tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69242252024-03-06T23:02:52.178-08:00Silent ThoughtsNathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07193257589069195199noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924225.post-26664883066566756972006-09-06T12:40:00.000-07:002006-09-06T12:43:44.398-07:00I think they could do better<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1985/845/1600/story.ksmohammed.ap[1].jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1985/845/320/story.ksmohammed.ap%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a> This is the only known picture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind behind 9/11.<br /><br />I'd like to say to him, "Man, if you know you're going to be captured soon, at least shave your back."Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07193257589069195199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924225.post-1156737642979737422006-08-27T20:46:00.000-07:002006-08-27T21:00:42.996-07:00School's in for the summer (really lame, i know)School starts tommorow.<br /><br />The one sentence that stikes fear in all children after the intial anticipation of 1st grade. It signifies an end of freedom, the start of colder fall days and long cold nights, the begining of responsibility and early mornings.<br /><br />This has been my feeling for a long time. For some reason, this semester my emotions seem dulled. I really don't care too much. I'm glad I'm back, but it just seems that all life is full of responsiblity now, and it just comes in different forms. If it's not work or school, it's teaching Sunday School or going to church or moving to college or whatever else. There's always something. Gone are the days of lazy weeks hanging out with friends. That was high school.<br /><br />I guess too many other things are on my mind that are more important. Now it seems that it's all about making time for what's important, whether that's friends or family or God.Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07193257589069195199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924225.post-1156435241241365732006-08-24T08:52:00.000-07:002006-08-24T09:03:11.136-07:00Of InadequacyMy pen is quicker than my feet,<br />Writing the truth, but missing the beat.<br />To all who follow, look out! Beware!<br />The emperor leads, clad in underwear.Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07193257589069195199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924225.post-1155415635104345802006-08-12T13:42:00.000-07:002006-08-13T09:37:41.866-07:00A Longing for Something MoreI found this saved on my computer today, wrote on Christmas day of 2005. I don't remember what inspired it, but it may have been after watching <em>The Island.</em><br /><em></em><br /><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><p>He has set eternity in the hearts of men... Ecclesiastes 3:11<br /><br />Ever since I can remember I always wanted more stuff. I remember begging my mom for Coco Puffs in the cereal isle because I was absolutely positive that nothing else ever ever tasted better. After a few bites, though, I tried to convince myself that was still the case. Not too much later I had found a new favorite thing, and consequently many more after that. In fact, right now I have many favorite things that would fit me perfectly if I only could have one. Recently I have realized that the best things in life are the best when you don't have them. It's the hope that drives me to obtain the one last piece of a puzzle that seems only to augment with every addition. So what is any of it worth? Many of the super-wealthy have lost this drive. Throughout history, story after story tells of suicides and murders in the upper class - mostly because these people cannot hope. They have not lost hope, infact, they probably have it more than anyone else. But they are incapable of hoping because there is nothing they could hope for. Everything they want they have, anything else they can buy. There's no work, no effort, no cost. It's almost as if hope is necesary for survival. So tell me, why is this hope present? The athiest tells me that I am here because of a few katillion years of genetic lottery and this world is all there is. Then why do I feel that it's not? How can I know about something concrete and eternal when time and present pleasure is all I've known? It's like I've been implanted with a longing for something other than what I can see or hear or touch. Like I'm stuck here but someday I'll find out the truth. How can we relate so well to John Savage (Brave New World) or Truman Burbank (The Truman Show)? Maybe I'm feeling strange tonight and nobody feels this way. But for some reason I think they do.<br /></p></blockquote>Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07193257589069195199noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924225.post-1155401097144697142006-08-12T09:36:00.000-07:002006-08-12T09:45:14.080-07:00How to not Conquer sinI’ve tried it all.<br /><br />Quietimes. Always the appropriate youth pastor suggestion for getting closer to God. For some reason though, 5 minutes of Bible reading and 1 minute of prayer didn’t seem to work. So I tried 15 minutes, then 30, then 1 hour. It may have helped me to know more about Jesus, but it really didn’t seem to far from reading a textbook.