It has become very common in the Christian world today, at least in America, to act one way in church on Sunday, then act completely different the rest of the week. Too many Christians, including myself, have become very good at putting on a good face and pretending to have it all together, as if they're earning their right standing before God, while lying to everyone around them. The sad thing is, this practice is destructive to the church as a whole, and begins to bury the truth that we are saved by grace alone and that nothing we can do will ever entitle us to the grace of God.
If more Christians (most definitely including me) truly began to understand grace- that theres nothing we can do to ever be good enough for it, but also that we can never be bad enough that God withholds it based on our lack of merit, rather that it is freely given based on His good, sovereign pleasure- I think we would see an incredible and obvious resurgence in Christian holiness and godliness.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Mission Trip Summary: Nicaragua 2013
For those of you that did not get a chance to read my summary letter to those who supported my trip, this is a very large excerpt from that, explaining all that my team and I really experienced while serving in Nicaragua.
This summer, I was able to be part of and help my team run a summer camp for underprivileged children in Managua, Nicaragua; as well as build relationships with many kids in the poorest parts of Rivas, Nicaragua. Through this trip, we built some amazing relationships, grew spiritually, and got to experience the culture of Nicaragua in a very humble manor. This trip was special in so many ways, but the three significant factors that made this trip so memorable were the running of the camp in the beginning of the trip, the ministry in the town near the camp, and then living at Campo Alegría.
The camp in the beginning of the trip was the primary reason for the trip in the first place, that was what most of our preparations were for, and that was what we were most excited about. Not only were we right to have such high hopes for the camp, but I believe that I speak for my whole team when I say that it totally exceeded our expectations. When we first got to Campo Alegría, it was a Thursday and the kids were arriving on Friday, so we didn’t even have a full twenty-four hours until the kids would be showing up, so we waited with eager expectation. When the kids arrived in time for lunch on Friday, we were all just so excited to see them pile out of the vans. After lunch we kicked off the camp. I was on the arts and crafts team, so that was what I did for the most part of the camp during activity time. But when we weren’t doing activities, we were playing with the kids, doing team activities (we had divided the kids into three teams, I was on the red team), eating with them, helping them brush their teeth, talking to them, and just getting to know them. We also did a great deal of swimming. Most of the kids had never left Managua, so they had never seen a body of water the size of the lake that the camp was on, so we swam a great deal of the time! We had a perimeter of lifeguards surrounding the kids because safety always comes first, but if we weren’t on lifeguard duty, we were playing and swimming with the kids. We also had chapel times, which included singing (in Spanish), skits, testimonies or faith stories, and then lessons. The kids really seemed to enjoy every part of the chapels, but especially the singing because all the songs we sang had fun motions to go along with them. It was fun watching the kids jump around the room when they would get into the dance moves. On Saturday, we had a movie night and we watched the third ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks’ movie (in Spanish) which the kids loved. Being on the crafts team was really awesome because we were able to make fun crafts with the kids but also make crafts that incorporated the Gospel in it, like a craft that had the ‘Footprints In the Sand’ poem on it that they decorated and we translated into Spanish. We also had them make information cards that they could decorate, that had Scripture on it about being special in the eyes of God, and that they were made in the Image of God. The hardest part was when we had to say goodbye to them after lunch on sunday, it was a sad moment, but also very sweet because that was when we saw just how attached we had become to the kids and how much they loved us and were quick to call us their brothers and sisters. Essentially, the camp was a huge success and such a wonderful opportunity for everyone that participated.
Working with Geo (one of the missionaries that was part of Campo Alegría) in the nearby town of Rivas was amazing because we were with a group of kids that he had already been working with in areas like teaching them English, teaching them Bible Stories, and just getting to known them. When we were with them, we played baseball. In fact, we donated a large amount of baseball equipment for the kids to keep, which they were so incredibly thankful for. Many of us expected them to be decent at baseball because of the sport’s popularity in the country, but these kids were amazing at baseball! They had only been practicing with sticks and stones but when we gave them real balls, bats, and gloves, their true abilities showed, and they were good! It was so much fun building relationships with these kids, getting to know them more, and just showing God’s real, tangible love to them by playing baseball. We all enjoyed it.
Living at Campo Alegría was an amazing experience but sometimes a nasty one. SInce we were on the water, we almost always had a nice breeze coming in and keeping us cool. It was quite comfortable, until the breeze stopped. Once the breeze stopped, the bugs came out and it became unbearably hot. If we even opened our mouths, we would have a full course meal of bugs. But as long as that breeze was around, it was pretty nice. Also, the food at the camp was delicious! Until a few of us got sick, and even though we eventually recovered, I don’t think we ever regained our appetite to what it was before... at least I didn’t. We also got to know the people that lived at and worked for Campo Alegría, which included some really amazing people. The Willards were our hosts at the camp, and they were great! Mr. and Mrs. WIllard were so nice, and we got to know their kids really well as well, which was sweet because they were both pretty cool people. We also got to know Geo, one of our leaders there, who had established the relationships with the kids we played baseball with. He was a really cool guy who just a big heart for God and ministry. The other people we met were the Saenz family, which included Oscar, who was one of the staff guys there, his wife who was a cook, and their son Jasser, who was one of our translators, and he became part of our group in no time. He was pretty funny and just a cool dude, so we all got along with him. I don’t think I could end this without mentioning the fact that we all milked cows. There was no real purpose in doing so, the camp just wanted us all to for the experience. It was honestly one of the more disgusting things I’ve done in my life, but it wasn’t as hard as I had expected. I got it on my first try, which was more than some people can say. All in all, living on Campo Alegría was quite an amazing experience we enjoyed getting to know everyone living there or working there as well.
