Late Nights

Oh man. Late nights are getting the best of me this week.

I love this place. I can stay out until the late hours of the morning and there are other people who are still up.

On Thursday, I was up until 4:30 AM (which would've been Friday). I did so much that day. I was reading the Bible, reading some books, one about worship and another book called Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I was memorizing Scripture, journaling, writing letters to my best friend, and just spending a lot of alone time with God. After all that, it was like 2:30 and then I had to finally get around to some homework! That morning, I woke up at 7:45 or so. That's a pretty solid 3 hours of sleep. I'm pretty sure that's the healthy amount right?

Then I made it through the day actually without any struggles to stay awake. So then last night I went on a GYRAD (Get your roommate a date) with a friend of mine. We went to Belmont Park and rode a roller coaster, got some ice cream, and went to a bonfire. We came back to Loma around 11 and I was still wide awake. A couple of my friends from around the halls just hung out for a while and tried to figure out something to do. So we did what most college students do when it hits midnight. LAZER TAG! It was so much fun. I like hanging out with people. It was cool because the people I was with weren't people that I've really hung out with before so it was a new experience. I like them.

After lazer tag, we went and looked at the harbor which is really beautiful late at night. After we were there for a little while, people got hungry so we went to McDonald's! Woo! They didn't have milkshakes which was disappointing. After Micky D's, we came back to campus and eventually by 3:30 AM everyone made their ways to bed. I got 4 hours of sleep in
 24 hours! Yay!

This was kinda just a dump of my last couple nights. I know no one cares. But I do :)

That is all.

Laziness

Lack of motivation to do well... anything. I don't want to do homework. I don't want to do anything. I don't want to leave my bed. School is hard sometimes. But it's worth it. I love being at Point Loma. It's great to be here and I'm so blessed and thankful that God called me here. But it's hard sometimes. For my major, I'm required to learn piano pretty well and it's something that I feel like I can't get a handle of. I can play some stuff when it's just messing around but when you put music in front of me, my brain doesn't want to respond as quick as it really should. I contemplated dropping the major for something else just because it seemed so difficult. But I can do it. I can. And I will. I don't know how. But I can. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Even pass a piano proficiency test. I don't have experience with piano but I have Jesus. And I'm trusting that He'll help me out. Somehow. Sometime. Someway.

This was really a rant that serves no purpose. I'm not sure what to write about to be honest. I don't know what people who look at my blog would want to read. I don't even know what people look at my blog.

Anyway, I think I might have just written here to try further put off working on homework and learning my piano piece that I have as a test on Wednesday...

I'm going to go try to be productive now.

That is all.

A Letter from Christian Guys

There are a lot of girls on this campus. Like... A lot of girls. So much so that it can be distracting. I found this a few minutes ago and I think there are some girls at Point Loma that should read this. Guys could benefit from it too. And any one who is looking to coming to Point Loma.

Once again, I did not write this. I just thought it was a really good thing to share.

A Letter from Christian Guys

Girls, could we talk to you right out of our hearts for a few minutes? It is awkward for us to talk about something of this nature, in person, so we thought we would write our feelings.

We are young men who have been saved and baptized in the Holy Spirit. We desperately want to live for Christ and not follow the ways of the world. Since we have been baptized (immersed) in a “Holy” Spirit, we feel in our hearts that we should live “holy” lives. After all, our bodies are the temple, the sanctuary, the place where the “Holy” Spirit lives and makes His home. We know that guys and girls are affected differently, so since we desperately want to follow hard after God, could we kindly and respectfully ask you to help us with a few things?

We realize that girls are primarily stimulated or turned on by “touch.” Did you know that guys are turned on by “sight?” So when you are “aroused” (sexually awakened) by a guy’s “touch,” we are in the same way aroused by mere “sight.” Let us explain. When we see girls who are dressed in a suggestive, revealing, provocative, teasing, tantalizing manner, our sexual desires are aroused. Our bodies are then affected.