<br /><br />Accountability. Very biblical, but if it’s relied on too much, the sin will come back when no one’s around to be accountable to. I was in a group that met on Fridays during the fall semester. Great accountability. Great discussions. Once Christmas break hit, though, it was back to the old ways.<br /><br />Punishment. “If I do a certain sin I’ll do 50 pushups.” Nice try Nathan. Too bad that when I sin in the flesh, I can’t correct myself in the flesh either.<br /><br />So the other day I had a revelation in the shower. Sin and prayer are the exact opposite. It is impossible to truly pray when you are sinning, and in the same way it is impossible to sin when you are truly praying. I’ve heard that to take sin out of your life, you have to replace the void with something else. That’s what prayer is for.<br /><br />If you ask any marriage counselor, they’ll say that the most important part of a relationship is communication. You don’t get this from 5 minute bible readings, or accountability groups, or punishing yourself for bad things that you do. Serving in the church, singing and dancing in worship, speaking in tongues, feeding the poor and hungry, giving away money, all mean nothing without a foundation of prayer.<br /><br />Which leads me to wonder – why is it that God usually speaks to me in the shower or on the john? Because that’s the only time that no one’s around and I’m alone in my thoughts.<br /><br />This whole prayer thing is extremely challenging to me, because I am convicted of it now. To further build my relationship with God, I need to put aside the worries about not doing this or not doing that, and focus on talking with Him as much as possible.Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07193257589069195199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924225.post-1154702114366527012006-08-04T07:30:00.000-07:002006-08-04T07:36:21.033-07:00When Your Day Is Just That Bad<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3556/400/1600/cold.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3556/400/320/cold.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07193257589069195199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924225.post-1154357991678053822006-07-31T07:49:00.000-07:002006-07-31T07:59:51.696-07:00SlipToday I turned in a report for one of my classes. Here is a direct quote from what I turned in -<br /><br />"my simple project turned into a <span style="font-weight: bold;">Towel</span> of Babel"<br /><br />I hope my prof laughs.Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07193257589069195199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924225.post-1153317741200417702006-07-19T06:21:00.000-07:002006-07-19T07:02:21.240-07:00Fleeing from Terrorists"For the law made nothing perfect" - Hebrews 7:19<br /><br />The other night while watching coverage of the Isreal-Lebonese conflict, Benjamin Netanyahu, the former Isreali prime minister, was asked, "Do you think that Israel should be showing the 'utmost restraint' in attacking Lebenon as other world leaders have urged?" He answered, "Imagine if one of the United State's largest cities was bombed by terrorists. Would you sit back and watch? Or what about Pearl Harbor? On December 7, the president had two choices. The first would be to do nothing and hide from this terrorist nation hoping that they won't attack again. The second would be fighting back knowing that they will attack again." Then my mom added this piece of wisdom.<br /><br />"Just because there is an absence of conflict does not mean there is peace."<br /><br />This morning I realized how this can apply to sin. Even if you are the most moral person - never drinking, swearing, lying, always keeping your commitments, working out everyday, eating healthy, going to church whenever the doors are open - that doesn't mean there's peace. It just means that you're really good at running away. But soon, you're heart will beat fast and sweat will drip off you're skin, and you'll have to stop or else you'll die from exhastion. But then the terrorists catch up, and you'll die in their hands.<br /><br />The only way to be free is to fight. Thankfully, Jesus has already taken care of that.Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07193257589069195199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924225.post-1149962907548998452006-06-10T11:05:00.000-07:002006-06-10T11:09:50.986-07:00An ApologyI’ve noticed that it’s always easier to write about everything except for your own short comings. I could write a 20-page essay about sleeping habits of the three toed sloth with more ease than composing a brief history of my walk with Christ. That is because this part of my life, the most important, has been lacking recently.