It's Late. No, It's Early..

I can't sleep. And I am heavy laden with the burden of my sin. At first it was dismissible; the usual guilt, then I swept it into the dark of my mind. I sank into bed, and my mind began to race. I sat with my eyes open for close to an hour in the black of my room. The only light came from the moon half-covered by trees. But it was light enough to see. I thought about the state of the Church. I want to be careful, but I don't know from whom these thoughts flowed. But flow they did. What I saw, (I was not dreaming) was the pulpit, myself behind it, in a building not unlike my church. I felt as I do now; tired, but restless. I began to preach. It was not condemnation. Nor rebuke. It was an encouragement, or at least I hoped. It was a plea for reform. For revival.

I remember a dream I had a long time ago about a church I was to build. The details, being fuzzy, do not matter here, but I was hindered from erecting the building. There was God, not in any form that I can recall, nor in any audible message, but He instilled in me the knowledge of His plan. I was to overcome. That was the dream. I don't know what it means but right now that's all I can think of. That dream and this weighty all-nighter I find myself in.

I suppose I will not forget what the message and main points of the sermon I preached tonight on were. Nor the scripture I quoted. But for now I will spare you the read. Perhaps, however, I will at least outline my thoughts in future posts. I do not believe that it will be any divine revelation to anyone, or anything new, for that matter. But I suppose I ought to practice diligence in writing and grammar, and voice my thoughts on the matter of Christian radicalism.

I think I can sleep now.

Restoring Sight Looks Easy Enough...

There was a show on television, I was told, about a boy who was born blind. He underwent, with the aid of breakthrough medical research technology, a procedure that restored his sight. When he eventually came to, he could see! But that is not the end of the story.

Apparently, for those of us fortunate enough to be born with normal vision, from the moment we enter this world, our brain files and catalogs every image we see. Eventually, we will recognize certain images, such as our mothers or our favorite toy, and even link these images to certain emotions and feelings attached to those things.

So the boy in story, though he could see normally, had no recollection of things visually. He could recall a voice or a sound, but could not match anything with its image. He could not walk, write, tie his shoes, etc. without having to close his eyes and repeat from memory what he was forced to learn in his past. His brain had never cataloged any images, therefore had nothing to relate what he was seeing with what he knew to be real. He eventually learned, as babies do, to tie the two together and function normally.

What amazes me is that in the bible, we read about Jesus healing men blind from birth, men twice as old as I am, and those men functioning immediately with full rationality and clarity. They were able to communicate with others, spreading the fame of Jesus without delay or any time to "catalog" images. Jesus spits dirt in a man's eyes and is able create this mental system of visual recognition from the moment the man opens them!!!

I'll leave you with Matthew 15:29-31:

"Jesus went on from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there. And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel."

God Requires Universal Obedience

As I read Chapter eight of The Mortification of Sin by John Owen, I was deeply struck by the profound simplicity and strong convictions of dealing with some expectations of God. As one man attempts to mortify a lust in his heart, yet only deals with it in prayer alone, then his efforts are in vain.

Channeling our obedience into one aspect of battling sin, yet neglecting our other basic necessities (i.e; prayer, fasting, meditation, reading, etc.) will only result in vain labor.

"He who truly seeks to mortify any disquieting lust, must be equally diligent in all parts of obedience."

Maybe this new found conviction will get me to read my bible more, and maybe then I can answer some of Colby's homework assignments!

The Sun, The Genome. and the Internet

"In this visionary look into the future, renowned physicist Freeman Dyson argues that three rapidly advancing new technologies - solar energy, genetic engineering, and world-wide communication - together have the potential to create a more equal distribution of the world's wealth. He proposes that the advent of solar power in the Third World would connect residents of even the most remote areas to the vast stores of information on the Internet, which could ultimately end in the cultural isolation of the poorest countries. Similarly, he contends, breakthroughs in genetics might well enable us to give our children healthier lives and grow more efficient crops, thus restoring the economic and human vitality of village cultures devalued and dislocated by the global market."

- Review of The Sun, The Genome, And The Internet, by Freeman Dyson.

I recieved this book today in the mail, along with my new Jars of Clay CD. I guess the dealer really wants to push this thing. It will be in my pile of 'things to get around to reading, eventually..' books. So, if you think you want to take a gander at it before i get around to it, (which might be a while) then you're welcome to it.