Therefore, although this trip was special in many ways, the three significant factors that made this trip so memorable were the running of the camp in the beginning of the trip, the ministry in the town near the camp, and then living at Campo Alegría.
This summer, I was able to be part of and help my team run a summer camp for underprivileged children in Managua, Nicaragua; as well as build relationships with many kids in the poorest parts of Rivas, Nicaragua. Through this trip, we built some amazing relationships, grew spiritually, and got to experience the culture of Nicaragua in a very humble manor. This trip was special in so many ways, but the three significant factors that made this trip so memorable were the running of the camp in the beginning of the trip, the ministry in the town near the camp, and then living at Campo Alegría.
The camp in the beginning of the trip was the primary reason for the trip in the first place, that was what most of our preparations were for, and that was what we were most excited about. Not only were we right to have such high hopes for the camp, but I believe that I speak for my whole team when I say that it totally exceeded our expectations. When we first got to Campo Alegría, it was a Thursday and the kids were arriving on Friday, so we didn’t even have a full twenty-four hours until the kids would be showing up, so we waited with eager expectation. When the kids arrived in time for lunch on Friday, we were all just so excited to see them pile out of the vans. After lunch we kicked off the camp. I was on the arts and crafts team, so that was what I did for the most part of the camp during activity time. But when we weren’t doing activities, we were playing with the kids, doing team activities (we had divided the kids into three teams, I was on the red team), eating with them, helping them brush their teeth, talking to them, and just getting to know them. We also did a great deal of swimming. Most of the kids had never left Managua, so they had never seen a body of water the size of the lake that the camp was on, so we swam a great deal of the time! We had a perimeter of lifeguards surrounding the kids because safety always comes first, but if we weren’t on lifeguard duty, we were playing and swimming with the kids. We also had chapel times, which included singing (in Spanish), skits, testimonies or faith stories, and then lessons. The kids really seemed to enjoy every part of the chapels, but especially the singing because all the songs we sang had fun motions to go along with them. It was fun watching the kids jump around the room when they would get into the dance moves. On Saturday, we had a movie night and we watched the third ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks’ movie (in Spanish) which the kids loved. Being on the crafts team was really awesome because we were able to make fun crafts with the kids but also make crafts that incorporated the Gospel in it, like a craft that had the ‘Footprints In the Sand’ poem on it that they decorated and we translated into Spanish. We also had them make information cards that they could decorate, that had Scripture on it about being special in the eyes of God, and that they were made in the Image of God. The hardest part was when we had to say goodbye to them after lunch on sunday, it was a sad moment, but also very sweet because that was when we saw just how attached we had become to the kids and how much they loved us and were quick to call us their brothers and sisters. Essentially, the camp was a huge success and such a wonderful opportunity for everyone that participated.
Working with Geo (one of the missionaries that was part of Campo Alegría) in the nearby town of Rivas was amazing because we were with a group of kids that he had already been working with in areas like teaching them English, teaching them Bible Stories, and just getting to known them. When we were with them, we played baseball. In fact, we donated a large amount of baseball equipment for the kids to keep, which they were so incredibly thankful for. Many of us expected them to be decent at baseball because of the sport’s popularity in the country, but these kids were amazing at baseball! They had only been practicing with sticks and stones but when we gave them real balls, bats, and gloves, their true abilities showed, and they were good! It was so much fun building relationships with these kids, getting to know them more, and just showing God’s real, tangible love to them by playing baseball. We all enjoyed it.
Living at Campo Alegría was an amazing experience but sometimes a nasty one. SInce we were on the water, we almost always had a nice breeze coming in and keeping us cool. It was quite comfortable, until the breeze stopped. Once the breeze stopped, the bugs came out and it became unbearably hot. If we even opened our mouths, we would have a full course meal of bugs. But as long as that breeze was around, it was pretty nice. Also, the food at the camp was delicious! Until a few of us got sick, and even though we eventually recovered, I don’t think we ever regained our appetite to what it was before... at least I didn’t. We also got to know the people that lived at and worked for Campo Alegría, which included some really amazing people. The Willards were our hosts at the camp, and they were great! Mr. and Mrs. WIllard were so nice, and we got to know their kids really well as well, which was sweet because they were both pretty cool people. We also got to know Geo, one of our leaders there, who had established the relationships with the kids we played baseball with. He was a really cool guy who just a big heart for God and ministry. The other people we met were the Saenz family, which included Oscar, who was one of the staff guys there, his wife who was a cook, and their son Jasser, who was one of our translators, and he became part of our group in no time. He was pretty funny and just a cool dude, so we all got along with him. I don’t think I could end this without mentioning the fact that we all milked cows. There was no real purpose in doing so, the camp just wanted us all to for the experience. It was honestly one of the more disgusting things I’ve done in my life, but it wasn’t as hard as I had expected. I got it on my first try, which was more than some people can say. All in all, living on Campo Alegría was quite an amazing experience we enjoyed getting to know everyone living there or working there as well.