<br /><br />I could blame it on the lack of Christian accountability or the stress of a new job, or the loneliness at the beginning of this year with most of my close friends in College Station. I could explain it away, logically finding reasons as to why this sort of thing happens. But in reality, none of that could really explain it. Because during this same time I have gained two amazing Christian friends, both turning from lives of sin to embrace God’s mercy. I’ve started teaching 4th grade Sunday School – or maybe I should say <em>learning</em> 4th grade Sunday School. God showed me the damage that a father’s pride can do to a family when one of my best friend’s parents split up. I have seen and heard God’s lessons, but still I feel disconnected from my eternal life-line.<br /><br />Allison hit the nail on the head the other day. I take for granted how much of a God send she is sometimes. She said that since we mostly hang out with Christians, Satan does not tempt us as much with other people as when we are alone physically or alone in our thoughts. This is when pride sets in, because in front of our friends it’s easy to spout off on Christian theology and ethics, memorized bible verses and the new pop-culture Baptist praise song, but by ourselves the story looks much different. And by “we” I really mean “I”.<br /><br />So now I would like to make an open apology to the following parties:<br /><br />To those that saw my fake smile at church the days that I didn’t feel like being there.<br />To those that I gave advice to that I have not kept myself.<br />To those that I said I’d pray for but 5 seconds later forgot about.<br />To the girls I’ve tried to impress by openly talking about Biblical truths when I know that finding a Christ-loving man is a high priority for them (and I really just think they’re hot).<br />To those that I’m scared to show this side of my life to.<br />To the people that I’ve shunned because they “don’t fit the Christian mold.”<br />To those that I’ve taught in Sunday School or Disciple Now that I gave an Oscar winning performance.<br />To those that I’m trying to impress by writing this post.<br /><br />To all of the aforementioned:<br /><br />If you ever see me doing any of the things mentioned, please pray first and then talk to me about it. It would be better for me to be upset at you for a while than to continue sinning.<br /><br />There is no way around it – we are all hypocrites and have no hope in this life to ever change that status. I pray that somehow God can change this ghetto I’ve made and instead build a master-planned community. He’s come a long way, but I keep on feeling guilty (which I know shouldn’t have, because guilt is from Satan) and can’t seem to hold on to the rope of God’s grace long enough to climb out of this hole I’ve dug myself. I know all the Sunday School answers like “pray” or “have a daily quiet time,” but supplication is always easier than application.<br /><br />Sadly, a lot of the Christians I know feel the same way. It’s almost like Christian fellowship as we know it is a breeding ground for hypocrites. Look at our churches. The fact that most churches grow because the community is growing, not because of evangelism. The fact that on any given Sunday only half of a church’s members are present. The divorce rate among Christians. The divorce rate among pastors. Even the number of child molestation cases against Catholic priests.<br /><br />Shortly after Jesus’ death, when the church grew exponentially, there were no Christmas pageants, youth camps, Halloween festivals, nativity scenes, ski trips, Six Flags trips, Disciple Now’s, See You At the Pole’s, WWJD bracelets, Christian Rock concerts, or Purpose-Driven Life Bible Studies. This is what they did have.<br /><br />“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” - Acts 2:42-47<br /><br />Maybe that’s what we’re missing.<br /><br />Maybe that’s what <em>I’m</em> missing.Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07193257589069195199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924225.post-1132549774424829252005-11-20T23:09:00.000-08:002005-11-20T21:12:40.030-08:00Welcome to NerdidomFACTS:<br /><br />1) My roommates and I have a house website.<br />2) We have remotes controls for our living room lights.<br />3) We can control the living room lights through the website.<br /><br />CONCLUSTIONS:<br /><br />1) This makes for lots of fun pranks.<br />2) I live with nerds.<br /><br />That is all.Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07193257589069195199noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924225.post-1130772553133556772005-10-31T07:28:00.000-08:002005-10-31T07:31:44.656-08:00When I'm board with the crossword...<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Counterfeit love is restless sleep,<br />Muckraking the pain buried underneath<br />Years of rusty ships with foul-mouthed sailors.<br />Tomorrows come and go and the wake darkens<br />Like sandpaper bandaging an open wound<br /><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Why do you ferret trash for roses,<br />To uncover rotten petals among decadent odors?<br />When camouflaged is a beauty<br />Under guise of a heart trodden black<br />Lusting for recognition<br />But barred by your premonition<br />That your white knight will heal your self inflicted scars<br />And tend to your wounds.<br />But inside is armor rusted and serrated;<br />His pale body beaten and integrity faded.