Finished reading: "Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul"

Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul by John and Stasi Eldredge.

This was definitely a good book. However, it was assuredly written with women as the target audience. I do believe that I gleaned some good information from it, and that it will help me understand my wife better. However, there were many sections that simply didn't apply to me, as well as sections where I felt completely lost in an alien world of estrogen.

I still have much to learn.

Finished reading: "How to Stay Christian in College"

How to Stay Christian in College

Click here for my first post about this book.

This book did prove to be an easy-to-understand guide to college life. I definitely recommend it to Christians entering college as freshmen, as well as new Christian converts currently in college.

However, I do not think this book is in depth or authoritative enough on its own to stand up against all the rigors of differing opinions that will be thrown at you in a secular university. But still it is a good starting point, and may whet your appetite to do more personal research in pursuit of truth.

Quotations from "I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist"

A couple of good quotations that I may use for a powerpoint on Biblical historicity.

"While the major works of the New Testament were immediately seen as authentic by these early church fathers, most of the New Testament was accepted before A.D. 200, and all of it was officially and finally recognized as authentic by the Council of Hippo in 393. (p. 368) (From Geisler and Nix, General Introduction to the Bible, 294)

"...of about 40 authors over nearly 1,500 years to get his message across." (p. 372)

In fact, our conclusion on inerrancy would be falsified if someone could trace a real error back to an original scroll. (17) But to this day, after nearly 2,000 years of looking, no one has found such an irreconcilable problem. (This is truly amazing when you consider that the Bible is really a collection of documents written by about 40 authors over a 1,500-year period. Where could you find such agreement on a variety of issues from 40 authors who all live today, much less over a 1,500-year period?)
(17): Copyist errors have been found in manuscripts, but they are easily identified and known not to be in the original by comparing the many manuscripts in existence (see chapter 9). While no Bible originals have yet been found, earlier manuscripts of other works have survived. So it is possible that a Bible original may someday be discovered.

I really like the statistic in bold (found in 3 places above). Gives a great perspective of the vastness of the work, effort, and study that went into JUST the writing of the books (inspired, of course), not to mention the immense work that took place to fastidiously copy them and translate and transmit them down to us. Incredible how God has created and protected this precious love-letter to us!

Miracle Mercy

I read this awesome passage of scripture about a week and half ago in my quiet time, and it has really been sticking with me and impacting me. Just read this, and dwell on God's marvelous love and miracle mercy for the children He loves!!!

Psalms 107:10-16 (From the Message)

Some of you were locked in a dark cell, cruelly confined behind bars,
Punished for defying God's word, for turning your back on the High God's counsel--
A hard sentence, and your hearts so heavy, and not a soul in sight to help.
Then you called out to God in your desperate condition; he got you out in the nick of time.
He led you out of your dark, dark cell, broke open the jail and led you out.
So thank God for his marvelous love, for his miracle mercy to the children he loves;
He shatterd the heavy jailhouse doors, he snapped the prison bars like matchsticks!

We need to live EVERY DAY like we are the children HE loves, the objects of His miracle mercy! That should change the way we look at every day, no matter how bad work sucks, no matter how poor we are, no matter how hard life is... we are the children he loves!

Live today like you are that child.

God's Ways

God's ways are so hard to understand, and it is so hard to see how he is working when you are down in the specific situation. same thing definitely goes for me, i can't see what God is doing, and i start to despair all of the time. but i know that in a year, when i look back on today, i'll marvel at the ways that God has provided for me, and everything he has done to take care of me inspite of myself. but again, i suck at remembering all of that when stuff gets me down (like being really stinking sick).

Later people.

Prayer and Importunity

Quotations from The Necesity of Prayer by E.M. Bounds:

"Nothing distinguishes the child of God so clearly and strongly as prayer. It is the one infallible mark of being a Christian."

Why sometimes we suck at life... but how we keep striving to seek His face

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

"My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness."

Long Shift, but a sweet weekend to come!

So I worked a pretty long shift at Brett's tonight, but I should make some pretty decent money because of it, so that's sweet.  Anyhow, super pumped about this weekend!  I have to work tomorrow night, but Summer and I are planning on riding Fort Yargo tomorrow morning.  I am really really looking forward to that 1) because I get to ride with Summer :) and 2)  I've heard a lot of good things about it, it's been really hyped up by everyone I talked to.  Its supposed to be pretty smooth, which will be fun, but I'm generally into the more tech stuff.  

