Backwards priorities

As I sit here this morning, I again contemplate something that I've thought about often in the last 2 weeks. That thought: my priorities are JACKED! Just one example:

I was thinking the other day about how connected the world is becoming. Smart phones, social networking sites... Google Wave... As a matter of fact, this very blog is being typed on my BlackBerry Curve. I have facebook and twitter not only on the internet, but applications on both my BlackBerry and iPod Touch. I can check/ update the status of/ load pictures too those sites from just about aywhere. As long as I have a phone signal or WiFi, I can tell the entire world about what I'm having for lunch, how bored I am at work, or share a humorous quote from famous person that we think is important or influential.

Then it hit me... I have a Bible on my desk. One in my car, one at home, on my BlackBerry, on my iPod, on the internet, and even an entire Bible study application on my MacBook. How often do I look at that?

I look at my phone for fb/ twitter updates several times a day. Sometimes up to 65 times (thanks @RNC. Jerks.), but I'll go days or even weeks without looking at any form of Bible media outside of church. Printed or electronic, multiple translations (41 to be exact. In 21 languages), get ignored. I need no signal from an outside source. If my internet crashes, I can read via my cell phone signal. If both go out, I can read the offline versions I downloaded to my iPod. Or... I can read the book itself. Atleast, I should...


Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Interesting...

I can't take credit for this. I didn't write it, and I don't know where it originated. I stole it from a friends facebook page (thanks Jordan!) and thought it ran pretty parallel to my previous post, so I thought I'd share it here as kind of a "Part II". Enjoy...



Try and Guess WHO I AM?
I was born in one country, raised in another. My father was born in another country. I was not his only child. He fathered several children with numerous women.
I became very close to my mother, as my father showed no interest in me. My mother died at an early age from cancer.

Later in life, questions arose over my real name.

My birth records were sketchy and no one was able to produce a legitimate, reliable birth certificate.

I grew up practicing one faith but converted to Christianity, as it was widely accepted in my country, but I practiced non-traditional beliefs & didn't follow Christianity, except in the public eye under scrutiny.

I worked and lived among lower-class people as a young adult, disguising myself as someone who really cared about them..

That was before I decided it was time to get serious about my life and I embarked on a new career.

I wrote a book about my struggles growing up. It was clear to those who read my memoirs that I had difficulties accepting that my father abandoned me as a child.

I became active in local politics in my 30's then with help behind the scenes, I literally burst onto the scene as a candidate for national office in my 40s.. They said I had a golden tongue and could talk anyone into anything.. That reinforced my conceit.

I had a virtually non-existent resume, little work history, and no experience in leading a single organization. Yet I was a powerful speaker and citizens were drawn to me as though I were a magnet and they were small roofing tacks.

I drew incredibly large crowds during my public appearances. This bolstered my ego.

At first, my political campaign focused on my country's foreign policy. I was very critical of my country in the last war and seized every opportunity to bash my country.

But what launched my rise to national prominence were my views on the country's economy. I pretended to have a really good plan on how we could do better and every poor person would be fed & housed for free.

I knew which group was responsible for getting us into this mess. It was the free market, banks & corporations. I decided to start making citizens hate them and if they were envious of others who did well, the plan was clinched tight.

I called mine "A People's Campaign" and that sounded good to all people.

I was the surprise candidate because I emerged from outside the traditional path of politics & was able to gain widespread popular support.

I knew that, if I merely offered the people 'hope' , together we could change our country and the world.

So, I started to make my speeches sound like they were on behalf of the downtrodden, poor, ignorant to include "persecuted minorities" like the Jews. My true views were not widely known and I needed to keep them unknown, until after I became my nation's leader.

I had to carefully guard reality, as anybody could have easily found out what I really believed, if they had simply read my writings and examined those people I associated with.

I'm glad they didn't. Then I became the most powerful man in the world. And the world learned the truth.

*Who am I? *

I am ADOLF HITLER

WHO WERE YOU THINKING OF?
Scary isn't it?

Nazi America

Last night, I spent the late evening with friends. The night consisted of a chicken burrito bowl from Chipotle, a "Gotta have it" (large) Cake and Shake milk shake from Cold Stone, and a movie. The movie we chose to see was Quentin Tarantino's new film, Inglourious Basterds starring Brad Pitt, Mike Myers, and B.J. Novak (The Office). The movie takes place in WW2 Germany, and focuses on a band of American's that go undercover, and behind enemy lines, to kill Adolf Hitler. I personally liked the movie. It was funny and balanced. It was bloody, but not to extremes (it IS a war movie after all). It was humorous and entertaining... but less than 100% factually accurate. This is not a post critiquing a movie, but this serves to bring me to my point.

As we were leaving the movie theater, I found myself going over the facts that I had learned in high school. Replaying in my mind the things that I learned, and comparing them to Hollywoods version. Seeing as how I've been out of school for, going on eight years now, some of these facts were a bit shady to me. When I got home, I attempted to refresh my memory on some certain things via the interweb. As I read about Nazis, Hitler, and the SS, I started to remember some things. The more I read, the more I remembered. Suddenly, it hit me. America is slip-sliding in the direction of Nazi Germany.