<br />If not defeated, he will be soon<br />Like you're kissing the floor of a gas station bathroom</p>Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07193257589069195199noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924225.post-1108352097833538242005-02-13T18:56:00.000-08:002005-02-13T19:34:57.836-08:00WowGod is amazing. Everytime I think I know what's going on, he humbles me so that I have no choice but to worship Him. So today I realized something that could literaly change my life. Recently, I've been asking for God to show me his will. Okay. Cool. Aren't we supposed to do that? That's what I thought until this morning. Apparently I've been looking at this from the completely wrong perspective. First, the Bible is the word of God; it's His will. If anything I do contradicts what the Bible says, it's sin, and there's no way around it. But at the same time the Bible doesn't cover everything I'm going through - specifically, I mean. Should I go to China this summer, or back to VA? What about being a counselor for Impact? Was I supposed to apply? I thought the answer would come through prayer- asking about God's will. That's not bad, but sometimes we focus to much on the planning and not the doing. If I want to go to China, and God doesn't tell me not to go, and there's nothing against it in the Bible, then it's Okay for me to go. It is His will because he put a desire in my heart to go, and he hasn't told me not to. I've been caught up lately with "seeking his will" expecting a revelation about the future, so I know for sure what's going to happen, but I guess God doesn't work that way. For those of you who know me, I haven't decided to do the Camp China thing, I just used it as an example to show my point. I very well could be in Van Alstyne working at EZ-seal.<br />Another thing. I've been reading Romans and it's really opened my eyes to a lot of things. I find it funny that the bible and bathroom readers are the only books that we open up to a random point and start reading. The Bible was never meant to be like that; it's really hard to see the whole picture when starting at the middle. Try reading a book of the bible in one sitting, or at least enough to know what's going on. For school I'll sit down and read a textbook for an hour or two; after that I've got a pretty good understanding of what's going on. If I read a page everyday in a novel would I know what's going on after a week or two? Probably not. Or if I opened up my thermodynamics book to a random page and started reading, it'd be greek to me. I'm so guilty of doing that with my Bible, just letting the pages fall to Collosians 3:14 (random verse) and starting to read. It's so hard to get anything out of that when you don't know what's going on. I'd say that's it's better to read the bible one day a week for an hour and really understand it than for 10 minutes a day right before bed when everything that was just read slumbers in the back of your mind. So many times we put such a huge emphasis on reading the bible <span style="font-weight: bold;">every day, </span>because you've got to to be a good Christian. I'm not saying that's it's not important, but the reason for a daily bible study is to understand God more, and if that's not happening, something's wrong. God never meant for us to be bound by a quota. Freedom in Christ is being set free from the Law, so that you are not bound by silly rules and regulations that make you "better."<br />A note to the reader - most of these ramblings are complaints I have with myself, even though I'm writing as to give advise to a general audience. My hope is that you will learn through my struggles, so that you can glorify God more through your words and actions.<br /><br />Hopefully I'll write more frequently now.Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07193257589069195199noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924225.post-1108230656041037362005-02-12T09:50:00.000-08:002005-02-12T09:50:56.056-08:00John 3:16 ruined Christianity?<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">It's not too hard to see that American Christianity is not at all what it should be. Every month or so headlines around the country tell of a new church scandal; embezzlement, suicide, or pedophile bishops. We can't get away from some big controversy that seems to be the same story with different characters. The pastor that gets too involved with his secretary, the Christian artist that turns to drugs and alcohol, the youth group leader that ends up pregnant from her beloved Christ-like boyfriend. We have all seen these situations, and probably know some of the characters. You don't have to look too far to find a Christian that stumbles and doesn't get back up. It happens all the time.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Is this just status quo, then? Did Christ intend for so many people to misunderstand His will for their lives, and end up turning away to a life with no convictions? When I look at the early church, in the first few chapters of Acts, these problems are almost nonexistent. Granted, as the New Testament progresses more perversion comes about, but in the first 10 or so years true Christians were disciples, not mere believers. And now, in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">America</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: Arial;">, most people see Jesus as an action-figure, a swear word, or their homeboy. So what could have brought on such a dramatic change in the church? Don’t get too upset, but I think it was John 3:16.