Then, we're planning on climbing Sunday afternoon probably at Mt. Yonah, or possibly Currahee.  Sooo looking forward to that!  The weather is supposed to be amazing all weekend, so yeah, wow I am pumped!  And I get to go out and do all these amazing things with my even more amazing girlfriend!!!  How cool is that?

God is good, and He blesses us greatly!  Yeah, there are a lot of hard things going on in my life right now, but there are some really good things too!  I guess the important thing is to persevere through the hardships and learn what God is teaching you through them, and relish all of the good nuggets of life that He gives you along the way!

PS I know there wasn't a picture in this post.... just scroll down and look at all of the amazing ones right below this.

Resurrection Probably Reported in Same Year It Happened

Check out this post by Craig Blomberg about Jesus' resurrection... this goes right on topic with what Dave and I are teaching in Sunday school.  I had wanted to use one of the verses that he utilized (1 Corinthians 15:3-6) in my last lesson... but I couldn't find it.  Now I know where it is.  

PS One of the main reasons that knowing about the resurrection and the deity of Christ are important is because the all of the monotheistic world religions make mutually exclusive claims about Jesus Christ.  

Just today I had some Jehovahs' Witnesses come to my door.  I had never talked with a Jehovah's Witness before, and as a result I did not know much about the beliefs that they hold that different from standard, conservative evangelical theology.  

Here's some of the things that I noticed while talking with them:

-Try to deny Jesus' deity

-Try to deny Jesus' resurrection

-Distort/modify the scriptures to serve their purposes.

This is why it is so crucial to know the truth and logic about Jesus' resurrection and deity.  You need to be able to shoot bad arguments/reasons/reasoning down when you come across it.

Evidence for the Existence of the Christian God

Note: I originally wrote this essay back in my Apologetics class at BSBI, and I lately revamped it for a pair of Sunday school lessons. I love talking apologetics... its good stuff. For more detailed information about this and other apologetic topics, check out: Randomer: Currently Reading this book that I am currently reading.

Evidence for the Existence of the Christian God

By Gregory Heil

The title that I chose for this paper was not phrased the way it is by accident. I am going to attempt to present evidence for the existence of the Christian God. I am not going to prove with one hundred percent certainty that the Christian God exists. I do, however, believe that the vast majority of evidence truly does point towards the existence of God.

The first pieces of evidence that I would like to present relate to the beginning of the universe. First off, if something begins to exist, there needs to be something that caused it to begin to exist. There is no reasonable way for you as an atheist to argue against this. It is completely illogical to expect nothing to come from nothing. Nothing is what rocks think about! Next, there is convincing evidence that the universe began to exist. For instance, look at the laws of thermodynamics. The first law of thermodynamics shows that the amount of energy in the world does not change. The second law of thermodynamics indicates that the amount of usable energy in the world is being depleted. So, the universe will eventually run out of energy. This fact indicates that there must have been a point in time when the universe was all usable energy. So the universe must have had a beginning. If the universe had a beginning, and every beginning requires a cause, it naturally follows that the universe had a cause. You may argue that the Big Bang was the cause of the universe. But what caused the Big Bang? You might say, “Well, then who made (or caused) God?” Well, as we were discussing, everything that had a beginning requires a cause. However, God never had a beginning; He has always existed. Therefore, God doesn’t need a cause.

The second convincing group of evidence relates to the design of the universe. If design exists, it is only logical that a designer designed and made it. If you are walking along a beach, and see the words “Greg was here” drawn in the sand, you would automatically assume that someone named Greg had been there and had drawn those letters into the sand. Why do you think that, though? By evolutionary standards, could not these words have been eroded into the sand by wave action? No, it would be completely ludicrous to think that. But why exactly is it ludicrous to believe that the words “Greg was here” did not come about by natural causes? The answer: those words contain information. The problem (for atheists) is that we see information all around us in nature. Darwinist Richard Dawkins, who is a professor of zoology at Oxford University, has stated that the message found in just a single amoeba is so large that it would fill up 1,000 sets of the Encyclopedia Britannica! That is a great deal of information. Furthermore, information must come from a mind. How can Darwinian evolution explain the information that we see in nature? It simply cannot! The only logical explanation is that God created it and put it there!