Therefore, although this trip was special in many ways, the three significant factors that made this trip so memorable were the running of the camp in the beginning of the trip, the ministry in the town near the camp, and then living at Campo Alegría.
Friday, July 5, 2013
Saint Augustine of Hippo: Pioneer of Philosophy and Theology
In the 4th Century, one of the greatest and most influential men that ever lived was born. Aurelius Augustine of Hippo was born in the year 354 AD, on November 13th. Augustine was born into a wealthy family and was well educated through out his young life. When he reached the age of 17, he went off to study in Carthage and began an incredible intellectual journey that, little did he know, would take him to great places. Around this same time, he renounced his Christian faith, which he was raised up believing, and joined the Manichaean religion. This upset his mother, Monica, who was a devout Christian and wanted that same devotion for her son (AmericanCatholic.org). During this time, Augustine lived a life of hedonism, indulging in the more sinful pleasures of life, including sexual affairs (Augustine of Hippo).
In the summer of the year 386 AD, when he was 31 years of age, Augustine was prompted to pick up and read from his Bible. He opened up and read from the book of Romans, specifically chapters 12 through 15. The specific text that had an increased amount of impact on him, was Romans 13:13-14, which talks about turning to Christ rather than the lustful passions of the flesh and the world. It was through this experience that Augustine was converted to Christianity and believed in the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ ("The Confessions of St. Augustine").
Shortly after that, Augustine was baptized, returned home, sold everything he had except his family home (he actually turned his home into a monastic foundation for himself and others) and became an ordained priest and began a career of preaching in 391 AD. He was eventually made Bishop of Hippo in the 395 AD. He remained in that position until his death, in the year 430 AD (Saint Augustine of Hippo). Although Augustine had an incredible impact on just about every discipline of study, he is most famously remembered for his influence of philosophy and theology.
First, Augustine had a significant influence on philosophy. He was no stranger to the various schools of thought, having dabbled in Manichaean, Neo-Platonic, and Christian philosophy. Just about every student of philosophy has or will at one point read Augustine. He has covered topics such as anthropology, astrology, ethics, issues of war, issues of sexuality, and so many others. One of his many contributions of study in the realm of philosophy, is his work on epistemology. Epistemology is the study of how we know what we know, or simply one's theory of knowledge (Ligonier).
In Augustine's day, there was a great debate between the skeptics and those who weren't so skeptic, on the reliability of the senses or, more specifically, sensory perception as a means of understanding truth. The skeptics argued that since our senses can be wrong (i.e. we can perceive something to be true that in reality is not true), then they cannot be trusted at all.
Augustine, being a man of certainty rather than skepticism, refuted this claim that our senses cannot be considered trustworthy at all, with a wonderful illustration. He used the example of a person in a boat paddling with an oar. When the oar is in the water, the man in the boat can see the oar up until the oar is in the water. Now, if the water is clear and the man can see into the water, then he can see the whole oar, but the half of the oar that is in the water appears to bend, but in reality it remains straight. This means that what is perceived is not entirely true, because the oar is not bent. But it is partially true, because there is an oar and it is in the water (R.C. Sproul, The Consequences of Ideas: Augustine).
What Augustine was arguing, was that when dealing with issues such as these, there are three things to consider: what is true, our perception of what is true, and how we feel about what is true. He made the point that even though our senses cannot be considered an autonomous, dogmatic means of recognizing truth, it can still play a part in it. Or in other words, Augustine was arguing against full skepticism and arguing for the basic reliability of sense perception. This helped silence some of the skeptics of his day and played a part in mending the two opposing opinions on this issue, also leaving behind a tremendous influence in the area of epistemology (R.C. Sproul, “The Consequences of Ideas: Understanding the Concepts That Shaped Our World”).
Second, Augustine was a pioneer of, and had a great influence on, theology. Unlike Calvin, Luther, Knox, Zwingli, or any other well noted theologian, Augustine didn't really have anyone behind him that he could build from doctrinally. Despite that, he took on the responsibility of paving a wide road for people to follow in with regards to just about every theological issue or doctrine imaginable. He wrote on topics such as ecclesiology, eschatology, mariology, theology proper, pneumatology, the theology of sin, and just about every Christian doctrine. Two of his many significant contributions of theology are his sacramental theology and his soteriology.
Augustine was a strong advocate of the belief that the bread and wine in the Eucharist became the literal body and blood of Christ and that Christ was in the literal bread and wine (Augustine, “Sermons to the People”). This belief had a great impact on the Roman Catholic theology of transubstantiation. This was not as widely believed by Protestants, who maintained that it was not the physical presence of Christ in the bread and wine, but the spirit of His presence in the sacrament as a whole (Augustine, “Explanations of the Psalms”).