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style=""> </span>Before a mob forms screaming “heresy” with lit torches and pitchforks, let me explain my point.<span style=""> </span>To do so, I’ll go back to a fundamental question, why did Jesus decide to die on the cross?<span style=""> </span>Even though this is a very simple and elementary concept of Christianity, it is amazing how many people just don’t get it.<span style=""> </span>There are many ways to answer this question, because Christ died and rose again for many reasons.<span style=""> </span>Atonement for sin, to show God’s power, to take away livestock sacrifices, to save the world, and I’m sure that there are more that we won’t know until after we die.<span style=""> </span>But until then, the Bible gives us a clear reason for Jesus’ death that all the other answers stem from.<span style=""> </span>Jesus died so that God could be worshiped.<span style=""> </span>That’s it.<span style=""> </span>He didn’t die so that we could get into heaven and have eternal life.<span style=""> </span>He wasn’t thinking of the joy we would have in worshiping Him, or our fulfillment from serving God.<span style=""> </span>In fact, He wasn’t thinking of us at all.<span style=""> </span>When Adam and Eve first sinned, God was not their Lord anymore.<span style=""> </span>They had relied on their own intuition and lusts to make their decisions, making themselves rulers.<span style=""> </span>God can not be worshiped by beings that do not acknowledge His Lordship, so Jesus had to come and take our sins so that we can worship God as he is supposed to be worshiped.<span style=""> </span>God’s perfect plan for the world is to further His glory, and not to make us feel tingly and all mushy inside.<span style=""> </span>All too often, though, as self-centered creatures we take Jesus’ death and put the focus on ourselves, which takes away the real purpose.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style=""> </span>Being self-centered, we tend to focus on self-centered things.<span style=""> </span>So many people decide to get saved on the premise of getting into heaven, and I am one of them.<span style=""> </span>Thankfully, I found that that was not a good reason to give Jesus reign over my life, because <i style="">I</i> wanted to get into heaven, <i style="">I</i> wanted to live for eternity, it was <i style="">my</i> desire that motivated my conversion, not God’s love for me.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style=""> </span>But being allowed a place in heaven makes me feel good, as it should.<span style=""> </span>It gives a security for the rest of my life to know that if I died at this instant, it wouldn’t be the end.<span style=""> </span>I’d be in heaven worshiping my God, my soul’s thirst quenched.<span style=""> </span>And what a great way to convert others to Christianity!<span style=""> </span>Everyone is unsure of the future after death, so why not appeal to that?<span style=""> </span>That would be the easiest way.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">This is where John </span><st1:time hour="15" minute="16"><span style="font-family: Arial;">3:16</span></st1:time><span style="font-family: Arial;"> comes into play.<span style=""> </span>I’m sure you know it.<span style=""> </span>It was probably the first verse you completely memorized, and can recite backwards and forwards, maybe even in Spanish.<span style=""> </span>But for those of you that might not have been raised in church, here it is:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p> </o:p><br />“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.”<o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style=""> </span>So what could possibly be wrong with this verse?<span style=""> </span>In this case, it’s not what’s in the verse, but what it doesn’t include that counts.<span style=""> </span>John </span><st1:time hour="15" minute="16"><span style="font-family: Arial;">3:16</span></st1:time><span style="font-family: Arial;"> is just a part of a whole.<span style=""> </span>When just reading this verse, it seems that the reason God sent his Son to die was because he loved us.<span style=""> </span>But this is not the case at all.<span style=""> </span>As it was discussed earlier, Jesus came to give God glory, not us.<span style=""> </span>So when this verse is taken out of context, it totally contradicts what Jesus actually did.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Don’t get me wrong, this is a great verse, and I love the true meaning behind it.<span style=""> </span>Can you imagine the creator of the universe sacrificing His Son for us?<span style=""> </span>It’s a beautiful picture of God’s love for us, but at the same time, and more importantly, it’s a beautiful picture of God’s love for His glory.<span style=""> </span>It seems to be saying that, “God loved us and therefore His Son died so that we can go to heaven,” but really the point behind it is that, ”God loved his glory so much that he loved us and sent his Son to die, so that we can go to heaven.”