Finally, I think that the existence of morality gives great evidence for the existence of God. You as an atheist may state that if there was a God, then there would be no evil in the world. But here is my question to you: what is evil? The answer: evil is the deviation from the way things should be. How then do we know the way things should be? The only way to know the way things should be is by having a higher standard to compare the world to. God is that standard. If there is no God, everything comes down to your personal likes and dislikes. We have already determined that information cannot appear by natural means, and as morality is not a physical thing, it cannot be produced by any means of evolution. So morality cannot come from evolution, and it also cannot come from within us. If it came from within, what would stop you from changing your mind about the principle “murder is wrong?” Some atheists claim that morality comes from society, but that simply cannot be the case. If society dictated good and evil, then the Holocaust would have been completely moral, but the work of Martin Luther King Jr. and Mother Teresa would not have been. The German society was (on the whole) behind Hitler, and his elimination of the Jews. Does that make it moral to commit genocide? I doubt it! The majority of society was against Martin Luther King Jr. and black rights for a very long time. Does that make it immoral to fight racism? I believe not! Therefore, morality has to come from someone that is above all people and societies. That is the only way a real moral law can exist. Admittedly, there are some atheists that deny that the moral law exists at all. They are sorely mistaken. If I was to walk up to an atheist who espoused this sort of thinking and punch him in the jaw and break it, I think he would probably call the police and report me. But wait a second: if a moral law does not exist, then what is wrong with me breaking this atheist’s jaw? Nothing! You see, he really does follow a moral law.

In conclusion, the existence of the God of the people who call themselves Christians is almost undeniable! The fact that God had to cause the universe to come into being, the fact that information could only have come from an intelligent being (God), and the fact that without God morality would not exist are all incredible evidence for the existence of God!

Currently Reading

I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist
by Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek

I originally got this book at BSBI and had to read some sections of it there. I'm currently trying to go through it cover to cover. I also have been using it for research for several Sunday School lessons I have been teaching.

Excellent book! Very professional, I love how Geisler and Turek quote loads of atheist sources that support their points...

About the Short Dude

Note: A response that I had to write for class to a video that we watched.

I think that I really needed to hear what Nick Vujicic had to say. Often times, I do tend to focus on how bad things are, and not how I can serve God despite the “circumstances” that I have in my life. Nick learned how to persevere despite the horrible handicap of having no limbs. He innovated, and trusted God to make his life worthwhile. Who of us has any right to complain after seeing all of the things that Nick has endured? It pains me to see somebody so helpless, and so challenged by simple tasks such as putting shampoo in your hair. But how often have I complained? How often have I complained about the fact that I am dirt poor and have absolutely nothing to my name, complained about loneliness, complained about lack of direction, complained about difficulties in my own life, complained about not getting to do what I would really want to do at a given point in time, or complained about not getting something that I think I am entitled to?

However, after seeing Nick and how he deals with his myriad physical trials, it makes me just praise God for everything He has given me. I mean, I could not imagine living life without a single arm or leg, and Nick does it without any! I seriously do not think I could handle the loss of both of my legs. If I lost one, depending on where it was amputated at, I could possibly get a prosthetic. But both? I really don’t know what I’d do. I mean, no more skiing, no more biking, no more running, no more physical activity of any major sort PERIOD! I could maybe race wheel chairs or something… but how boring would that be? No, I could way more easily take the loss of my arms. I still couldn’t bike or mountainboard, but I could easily continue to ski and run. Yeah, you really don’t need arms to ski. They’re helpful, but you can do without. But being totally limbless? I just praise God for the fact that I have full use of all my extremities! I really do not think I could cope with the “circumstances” that Nick was placed in. Praise God for what he has given me!

This is why you shouldn't forward emails like crazy...

I got one of those petition emails from a person, and then later I got an email from another person who had received the same email, with this link (check this out), which completely debunked it! You should read the article at that link.... that is why it is ridiculous to continuously forward emails, especially when they CAN'T BE VERIFIED!

My Philosophy of Missions

A paper that I had to write for Missions Class:

My philosophy of missions is essentially wrapped up in a statement that Professor Jeff made in class. He basically said that “If you are not one hundred percent sure that you are called to do it, then you shouldn’t be doing it.” However, I do think that God is calling me to missions somewhere down the line.

First, I believe that in whatever way that we serve God, He will use us according to the spiritual gifts and talents that He has given us. If God has given a person an extraordinary gift or talent, I believe that God will use that gift or talent to further His kingdom, and it may very well be through missions. At this present time, I am unsure as to what my spiritual gifting truly is. I have a good deal of time to figure it out, though. Whatever that spiritual gift is, I am certain that God will make that gift a great asset on the mission field. I believe that our talents also play a large role in the equation. For instance, I really feel as if I am called to the area of, how shall I put it, “mountain athletics” or “adventure sports.” I am very passionately attracted to many of the athletic sports that are focused in and around the mountains. For instance, I absolutely love to downhill ski. I am certain that God has given me a natural, raw talent for skiing, and a passion to do it and use that raw talent. During the summer time, I pursue the sport of mountain biking with almost the same drive and passion. I believe that there is a good chance that God will call me to a mission field where I will be able to use my passion for sports, not necessarily those two, but “adventure sports” in general to further the kingdom of God in some way.

