"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."

"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Philippians 1:21

The following is a list of the nine Christians (and their ages) who were killed for their faith in the shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon on Thursday, October 1.

• Rebecka Ann Carnes, 18
• Quinn Glen Cooper, 18
• Lucas Eibel, 18
• Lucero Alcaraz, 19
• Treven Taylor Anspach, 20
• Jason Dale Johnson, 34
• Sarena Dawn Moore, 44
• Kim Saltmarsh Dietz, 59
• Lawrence Levine, 67 (teacher)

It truly is tragic how these nine people were killed, however, there is one positive result of this shooting: these people died for Christ, which means these brave people are now with Christ. These folks must have known that Earth wasn't their eternal home. God has prepared a home for all of us. Here are some verses that talk about our eternal home:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." John 14:1-3

"For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked." 2 Corinthians 5:1-3  

"Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord." 2 Corinthians 5:6-8

"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body."  Philippians 3:20-21

The nine people on this list showed great bravery in dying for Christ; these Christians set an example for the rest of us. We should all be willing to die for Christ.

Most people don't believe they would be able to die for their faith and they're partly right. No Christian has all of the strength necessary be a martyr, the Holy Spirit gives people the strength  to be a martyr. I'll use Stephen as an example. 

"When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep." Acts 7:54-60

As you can see in the text there, Stephen was "full of the Holy Spirit" and before he died he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Stephen trusted that Jesus would give him strength and receive his spirit. God knew Stephen's true intentions, which must have been to die. Stephen also lived a faithful life to Jesus: he lived like Christ as well as he could. His life of faith was very important because it prepared him to be a martyr. Obviously, being killed for your faith is a hard thing to do, so don't let me minimize the gravity of the situation by my short post. 

Please pray for the friends and family of the nine victims and the shooter. 

The Tragedy in Charleston

The shooting at Emmanuel AME in Charleston, SC has been on my mind a lot over the past few days. So I am going to give my point of view on this tragic shooting.

I have heard a few people say that Dylann Roof doesn't deserve a trial because he committed such a heinous crime. I will have to disagree with this opinion. In the United States if someone commits a crime, then they are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law; there are no stipulations on which crimes warrant a trial and which crimes do not. This is the law of the land and it has to be obeyed; if it isn't obeyed, that would be just as bad as Roof's actions.

I would like to commend Emmanuel AME for forgiving Dylann Roof for the murders, these people are doing the right thing by forgiving him. There is a big difference between revenge and justice, this church is clearly seeking justice. Seeking revenge would as much of a sin as the murders in God's eyes. We as Christians are instructed to forgive others even when it is difficult. Jesus forgave us for our sins so, we need to forgive others as Jesus did. We can all learn from this church.

I'm going to call it like I see it: there is never an excuse for the murder of anyone. No one deserves to die because they have a different skin color. This country has come too far for people to be murdering others because they are of a different race. I know that prejudice will always exist on this world until the end, buy that doesn't justify it. This shooting is not a gun problem, this is a heart problem. And Jesus Christ is the only answer to a heart problem.

I am asking everyone who reads this post to pray for the families of the victims and for Dylann Roof. There is still an opportunity for Dylann Roof to turn to Christ and He is the only one who can truly save him now.

Murder is a crime that warrants the death penalty. If Roof is found guilty, then I do think the death penalty is the only punishment that fits. I believe the death penalty is the only way to make sure future generations understand that every crime has a penalty and that murder is never a solution to any problem.

Happy Memorial Day

Memorial Day is more than a day to grill out and drink beer, it's about honoring the men and women who serve in the United States Armed Forces and make our freedom possible. I have always had a large amount of respect for soldiers. I know a few veterans and a few current soldiers, I appreciate their past and current sacrifices. The military is always hard at work protecting our country, our citizens, and our freedoms from those who hate us as the country we are.

I know there's a lot of people nowadays who disagree with what our military has or hasn't done in the past, but regardless of political stances we should all be thankful to the people who defend us. Soldiers sacrifice life or limb for America, which is more than most Americans do. These men and women are true heroes; athletes, actors, politicians, and singers aren't heroes compared to soldiers. The word "hero" is used too liberally these days.