<span style=""> </span>So it is not a bad verse.<span style=""> </span>In fact, it is perfectly aligned with the rest of the Bible.<span style=""> </span>Only when taken out of context and presented alone is it a problem.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">As self-serving people, it is much easier to focus on someone’s love for yourself than that person’s desire for your love.<span style=""> </span>Christians have made John 3:16 into the anthem of Christianity, supposedly summing up the gospel in a few sentences.<span style=""> </span>And because of this we have overlooked an integral part of the story, that eternal life is a byproduct of God’s perfect desire for worship, not the main point.<span style=""> </span>This is where some of the problems in religion come from. <span style=""> </span>As Christians, it is our duty to worship God for who He is, and not because it feels good.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">John </span><st1:time minute="16" hour="15"><span style="font-family: Arial;">3:16</span></st1:time><span style="font-family: Arial;"> is not the root of the problem; it’s just a symbol of it.<span style=""> </span>American Christianity needs a lot of work, and in some cases it seems detrimental to Jesus’ goals as a whole.<span style=""> </span>We need to pray that God will awaken us, and bring us back to true worship.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07193257589069195199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924225.post-1094451476159563312004-09-05T22:02:00.000-07:002004-09-06T20:13:21.726-07:00Lessons from a Love BugCollege Station in under a plague of Love Bugs. Yes, those sexually inclined insects that fly about connected at the (insert noun here) with little regard for modesty or personal privacy. A walk through a parking lot shows the final fate of many, smashed against a grill; countless corpses clinging to the one they love. Recently while driving on the highway the smush of each bug was so frequent Ryan compared it to popcorn popping. But in the annoyance the popping spured a conversation. Before restating the progression of the converstion, thought, I'll start with a brief summary of a Love Bug's life. The Bug is born to two loving parents, but eagerly awaits the hour when he will leave the stagnant pond and rush into the rest of the world. Thankfully, this is only a few hours away. After waiting what seems like forever and now finally free to roam the world, the young insect finds love at first sight, and they stick together for the rest of their lives (which is only a mere two weeks). Then, tragdey strikes. In a mere instant, the insects' life is gone, plastered to a windshield and then washed into a drain at Five Star Car Wash. So here's the serious part. While me and Ryan were talking about this, he made the point that we aren't that much different from these bugs. Most people live a life of pleasure, not caring about anyone but themselves. As we look at these insects, we can see how futile their life is, ended by a 70 mile-per-hour splatter. No one cares about them. They're just bugs anyways. Now I'm not trying to make a statement about enviromental protection - I really don't care about the bugs. But if we look at the situation from God's standpoint, as a creature infinitly stronger and wiser than humankind could ever be, it seems like a good illustation of ourselves. After I die, people may remember me about 50 years. After that, photographs and memories will fade, erasing my exsitence to an inkspot on Social Security Records. Now, it's true that some people's memories last a little longer, say about Billy Idol or Ghandi or Alexander the Great, but at best their personallity and acomplishments are decided generations later by some archeanthropogeologist featured on the History Channel who specializes in making up little known facts. To really get something out of life we need to understand that we <em>can't</em> get anything out of this life. Solmon wrote all about that in Ecclesiastes. Everything is useless, like chasing after the wind. The only hope we have is in Jesus, who already took care of our goofups and will reward us for the good things we do. If I live my life for myself and don't invest time and effort into a relationship with God, I might as well be lifelessly stuck on a bumper with everyone else. Thankfully that's not the case.
<br />Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07193257589069195199noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924225.post-1084597871158060612004-05-14T22:03:00.000-07:002004-09-06T20:14:35.293-07:00Another day...another jobSo today I started my summer job. My hopes of finding employment with great pay and high wages skidded to a stop as I drove my car up to Romano's Pizza. Now I guess there are jobs that could be worse, and I don't need to complain, so I won't. Just keep me in your prayers so that I can look though the dirty dishwater and see the money God is providing until the end of the summer. He's put me there for a reason, I know that. Not really sure what that reason is, but thats the way God works most of the time. A little shorter this time, I'm tired and want to sleep. Until sometime later...