Now, how I will go about this over the course of the next 5 years. First, I will complete my education at Big Sky Bible Institute. BSBI has been an excellent place of learning, and this learning will serve me well as I continue to serve God for the rest of my life. My aim in coming here was to have a firm, Biblical foundation at the base of my adult life, and this year will provide excellent knowledge that will be useful in the mission field. Second, over the course of the next 3 to 4 years I am going to focus on becoming a backcountry guide, with a skiing as the primary discipline, to begin with. In order to effect this, I am going to work a number of different jobs that will give me experience in the field, and I have a variety of courses that I am looking at taking which will give me knowledge that I sorely need. This summer I sincerely hope that I will get hired at camp ID-RA-HA-JE (I’d Rather Have Jesus) in Bailey, Colorado. I applied for a position on Adventure Staff, and if I get the job I will be leading mountain biking, rock climbing, whitewater rafting, backpacking, and ropes course trips and activities. This will give me a taste of a true guiding experience, and will help to, hopefully, solidify my goal of becoming a professional guide. Camp ID-RA-HA-JE itself will be an amazing way for me to use my life for the furtherance of God’s kingdom. I think that it may, in fact, qualify as a mission field… even though the cultural boundaries that I will be crossing will not be very difficult to surpass. Nevertheless, I think they (the boundaries) could definitely be there, qualifying this camp as mission field. Regardless, next winter I am going to attempt to end up in Jackson Hole, most likely working at the ski resort. Over the course of the winter I will take several avalanche certification courses, and receive my level I and level II certifications. Assuming I get hired this summer at camp ID-RA-HA-JE, it requires a two-year commitment, so I will most likely be working there again in summer of 2009. After next summer, my plans assume a lot more fluidity, as a great deal can change over the course of a year and a half. I really want to intern at Silverton Mountain one winter sometime in the near future. That would provide me with an amazing amount of practical, hands on experience that could help me to get a job as a professional guide. I also am striving to save money so that sometime in the near future I will be able to take an outdoor semester, either at NOLS or IWLS. Either of those courses would give me an incredible amount of knowledge to do with guiding, and the hard skills of several different disciplines, which I might be leading. But, if the amount of money proves too great to achieve in a timely fashion, I may resort to just taking a 24 day long backcountry ski guide training course, offered by IWLS. All of these things will most likely help me on my way to becoming a professional guide.

So, how does becoming a professional backcountry guide have anything to do with missions? As I stated in the first paragraph, I sincerely believe that God will use our talents, abilities, and gifts to further His kingdom. It is my goal to use guiding and sports as a ministry. Exactly what form it will take, of that I am not sure. I was thinking of working with a Christian camp during all but the winter months, and ministering in that venue. In fact, my classmate, Priyanke, is founding the first Christian camp in the country of Sri Lanka. I have seriously been considering that, maybe in 4 years or so once I have the skills amassed, I will be able to join him in Sri Lanka and set up an adventure branch of ministry in conjunction with his organization, Miracle Valley Ministries. That would truly be missions work, crossing an enormous cultural (and geographical) boundary. But in the end, all of these plans rest in the hands of God. The only thing that I can truly do is to continually make myself pliable and receptive to His leading, something that I am not really all that good at most of the time. Ultimately, my philosophy of missions is that God will use me how He wants, and whatever God wants, I want!

