has led them to believe something else about it. Christians are supposed to love people and save them, but many non-Christians believe we’re here to condemn the world for not being like us.
We have to show people the truth. We have to iron out what living like Jesus really means. It means we have to sacrifice our reputation for the sake of one man. If you think that one isn’t worth it, then why does the bible say that angels rejoice every time a new soul is found?
We do have to acknowledge that there are someone out there who we just can’t get. Whether it’s that they just can’t believe in God, or there’s something about you that isn’t showing them what they need to see, there’s going to be someone. That doesn’t mean to give up on them, just keep being an influence, and they might get it one day.
Sunday night we had a missionary visit us from the Middle East. He talked about some very interesting things, but what really caught my attention was one thing we talk about all the time but never think seriously enough about.
In some Middle Eastern Countries, if you are a Christian, and if the authorities catch you, they cut your hands off, let you bleed for thirty minutes, then cut your feet off, and let you bleed for another thirty minutes before they slit your throat. Certain people were being baptized, and when the missionary asked them if they realized what could happen if even a family member knew what they were doing this would happen to them they said, “I would rather know Jesus and die, than live and not know him.”
I wish I could have this love for Christ so that I could easily say yes if someone threatened to torture and kill me if they asked if I was a believer. I think that I would say yes, but would I curse God through all the pain I’m suffering? I just have to remind myself the worst they can do is kill me.
The missionary told us that he was sure he would get caught some day, and be killed. Can you imagine life knowing that someday you will be a martyr? This is also what the apostles went through. When Jesus died something probably clicked in their minds and realized that this meant total commitment. One word springs to mind when I think of commitment. To be committed to something we have to have faith. When i think of faith, I think of the verse in the bible, which I will paraphrase to, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can make a mountain move by telling it to do so.”
So here is our missionary friend, moving mountains over in dust covered lands. He is doing the impossible. He’s trusting the Lord to protect him as long as he is needed. This is faith.
The fifth season of the most amazing TV show ever, The Office, started off last Thursday. In case you don’t know me very well, this may be the greatest excitement of my year. Anywho, when I watched it, everything seemed different. Characters acted strangely, the camera felt weird, and general things like that. I was sorely disappointed. I felt robbed.
One day later, I decided that I would suck it up and watch it on the internet. It seemed more fresh, like the true kickoff for the season. Many of you probably don’t live in the country, and don’t know what it’s like to have about ten channels on your TV. Believe me, that’s not the worst of it. About a half of the channels you want to watch come in fuzzy, and the audio is like a rubber ball (don’t even try to figure it out). I hadn’t realized this, and when I watched the online video, it seemed so much better.
Now, this is the point where I make a religious speech. Unfortunately, I’m unable to at the moment. as my father wrote in his blog, “I keep thinking there is a great Biblical truth lurking in this story”, which may or may not just be me trying to make myself sound more mature, and the biblical truth probably won’t be that great.
Why live without reason? Without God in our lives, the only reason to live is to hope we make a lasting impact in this world. That doesn’t satisfy me. I need something more solid, with substance.
If this is true, then something that confuses me is agnosticism. You may not realize you’re one sometimes (we all are at some point), but it happens. I cannot understand how we can have a God that loves us so much to send his son to die for us, but we don’t feel the need to act on it. How does it make any sense?
I constantly find myself having this very problem though. There was something that came up a little while ago that I could have done, got it over with, and not problem, right? No. I decided I was going to stay at home, and sleep in. I could have gone back to sleep when I came home! God calls us to a life of action, and this means we will have to come out of our comfort zone sometimes. Whether it’s literal comfort as was my case, or it’s telling a friend that they need to stop what they’re doing wrong.
Nowhere in the bible does it say, “sit at home, be comfortable, and have a bag of chips while your at it.” It tells us to go out and spread the news. It tells us to love people. That’s all it is. Love. We put others before us, because we want them to be happy. You do something stupid so that someone new to the group can feel welcome. You go and help an elderly lady mow her yard, because when you walk by and see her pushing that little machine around, and you know it can’t be good for her.
Why is this concept so difficult for us to grasp? It’s because we’re human. We want to be happy above anything else. Whether this comes from money, power, or whatever. What we never think about is how we also want to see others happy, because it makes us feel “all warm and fuzzy inside”.
Seriously. Just love everyone like Jesus.
I’ve come to the realization that my maturity is set to random.
Como Estas? Muy Bien! Donda esta el bano?
Ha-ha-ha… that’s most of the spanish I now know. School’s doing pretty good. there’s not a whole lot to do. I’m sick at the moment, so at least I get a few days break…
…yeah. good-bye.