His most significant influence in Protestant/Reformed theology, is his soteriology. During his time, there was a significant controversy called the Pelagian Controversy. The Pelagian Controversy was started by a man named Pelagius, who came out with some preposterous views of salvation, views that were contrary to the teaching of the Bible and of the church. He believed that the fall only affected Adam, and that there was no imputation of original sin to the rest of mankind. He argued that anyone born after the fall, retained the ability to live holy, and righteous lives apart from the grace of God. He stated that grace could have "facilitated" righteousness but said that it was not necessary to live a sinless life. He taught that man was not enslaved to sin and was actually morally capable of choosing God, apart from God's sovereign grace (R.C.Sproul, “The Pelagian Controversy”).
Augustine refuted this by stating that man is totally and utterly depraved and is in full necessity of God's sovereign grace for salvation. He argued that the very cooperation with grace was the effect of God, by His sovereignty, empowering the sinner to cooperate. Augustine insisted that all of those who were numbered among the elect were given a gift of grace that brought them faith (R.C.Sproul, “The Pelagian Controversy”).
This served as the precursor to the Reformed doctrine called monergism. Monergism teaches that salvation is one handed. It presents salvation as God reaching down out of Heaven, saving spiritually dead sinners by Himself, giving them life with Christ (Theopedia). This doctrine was very much influenced, inspired, and coined by St. Augustine, making him an incredibly influential church figure.
Therefore, although Augustine has been remembered as many things, and for his influence in many areas of study, he is most famously remembered for his influence of philosophy, specifically epistemology, and theology, specifically sacramental theology and soteriology.
Friday, June 28, 2013
The Truth about "Marriage Equality"
Marriage (as defined by the New Oxford American Dictionary) - the formal union of a MAN and a WOMAN, typically recognized by law, by which they become husband and wife [emphasis added].
Marriage (as defined by the Bible) - "Therefore a MAN shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his WIFE, and they shall become one flesh." (Genesis 2:24)
Here is the tough truth: marriage was, is, and always will be defined as ONE man and ONE woman. (There have been exceptions to this in Biblical history, but that is for a different theological discussion.)
Also, marriage was first defined by God, just because others have taken the reigns and tried to change the definition, doesn't change the fact that GOD is the CREATOR of marriage as a union between a man and a woman, designed specifically to reflect the relationship between Jesus Christ and His bride, the church. Also, when a husband and wife unite and become two persons of one flesh, they mirror the intricate relationship between the three persons of the Trinity.
Now, I am not so biased and blind to the think that government should retain the ability to legislate Biblical morals, because that is not their role. That would be the role of the church to keep those under their individual membership in line. I don't think the government has any power to tell anyone who they can and cannot form a union with. Otherwise, years down the road, I see our government taking preposterous actions with that kind of power.
My point in all this, I am so tired of hearing about marriage equality. Marriage is defined and recognized by God and His people for it is a religious, specifically Christian, sacrament such as baptism or communion.
Here is what I propose: we start calling "gay marriage" what it really is, a union of two individuals in the eyes of the government. I am all for equality in the eyes of the government, but do NOT call it marriage. Because it is not and never will be marriage.
I know I'm stepping on people's toes and have just built my house on a field of eggshells, but whatever.
Also, I am not one of those "Westboro Baptist Haters"! I have many dear loved ones who are either gay or in full support of marriage equality, and this is not an attack on anyone, just me stating my opinion. I'm not even suggesting a change of anything our government is implementing, just what we are calling it. Please do not be offended; and if you're feeling like a big and brave online "debater", do not waste your time. If this post turns into an annoying debate that floods my notifications, I will delete it. If you have a problem with this and would like to talk about it, please message me and we can talk!
Marriage (as defined by the Bible) - "Therefore a MAN shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his WIFE, and they shall become one flesh." (Genesis 2:24)
Here is the tough truth: marriage was, is, and always will be defined as ONE man and ONE woman. (There have been exceptions to this in Biblical history, but that is for a different theological discussion.)
Also, marriage was first defined by God, just because others have taken the reigns and tried to change the definition, doesn't change the fact that GOD is the CREATOR of marriage as a union between a man and a woman, designed specifically to reflect the relationship between Jesus Christ and His bride, the church. Also, when a husband and wife unite and become two persons of one flesh, they mirror the intricate relationship between the three persons of the Trinity.
Now, I am not so biased and blind to the think that government should retain the ability to legislate Biblical morals, because that is not their role. That would be the role of the church to keep those under their individual membership in line. I don't think the government has any power to tell anyone who they can and cannot form a union with. Otherwise, years down the road, I see our government taking preposterous actions with that kind of power.
My point in all this, I am so tired of hearing about marriage equality. Marriage is defined and recognized by God and His people for it is a religious, specifically Christian, sacrament such as baptism or communion.
Here is what I propose: we start calling "gay marriage" what it really is, a union of two individuals in the eyes of the government. I am all for equality in the eyes of the government, but do NOT call it marriage. Because it is not and never will be marriage.
I know I'm stepping on people's toes and have just built my house on a field of eggshells, but whatever.