About the Mountains, the Love of God, and the meaning of life

What David Jeremiah said about the mountains “clearing your head,” “something wonderful happens to you when you go to the mountains,” and “God created the mountains and the ocean as therapy for His people” is so true. Just last week I was struggling with some serious considerations in my head, that really aren’t all that uncommon. But last week was more intense than usual, more depressing and despairing. I found myself thinking, “I had such a conviction in the existence of God at one point, where has it gone to? God, if you are really out there, please show me once again the conviction that I had of your existence and your power.” All it took was one trip to the mountains, one day of delectable powder skiing, and seeing a snowflake fall on the screen of my phone, perfectly illuminating the intricacies apparent in each tiny flake which add up to form a mountain of powder skiing goodness. Each individual flake is so intricately woven together and crafted that it seems like an entity of amazing art all on its own, yet the sum total of the snow, trapped amidst the trees of Connie’s Coulee, refresh and revive life, and somehow make the world a better place. All of it, each individual flake and the whole slope of untracked powder, point to the fact that God is out there, God designed it all, God cares for us, God has a grand plan in mind and that He never, ever forgets us. Ultimately, this is why I love the mountains so much, and this is the reason that I love to ski as much as I do. To me, the simple fact that all of these elements (the snow, the mountains, the way the human body is created, the way the laws of gravity and meteorology work, the way the laws of physics in regards to the human body work, the way the laws of physics govern the interaction between the snow and the sticks) culminate in creating such an enjoyable sensation is proof that in the midst of the sickness and pervasion of relationships full of decay, the futility of the life of the atheist, and the general grime in the world, that God is still there, that He still loves us and cares for us and cherishes us as His children. God is truly there, and He is the only thing worth living for. The only thing.

Now, why is God the only thing worth living for? This is a conclusion that I have been taught, that many of us raised in the Church have been taught. But ultimately, it is not a thing one can be taught. No, this must be a conclusion that one comes to one his own. Read these verses:
Mark 8:34-37 "34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?"
Now, we, having been raised in the church, are constantly being told to "take up your cross, and follow Jesus." Now, I submit to you that most people do not know what this truly means. In fact, I would go as far as saying that I myself do not know the true extent of what it means to "lose my life for Jesus and the gospel." I don't know if even I am truly willing to "lose my life," for what does it mean? I submit to you that the vast bulk of people in Christianity do not in the smallest sense "lose their life for Jesus and the gospel." But that is the way we are called to live. Read also these verses:
Romans 12:1-2 "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-- this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-- his good, pleasing and perfect will. "
I would just like to say one thing about that passage. What happened to the animal to be sacrificed back in the Old Testament? The bull's blood was spilled, it was cut into pieces, laid on the altar and burned! Do you see many people living like that? I don't think so. But I do think it is what Christ has called us to.

So, if we call ourselves "Christian," that is what is truly asked of us. That is the Christian life. There is no strain for self gain, self promotion, or even self esteem of any kind. What we have left is God's will in our lives (living sacrifices, self denial), God's view of promotion (the last shall be first and the first shall be last), and God-esteem (1 Cor. 1:28-31, Gal. 6:14, the book of Romans, "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.").

Now, if we take Christianity, we must take the whole thing. If you throw out one bit, for instance, the bit that says homosexuality is a "perversion" (Romans 1:27), you are denying the inspiration of scriptures. As it says in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 "16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." So if you reject part of it, you are rejecting the fact that is truly from God. If you reject the fact that it is truly from God, you can then reject any portion of scriptures that you don't feel like submitting yourself to, such as what a "living sacrifice" is. If you take Christianity, you have to take all of it, or none of it.

Let us take a moment and consider taking none of it. What is left in life? There is absolutely nothing! You simply came about as a pure accident! What is taking place right now is simply a chemical reaction, simply chemicals that appear on the periodic table (mostly Carbon, I believe) mashing around with a bunch of energy/electricity to create this thing you consider to be life. But really, what is a school bus? A school bus is a bunch of chemicals that appear on the periodic table, mashing around with a bunch of energy to move a load of school kids from one place to another. Really, the atheist and the school bus are on the same level. The school bus actually is probably superior, due to the fact that it has a lot more of the materials that make up everything in it than you do. You, the atheist, are of less worth in the grand scheme of the universe than the school bus parked in the parking lot! Life sucks, and then you die, and are gone forever. In a few short generations no one will even remember that you ever EXISTED. Your existence is gone. And during your brief period of existence as a bunch of chemicals and energy, your existence is fraught with betrayal, disappointments, and pain. Why not just end it now?

In conclusion, we must choose one or the other, either all of Christianity, or none of it. If we choose none of it, we are left with nothing. But if we choose all of it, we are left with everything. And what evidence is there for all of it? Please go back up to paragraph one! (Look around in nature.)

If you would like to discuss any of these points or any points raised by this paragraph, please, leave a comment, email me, whatever. If you have differing opinions, that is totally ok, that's your opinion, and you're entitled to it. If you disagree with me on any point contained here, I would love to discuss it with you. Because if said position that you take does have merit to it and presents itself as the truth, then I must change my position to fit what the truth of the matter is. So please, let's have some discussion.