The Hateful OT God... really?

I know this looks like a long post, but it's really not.

It's just a lot of verses that I wanted to share. I'm only going to say a little. So don't be afraid that when you start reading this blog that I'm rambling on and on. I'm not... just listen.

So I'm reading the One Year Bible. I'm in Ezekiel. Most of the time when people are reading through the Old Testament (OT) the image of God they begin to perceive is a hateful and vengeful God that just wants to kill everyone. Rem

ember, what you are reading was not written TO you. It was written TO God's chosen people of the OT. So unfortunately for us today, there is not as much detail we would like. Detail like... "What the heck did God's people do to incredibly piss Him off so bad?!?"

Well... if you read long enough you will find a great explanation of why God was so wrathful. Like this beautiful simile that God gave Ezekiel to share with his people, Jerusalem. A simile of how God's people have treated Him.

I'm beginning in Ezekiel chapter 16, in the middle of verse 8 through verse 43, then verses 60-63. I KNOW IT'S LONG! But please read it! And let me know what you think!

And remember... God is giving a simile of Jerusalem's waywardness.

God begins the chapter by

describing Jerusalem as a new-born infant left in a field to die, who nobody wanted. God found her (Jerusalem), brought her in, raised her to health, and made her is own...

"...I took care of you, dressed you and protected you. I promised you my love and entered the covenant of marriage with you. I, God, th

e Master

, gave my word. You became mine. 9 I gave you a good bath, washing off all that old blood, and anointed you with aromatic oils.

10 I dressed you in a colorful gown and put leather sandals on your feet. I gave you linen blouses and a fashionable wardrobe of expensive clothing. 11 I adorned you with jewelry: I placed bracelets on your wrists, fitted you out with a necklace, 12 emerald rings, sapphire earrings, and a diamond tia

ra. 13 You were provided with everything precious and beautiful: with exquisite clothes and elegant food, garnished with honey

and oil. You were absolutely stunning. You were a queen! 14 You became world-famous, a legendary beauty brought to perfection by my adornments. Decree of God, the Master.

15 "'But your beauty went to your head and you became a common whore, grabbing anyone coming down the street and taking him into your bed.

16 You took your fine dresses and made "tents" of them, using them as brothels in which you practiced your trade. This kind of thing should never happen, never. What a Sick Soul! 17 "'And then you took all that fine jewelry I gave you, my gold and my silver, and made pornographic images of them for your brothels.18 You decorated your beds with fashionable silks and cottons, and perfumed them with my aromatic oils and incense. 19 And then you set out the wonderful foods I provided - the fresh breads and fruits, with fine herbs and spices, which were my gifts to you - and you served them as delicacies in your whorehouses. That's what happened, says God, the

Master. 20 "'And then you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had given birth to as my children, and you killed them, sacrificing them to idols. Wasn't it bad enough that you had become a whore? 21 And now you're a murderer, killing my children and sacrificing them to

idols. 22 "'Not once during these years of outrageous obscenities and whorings did you remember your infancy, when you were naked and exposed, a blood-smeared newborn. 23 "'And then to top off all your evil acts, you built your bold brothels in every town square. Doom! Doom to you, says God, the Master! 24 At every major intersection you built your bold brothels and exposed your sluttish sex, spreading your legs for everyone who passed by. 25 "'And then you went international with your whoring. 26 You fornicated with the Egyptians, seeking them out in their sex orgies. The more promiscuous you became, the angrier I got.

27 Finally, I intervened, reduced your borders and turned you over to the rapacity of your enemies. Even the Philistine women - can y

ou believe it? - were shocked at your sluttish life. 28 "'You went on to fornicate with the Assyrians. Your appetite was insatiable. But still you weren't satisfied. 29 You took on the Babylonians, a country of businessmen, and still you weren't satisfied. 30 "'What a sick soul! Doing all this stuff - the champion whore! 31 You built your bold brothels at every major intersection, opened up your whorehouses in every neighborhood, but you were different from regular whores in that you wouldn't accept a fee. 32 "'Wives who are unfaithful to their husbands accept gifts from their lovers. 33 And men commonly pay their whores. But you pay your lovers! You bribe men from all over to come to bed with you! 34 You're just the opposite of the regular whores who get paid for sex. Instead, you pay men for their favors! You even pervert whoredom!

