Colossians 2: 6-9
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
Luke 17: 11-19
Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.
And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.
So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”
Psalm 100
1 Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!
2 Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
3 Know that the LORD, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;[a]
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
5 For the LORD is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.
How else can you respond to what Christ has done for us than to thank and praise him? Once we recognize Christ's gift and its greatness, we need to recognize how unworthy we are. Do we not deserve the wrath of God upon us?
Therefore, our thanksgiving should not simply be a glad heart and warm feelings of appreciation. How ungrateful of us to have only these shallow thoughts toward God's greatest gift! Biblical thanksgiving must come from the heart, thanking God for how deep his love is toward us, in that he would save us from our sins!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Psalm 9: 1-2
1I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart;
I will tell of all Your wonders.
2I will be glad and exult in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
A new creation
This afternoon, I read II Corinthians 5. In this chapter, there is the rather well-known verse: "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new."
I thought about what it means to be "in Christ". Knowing Christ is not just an intellectual transaction and acceptance of the historical facts of Jesus, rather it is a relationship that goes beyond this and becomes an inward personal knowledge that is characterized as a love for Him who loved us all the more.
If I am in Christ, what does this mean in the outworking of my life? We are new creations. As Isaiah 43:18 says, "Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old." In this, I am not to live in my past sins. As a new creation, I will never be the exact same person I used to be. It would be to my shame and terrible loss if I turn out to be unchanged, content to be superficial, content to accommodate myself and excuse myself before God. I need to live up to be challenge of being a new creation.
Am I living the same way I do as a Christian as the way I do when I live in sin? Am I seriously making an effort to press on to the mark of the heavenly calling of God in Christ Jesus?
There needs to be a conscience determination in my life to be like Christ (altered famous saying? Ha!). And how can I do that? In Christ and him alone. In his strength, as a new creation. Believe him and believe he has made me a new creation. Look the devil in the face and resist him. If I can resist the devil, surely I will be able to look myself in the face and flee the habits of the old self.
I thought about what it means to be "in Christ". Knowing Christ is not just an intellectual transaction and acceptance of the historical facts of Jesus, rather it is a relationship that goes beyond this and becomes an inward personal knowledge that is characterized as a love for Him who loved us all the more.
If I am in Christ, what does this mean in the outworking of my life? We are new creations. As Isaiah 43:18 says, "Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old." In this, I am not to live in my past sins. As a new creation, I will never be the exact same person I used to be. It would be to my shame and terrible loss if I turn out to be unchanged, content to be superficial, content to accommodate myself and excuse myself before God. I need to live up to be challenge of being a new creation.
Am I living the same way I do as a Christian as the way I do when I live in sin? Am I seriously making an effort to press on to the mark of the heavenly calling of God in Christ Jesus?
There needs to be a conscience determination in my life to be like Christ (altered famous saying? Ha!). And how can I do that? In Christ and him alone. In his strength, as a new creation. Believe him and believe he has made me a new creation. Look the devil in the face and resist him. If I can resist the devil, surely I will be able to look myself in the face and flee the habits of the old self.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
What's going on Ya, what's going on
My friends, comrades, and fellow well-informed audience who, in the midst of a coup d'etat in the United States, would only care about Meredith and Derek's or Jim and Pam's relationships: this little writer's strike is the television equivalent of the apocalypse.
Scrubs might not have a proper series finale. The late night shows are on reruns already. (Stephen Colbert is taking this free time to campaign in the United Kingdom in an effort to replace Gordon Brown). Current sitcoms like The Office and Desperate Housewives are on thin ice, with only a handful of shows ready to air.
Here's the lowdown (you heard it here first, that is, after you googled it and read several stories about it already): Writers are not getting proper compensation from tv's "new media" - the internet and phones and such.
Several hundred thousand more people could watch an episode of The Office online, with a bevy of advertisements, and that not reflect in television ratings. Therefore, the writer's salary is not a true representation of the success of the show.
In fact, some writers are winning Emmy's for webisodes and not getting a single penny from the profits.
24 won't even have a season this year, audiences complain. Heroes might be canceled because it didn't rebound in ratings prior to the strike. "Such a shame!" is heard from all corners of the country. And the list goes on.
When I see complaint groups on Facebook such as "Picket against the strike", I can't help but get a little smile inside.
People are so incredibly dependent on a box (or a flat screen) that flashes pictures and plays noise. At least psychiatrists will be busy diagnosing people with withdrawal syndrome.
A little lesson can be learned from Family Guy. In one episode, Peter realizes "TV keeps us all from enjoying fulfilling pursuits." He decides to give up his horrible television watching habits.
While he might take it to the extreme ("Come on everyone, we're late for the Bavarian Folk Festival. You know those Germans, if you don't join their party they'll come get ya!"), he did see the problem in such an addiction.
This writer's strike will dump us with at least 22 weeks of trash. Reruns and reality, to be exact. I can only take so much America's Top Model, you know?