To be absolutely candid, let us give you some examples of what we are referring to. If you are wearing a blouse that barely meets the waist of your slacks and some of your skin shows while you are moving around, or simply while you are walking, sitting, or kneeling, our minds are geared to wonder what more of your body would look like further up… This causes our bodies to respond biologically, and suddenly we are fighting a war in our minds and bodies. And that war of lust is continuing often long, even hours, after you are gone. We hate this, because our “righteous man” wants to think pure thoughts….

When you wear low-cut tops which are in any degree revealing, or when you bend over, and they are revealing, this again causes us big problems in the flesh. Or if the back is out of your top, we automatically think that you do not have the undergarment on, and the Spirit and the flesh begin to fight again. Or when we see any glimpse of your undergarments, such as straps and the like, we have trouble. What we are trying to say is this: If it is not for sale, don’t advertise it. We really feel that the still small voice of the Holy Spirit speaks to you and nudges you when it is too tight, too short, too low, or too revealing. Will you listen to that voice? For the Scripture says, “Quench not the Spirit.” (1 Thess. 5:19)

Girls, do you know what we would really like? We would like to come among our Christian sisters and not have to fight and struggle in the flesh. We do not need to have to wrestle in the flesh at church or at church activities. We men, whether young, old, single or married, are faced with this every day among girls of the “world.” But we would like to have rest in our Spirit man when we come among Christian girls. After all, doesn’t the Scripture tell us to “come out from among the world and be you separate, saith the Lord.” (2 Cor. 6:17) It also tells us that “all that is in the world, the lust of the eye, and the lust of the flesh, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” (1 John 2:15) We are the church, not the world.

We know that people often use the verse, “Man looketh on the outward appearance, but God looketh on the heart,” (1 Sam. 16:7) to condone anything they wish to wear. This is one of the most misused/used out-of-context verses in the Bible. Conversely, the fact is, if your heart is pure, your outward appearance will be modest….

Girls can be fashionable and modest at the same time. To be honest, we respect you more when your appearance is modest, as the Scripture commands in 1 Timothy 2:9. We really do not want the kind of girl who dresses provocatively, for we know that if we marry her, she will still be that way in the presence of other men once we are married. We know that we have Christian responsibilities toward girls, too. We must be careful to portray ourselves properly. We must treat you like ladies. If we are really committed Christian guys, we will strive to treat you like Jesus would. After all, you are daughters of God.

Thank you, dear Christian sisters, for hearing our hearts on this subject. Once we have conveyed the truth of the matter to you, you become responsible before God for what you do with the truth. We really are “our brother’s keeper.” (Genesis 4:9.) We know that there is a “cult of conformity” in our generation, but we as Christians “march to the beat of a different drummer.” Please, girls, do not say, “I don’t care,” but help us in these last days to live as close to Jesus as we can. Thank you so much.


Sincerely,
Committed Christian Guys

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

This morning I was blown away yet again by the life of Jesus.

I listened to a sermon by a guy named Craig Groeschel this morning and then did a devotional in my devotional journal which took part of a verse, Matthew 26:40, and unpacked it. I didn't really understand what it was talking about but rather than just moving on with my day I decided to check the context of the verse and read the passage. And like I said, I was blown away by Jesus' actions.

Here's the passage:

Matthew 26:36-46:

[36] Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” [37] And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. [38] Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” [39] And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” [40] And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? [41] Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” [42] Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” [43] And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. [44] So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. [45] Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. [46] Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”

I've read and heard this passage before and there are a bunch of things that I read here that have always amazed me about Jesus, from His agony and grief, to His complete surrender to the Father's will over His own. But today, the one thing that stuck out to me much more was in verse 39:

"...he fell on his face and prayed..."

Jesus' posture of prayer was one of complete surrender, humility, and devestation - on His face. Have you ever been so upset to the point where you just want to fall down on your face and cry, feeling so helpless, so lost, so upset? Maybe you have or maybe you haven't, but this is somewhat where Jesus was at in His life right now. He had reached His all time low. He knew He was about to go be crucified on a cross so He begged and pleaded with His Father if "this cup" - to bear the sins of the world - could pass from Him.