35 "'Therefore, whore, listen to God's Message: 36 I, God, the Master, say, Because you've been unrestrained in your promiscuity, stripped down for every lover, flaunting your sex, and because of your pornographic idols and all the slaughtered children you offered to them, 37 therefore, because of all this, I'm going to get all your lovers together, all those you've used for your own pleasure, the ones you loved and the ones you loathed. I'll assemble them as a courtroom of spectators around you. In broad daylight I'll strip you naked before them - they'll see what you really look like. 38 Then I'll sentence you to the punishment for an adulterous woman and a murderous woman. I'll give you a taste of my wrath! 39 "'I'll gather all your lovers around you and turn you over to them. They'll tear down your bold brothels and sex shrines. They'll rip off your clothes, take your jewels, and leave you naked and exposed. Then 40 they'll call for a mass meeting. The mob will stone you and hack you to pieces with their swords. 41 They'll burn down your houses. A massive judgment - with all the women watching! 42 By then my anger will be played out. My jealousy will subside. 43 "'Because you didn't remember what happened when you were young but made me angry with all this behavior, I'll make you pay for your waywardness...

60 All the same, I'll remember the covenant I made with you when you were young and I'll make a new covenant with you that will last forever. 61 You'll remember your sorry past and be properly contrite when you receive back your sisters, both the older and the younger. I'll give them to you as daughters, but not as participants in your covenant.

62 I'll firmly establish my covenant with you and you'll know that I am God.

63 You'll remember your past life and face the shame of it, but when I make atonement for you,

make everything right after

all you've done, it will leave you

speechless.'" Decree of God, the Master

The New President Elect

Well Barack Obama is now Barack Obama President Elect...   two brief statements. 

The first is that I'm disappointed, sad, and even a little astonished. But not really surprised. What does surprise me are the reactions I've been watching the past hour or so. I have never seen people so obsessed with a President as they are with president elect Obama. Especially the reactions of the world. I just heard that Kenya just made a Nation Holiday supporting Obama's win.

I've never really been able to grasp how the world could fall under one leader until tonight. It has given me a much better perspective of what I believe is going to happen during the "end times".

Second, even though I am far from satisfied with the new president elect, I believe he deserve a level of respect from me. If not for any reason, simply because he will be my new President, and for that I will give him the respect he deserves. I am also happy of the new achievement for black history.

As great or as scary as it might seem, only one thing truly matters. There is only one God Almighty. And no matter how alone, small, unsafe, or afraid I could feel...    I do not feel. Because I know God is in control. And as cliché as that unfortunately sounds...   it is the only fact that keeps me my soul at peace.

"Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'" (Matthew 28:18-20)

Election Day '08

Well...  tomorrow is the big historical day!

I think Jordan and I are planning on hitting the poles around 9-10am. Hopefully that will leave me plenty of time to be at work by 2pm. But who knows?!?

I will go ahead and tell you who I am voting for. It doesn't bother me if everyone knows. I'll be voting for Senator John McCain.

I will be the first to admit that I am not the brightest when it comes to these two presidential candidates. But there are several reasons why I'm voting for John McCain, and several reasons why I'm not voting for Barack Obama. But there's no way I'm writing all that (and I'll probably sound stupid). I'll just leave it at these two simple reasons why I'm for McCain.

1) McCain does not support abortion or homosexual union. These topics are very important for me, being a Christian. I believe that when it comes down to it, McCain has much better morals than Obama.

