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OmniChron_FX
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Name: He who Possesses Glory
Country: Reunion
Birthday: 12/7/1941
Gender: Male
Interests: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, comics, VG, movies + respective soundtracks, martial arts, Tekken, composing, devouring anything w/noodles, cheese, or Italian
Expertise: Subduing rebel forces and shattering their morale.
Occupation: Military
Industry: Government
Message: message me
Website: visit my website
Member Since:
5/26/2002
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| "No one, and nothing, can stop God's destiny for you, except you."
- Wick Nease
Jer. 29:11 is an oft-repeated verse that has piqued my interest for some time. Since my rebirth, I've longed for a specific calling, especially in my earlier days. At many seemingly crucial junctures in my life, I've sought guidance on which fork to follow with no specific answer. Many of the major paths I've chosen, like selecting my college and major, received no divine guidance. Others decisions, like teaching in the KCC Sunday school, were finalized with input from other Christians.
Earlier in my college career, I was struggling with deciding upon a major. Back in my sophomore year, I shared this burden with 유성훈 형. His simple response was that when God doesn’t reply with a specific direction, it can be taken as an indication that God is giving us the choice, as long as we continue to glorify Him. Of course, we all have his general will spelled out for us in the Word. Ps. 66:18 (NIV) boldly states, “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.” Perhaps my lack of direction had come from clutching onto sin in my life. However, I don’t believe that everyone will have a specific plan, as Moses and David did. Instead, I think it’s more fitting to think of people having general roles they were created for, as is hinted at in Ps. 139:13.
As I was musing over God's calling for my life as I wrote this, I was reminded of Ps. 37:4 & Ecc. 3:22. Again, this is a bit vague, but it is good to have recurrent promptings to stay the small and narrow. At several times in my life, I've given up what I would want most for what I wanted at the moment. I don't want to follow the crowd taking the path of Esau, but I continually find myself meandering in that direction. I need strength.
"Whatever you're willing to sell God's destiny for, it just comes down to a bowl of beans."
- Wick Nease
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| "No one who has been emasculated by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the LORD." - Dt 23:1 (NIV)
"Be merciful to me, O God, for men hotly pursue me" - Ps 56:1 (NIV)
"Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!" - Gal 5:11-12 (NIV)
The Bible has enough strong language scattered throughout its books to tickle most theologians' fancy. However, this won't be enough to hold a person's interest for long. Pastor Tim Parish's insights on the Gospels, as well as other books, kindled our appetites for more Biblical knowledge. Most of our DTS has catered to our hearts, so Pastor Tim's brief on exegesis and exposition was a welcome massage for my mind.
After finishing my Greek classes, I've considered picking up a Greek Testament to make sure that I didn't get too rusty. I'm feeling a stronger urge to do so now.
"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me."
- Mt. 25:35-36 (NIV)
11/27 - 11/29
Thanksgiving outreach wasn't as spectacular as I expected it to be, yet I knew that I was fulfilling this charge. By handing out lunches, serving the homeless in the Lord's kitchen service, and raking lawns on Th/Fri, our outreach leaned more towards Martha service rather than the heart to heart encounters which I prefer. My chance came on Saturday, when we prayed door to door with several families.
Like several others in similar tenements, the families I spoke with in Baxter Sq Pk were buried in economical holes of their own creation. As Dr. Nick Yphantides mentioned during his governmental campaign, "hand outs" will never solve the long term problem of poverty. Rather, offering a "hand up" in the form of job training and money management skills would be the most loving service to provide.
Eric
Dimitri, Isaiah, Elijah, daughter
B-ball: Tyrone, Terry, Denzel; Louis (homeschooled), Colby, Alvin (wrestling 1 yr), Devon
cursing & aggressive, but lifted up little kids (Denzel)
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| “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst."
- Mt 18:20 (NASB)
My first venture into North Carolina turned out to be far more pleasant than I expected it would be. Although the radio stations were limited to bluegrass and country on the way in, little could detract from the forested, rolling hills that seemed to stretch toward the horizon.
Danny Lehmann’s series on evangelism built on the groundwork established by Bob Felder back at the end of Week 6. On top of his generous interspersion of Greek, it was refreshing to review the finer points of spreading the Good Message. Although I recognize the value in “traditional,” or intentional evangelism, one of my favorite witnessing styles has been the demonstrational method. In addition, it was refreshing to hear his well-rounded take on spiritual disciplines. Although we strive to see sin through God's eyes, it isn't common to hear teachings on submitting our bodies to God along with our minds. In line with Dr. Nick Yphantides' My Big Fat Greek Diet, Danny reinforced the idea of loving God with all that we have.
"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."
- Paulos of Tarseus (NIV)
I also found encouragement in meeting other believers from this quarter of the US. It is a bit difficult to believe that so many kindred spirits could reside in this area. I found connections in varied interests, ranging from drifting to FF7. On top of Joseph's crucial advice on S. Indian culture, I picked up on
the fine differences between Simplified Beijing Mandarin and South
Eastern Mandarin. The international scope of the other YWAM bases gave me a tantalizing, nostalgic taste of home.
"Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
- Heb 10:25 (NIV)
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Evangelism 11/19/08
As the teams were divvied up, I thought it was a bit suspect that Chrissy and I were paired up once again. It seemed odd that the student reps weren't evenly scattered.
