Quote from G.K. Chesterton

I recently just finished a book by G.K. Chesterton called Orthodoxy. It is basically a testimony/his reasons for rational believing in Christianity. It is deep, eloquent, philosophical, and mostly way over my head.

Here is a passage from near the end of the book where he is responding to people who think of Jesus as being passive and un-exciting.

"Instead of looking at books and pictures about the New Testament I looked at the New Testament. There I found an account, not in the least of a person with his hair parted in the middle or his hands clasped in appeal, but of an extraordinary being with lips of thunder and acts of lurid decision, flinging down tables, casting out devils, passing with the wild secrecy of the wind from mountain isolation to a sort of dreadful demagogy; a being who often acted like an angry god-- and always like a God. Christ has a literary style of his own, not to be found, I think, elsewhere; it consists of an almost furious us of the "a fortiori" (I have no idea what that is). His "so much more" is piled upon another like castle upon castle in the clouds. The diction used about christ has been, perhaps wisely, sweet and submissive. But the diction used by Christ is quite curiously gigantesque; it is full of camels leaping through needles and mountains hurled into the sea." ....."The one explanation of the Gospel language that does explain it, is that it is the survey of one who from some supernatural height beholds some more startling synthesis." -G.K. Chesterton

Fear

For as long as I can remember I have been absolutely terrified of snakes. I have no idea where this irrational fear of mine comes. I was also a huge Indiana Jones fan growing up and wanted to be just like him. And every big Indiana fans know that his one and only fear is snakes (accurately shown in the clip).

I love to hike and when I do hike one of the only things that I am afraid of are snakes. I choose the path depending on where I believe the least snakes will be and watch where I put every foot in order to avoid snakes at all cost. In fact my irrational fear controls how I hike.

Is this not like all other legitimate fears that we let control our lives? We may be scared to die, scared to be uncomfortable, being broke, or of allowing God to take utter control of your life. I would be willing to beat that everyone has some fear that controls our lives and interferes with us trusting in God completely.

What is your fear that is in the back of your mind that keeps you from running through the trails of life freely, not peeking behind corners and cautiously taking baby steps to avoid what it is that you are afraid of?

Many years ago I had a vision while having an amazing and pure worship experience of a snake slithering into my mind. All of a sudden a cloaked man came with a staff and crushed the head of the snake. I spent the rest of the night holding Jesus' hand in one of the most pure worship experiences I have ever heard.

At the time I had not been introduced to the Genesis 3 verse about a future savior crushing the head of the serpent. But when I made the connection i realized there is nothing to be fearful of, Jesus rules victoriously and no tangible or spiritual evil can cause me harm.

I was reminded of this constantly as I hiked the hills around the Oak's camp that are infested with all kinds of snakes.

Summer Lessons

Will I ever get to a point where I trust God's sovereign, good, and loving hand over my life? I do not know! But It never fails to be incredibly humbling to come out the other end of an experience knowing exactly that God had you right where he wanted you the whole time.

I had a million reasons to wonder why I chose to go to the Oaks summer camp. i.e. (I was surrounded by many christian school kids, people that had been Christian's their whole lives, differences of theologies, difference of methods of sharing the Gospel, etc...)

But man o man did I grow to love the people that I was in fellowship and service with every day for 6 weeks.

A few in particular I know I will be good friends with for a long time. I have to be.. I am indebted into the way they spoke into my life and changed me.

Cali Summer

4 weeks ago I had never driven a boat before in my life. I now have probably driven a boat in 4 weeks more than most boat owners have for years combined.

I would like to say that I have become a pretty skill full boat driver. Then again there is not much to it: throttle down and turn the wheel towards where you want the boat to go.

We have two boats. The backup boat I named Lou Ellen (displayed in picture). She is 21 years old. The other boat that has been broken for most of the summer I named Penelope was made in 1962!

Here at the Oaks they like to take the idea of God being a redemptive God really literally and use old broken stuff hoping that God will make it new.

Pyramid lake is beautiful... The first time I went there I said to myself, "I mean....I guess I will be able to spend every day here this summer."

Why Young Life is Great

I love being a young life leader. I was telling one of my friends here at this Oak's camp about my young life trip and how the kids on it are into all kinds of stuff that would be considered unchristian (i.e. smoking pot, messing around with girls, etc.) I was telling her that these are the kids that were on the trip and that were also SO willing to sit around in a circle and talk about Jesus, what it means to be a man of God, and what life to the full looks like. She stopped me and asked how it is that these kids come on a trip like Wilderness and are willing to talk about Jesus with us and are interested in all things I listed above and more?

This stopped me in my tracks only to help me realize that what she thought was crazy is exactly what makes Young Life is soooo great. Thank God for a ministry for shipwrecked souls like myself that were totally consumed with selfish desires but so badly was interested in hearing more about Jesus from these crazy Young Life leaders that just would not leave me alone.

How blessed I am to get to enter into the lives of so many lives and not do anything but point to Jesus Christ as the redeemer, reconciler, creator, and mender of all things.

Life Together (in the morning)

I love staying up late but I love waking up early to meet God in the quiet of the morning even more.

I recently began a "Life Together" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. It is a classic on christian community that I have been wanting to read for awhile now. This particular quote is about the morning in which he encourages Christian communities to wake early to worship and meet God in the breaking of the new day.

Embrace rather than endure the new days that come...

"For Christians the beginning of the day should not be burdened and oppressed with besetting concerns for the day's work. At the threshold of the new day stands the Lord who made it. All the darkness and distraction of the dreams of night retreat before the clear light of Jesus Christ and his wakening Word. All unrest, all impurity, all care and anxiety flee before him. Therefore, at the beginning of the day let all the distraction and empty talk be silenced and let the first thought and the first word belong to him to whom our whole life belongs.."Awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give theh light" (Eph.5:14).

Book Review: Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

This a book that every American should read. It is important to realize that this books is not fiction but a revealing tail of one man's life that gives insight into America's perpetuation of the empire of global capitalism.

In many ways John Perkins asserts that slavery and imperialism have taken on a new face. That face being large corporations, America, and private organizations giving out loans to developing countries that they can never pay back. The developing countries people, governments, and industries are then under the control of the wealthy and powerful individuals and countries that loaned the money in the first place.

It is an honest reflection on the REALITY of how America has interacted with the world for the past 40 years. And statistics prove that the gap between the rich and the poor has widened since 40 years ago. Hence, Perkin's confessions are a confession to his involvement in widening the gap between the rich and the poor.

He had been writing the book on and off for awhile but in the wake of 9-11, filled with guilt and a conscience telling him to confess how his life and EHM lead directly to the disaster of 9-11 he finally finished his story.

It reads like a spy novel laced with an unadulterated depiction of America's involvement in global capitalism for the last forty years. Everything from George H. Bush's invasion of Panama to loans given to Indonesia to forever keep them in debt to America.