2) It is obvious that Obama is very popular

 among all Hollywood, media, and most young people. The fact that he is favored by those who are "popular" makes it in itself "popular" to vote for Obama in this election. Whether most people believe Obama or not, or even truly knows what he stands for, they will vote for him simply because it's the popular thing to do. Ask them why they're voting Obama and there answer is...  you guessed it...   CHANGE!   That's all they know.

I don't think Hollywood has ever backed up a presidential candidate as much as they have Obama. And if you really look at how messed up Hollywood is, that is almost enough proof itself  that I don't need to vote for Obama. I would be voting with the same people that live and preach the exact opposite of what I believe.

Well, like I said, you're not going to find any deep and witty reasons to vote for either party here. I will say that I believe you always need to respect your President, whoever it may end up being. I will.

I will be at work while the results come in. It will suck not knowing until later, but I'll just have to deal with it.

All in all, I know whoever gets in office is exactly who God has decided to be there. There's no point in worrying. All I can do is pray and participate in my right and privilege to vote.

massive update

Ok. Last post was  1 1/2 months ago. Sad...  very. But I'm not going to harp on it.

 I'll just say that my life is going to be much more organized thanks to Moleskine!!!   Yes, Moles!!!!  

The cute little creatures that terrorize the worms in your back yard and tease your dogs can now organize your life!

Ok... not the real moles...   although that would be awesome!

Moleskine is just the brand name of this pocket journal I bought.

My thought is that it's small enough to fit in my pocket, so I will always carry it around and have on hand to write to do's, ideas, etc. And since it's $300 cheaper than my original plan (iPhone), it's a win win!  Especially with my horrible record of randomly 

losing my cell.   :)

Ok, back to the update...

On a sad note, I am no longer with the church plant here in Bluffton. It's a very, very long story, but to sum it up...  the vision for the church plant was vastly different than I had expected. I greatly disagree with leaving a church based on trivial reasons, but these were just too foundational for me (and several others) to ignore. The pastor and I are still friends, he understands my decision and supports it. And I know that this transition will work out better for him and for me, thanks to the wise plans of God. Also, thanks to the advice of Señor Scott Beebe, we did not follow the call of that pastor to Bluffton. We asked God to call us to the area if He wanted us, not to the opportunity for a particular church plant.

On a much lighter note. I think Jordan and I finally found our ONE tv series. And no it's not Lost or Heros!

It's House M.D. baby! I don't need to explain it, I just need to say that it's TIGHT! If you like mystery movies (and NOT the scifi type!) then you'll love this series. 

I also think it's awesome that 1 out of every 10 words is some crazy medical term I've never heard before and have no idea the meaning.

Sometimes I feel like I might as well be watching a Spanish soap opera.

Anyway, since we've just become dedicated this during season 5, we've been renting the seasons at the library. We're addicted man! It's sad...   right now we watch about 1 episode every night before we go to bed. Then we watch the new ones Tues nights at 8pm.

We went on a cruise with Jordan's fam! It was nice and we had a lot of fun, but I think it's the last cruise we will go on.

I mean...  when you think about it, it's 3000+ people crammed onto one ship. I can't believe more people don't get sick. The cleaning crews must work incredibly hard. Honestly, I think the best part is the waiter you have each night. They rock too!

Ok... so a really fun fact that I wanted to share is this reading venture

 I've decided to partake in. And I'll talk about this quickly because I need to go to bed. I've been reading the One Year Bible for a while now. And that's been working really well for me. When I can stick to it.                                                                                                                           

So I'm always trying to find a good  book to read along with the Bible. I've decided to read Homer's Iliad, the works of Plato, and the works of Aristotle. I'm thinking it might take me a year to get through them all. And since they're such great classics I figured I couldn't go wrong. Although I will definitely need my dictionary to get through some it.   :)

on worship

Five days again! On a roll!  :)

Well, once again, it's just a little before bed time. Just enough to write a short blog...

As many of you know I've been a worship leader for several years. TN, TX, and now in the big SC! Actually, now that I think about it...   the title "worship leader" is actually a bad one. I'll explain...