Also, I am not one of those "Westboro Baptist Haters"! I have many dear loved ones who are either gay or in full support of marriage equality, and this is not an attack on anyone, just me stating my opinion. I'm not even suggesting a change of anything our government is implementing, just what we are calling it. Please do not be offended; and if you're feeling like a big and brave online "debater", do not waste your time. If this post turns into an annoying debate that floods my notifications, I will delete it. If you have a problem with this and would like to talk about it, please message me and we can talk!
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Meaning in Life: Christianity vs Nihilism
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, a well-noted German philosopher, once said, "to live is to suffer." He then went on to say that "...to survive is to find meaning in suffering." Nietzsche was a strong advocate of nihilism, the belief that life is meaningless. Sadly, this is a very popular belief in our world today and has been since the fall of man. In Oedipus, the King, the chorus makes the statement, "Now as we keep our watch and wait the final day, count no man happy till he dies, free of pain at last." These statements cohesively drive home this nihilistic belief that life is altogether painful or unhappy. Although I believe that those who do not know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior will never know true happiness or joy, I disagree with this position of nihilism. I believe there is inherent value and means of happiness in life, specifically embodied in creation, relationships, and life itself.
First, creation has inherent value and is capable of producing happiness for us. Creation has value and brings us happiness. Commodities are mere 'things' (creation) that we believe to have inherent value. We trade goods for gold, silver, or other precious metals because those metals have value as well as the goods being traded for them. We are trading one valued item for another item that we value more highly than that which we are trading it for. This also brings us happiness. We are happy with the result of our trade for a short period of time. We do not get joy out of material objects, for joy is eternal whereas happiness is temporary (like the object we are happy about), but nonetheless exists. This is the basic point of economics, and economics rises and falls on the basis that there is value in this life and that these valuable objects of creation bring us happiness.
Second, relationships have value. Any relationship, whether it be marriage, dating, friendship, family, etc... has particular value and brings happiness into our lives. The word particular is important because that word is the underlying reason that relationships bring us happiness through their value. Obviously, most people would not rejoice in the death of a person, but how many people mourn the death of a stranger as much as they would that of a close friend or family member? Not many! That is because the value of the close friend or family member has particular importance to you that the stranger does not. The friend or family member had particularity that brought about a happiness to us that we valued, thus the loss of such particularity would not match the amount of pain brought about by that of a complete stranger. So, relationships do hold particular value and bring about happiness in our lives.
Finally, life itself has inherent value and meaning which brings about happiness, even joy. The famous Irish writer, apologist, theologian, Clive Staples Lewis once said, "we do not have a soul, we have a body." He was saying that the physical world is merely a microcosm of all that exists in the spiritual realm. Also, that our bodies are mere avatars of who we really are inside. So the question then becomes if there is more to life than that which meets the eye, is there more to the meaning of life than that which is carnal or physical? The answer is yes. An unborn baby, still in the womb, has inherent value. This baby has value, not on a merit of works, for he/she has done nothing right nor wrong, but because this unborn child bears the very image of it's creator. Creation has value but the most valuable piece of creation is that of human life. Human life bears value because human life bears the image of God.
Therefore, despite the nihilism of the Chorus in Oedipus, the King, or philosophers like Nietzsche, tightly clinging to this belief of life void of meaning, I believe there is inherent value and means of happiness in life, specifically embodied in creation, relationships, and life itself.
First, creation has inherent value and is capable of producing happiness for us. Creation has value and brings us happiness. Commodities are mere 'things' (creation) that we believe to have inherent value. We trade goods for gold, silver, or other precious metals because those metals have value as well as the goods being traded for them. We are trading one valued item for another item that we value more highly than that which we are trading it for. This also brings us happiness. We are happy with the result of our trade for a short period of time. We do not get joy out of material objects, for joy is eternal whereas happiness is temporary (like the object we are happy about), but nonetheless exists. This is the basic point of economics, and economics rises and falls on the basis that there is value in this life and that these valuable objects of creation bring us happiness.
Second, relationships have value. Any relationship, whether it be marriage, dating, friendship, family, etc... has particular value and brings happiness into our lives. The word particular is important because that word is the underlying reason that relationships bring us happiness through their value. Obviously, most people would not rejoice in the death of a person, but how many people mourn the death of a stranger as much as they would that of a close friend or family member? Not many! That is because the value of the close friend or family member has particular importance to you that the stranger does not. The friend or family member had particularity that brought about a happiness to us that we valued, thus the loss of such particularity would not match the amount of pain brought about by that of a complete stranger. So, relationships do hold particular value and bring about happiness in our lives.
Finally, life itself has inherent value and meaning which brings about happiness, even joy. The famous Irish writer, apologist, theologian, Clive Staples Lewis once said, "we do not have a soul, we have a body." He was saying that the physical world is merely a microcosm of all that exists in the spiritual realm. Also, that our bodies are mere avatars of who we really are inside. So the question then becomes if there is more to life than that which meets the eye, is there more to the meaning of life than that which is carnal or physical? The answer is yes. An unborn baby, still in the womb, has inherent value. This baby has value, not on a merit of works, for he/she has done nothing right nor wrong, but because this unborn child bears the very image of it's creator. Creation has value but the most valuable piece of creation is that of human life. Human life bears value because human life bears the image of God.
