Of taxes and the Lord's Supper

You have to love our government; I got a letter today from the IRS saying that their records show that I served in a combat zone. I haven’t been in a combat zone (Korea) since 2003; I think they might be just a little bit late on this one. :)

We celebrated the Lord’s Supper yesterday at church and that got me thinking about the differences between the Old and New Testaments and what Jesus’ death on the cross accomplished. In the Old Testament the blood of the sacrifices’ could only wash the outside, but during communion we symbolically drink Jesus blood showing that his sacrifice did something the Old Testament sacrifices could never do, He cleanses our inside. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection allowed for our lives to be freed from the grip of Satan, Hell, and death; something no animal sacrifice could ever achieve. I know this isn’t a groundbreaking revelation but as I sat there with the grape juice in my hand yesterday it just hit me in a very strong way and made me appreciate my salvation and what an amazing, supernatural act Jesus’ sacrifice is.

Merry Christmas

I got home this morning while it was still dark out, there was a beautiful clear sky and as I looked up into it I couldn't help thinking of those shepherds thousands of years ago. Can you imagine what that must have been like? You're lying there watching your sheep graze in the same pastures your ancestors have been using for generations and then all of the sudden…….., BAM!!! An angel shows up out of nowhere. It doesn’t say how big the angel was so it could have been huge, imagine something the size of the Sears building popping up out of thin air. No wonder they were scared, who wouldn’t be? And then to be told the greatest message ever shared with mankind, you, a lowly shepherd the first to be told of the birth of your country’s long awaited Savior. Not only your nations Savior but the One who came to save the entire human race from sin, death, and eternal torment in Hell, there’s nothing in the world that could prepare you for that moment. Two thousand years later there’s still nothing that compares to the moment you come face to face with Jesus and His Gospel of grace. So as we celebrate the baby in the manger let’s not forget that it was the life, death, and resurrection that followed that makes it a moment worth making much of.

Columbus and back again

A couple of weeks ago I visited Veritas Community Church, an Acts 29 church in Columbus,OH that had recently launched. It was a good experience all the way around. Nick, the lead planter, was on staff at Sojourn in Louisville for several years while he was in seminary so Veritas has a lot of similarities. I had a good talk with him before and after the service (one of the benefits of a small church)that helped with some of my decision making about seminary. Veritas is only two months removed from it's launch and the night I was there there were about 50 people. (I counted, but I've forgotten what the exact count was now, not that it matters.) Mostly it was just interesting to me to be at a church that close to it's launch, it was an encouraging time for me and I'm truly glad I went.

It's Thanksgiving today which means it's a good time to look back at the past year (and life in general) and give thanks for what's happened. (and sometimes what hasn't.) :)Obviously I most thankful for my salvation, the more I think about it the more overwhelmed by it I become. The amount of grace, love, and mercy that's been bestowed on me is far beyond my comprehension but I know it's far more then I, or any of us, deserve. I'm also incredibly grateful for my friends. I've been reminded of that a lot over the past week, especially as I was sitting in the middle of several of them last night at a basketball game. I really have been blessed to be surrounded by these people. I know I have countless more things I could put here but those are the ones that have pressed on my mind lately.

Have a happy Thanksgiving!

Overdue

I realize it's been awhile since I posted anything, I wish there was a good reason for that but really there isn't. I've just been bored and lazy.

One of the biggest changes in the last couple of weeks has been finding out that it's going to take about three years to finish my degree at Ball State as opposed to a year and a half or two. (needless to say, I'm not altogether thrilled by this.) I've decided to double major in history and religious studies. (mostly to help me make BSU's requirement of 126 credits to graduate.) But before I go back to Ball State I'll be headed back to Ivy Tech for a semester because t he new G.I. Bill doesn't go into affect until August of '09 which means it's not practical to attend BSU during the spring semester.

Since I'm going back to school full time December 27 will be my last day at Sallie Mae. It's been a perfect job for me the last year and a half but there's no way I can work there (especially on thirds) and go to school full time.

The one truly exciting thing that's happened recently is I bought tickets to see Oasis in Detroit December 13th! That's all for now, ciao!

Way overdue

Here's a quick run down of my life right now: My gradma's in the hospital with a shatered hip and wound that won't heal, mom's been going out to Indy every day for almost two weeks now to be with her, and I just spent a half hour in the E.R. last night with an infected gland. (YAY.) In fact I'm so stressed out right now I can't even remeber what all's happened lately I just wanted to write this so I could check it off my list. :)

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The commercialization of christianity in America just dropped to a new low. They now have a "christian" version guitar hero. Great, just frickin' great. Because we really needed one more way to cheapen our faith and draw back even further into cultural irrelevance. Congratulations us, high fives all around. When christianity officially dies in the west we'll look back on things like this and know why. I'm sure (or at least hope) the person who came up with this was well intentioned, and just wanted christian kids to be able to play a game with "christian" music. (whatever that is.) But I really see it as yet another leap backwards, right up there with Bibleman, W.W.J.D. bracelets, and Carmen. (and a whole host of other things we could name. PAX network anyone?) We're never going to change the world around us if we keep finding more ways to sprint full speed away from it. If you're going to win a war you can't constantly retreat and withdraw you have to be brave, advance into enemy territory, and be willing to risk you life. Instead we seem to have decided to isolate ourselves from the world around us and then cluck about how sinful everyone is. We're all sinful, every last one of us and our little insulated christian bubble that we've created isn't what saves us, Jesus is. There are still millions of people out there who need Him, not our holier than thou attitude. So instead of running out to buy the newest christian "it" thing maybe we should go hang out with the guy from work instead.

Louisville and Oasis

I know it's been awhile since I've posted not that I think anyone really cares but here's what I've been up to the last few weeks.

The Sunday prior to Labor Day I went down to Louisville to visit Sojourn since I hadn't been in 9 months and I'm really glad I went. The sermon was something I needed to hear and it reminded me why I wanted to go there so badly in the first place. Afterwords I got invited out to dinner with a few people from Sojourn and really enjoyed it, it made the idea of living down there for 5 or 6 years for seminary seem like a better idea then it had recently so it was definitely worth the trip.

Then on Labor Day Chris came over and we grilled and watched the movie "Smart People" which was well worth the time it took to watch it. Then we found out my Grandma fell and broke her hip so that pretty much dominated the rest of last week. (she's still not home so please pray for her.)

Today: I FOUND VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE FOR OASIS' NEW SINGLES "THE SHOCK OF THE LIGHTING" AND "FALLING DOWN"!!!!!! (yeah, I'm a little bit happy about that.) :) Only 28 more days until the full album comes out. :)

I think that pretty well catches everything up, ciao.