An Addition my Previous Post

Jenna Q puts Christmas in a great perspective:

"December 25th is traditionally the day we commemorate the birth of Jesus, which, in and of itself, is a small part of the story. I mean, it was just one day in his life too. And kind of a cold, unglamorous one, I should think. He didn't heal people and teach that day; He didn't die on the cross; He didn't rise from the dead. He was just born like a baby. And we celebrate that little event like all the virtues of love and peace and joy are wrapped up in it. That’s because the salvation that had always been in God’s heart dawned that day, in our world. It was always coming. But when Christ was born, the plan that was in motion became visible. We could see; and know that God was faithful. And rejoice."

You can read her blog here if you want.

And im not really sure why im talking about Christmas so early in the year.

Merry Christmas! Andrew Peterson, Eat Your Heart Out!

I wrote a Christmas song with the dynamic and lyrical aid of Keilan, so you know it's good. Here are the words:

Sleep, child, sleep. Sleep for tomorrow You reign.
Sleep, child, sleep. Rest O Ye beautiful Name!

My soul, my soul is saved;
My soul, my soul; by a babe!

God became a boy tonight; a boy tonight.

The Son became a sin for us; a curse for us
When God became a boy for us; a boy for us!

Jesus Christ will die! (This child)
Jesus Christ will die! (This child)
Jesus Christ will die! (This child)
Jesus Christ will die!

So many (decent) Chirstmas songs lack a key part of our celebration during Christmas. Yes, we are celebrating His birth, but why was He born to begin with? Our salvation is through His DEATH, not his birth. Therefore I chose to use a clear picture of what we really cleave to. I like the fact that the line "Jesus Christ will die" is so real. It's a bold statement, so unused. I was thinking of writing more about His ressurection, but decided that it would have to be another song. Can't wait 'till Easter!

This could be a song.. or a hymn?

I was flipping through a notebook of mine and stumbled across a body of text. It has no date, no subject, and no scripture references. I can't, for the life of me, remember why I wrote it or what I was thinking when I did.

"I know the truth, but then again, so does the Devil. But what we bleed when we are cut makes all the difference. By grace through faith I am saved. I will get up and walk. I wonder if I would've shunned the greatest penman or if I would dismiss the tax-collector, Matthew; most hated, accepted and called, but the scribe sent away. For he healed the sick, not the healthy."

Here is my interpretation (of my own words): It is obvious that I must have just read Matthew 9:1-13. The main theme seems to be about sharing a heart with Jesus. What we should bleed, figuratively, when we are cut is compassion, acceptance*, a second chance. If by grace I am saved, how much easier, then, should it be for me to sit with the tax-collectors of my generation? The penman here, I believe, is Saul, the great Christian persecutor. God used him for something great, but would I have even given him the time of day? Anyway, I thought it was interesting, if only for a moment. Carry on...



*Acceptance; That is, loving, with open arms. Not to be confused with tolerance.

Hi, I'm Bobby and I'm an Addict

BIBLES!

I love them. I love to buy them, read them, feel them..

The thought of unwrapping a brand new bible from its plastic prison is so overwhelmingly sensational that I have begun to collect them just for the sake of owning them. I have two bibles that I use regularly, but oh the mass of God's Word stacked high beside the computer at which I sit!

I think my obsession (or dare I say, addiction?) stems from my mother. She would take me to her work when I was still too young for school (I never went to your snobbish preschool) and would sit me in front of office supplies. It did keep me busy for hours, but I believe it also sparked a fascination with anything that is stationary (paper, envelopes, stamps, notepads, etc.) I find all of those things very interesting and amusing.

I seem to have this problem under control for now, but I do not know how long I can supress the urges from inside! Help!

Life lesson and a few additions to the Do/Dont list

Having been feeling a bit overwhelmed, it is good to remember this truth: Don't sweat the small stuff. In God's sovereign providence, it is reassuring to know that I will do the work of the Father.

So, clearly, I have been relieved of this burden. Business can be Satan's sharpest weapon at times but I have a greater Shield, and better yet, a greater Sword.

So in light of this discovery, a few things may be added to the DO list:

-Laugh
-Spend time with friends

And one to be added to the DO NOT list:

-Sweat the small stuff

Good lesson, yea?

A NOTE TO D.C. (a frequent checker of the Bobby O blog): I didn't get any texts, but I have your number now!