Swedish Bitters, Thomas Watson, and Pleasure

My dad has this weird thing where certain foods are too sweet. Excuse me? "Too sweet" is not an idea that I can even wrap my head around. That's basically like saying, "Life is too good," or "the sky is too blue." Surely, this is a concept that does not exist. I refuse to believe it.

Out of things I hate, three things I know: NyQuil, holes in my socks, and Swedish Bitters.

"What are Swedish Bitters?" you ask?

Stop yelling and I'll tell you.

Swedish Bitters is a drink basically concocted in the cauldrons of the nether-world. It's made from the concentrated forms of everything you know that's bitter: bad coffee, limes, your ex-wife. (Too far?) Essentially, it's everything you'd never want to drink. In a bottle. And it's Swedish. Which is a shocker, 'cuz the Swedes started off so well with their fish and meatballs. (Yup, too far.)

Anyway, my dad loves the stuff. Guy drinks a little bit everyday. Do I understand this behavior? No. Do I almost revisit my lunch every time I smell the open bottle? Yes.

"Till sin be bitter; Christ will not be sweet."

Thomas Watson was an interesting man. He rejected the Church of England during his lifetime in the 1600s, which was huge. This labeled him as what was called a "Noncomformist." He died while praying in secret. And he also stumbled across this very striking idea that the love, or even tolerance of sin is in direct opposition of the pleasure of Christ. The Psalmist would put it this way:

"You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." (Psalm 16) 

In other words, it is not only a question of what your love/tolerance of sin points to as far as the condition of your heart, but of whether or not you really want to experience the fullness of Joy found in Christ. This would be akin to a child throwing a tantrum because he wants to put his hand on the stove while his parent is instead trying to offer him some cake. And let's be real: who doesn't love cake?

So, will you today take the cake, or burn your hand once more on the flame of your ultimately regretful desires?

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Reactions to Sandy Hook

The idea of functioning normally was blown away as quickly as the bullets which left the barrel of Adam Lanza's gun. The plans were made in advance. I was going to spend the night hanging out with my friends and family, but having a good time and joking around didn't seem like the appropriate response to the horror filling the hearts of dozens and dozens of families at that very moment.

You don't really prepare for these kinds of things. You just react. And the reaction is the most important thing.

Hearing about twenty-eight dead women and children sparks things in people that they didn't really know they had in them to begin with. Some feel the sorrow of a thousand dark nights cover their souls. Some feel distant, disconnected, and wishing to be more passionate. Some are painted in the murderous wrath which is aggravated with a feeling of helplessness.

We're talking about kids.

Virginia Tech was one thing. Columbine was a tragedy. My hearts go out to those affected in those shootings, and this in no way lessens the devastation they dealt and are dealing with, but unloading a gun multiple times into a child's body at a close range is something different entirely. A child is someone who cannot fight. Tears are the only response that can come from a little girl or boy with cold steel pressed up to their forehead. Demonic doesn't begin to describe what's going on here.

And, while our reaction is crucial, God's reaction to this is of much more substance.

During times like these, millions of spiteful, hatred-filled questions fill the air, forming an attack on how a loving God could let this sort of thing happen. Now, the response for that is a much more complex idea than what can be written on a humble site such as this, but to put it as briefly as possible, I turn to the Scriptures.

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

God is still loving. God is still omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. God is still our Savior in times of need. The Scriptures are filled to the brim with making the point that God cares deeply for women and children. It is no small thing to God that these are the very people that were affected today.

So if you weep today, know that God weeps with you, and is near. Simply reach.

Reach.

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They're Waiting for You

Dear _______,

He's watching your every step. Every time he sees you, he waits to mimic your success so he can be victorious as well. To him, every word of yours might as well be liquid gold. He waits for you to one day acknowledge him, and give him the love that he needs.

Only, he can't, because those two things you call your legs are no longer working. You're crippled. He will never have the opportunity to see your success, because your road to progress has been a downward slope. That gold coming out of your mouth might as well be sewage, and you won't even be able to acknowledge him, because you've never even met him.

"Huh?"

We're talking about the little boy that you may or may not have an impact on in the future. You don't know each other yet, but when you meet him, will you be in a place to change his life?

Because as it stands now, you've been wallowing in sin, and it's destroying your testimony.

How will you teach him to be humble when your ultimate desire is to build your own legacy? How will you teach him to flee from lust when your eyes are peeled to every skirt that walks past you? How will you teach him to love others when the slightest of offenses creates in you an anger rivaled only by The Hulk? How will you teach him to use his time wisely when you spend hours on only the most supremely banal of pursuits?

How?

Will you sacrifice this boy's victory for this momentary pleasure? Will you throw away the opportunity to point him past your glass cage to the God who lives inside? To show him that satisfaction rests outside of anything he's ever known?

That window of time is growing smaller. Your moments of pleasure are making your time shorter than an overused pencil. And the more of it you spend drowning in sin is the same amount of time you could be using to save someone else lost at sea.

"Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." (2 Cor. 5)

So, are you going to strap on a life jacket, or will you continue to drown? Remember, he's waiting.

Sincerely,

-God



This letter is addressed to me.

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Exit Stage Right

I grew up in a small church that had my mom as the drama director. Essentially what this means is I was the go-to choice for the lead character. I'm not sure that this was the best decision. I was young, impressionable, and the hard life of show biz was just too much for my innocently naive soul.

And by show-biz I mean an on-looking congregation of about 50 people. But growing up around doing things in front of groups of people is probably what makes it a bit easier to give presentations, performances, etc in front of even larger crowds. And I'm thankful for that.

Since this is the season where churches take groups of kids and make them memorize songs, plays, and such, I'd like you to take a moment, try to ignore the "aww" factor and terrible singing, and look at where the children are looking when they're up there. I'm sure you've noticed this, but almost all the kids are usually looking at their director, who is usually sitting in the first row mouthing the words in such an overly expressive manner that you'd think she was stretching her face.

They're all looking at her for direction, and if I can take it a step further, I'll even say that those kids are performing solely for their director. Their eyes are on no one else, and save for a few attention-seeking glory-hogs, everyone is performing their part because they were told to by their leader.

As we get older, the appeal of being recognized by bunches of people or wanting to be elevated above the common folk gets to be very strong - especially if you've got some talent that puts you in such arenas. You're mind is poisoned by seeking the praise of people and you are distracted from your ultimate goal of glorifying the One who allowed you to have the talent that you so preciously guard.

But as a kid, all you know is your leader. Your relationship to them is the only thing that matters. Everybody else might as well not exist because you've got your eyes tunnel-visioned onto the one who is leading you with every overly-enunciated word.

I think that this is one of the reasons that God tells us that if we don't "become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matt. 18)

The way I see it, I want every word I say to be a mirror image of the one I see being mouthed by my Creator. And I'm not just talking about being on stage. Every move we make should be taken as a result of the organized cue of our Director. Whether we're performing our solo or exiting stage right; whether we're the main character that receives flowers after the production or the never-seen orchestra member passionately blowing on his trombone, we are called to be led.

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." (John 10)

So my question to you today is are you going to look to your Director for your cue, or are you going to follow your own cue, embarrassing yourself, and destroying the production?

Exit stage right.

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A Part of God

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of going to a Romanian men's chorus event. Essentially, the whole event was predicated on the idea that men who had spent the weekend fellowshipping with each other would then spend that Sunday worshipping God together in a chorus setting.

It was cool beans.

You know how sometimes you hear a phrase used all the time, and then, all at once, the full meaning of the phrase slaps you in the facehole? That happened at said weekend. The pastor, who was speaking in between songs, said something which I had heard over and over, probably hundreds of times growing up. And this time, it really made a splash on my conscious thought.

In English, whenever we pray, we just say we're going to pray. Or some people might say they're going to talk to God. That's cool and stuff - even accurate. But in Romanian, there's a certain phrase that portrays something a little more.

"Hai sa avem partasie cu Domnul."

Roughly, this means, "Let's have fellowship with the Lord." Except, that one word "partasie" actually calls to mind a little more. If you look at the word, it implies having a part of something. So, in other words, what you're actually saying is, "Let's have a part of the Lord."

Now that is what I want my prayer life to look like.

It's not just some arbitrary one-way conversation with some distant God. It is the active participation in a reciprocating relationship. It is the joining together of two things. When I have partasie with God, I literally get a part of Him in that moment. And I think that this is something we've all been called to.

I believe a lot of us have resigned ourselves to a boring prayer life and a fairly monotone walk with the Lord. We don't get flashes of lighting, so we dejectedly accept candle-flames. Now, look, I'm no holy roller. I'm not telling you to go out in search of the next big thing when it comes to prayer. I'm asking you to go out in search of the same thing that God has always offered: his Holy Spirit. In Luke 11, God tells us that the Holy Spirit is something he freely gives to those who ask. It is this Holy Spirit that will carry us along in a vibrant relationship with Christ.

I dunno about you, but I'm ready to have some partasie.

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You are not Awesome.

You may enjoy saving babies from car accidents on the weekends. You may love sacrificing all of your time and money for the poor. You may even wish you had more than two kidneys, JUST so you could give them to people who need it.

The point is, no matter how magnanimous and wonderful you may be (or think you are), you will probably never measure up to John the Baptist. Sorry, it's a cold world, I know.

Not only did this guy prophecy the coming of the Lord Jesus, but John himself was prophesied about in the Old Testament. (Malachi 3 & 4) He spent years in the desert, preparing his body, soul, and spirit to become the man that would pave the entrance of the Messiah. This task included living off of locusts and honey. I don't know about you, but that's not exactly The Ritz. John made it his mission to make sure that the incarnate Son of the Living God was properly welcomed on the physical shores of this earth, like a man welcoming the President of the United States into his home for the evening. But better.