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<br />Nathan
<br />Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07193257589069195199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924225.post-1084175596334617412004-05-09T23:45:00.000-07:002004-05-10T00:53:16.333-07:00My FirstSo this is my first time to do this. Here's a couple of things that have been on my mind lately. First, school is winding down and I just realized the other day that I will be leaving in a matter of days to go back home. Kinda strange, really. This semester has gone by so fast I can barely recall what I've done...it seems to be a mix of insomatic nights and studying. And now it's almost over with just one more final to go. I've made a few awesome friends this semester, and I'm gonna miss talking to them everyday. I'm gonna miss the college life of spontanity (a word?) and doing whatever I want, and instead having to live with my parents again. But change is a good thing, and there is a time for everything, so I'll just have to wait and see what God has in store for me this summer.
<br /> God has been revealing himself to me so much in the last couple of days. I'll start at the begining. I've been reading a lot of financial books about starting buisnesses and investing, and all of them talk about goals. They say that to have goals that acually permeate through your mind and into reality you need to write them down and look at them everyday. Now, I know that these are secular books and don't say anything about any spiritual issue, but I thought that I should incorporate my goals in Christianity. So I decided to make a goal of reading my bible at least 15 minutes a day. Pretty simple, but I've been struggleing with this for awhile. So I started...first with the book of Jerimiah. And even through that first chapter God showed me something. God was telling Jerimiah to go and prophesy in the local church, but he didn't want to because he was too young and couldn't speak well. God reafirmed His love for him, though, and Jerimaih went anyways. What's cool is this is what I have been convicted about myself. I know God, but I don't really <em></em>know<em></em> God. It's hard to explain and maybe impossible to explain. Moving on though...
<br /> So I started reading my bible everyday, and God filled me with his joy everyday of last week. I'd get up excited about that day and what it held. So then God started showing me more of his plan. Well, I guess just that there is a plan for my life.
<br /> On Saturday my Upstream group was supposed to meet for an end of the year party at 9 in the morning. I had been up late the night before but I still wanted to go, so at 4 I slid under my covers and dosed into dreamland. As the alarm went off 5 hours later, my fatigue-ridden eyes haphazardly slapped open as my alarm buzzed in the background. I had overslept. I thought that I should get dressed real quit and hurry onto the party, but something happened. As I thought, I really felt God telling me not to go for some reason. If this had happened a week earlier, I might not have thought anything about it. I decided not to go and curled back into bed. Shortly afterward, I was playing pogs with Colin Powell and The Olsen Twins when Ryan opened the door to my room. "Are you naked?" he asked. With a shake of my head and a strech his finger motioned outside the room for everybody come in. Ten people, acually. My whole Upstream group had come over to see why I didn't show up at the party. It was really cool. It's nice to have friends in a bible study that are around more than just at the bible study, so that you really know them. Anyways, so they stayed awhile and it was cool, we played Halo and then they went on their way.
<br /> Nathan Harvey, though, asked me to come to a free lunch, with just a little bit of work involved. Since I have no money anyways, i thought what the heck. So I drove to this lady's house to find that we're helping her move to Bryan. I didn't really mind cause I'd probably just end up getting on IM and not doing anything with my Saturday. When I was helping pack up some books, I found out that she's into alot of the same finanial books that I like. After talking for awhile, she really likes financial things and was really open about her business ventures. So it's really cool to find someone here at college that I can talk to about those things.
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<br />So you're asking, what's the point? Well...because God told me not to go to the party, now I have a great memory about my Upstream group and have gained a new friend, along with the experience of helping her move. It's just one of those things that just kinda works out that you could never have planned or even imagine. And in those times when I'm struggling with God I can look back on this Saturday and know that he does have a plan for my life and he's watching out for me. I've still got some more stuff but that will have to come later. God's done some awesome things lately and it's hard to put them in just one post.Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07193257589069195199noreply@blogger.com0