I felt the familiar nervous rush one Chris dismissed us to fulfill the great commission. After speaking with a barely interested sophomore and introducing ourselves to a faculty member, we encountered Kyle while meandering outside. We connected on several levels as our conversation progressed. Like me, Kyle had been turned off by the failure of spiritual leaders to answer his questions. Aside from our common interest in Fantasy/Sci-Fi, we also shared a similar family background. After ~1.5 hours, we had to cut short our talk and regroup with Chris. Hopefully, we'll stay in touch long enough to answer Kyle's questions.
"Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect."
- 1 Pet 3:15 (NIV)
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After arriving home, a jiu-jitsu drill with Ian turned into an unexpected sparring match after he initiated an impromptu headlock. It certainly didn't help that my right shoulder was still sore from beating rugs at Charlotte. My back mount chokes were continually rebuffed by his turtle defense and crossed arms. Just a few minutes shy of midnight, we called it a draw after he pile-drived my forehead into the floor as he rolled me over. Both of us walked away with sore forearems.
Although MMA is ignorantly considered by some to be little more than "human cockfighting" (Sen. John McCain 1995), I'm continually drawn to the strategy that goes into sparring. At one crucial point, I struggled for an armbar on Ian's left. He prevented completion by grasping his wrist. As I tried to kick his right arm out, Ian recovered out of the arm lock. I
continued to toss that point about in my mind after our match,
considering different strategies. Perhaps his friend's "samgaku" is in order.
On Saturday, I finally gained victory over Everett with 2 successive chokes.
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| "Arise a knight!" - Balian de Ibelin, Kingdom of Heaven
Kingdom of Heaven was a mediocre movie about a tragic event, but this line sums up the insights granted to most of the guys on Tuesday. While praying for God's original plan and design for us, most of us were identified as warriors. Although I sensed a bit of most of my characteristics beforehand, it was reassuring to receive confirmation from others who peered into my personality.
The two strongest images I thought of during my prayer session with Lyndsay & Andy were of myself leading Asha'man (guardian/defender) into battle and concentrating on a field of white with the Sword of Truth.
With my background, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at my penchant for justice. Perhaps my name should've been Γρεγορεω (I watch/guard).
"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy."
- Lemuel, Rex (NIV)
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If not for Libby's subtle reminder at Friday's dinner, our team most likely would've missed another golden chance to strengthen our bonds of unity. At the end of Week 6, Libby tried to give the guys a similar nudge with no initiative on our part. After some time reveling in the rec room, Psychiatrist was decided upon as the best universal game for our group, given its lack of English requirements. Despite its misnomer, my first stab at this group game left me hungering for more.
This night was the strongest prodding I've felt in a while to initiate relational growth. I never saw myself as a Dan Rhee, but it may be time for me to be more involved in organizing group events.
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As I was preparing lunch today, Greg started up his playlist.com station. DC Talk's Consume Me was the first song on his playlist. The intro piqued my interest, since I had thought about using songs instead of dialogue for our Gathering video. This interest solidified as soon as I caught the line "Anytime, anyplace You invade my space." After playing around with Audio Adrenaline's Big Big House, and others, I found myself circling back to Consume Me.
As I started working on the video, I remembered the Bible verse intro that was used in The Conflict Within, as well as Scooter's freshman class film. Ps 27:4 seemed promising at first, but I wanted something a little less conventional. After some searching, I stumbled upon 2 Co 5:1. This gem was the perfect fit for my original goal with this film. During a student council meeting with Libby two weeks ago, I expressed my desire to focus on our community and fellowship, rather than the buildings. I had forgotten about this goal in the busyness of other activities and the realization that 3-4 min couldn't capture the depth of our relationships here. Why is it that I decided to forgoe this idea as an idle pipedream? I can only thank God that my heart's desire was imprinted in so little time.
"Soli Deo gloria." - J.S. Bach
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| "What if I stumble, what if I fall? / What if I lose my step and I make fools of us all?"
- D.C. Talk "What If I Stumble?"
After walking in a funk of self-condemnation, Donna McGowen renewed this week by reading 1 John 1:9 at the beginning of our first class.
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
- 1 Jn 1:9 (NIV)
Although I've been a Christian for over 9 years, I continually find myself forgetting about grace and putting God back into the Holy of Holies. Even though God is my biggest fan, I am perhaps my biggest critic. I can see how my perfectionism has led me to rain judgment down upon others, as well as myself. This obsession has also led to me prematurely quitting when I didn't feel I could perfect a task.
As I strive to pray continually, and so become more like Him, I'll have to kill this skewed attitude. I need more of his grace for others and myself in order to see clearly, through His eyes.
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As was depicted in the trailer, Ben Stein's Expelled was full of his dry humor, and it shed insight on the plight of several who had associated themselves with the taboo Intelligent Design. This film succeeds in reaching its intended mass audience with valid points and awareness, but Expelled will lose some who have seen beyond the black and white of this debate.
One of the interesting truths presented in Expelled was that people often believe in principles for emotional or cultural reasons, rather than rational ones. Parties on both sides of this issue will accuse the other of this intellectual sin, and it's rare to find people who will claim a stance without the sway of perceived authority or tradition.
Because of the non-rational basis that is used to decide on this issue, some take offense to anyone with even the slightest deviation from their beliefs. Fortunately, our house meeting afterwards cleared up some of the root causes behind some of the negative attitudes, as well as other long-standing problems.
"Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience."
- Petros (NIV) | | |
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