My point is that, if we were using a grading system here, John would be varsity, while the rest of us are struggling to make it past try-outs for the rec team. And yet, when the Scriptures came to speak of his death, they told the tale and then moved on.

What I mean is, there was no long, drawn-out literary ceremony to commemorate the man who could trounce Mother Teresa. And not only that, but his death was humiliating! To give you the Cliff Notes version of the story, John essentially got killed because a teenage girl performed a lap dance for a king that pleased him so much that the king said that he would give her anything she wanted. Her response? The head of John the Baptist.

So let's recap a bit here: not only did John get a really skimpy eulogy, but his final breaths were handed out to him by the words of a teenaged girl. He didn't exactly get the VIP status for his funeral, if you know what I mean.

My point in saying all this is that we're not the point of the story here. If there was anyone who deserved the legacy of a king, it was John the Baptist. But yet, when his story ended, the world moved on. For those of you not following me yet: when you die, the world will move on.

Or, as Count Von Zinzendorf put it, "Preach the gospel, die, and be forgotten."

I don't care how much amazing stuff you've done. It doesn't matter to me that everyone you know thinks of you as the greatest guy ever. You could do things that go on to change the very course of this world, and when you're dead and gone, people keep on going. The one thing that doesn't stop?

God's glory.

Because, as God planned it out, His Glory is found in the exact same place as our perfect joy. The two are the same: the only place you will find true joy is in bringing God glory, and bringing God glory is brought about by our joy in Him. As John Piper put it more eloquently than I'll ever be able to, "He [God] is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him."

My encouragement to you today? Stop focusing on yourself - it's going to end in your life sucking. Focus on Christ, and let him be the object of your desires. That is where true joy is found.

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Traffic Report

Two things that I've always wanted to avoid on Kingdom Eyes:

1: Posts with pictures of the sandwhich I ate for lunch.

2: Posts which simply contain a teen-girl emotional vomit.

I've always made it a point to not use this website as an opportunity to bore you with every fluctuation in feelings that I have. I've seen too many young people reduce the potential of the blogosphere to an online diary - Princess Diary style. But at the same time, I believe that there is an appropriate time for everything. And in this case, I feel it necessary to inform you a little of what's going on with my life.

To put it simply: I've never really been through anything like I've been going through in the past few months. In my first two years of college, I flew by my classes. I didn't study that much, and I got great grades. And then *POW!* - here comes nursing school. In a word: I've never done any school-work this difficult. I'm not even sure if I've ever done anything so difficult in any area. It's as if every part of me is being stretched, and every part of every day is filled with thinking about the next test, the next evaluation, the next assignment. This is coupled with the fact that I have gone much closer than I'd like to not passing some tests - a worry that led me to wonder if I could even pass my current classes.

However, this newly required work-load has put a strain on pretty much every other area of my life: family, friendships, and sleep. The most notable of these strains is my walk with God. I've tried so hard to stay involved with the ministries that I'm involved with. I know that God has big plans, and I want to be a part of it.

But probably the most detrimental thing that this new lifestyle has done is take away my time with the Lord. And by that, I mean a daily time of spending some time with God alone, allowing myself to be wrapped in His presence. I don't see how someone could grow in their walk with God without this time, and I've definitely seen the negative effects in my life: sin has become more vicious, my strength against temptation has grown weaker. I've fallen many times, and I am trying to ask Christ for the strength to claw my way out of my sinful ways and murder this beast called the flesh.

And by His grace alone, He has begun to show me how to use a shotgun.

One of the effects of the way my life is going now is that I've had much difficulty being regularly active here on Kingdom Eyes, with many posts ending up being a few days late. This is compounded with the fact that I continually fail at meeting the standards of holiness that God has set up for me. I do not take this lightly, and I desire that everything which I write on this website comes out of God's inspiration and redemption. That I might not write something that is the contradiction of the way I live. That means taking time and wrestling with God on everything I write. Even this post has been a struggle both mentally and spiritually.

So what does this all mean?

Well, for starters, a friend once told me about something called Walking Pneumonia: essentially, this means living with a crippling sickness and trying to function normally at the same time. Basically, it doesn't work. I need some bedrest. Now, this doesn't mean that I won't be posting every week, but that I'll be postponing the RMP's for a while, until I can get somewhat more of a grasp on life right now. And if I'm late on a post once in a while, I pray that you'd understand.

Whenever I listen to my local Christian radio station in the morning, there's always a traffic report. In that report, if there was a major accident, they'll ask the listeners to pray for the people involved. Yes and amen. But usually, my prayers for those people involved are not as urgent as if it that situation were to happen to my own friend. So, I ask you, if you are a friend of mine, pray fervently for me right now. I believe in a God who inhabits the praises of His people and responds to the prayers of the righteous.

So please. Pray.

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