Today Jordan and I visited a church plant with our friends the Beebes (our church didn't meet this morning). The message was about living your life as worship to God. Romans 12:1 might pop in your head...   that's a main passage we looked at.

Our life, as christians, is to be lived as a continual worship to our Savior. At home, at work, school...  you get the point. So by me calling myself a worship leader, what all does that imply?

1) Worship is simply the "musical" part of a church gathering

2)Without me, there's no worship (playing off the "leader" side of the title)

3)Worshiping God needs a leader

4)Worship is always done in crowds

5)Worship needs to be rehearsed and organized

6)Worship only involves music

7)Worship is on Sunday mornings with a praise band/team...

I could go on for a while, but like I said, I try to keep my blogs somewhat short...

The sad part is that this view of worship is deeply embedded in the christian church. I definitely need to put more thought and "blogging time" into this...    but for now, I'll stop calling myself a "worship leader". Luckily, I work full-time at starbucks (coffee!!!), so if someone ask me where I work I say sbux. But if someone ask me what I do in our church, I guess I'll have to substitute for a longer answer...       "I help lead people to worship God through music during church gatherings."    ...I guess that will have to do for now.   I might think of something better later.   :)  

on tracts

Yes! Only five days later! I'm progressing! Of course I just probably jinxed myself and the next time I blog will be like 2 weeks.  :)   ...  hopefully not.

The other day I came into work at Starbucks and saw a tract laying beside the register. Of course...  I knew what this was. I was actually very fond of them back in high school, but not anymore, and I think you'll see why...

One of my good friends was working the drive thru. 

I picked up the tract, 

"Where did this come from?" 

I said. She replied,  "Someone gave it to me at the drive-thru." I stood there for a few seconds with the tract in my hand thinking about all the people 

I had given tracts to when I was younger, and wondered later how it made them feel. And then I thought...  Wow! I actually have the chance to honestly ask someone what it made them feel like. So I turned to her... "How does it make you feel when you get one of these?" She didn't hesitate...  like she had been thinking about it...  "Do I give off some kind of weird orb that makes people feel like I need one of these?" She said smiling (she's a very optimistic and bubbly person). "Do I seem like a bad person?" " 

I get one almost every time I work the drive-thru." 

Oddly, that was the exact response I expected. And I got a little upset. But why should I...   this is what the majority of Christians very as being a witness. Not living like Jesus and handing people a tract through the drive-thru to make themselves feel like they're doing something good.

Well, this isn't a paper, it's a blog, so I got to keep it short. I'm not saying that "pop-corn" witnessing is wrong (i.e. tracts and randomly witnessing to a person). This is just one example, but I'll put it this way...      this girl gets a christian tract when she works and it make her feel like crap...    I've been working with her for 7 months, lived like a christian and haven't brought up one "religious" conversation, and I have the pleasure of marrying her and her fiance and counseling them...     you can draw you own conclusions.

I threw the tract into the trash...   "I think you're a good person!" "You are me and Jordan's favorite person at Starbucks!" A bashful, yet humble "thanks!" was returned.

"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command." 

(Jesus speaking to His disciples. John 15:12-14)

moving

Alright...    so I'm still not very good at blogging everyday!  :)    But I PROMISE I will someday!!!!   :)

Anyway, we've been very busy moving this past few days! And if you're wondering why you haven't heard about it, it's because we just moved down the street!  :)

"Why?" you ask...    well, the main reason is that our former landlord wanted to sell. But it worked out for the best because Jordan really needed some more room for the office. This year has been the first year that we've been pretty busy with Landon Jacob Productions, and it's thanks to Jordan! She's running the whole thing by herself! I just throw in some annoying advice sometimes...    ok...   I through in annoying advice a lot!   :)      But that's what a business partner and husband is for!  :)  Just kidding!

Well, off to bed, but we finally have everything into the new house (yea!!!). And tomorrow we hope to be painting. And enjoy the mild storm as hurricane hanna goes north. Good for us! But sorry NC! We'll be praying!