Black

As sleep overtakes me I struggle to type this out, but I know if I don't write now this will never get done. While sojourning to San Marcos, Michael threw a question into the gust of wind that plagued Highway 290: Can people can truly know a person through his or her writing? As I sit here, I know that someone reading this blog alone could by no means know me, mostly because this site has become the proverbial soap box. My lighter, joking side would be completely missed. That being said, I want to lodge a brief complaint against American culture's treatment of Christmas.

It is incredibly sad that Christmas is being advertised a full week before Thanksgiving. Some find it comforting and nostalgic as the lights and music bring back memories from a childhood long ago. Although there is nothing wrong with this in and of itself, the historical significant of the holiday must be remembered; i.e. the birth of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately (unless you're a corporation) this is lost on the majority of the populace. No longer is this a season of celebration of the arrival of the Savior who came to free us from our sins, but a season of shameful materialism. The day after Thanksgiving is now know as Black Friday because of the plethora of sales, with shoppers to match. People are not loving their neighbor as themselves, as Christ taught, but instead the Holy Spirit is grieved by brawling and anger and rage (Eph 4:30-31) as people trample each other in efforts to be the first to buy the most trendy gift. When we should be celebrating God's glory and goodness and the freedom He has purchased for us, we have become slaves to rampant materialism.
What do I want for Christmas? I'm not sure, but I think supporting a missionary half-way across the world, a brother or sister in Christ with true needs, will echo across eternity in ways the X-Box 360 cannot.

No Better Sacrifice

I cut myself with a razor sharp edge twice today. My back and shoulders are sore from lifting excessive weight. I am sleep deprived. An old -- but favorite -- shirt of mine is possibly ruined with blood stains. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Coal B (or army Coal) invited me out with some of his BYX brothers to help with a meat ministry called Pacto con Dios. This ministry takes deer that were killed at surrounding ranches (for population control) and grinds the meat into hamburger. They then go to inner-city areas, Mexico, or orphanages and provide much needed food. Pacto con Dios will also satisfy the people's spiritual need and share the Gospel.

Our job was to help butcher that meat so that it can be used to feed people. I learned how to cut along the bone to waste as little meat as possible (and lost a little of myself in the process), and I learned that deer are humongous creatures. I frequently had to lift up shoulders or hind quarters for rinsing, and they easily weighed over 45 lbs (explaining my physical exhaustion). When slicing and dicing and meat grinding became slightly monotonous, it was discovered that deer fat has similar qualities to gak and would stick to anything; is great for throwing at people (thus bloody clothing). The best is when you get it to stick in the middle of the person's back and they can't reach to remove it. What's the worst is when someone drops it down the back of your shirt .

It was grueling work, but not nearly as disgusting as people may think (it's like butchering a chicken, only slightly larger). The great thing about serving is that the difficulty of the task can be easily diminished with two factors: 1) the people you are with and 2) knowing the bigger picture.
We made 2000 lbs of grounded deer meat. Enough to feed about 2 orphanages for a year. The sacrifices we made were small in comparison to the blessings untold others will reap because of today.

Matthew 19:29
And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.

It's Worth It

1 Cor 12:12. The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.

During the Worship night at Cru, I realized how well the Pirates Team (aka Cru Weekly Planning Meeting) exemplifies the above verse. The Lord has uniquely blessed all of us in such a way that something like the weekly meeting can happen. Not everyone can MC. Not everyone can run sound. Or lead worship. But certain individuals can, and when we come together to glorify the Lord, it is awesome and powerful. Sure, it's a lot of work, trying to get everyone on the same page, and planning planning planning. It is so worthwhile. There are many people who come in on Thursdays at 7:30, and leave immediately after it is over. Nothing to stress over or be concerned about. No responsibility. I do not envy them. They are not able to witness God's truth lived out. They miss His body doing His glorious work.

1 Thessalonians 4:1
Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.

Christians in Philosophy

I discovered yesterday why Christian Philosophy Professors are the bomb.

We are discussing the writings of Augustine in my Ancient Philosophy class, and my professor lectured on Augustine's concept of time. I don't won't to go into all the details (it was an hour long lecture), but it's amazing how this relates to God and foreknowledge (knowing things in advance).
People often object to the idea of foreknowledge, arguing that if God knows what we are going to do, then we do not have free will. My professor was able to show that this isn't the case with the help of the following example.

Let's determine the truth value of the following statement: At 1pm I will go climbing at Reimer's Ranch (it is 11am as I write this). According to those who object to foreknowledge, if this statement of the future is true, then I had no choice in the matter. I have to be at Reimer's at 1pm. If the statement is false, then I cannot be there. Again no free choice. The problem with this, my professor explained, is that we think the truth value of the statement influences the truth of the actual event, when in reality, it is the event itself that makes the statement true or false.

Also, God is outside the bounds of time in the same way that we are outside the timeline of a book we're reading. If we have read a book multiple times, we can look at the story as a whole and know when and where events fit in. In a similar way, God knows what is happening before we do it. He does not necessarily direct it all (although he certainly could), but we are simply informing him of our actions, and he is observing. We just don't know what we're about to.

Our professor also gave some really awesome analogies as to how God works through man's free will to accomplish His purpose, and went into more detail on time, but it was extremely awesome to have a philosophy prof talk about God for an hour.