Therefore, despite the nihilism of the Chorus in Oedipus, the King, or philosophers like Nietzsche, tightly clinging to this belief of life void of meaning, I believe there is inherent value and means of happiness in life, specifically embodied in creation, relationships, and life itself.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Mission Trip Summary: Jamaica 2012
For those of you that did not get a chance to read my summary letter to those who supported my trip, this is a very large excerpt from that, explaining all that my team and I really experienced while serving God in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Thank you so much for supporting my mission trip to Montego Bay, Jamaica this summer! Thanks to you, I was able to have the opportunity to build a house for a family of six and minister to the people of Jamaica. It truly was an absolutely amazing experience and I cannot thank you enough. While I was in Jamaica, God really made me work outside of my comfort zone. My team was in a different county, a different culture, eating different food, and doing many things we were not used to. Despite all the these obstacles, God used our team, as well as myself, to really affect the family we built the house for and the people we ministered to all throughout Jamaica. While I was in Jamaica, so much happened. I worked with Homes of Hope, I lived at the YWAM base as well as got to know all the staff and people living there, and I was taken all throughout Jamaica, doing various ministerial duties.
Working with Homes of Hope was such a great experience! This was actually the second time I had worked with this specific organization, but it was a completely different experience. It was a new location, new builders, and a new family. The family we were building for consisted of a single mother, named Sheriffa McLaughlin, raising five children. Sheriffa and her children were so sweet and so kind. Her children were even able to help us build the house, which was a cool experience in and of itself. We were told that we were only going to need three days to build this house, which seemed impossible. However, God worked through us and proved the impossible to be possible, and we did finish in three days. On the first day, the heat was unbearable, and the work was extremely hard, but for the most part we were on schedule. Day two was a little different. The prep team who had prepared the sight for us to build, had made some architectural flaws, and the house was not centered on the foundation. So we spent an hour or so actually moving the house over a few inches (definitely not an easy task). However, we were still able to "roll with it" and actually finish day two on schedule. By the end of day two, all that was left was finishing the roof and painting the inside of the house. As day three came around, the team was exhausted but absolutely motivated, and we spent almost the whole day on the roof putting the shingles on. Several of us actually pushed lunch back about an hour and a half in order to finish the roof. It was a lot of work, but it was done. Once we finished building, we ate lunch in the house we had just built and then handed the house over to Sheriffa and her family. We all gathered in front of the house and passed the key around, praying for a blessing on the house, Sheriffa, and her children. It was very emotional, many of us were in tears during the whole thing. After we were finished dedicating the house, we all hugged Sheriffa and left her to move into her new house. Words cannot describe the experience of watching this woman go from having little to nothing to having her own house to safely raise her children in. God heard Sheriffa's prayers and sent His people to be His hands and feet. Getting to be a part of that was so incredible. Even more, EVERYTHING we did for Sheriffa, we did in the glorious name of Jesus Christ.
Living at the YWAM (Youth With A Mission) base, and getting to know the staff there was such an awesome experience! The base was located on a mountain in St. James, just outside of Montego Bay. Which meant, we had the most beautiful view of the entire city from where we were staying. The base actually used to be a plantation, and then several owners later, was donated to YWAM. Everything about it was awesome, except for one thing... There was no Air Conditioning! It was SO hot the entire time we were there, and we had nowhere to escape the heat! Luckily, the base had a pool, which made all of us very happy. In fact, we swam in the pool just about every single day after we were done with our duties for the day. Basically, we would go somewhere and pray with people or feed them, then we would come back and swim, then we would have group devotions (we worked through the prayer life of Jesus throughout all four gospels), and then we would play MAFIA! Mafia was almost a must after devos and after we had bought some snacks from the store at the base. One night, a couple of us decided we would try a famous Jamaican drink called Malta. I went in with an open mind, but it did not matter. Malta was arguably the worst thing I have ever tasted. It was so awful! Nobody on our team actually liked it. One thing that made this trip so awesome was how much we bonded as a group and with the people that lived on the base. Our guide, Shashana, was so cool. She was with us just about the whole time. God bless her soul for handling so many Americans for so long! Another person we met was Junior. Junior worked with Homes of Hope, and was hilarious! Our entire team came to love Junior. In fact, we all made fun of our leader, Matthew McNutt and even got Junior and several other staff members in on the fun. We called McNutt "BIG Bird" because the second day on the build site, he wore a yellow shirt and very closely resembled Big Bird from Sesame Street. Junior and a guy named Mr. Grey would only refer to him as Big Bird or just Bird. McNutt was bitter towards the name at first, but definitely came to find the humor in it as well as love it. Another person we came to love, was a man named Arlin. He was actually from Pennsylvania and was a huge Philly sports fan! He worked with Homes of Hope, and we got very close to him during the trip. Another thing that was cool was while we were there, there was a group of almost 50 Canadians there building three houses. Getting to interact with them on the base was so much fun! What still stands out to me when I think of what life was like on the base, is how much personal interaction we had all day and every night. Since there weren't a whole lot of extras to do there except swim, our group spent so much time together enjoying each other's company. We really did bond so much on this trip. Also, when we weren't spending time with each other, we were spending time with God, whether it was in prayer or reading His Word. This trip definitely brought out great group interaction and great personal devotions. Living on the base and interacting with the missionaries was a truly fantastic experience.