Instead of wasting time with this junk, I say do something productive. Like study for tomorrow's test or something.
I really don't care if, how and when the strike will end. Sure, I'll miss my Office and 24 a little bit. But not that much. I know I'll get more done if I'm not watching television. Will you?
Scrubs might not have a proper series finale. The late night shows are on reruns already. (Stephen Colbert is taking this free time to campaign in the United Kingdom in an effort to replace Gordon Brown). Current sitcoms like The Office and Desperate Housewives are on thin ice, with only a handful of shows ready to air.
Here's the lowdown (you heard it here first, that is, after you googled it and read several stories about it already): Writers are not getting proper compensation from tv's "new media" - the internet and phones and such.
Several hundred thousand more people could watch an episode of The Office online, with a bevy of advertisements, and that not reflect in television ratings. Therefore, the writer's salary is not a true representation of the success of the show.
In fact, some writers are winning Emmy's for webisodes and not getting a single penny from the profits.
24 won't even have a season this year, audiences complain. Heroes might be canceled because it didn't rebound in ratings prior to the strike. "Such a shame!" is heard from all corners of the country. And the list goes on.
When I see complaint groups on Facebook such as "Picket against the strike", I can't help but get a little smile inside.
People are so incredibly dependent on a box (or a flat screen) that flashes pictures and plays noise. At least psychiatrists will be busy diagnosing people with withdrawal syndrome.
A little lesson can be learned from Family Guy. In one episode, Peter realizes "TV keeps us all from enjoying fulfilling pursuits." He decides to give up his horrible television watching habits.
While he might take it to the extreme ("Come on everyone, we're late for the Bavarian Folk Festival. You know those Germans, if you don't join their party they'll come get ya!"), he did see the problem in such an addiction.
This writer's strike will dump us with at least 22 weeks of trash. Reruns and reality, to be exact. I can only take so much America's Top Model, you know?
Instead of wasting time with this junk, I say do something productive. Like study for tomorrow's test or something.
I really don't care if, how and when the strike will end. Sure, I'll miss my Office and 24 a little bit. But not that much. I know I'll get more done if I'm not watching television. Will you?
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
If I could save time in a bottle
You see, I did actually have grand intentions for this thing. It was going to be my newspaper. My opinions. My website. My whiteboard on a dorm room door. My soapbox.
As you can tell, it's been nothing. Is there really nothing to write about? Of course not - Indianapolis has a new mayor. He'll become the second most-known Greg in Marion County behind the guy that's sitting in street clothes on the Portland bench.
The IU men's basketball coaching staff has made a few extra phone calls. And not to their mothers. The 2008 election is approaching all too quickly. What's so interesting about Ron Paul? Is there really no upstanding Republican candidate otherwise? I've only been alive with a Bush or Clinton in office; I'd prefer some other last name in 2008, to be sure.
Do the Colts pipe crowd noise through the RCA dome speakers? Why does that matter?
Ken Paulson, editor of USA Today, spoke tonight about the transition of journalism from superheroes (think Clark Kent and Peter Parker) to subpoenas (Barry Bonds' steroid scandal and the San Francisco reporters).
In my quiet times, I've been reading through I Corinthians. Countless applications. I've been to a Navigator's conference and could share from that experience.
And the list goes on...
Why haven't I posted? Simple: I'm really quite busy. Maybe I'll post more when things settle down, although if it hasn't really settled down by the start of November, will it ever by the end of the semester? I doubt it.
This post is to say I'm still alive. And I'm actually still interested in writing on this thing. But not at the moment. I am writing, by the way - go to idsnews.com and search "Nathan Hart". You might enjoy reading an IU ice hockey story, no?
As you can tell, it's been nothing. Is there really nothing to write about? Of course not - Indianapolis has a new mayor. He'll become the second most-known Greg in Marion County behind the guy that's sitting in street clothes on the Portland bench.
The IU men's basketball coaching staff has made a few extra phone calls. And not to their mothers. The 2008 election is approaching all too quickly. What's so interesting about Ron Paul? Is there really no upstanding Republican candidate otherwise? I've only been alive with a Bush or Clinton in office; I'd prefer some other last name in 2008, to be sure.
Do the Colts pipe crowd noise through the RCA dome speakers? Why does that matter?
Ken Paulson, editor of USA Today, spoke tonight about the transition of journalism from superheroes (think Clark Kent and Peter Parker) to subpoenas (Barry Bonds' steroid scandal and the San Francisco reporters).
In my quiet times, I've been reading through I Corinthians. Countless applications. I've been to a Navigator's conference and could share from that experience.
And the list goes on...
Why haven't I posted? Simple: I'm really quite busy. Maybe I'll post more when things settle down, although if it hasn't really settled down by the start of November, will it ever by the end of the semester? I doubt it.
This post is to say I'm still alive. And I'm actually still interested in writing on this thing. But not at the moment. I am writing, by the way - go to idsnews.com and search "Nathan Hart". You might enjoy reading an IU ice hockey story, no?
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