Before the flaming starts, I do not think that Mr Obama wants to kill Jews or that Nancy Pelosi is going to start setting up concentration camps. I'm merely pointing out the FACT that there are multiple similarities, with more and more being made evident each and every day. (On a side note, I think we could learn a few things from the Nazis. One thing they did that I wish America WOULD adopt, is a strict prohibition on, and penalties for, abortion... but I digress...)

So many comparisons... where to begin? Might as well jump right into it. No use in dancing around the issue. Social Welfare, anyone? Different sources give different definitions, but essentially they all elude to "assistance given by the government to those in need" (although I think sometimes that the word "need" is being exaggerated, but that's another rant).

Several instances of this in America today jump to mind, besides the welfare system itself. Remember the lady at President Obamas town hall meting in Florida? The lady (Henrietta Hughes) who was in tears because she and her son were living in her car? She was given a house. They GAVE it to her. Free and clear. To see just a FRACTION of why this puts me in a state of mind, that I have coined: "insta-pissed", feel free to visit this website.

How about bail-outs? Nazi Germany focused on making jobs for citizens (green jobs?) and maintaining a minimum life style for ALL Germans ("Spreading the wealth" policies?). Volkswagen literally translates to "Peoples Car". It was a government program to create a vehicle that all could afford. Sounds a lot like the government controlling the auto industry to me. Although it isn't the EXACT same thing, it also sounds a bit similar to "Cash for clunkers". Government, giving you money, to buy a government car. They're using a different excuse, and a different method (or cover) to achieve the same result.

Ever hear of the Autobahn? Nazi transportation program. I wish that I had time to total the amount of Stimulus Package money that was being spend on transportation. 4,724 projects on streets and roads (like the Autobahn) alone, not to mention the 1400+ general transit projects (airports, trolleys, etc).

The Nazis were big on anti-smoking, and we too are placing extra taxes on cigarettes and tobacco, trying to force people to quit. (I'm not saying it's bad, I'm saying it's a similarity). Nazi's had an environmental conscience... although I think they were smarter about it than we are... and were interested in the benefits of organic foods. Our government now is trying to tax certain foods/ drinks to influence our citizens to "eat healthier". They also had a heart for animals, and even tried to ban hunting/fishing practices.

These are not all the similarities, but they are all I will list at this time. As I said previously, not all of these are bad things. Some are good things. I merely point them out to show that we are more alike than we like to believe. God help us if we don't realize how we look, and perhaps, continue to look more like each day. Eventually it could be hard to see where the "looks like" ends, and the "acts like" begins.

So, I haven't posted anything since January. I just don't see myself as having anything really new and exciting to say. I have no exclusive insight, or inside track that gives me an angle that others don't have. I'm just another dude. Sure, I can regurgitate things like everybody else. I can talk about the weather, government, religion, etc... but as far as "innovative", "fresh", or "original"... I just don't see how I'm all that different from the majority of the blogging world.

Then again, if Perez Hilton can vomit his mess all over the internet, and people find THAT interesting... I guess we can all be writers. Maybe I'll give this thing another shot after all.

Sin: Cigarettes of the spiritual world.

A little disclaimer before I begin. I am NOT saying that smoking is a sin, NOR am I saying that cigarettes will send you to Hell. To steal a quote from my youth pastor: "what they WILL do, is send you to Heaven faster". I am merely trying to illustrate a point, and cigarettes/ smoking is the image I've chosen to help get that across.

As someone who is, once again, trying to overcome my addiction to smoking, AND a born again follower of Christ, the similarities between sin and cigarettes are very obvious to me.

I first made the connection when I was listening to a Lucero song entitled: "Drink 'til we're gone". The lyric that I reference says: "I'm wastin' my time, with these cigarettes, and these ashes are all I've got left". That simple verse got my mind rolling.

What good does smoking do? Why do we (I) do it? All it's good for is slowly killing you (me). Every smoker alive knows it to be true. It isn't a pleasant death either. It's slow, painful, and torturous. Smoking stinks. It stains your walls, your teeth, and your fingers. There is scientific evidence that it's bad for you (me), and there are NO good reasons or justifications to do it. It's dumb. Why, why, WHY do we (I) do it?

As a Christian, I see sin the same way. It too, slowly kills us. Romans 6:23 tells us: "For the wages of sin is death". We don't automatically die as soon as we sin, it's a process (slow, painful, and torturous if you will). Genesis 8 talks about a sacrifice (something given up or lost for the sake of something else) by saying: "And the Lord smelled a sweet savour". It stands to reason that, if a sacrifice to God (something good) is a SWEET smell, then sin against God (something bad) would be a BAD smell. It would stink. Follow? The similarities don't end here. Jeremiah 2:22 says: "For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is MARKED before me, saith the Lord God". The New American Standard Bible translates it a bit differently. "Although you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap, the STAIN of your iniquity is before Me, declares the Lord God." It's a stain, a mark, a smudge, whatever word you want to use to describe it... it's all the same! There is NO good reason, NO justification. It's dumb. Why, why, WHY do we do it? Like the Lucero song says about cigarettes, all it does is waste our time and leave us with nothing but ashes (a mess).