The various ministries we were able to help with while in Jamaica, were some of the hardest but best parts of the trip. We went to a place called Hope Hospice, where we met two very interesting people; Mr. White and a woman named Cynthia. Mr. White was the kind of guy that none of us expected. We all went into his room expecting to preach to him and to minister to him, but instead he preached and ministered to us. He was such a loving and godly man, and a truly exceptional Christian role model. He prayed for so many of us individually, he definitely touched the hearts of our group. Cynthia, was also a real gem. She was one of the sweetest old ladies I've ever met. About ten years ago or so, she came to the hospice and had both legs amputated due to diabetes. She had literally been in a bed for the past ten years, and she was without a doubt in my mind, one of the happiest people I've ever met. The way she talked about Jesus melted my heart. She truly loved her Savior and trusted in Him in every aspect of her life. We also went to so many other hospitals, soup kitchens, homes for the poor, etc... But the one that still sticks out in my mind was this house for orphaned children. This place housed almost a hundred kids ranging from all types of ages, but no one over say the age of 12. I met and interacted with some of the cutest and coolest kids! While we were there, we put on a VBS (Vacation Bible School) for the kids. It was so much fun getting to play with the kids and entertain them as well as share Jesus' love with them. It was such an amazing experience, and I will always remember it. To top the whole trip off, everywhere we went, we had our own driver, who we all got very close to. His name was Mr. Chambers, and he was such a cool guy. By the end of the trip, he really was part of our team and it was very hard to say goodbye. Overall, the ministry we did in the various parts of Jamaica was truly an amazing experience.
So, in the twelve days that we were there, we built a house with Homes of Hope, lived with some amazing people and got to know them on a personal level, and shared Christ Jesus' love and compassion with all of Jamaica. What an incredible trip! I truly came back with such an incredible perspective on just how blessed we as Americans are, and just how much we take for granted.
IMPORTANT: Although we made it home safe, there are still hundreds, if not thousands who are living in extreme poverty in Jamaica, and all parts of the world, who don’t have the luxury of coming to the United States and living in safe towns and safe homes with a bed to sleep in every night. I ask that you please keep these people and these ministries in your prayers. We really saw the immense power of prayer while we were there, and we got home safely because of it, but they still need to remain in our prayers. Thank you so much for your support! God bless!
Thank you so much for supporting my mission trip to Montego Bay, Jamaica this summer! Thanks to you, I was able to have the opportunity to build a house for a family of six and minister to the people of Jamaica. It truly was an absolutely amazing experience and I cannot thank you enough. While I was in Jamaica, God really made me work outside of my comfort zone. My team was in a different county, a different culture, eating different food, and doing many things we were not used to. Despite all the these obstacles, God used our team, as well as myself, to really affect the family we built the house for and the people we ministered to all throughout Jamaica. While I was in Jamaica, so much happened. I worked with Homes of Hope, I lived at the YWAM base as well as got to know all the staff and people living there, and I was taken all throughout Jamaica, doing various ministerial duties.
Working with Homes of Hope was such a great experience! This was actually the second time I had worked with this specific organization, but it was a completely different experience. It was a new location, new builders, and a new family. The family we were building for consisted of a single mother, named Sheriffa McLaughlin, raising five children. Sheriffa and her children were so sweet and so kind. Her children were even able to help us build the house, which was a cool experience in and of itself. We were told that we were only going to need three days to build this house, which seemed impossible. However, God worked through us and proved the impossible to be possible, and we did finish in three days. On the first day, the heat was unbearable, and the work was extremely hard, but for the most part we were on schedule. Day two was a little different. The prep team who had prepared the sight for us to build, had made some architectural flaws, and the house was not centered on the foundation. So we spent an hour or so actually moving the house over a few inches (definitely not an easy task). However, we were still able to "roll with it" and actually finish day two on schedule. By the end of day two, all that was left was finishing the roof and painting the inside of the house. As day three came around, the team was exhausted but absolutely motivated, and we spent almost the whole day on the roof putting the shingles on. Several of us actually pushed lunch back about an hour and a half in order to finish the roof. It was a lot of work, but it was done. Once we finished building, we ate lunch in the house we had just built and then handed the house over to Sheriffa and her family. We all gathered in front of the house and passed the key around, praying for a blessing on the house, Sheriffa, and her children. It was very emotional, many of us were in tears during the whole thing. After we were finished dedicating the house, we all hugged Sheriffa and left her to move into her new house. Words cannot describe the experience of watching this woman go from having little to nothing to having her own house to safely raise her children in. God heard Sheriffa's prayers and sent His people to be His hands and feet. Getting to be a part of that was so incredible. Even more, EVERYTHING we did for Sheriffa, we did in the glorious name of Jesus Christ.