Side note: I'm so thankful that God the Father didn't let the cup pass from Jesus because if He didn't die on the cross, well, there goes my salvation! End side note.

Like I said, Jesus must have been at His all time low. He was on His face praying, His closest friends were sleeping and not there for Him, and He was under so much stress that "his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground." (Luke 22:44) Jesus was so overwhelmed that He was sweating blood. That's not normal!

Sweating blood is a condition known as hematidrosis, where extreme anguish or physical strain causes one’s capillary blood vessels to dilate and burst, mixing sweat and blood. The purpose of this verse in Luke's account of the same event is to highlight the intensity of Jesus’ emotional and physical trauma.

After this, Jesus went on to face even more anguish and it culminated with Him dying on a cross.

He did it for me and He did it for you.

Walk today knowing that Jesus went through hell on earth to save you a spot with Him in Heaven. I'm going to go fall on my face and pray now.

That is all.

Doors

Doors doors doors. In life, there are always doors we can go through. Some doors lead us to roads we don't want to be on while others lead us to growth and experiencing God's goodness in a new way. I'm at a point in my college experience where I've got a bunch of doors I could walk through. The Lord has been good to me over the summer as He's prepared me for this next season but now that I'm this season, I'm waiting on His direction to show me what door I should open and walk through as I figure out what I'm going to be involved with this year on campus.

Here are some of the doors God has been showing me that I could walk through. There are a lot of them which makes choosing a hard thing to do, especially when I'm characteristically indecisive. As I prayed through all these doors, I realized that there could be more doors and that God could actually have me go through more than one door at the same time if He saw fit.

Door #1: Some of you may know that I was the co-leader for the Freshman Band last year at Point Loma for chapels. So my first door would be to be involved again this year but as a worship intern this time around. I can't lead a freshman band again because well, I'm no longer a freshman. But I could lead a band of other musicians if the Lord so wills. So that's an option on my involvement.

Door #2: I could be just a part of the chapel band without being a worship intern. I already lead worship a good amount at my church so it's not like I would be stopping that. There's another option.

Door #3: Not being in chapel band at all. Not the most desirable door. But I've got to keep an open mind knowing that God has plans for me that might not be what I want but I trust that I know they'll be what I need.

Door #4: On my hall this year, we had an interesting situation in which the Cov Group Leader for the hall decided not to have that role any longer so now the position is open. If you didn't know, a Cov Group Leader is basically a small group leader for the hall on which he resides. Since the position is open, it's possible that I could step up and do it and be Cov Group Leader myself.

Door #5: There are two freshmen who live directly across from me who were told that they could do co-Cov Group Leaders if they both do it. An option I have is to let them do it by themselves. Funny story. As I started typing this, I heard them talking in their room about going to talk to the person who would be in charge of it about doing it. Earlier in the day, they talked to one of our two RAs (Resident Assistants) Luke about doing while even earlier in the day I talked to the other RA Jordan about me doing it. So that's really interesting. Maybe this door is a door that just got opened.

Door #6: Still on the same topic, the two freshmen last night asked me about leading worship for the Cov Group if they did it. That's another option.

Door #7: Me being Cov Group Leader and asking the two freshmen to help me out so they get experience and maybe go on to do it next year.

Door #8: Letting them do it and I just attend and not have a leadership role at all.

Door #9: Not even be a part of the Cov Group. I didn't participate last year in my hall's cov group for quite a few reasons so not having a role in cov group at all is an option too.

The possibilities are endless when it comes to this next year because I know that God will be faithful in whatever way He wants to use me this year. All I can do is wait for His guidance and let Him open doors and close doors as He stands beside me and goes before me.

I feel really scatterbrained right now because of all these things I (potentially) have going on. That being said, I think it's time for some homework. Yam.

God bless you. And you. And you too. Yes, even you.

That is all.