Just like cigarettes, sin leaves us needing more. We're okay for a while with the little bit we get, but eventually the feeling, the high, the pleasant tingle wears off and we need more. We come back to the thing that kills us for another draw. We inhale the things that destroy us, just for that short moment of pleasure. We don't realize that in our spiritual respiratory system, we're choking the very thing that our life depends on. In the physical, it's our lungs. In the spiritual, it's our relationship with Christ and The Father. Sometimes we DO realize it, but we do it anyway. We do it because by the time we finally get it, by the time we finally see it for what it is, we're so addicted that we can't get out. Sin/ cigarettes have such a hold on us, that many can't see the negative aspects it produces. Just as a smoker can't smell the smoke on their clothing or in their hair, many times sin gets us to the point where we don't even realize that what we're doing is wrong. We've justified the situation to ourselves to the point that we honestly believe that what we're doing is okay.

Proverbs 26:11 describes it better than I can. "Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly." Can you imagine eating dinner, sitting down on the couch to watch the newest episode of American Idol, Lost, Grey's Anatomy, Whale Wars, whatever fits your situation... and throwing up on the carpet in front of you. Now comes the disturbing part. You don't get a towel, a rag, or a steam cleaner. You get on your knees and lick it up like a dog. Just thinking about it makes me nauseous, but that's what the Bible says we do... and it's disgustingly accurate.

How do we get over this "sin addiction"? They make patches and pills for smoking, yet comparing God to these things hardly does him justice. It's an insult to describe him this way. The only thing my mind can compare him too, would be a surgeon. This surgeon is trained in all ways of surger-ing... he can operate on any system, any organ, any bone. This doctor finds you dying from lung caner (sin) and takes compassion on you. He does a lung transplant (salvation) to save you from the cancer. Then, because he knows you're a smoker (sinner) and will return to your "vomit", he does a brain transplant too (sanctification). He gives you a brain that knows better than to smoke. One that recognizes the dangers, the risks, and the sheer stupidity of the act. Then comes the best part. When your insurance won't cover the cost of the surgeries he performed..... he doesn't hold you accountable for paying the debt. Someone has already covered the cost for you.

Spaghetti and BlackBerry

So, I heard that you can add text and pictures to Blogger via your cell phone (reason 479 why I love my BlackBerry!). I don't know if I'll use Blogger enough to justify doing that, but I thought I'd give it a try anyway.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Amazing Grace

Far too often in life, we over look the little things. We get used to things, and they become "boring" to us. We are too focused on what's new and exciting, and we forget the simplicity and beauty that can be found when we closely examine the things that we are accustomed too, instead of taking them at face value.


One such example can be found in a song. The song "Amazing Grace" is believed to have been written in late 1772. Almost 237 years later, the song is as true and inspiring now as it was the day it was penned. All we have to do is look at, and think about, the words to realize how encouraging and stimulating it really is.

Amazing: causing amazement, great wonder (rapt attention or astonishment at something awesomely mysterious or new to one's experience), or surprise.
Grace: unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification.

Amazing grace (awesomely mysterious, unmerited, divine assistance) how sweet the sound (pleasing to the ear, mind, soul. Bringing comfort)

That saved (to rescue or deliver from danger or harm) a wretch (a base, despicable, or vile person) like me

I once was lost (not made use of, won, or claimed/ ruined or destroyed physically or morally/ unable to find the way) but now I'm found (rescued, provided for, protected)

was blind (sightless, unable to discern or judge, vulnerable), but now I see (represents a miraculous healing. Like Saul, the scales have fallen from our eyes.)

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear (to fear God and be in awe of his love, mercy, and power) and grace my fears relieved (no fear of the Enemy or things of the world. No matter what happens, we will be taken care of and provided for. Saved.)

How precious (of great value or high price, highly esteemed or cherished) did that grace appear, The hour I first believed

Thru many dangers (liability to injury, pain, harm, or loss), toils (struggle, battle, long strenuous fatiguing labor), and snares (traps) I have already come (meaning we have been delivered from the things of the world)

'Twas grace that brought me safe thus far (we didn't do it on our own), And grace will lead me home (God's grace and provision will NEVER leave us)

When we've been there ten thousand years (an amount of time that no human can honestly fathom or imagine), Bright shining as the sun (could also be seen as SON. We will be transformed and more like his image. Pure, perfect, spotless)

We've no less days to sing God's grace, than when we first begun (an ETERNITY {ENDLESS time})

Reading these words and searching our hearts, how can we not feel a stirring? How can our emotions not well up inside of us. How can we not catch a glimpse of our God and his love for us?

This song does so much for me. It inspires and encourages me, yet it also humbles me. It makes me realize how undeserving I am, and how great God is for providing anyway. I'm so glad it's not performance based. I don't have to pray 5 times a day, or confess my sins to a priest who tells me how to atone for my sins. All I have to do is accept Christ and his gift. It's so simple, why do we make it so hard to understand?