Living at the YWAM (Youth With A Mission) base, and getting to know the staff there was such an awesome experience! The base was located on a mountain in St. James, just outside of Montego Bay. Which meant, we had the most beautiful view of the entire city from where we were staying. The base actually used to be a plantation, and then several owners later, was donated to YWAM. Everything about it was awesome, except for one thing... There was no Air Conditioning! It was SO hot the entire time we were there, and we had nowhere to escape the heat! Luckily, the base had a pool, which made all of us very happy. In fact, we swam in the pool just about every single day after we were done with our duties for the day. Basically, we would go somewhere and pray with people or feed them, then we would come back and swim, then we would have group devotions (we worked through the prayer life of Jesus throughout all four gospels), and then we would play MAFIA! Mafia was almost a must after devos and after we had bought some snacks from the store at the base. One night, a couple of us decided we would try a famous Jamaican drink called Malta. I went in with an open mind, but it did not matter. Malta was arguably the worst thing I have ever tasted. It was so awful! Nobody on our team actually liked it. One thing that made this trip so awesome was how much we bonded as a group and with the people that lived on the base. Our guide, Shashana, was so cool. She was with us just about the whole time. God bless her soul for handling so many Americans for so long! Another person we met was Junior. Junior worked with Homes of Hope, and was hilarious! Our entire team came to love Junior. In fact, we all made fun of our leader, Matthew McNutt and even got Junior and several other staff members in on the fun. We called McNutt "BIG Bird" because the second day on the build site, he wore a yellow shirt and very closely resembled Big Bird from Sesame Street. Junior and a guy named Mr. Grey would only refer to him as Big Bird or just Bird. McNutt was bitter towards the name at first, but definitely came to find the humor in it as well as love it. Another person we came to love, was a man named Arlin. He was actually from Pennsylvania and was a huge Philly sports fan! He worked with Homes of Hope, and we got very close to him during the trip. Another thing that was cool was while we were there, there was a group of almost 50 Canadians there building three houses. Getting to interact with them on the base was so much fun! What still stands out to me when I think of what life was like on the base, is how much personal interaction we had all day and every night. Since there weren't a whole lot of extras to do there except swim, our group spent so much time together enjoying each other's company. We really did bond so much on this trip. Also, when we weren't spending time with each other, we were spending time with God, whether it was in prayer or reading His Word. This trip definitely brought out great group interaction and great personal devotions. Living on the base and interacting with the missionaries was a truly fantastic experience.
The various ministries we were able to help with while in Jamaica, were some of the hardest but best parts of the trip. We went to a place called Hope Hospice, where we met two very interesting people; Mr. White and a woman named Cynthia. Mr. White was the kind of guy that none of us expected. We all went into his room expecting to preach to him and to minister to him, but instead he preached and ministered to us. He was such a loving and godly man, and a truly exceptional Christian role model. He prayed for so many of us individually, he definitely touched the hearts of our group. Cynthia, was also a real gem. She was one of the sweetest old ladies I've ever met. About ten years ago or so, she came to the hospice and had both legs amputated due to diabetes. She had literally been in a bed for the past ten years, and she was without a doubt in my mind, one of the happiest people I've ever met. The way she talked about Jesus melted my heart. She truly loved her Savior and trusted in Him in every aspect of her life. We also went to so many other hospitals, soup kitchens, homes for the poor, etc... But the one that still sticks out in my mind was this house for orphaned children. This place housed almost a hundred kids ranging from all types of ages, but no one over say the age of 12. I met and interacted with some of the cutest and coolest kids! While we were there, we put on a VBS (Vacation Bible School) for the kids. It was so much fun getting to play with the kids and entertain them as well as share Jesus' love with them. It was such an amazing experience, and I will always remember it. To top the whole trip off, everywhere we went, we had our own driver, who we all got very close to. His name was Mr. Chambers, and he was such a cool guy. By the end of the trip, he really was part of our team and it was very hard to say goodbye. Overall, the ministry we did in the various parts of Jamaica was truly an amazing experience.
So, in the twelve days that we were there, we built a house with Homes of Hope, lived with some amazing people and got to know them on a personal level, and shared Christ Jesus' love and compassion with all of Jamaica. What an incredible trip! I truly came back with such an incredible perspective on just how blessed we as Americans are, and just how much we take for granted.
IMPORTANT: Although we made it home safe, there are still hundreds, if not thousands who are living in extreme poverty in Jamaica, and all parts of the world, who don’t have the luxury of coming to the United States and living in safe towns and safe homes with a bed to sleep in every night. I ask that you please keep these people and these ministries in your prayers. We really saw the immense power of prayer while we were there, and we got home safely because of it, but they still need to remain in our prayers. Thank you so much for your support! God bless!
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Transcendentalism: Defined
This is for Kitsa.
Transcendentalism is the belief that everyone is born good and that true knowledge comes from nature. It states that society and other means of epistemology apart from the metaphysical or transcendent world distort true knowledge and corrupt man entirely.
This belief was advocated by Ralph Waldo Emerson, a 19th century philosopher.
Transcendentalism is the belief that everyone is born good and that true knowledge comes from nature. It states that society and other means of epistemology apart from the metaphysical or transcendent world distort true knowledge and corrupt man entirely.
This belief was advocated by Ralph Waldo Emerson, a 19th century philosopher.
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