Thank you to all U.S. military personnel, current and past, for protecting this great nation. God bless each one of you.

(As a side note: I had a professor once who hated patriotism, he thought it was a dangerous feeling to have. I guess that means I'm dangerous today, because I'm more patriotic than normal on days like today.)

                                ___________________________________________

As usual, here's some quotes:

"True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost." -- Arthur Ashe

“Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are stiffened.” -- Billy Graham

"We owe this freedom of choice and action to those men and women in uniform who have served this nation and its interests in time of need. In particular, we are forever indebted to those who have given their lives that we might be free." -- Ronald Reagan

"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it." -- Mark Twain

"The patriot's blood is the seed of Freedom's tree." -- Thomas Campbell

My blog is still active

Hello blog readers,
I just wanted to let you guys know that my blog is still active. I haven't posted anything recently because my classes this semester have been keeping me very busy; I have been doing a lot writing, but it has all been for assignments. I will post something soon. If you haven't signed up for email notifications on new posts, then now may be a good time.

I will return in another blog post. I might write something for the 4th of July.

Singing

"Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song." 

Psalm 95:1-2

Singing is an important part of church services, it's a form of worship. King David wrote the Psalms to be songs for worship, so singing has been part of worship for a long time. I didn't like singing in church when I was younger, but I finally wised up and started singing in church; I'll just say God was working on me and succeeded, thankfully. The quote below is from John Wesley (he contributed to the formation of Methodism) in Select Hymns with Tunes Annext. I think Wesley sets a good example for how we should sing for the Lord. These are Wesley's "Directions for Congregational Singing":

“That this part of Divine Worship may be more acceptable to God, as well as the more profitable to yourself and others, be careful to observe the following directions:

• Learn these tunes before you learn any others, afterwards learn as many as you please.
• Sing them exactly as they are printed here, without altering or mending them at all; and if you have learned to sing them otherwise, unlearn it as soon as you can.
• Sing All – see that you join the congregation as frequently as you can. Let not a slight degree of weakness or weariness hinder you. If it is a cross to you, take it up and you will find a blessing.
• Sing Lustily – and with good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half-dead or half-asleep; but lift up your voice with strength. Be no more afraid of your voice now, nor more ashamed of its being heard, than when you sang the songs of Satan.
• Sing Modestly – do not bawl so as to be heard above or distinct from the rest of the congregation that you may not destroy the harmony, but strive to unite your voices together so as to make one melodious sound.
• Sing in time – whatever time is sung, be sure to keep with it. Do not run before and do not stay behind it; but attend closely to the leading voices and move therewith as exactly as you can and take care not to sing too slow. This drawling way naturally steals on all who are lazy; and it is high time to drive it out from among us and sing all our tunes just as quick as we did at first.
• Sing spiritually – have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing Him more than yourself, or any other creature. In order to attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continually; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve here, and reward when he cometh in the clouds of heaven.”

I found the text here: 

http://www.biblicalworship.com/john-wesleys-directions-for-congregational-singing-1761/

Merry Christmas

It's Christmas Day and the Christmas spirit is in the air. Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year, but not because of Santa or opening presents. It's my favorite holiday because Christmas is the holiday where we celebrate the birth of the King (Luke 1:29-33): the baby who was born to a virgin (Matthew 1:22), lived a sinless life (2 Corinthians 5:21), and then was "pierced for our transgressions" (Isaiah 53:5) 33 years later. Christmas is about celebrating the gift of grace that God gave us through our savior, Jesus Christ (Luke 2:8-12). "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord." (Luke 2:11)

The birth of Jesus was the fulfillment of the prophecies in the Old Testament. Prophecies like:

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14)

"May the desert tribes bow before him and his enemies lick the dust." (Psalm 72:9)

 "'The days are coming,' declares the Lord, 'when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior.'" (Jeremiah 23:5-6) 

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” (Micah 5:2)

"I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father." (Psalm 2:7)

Christmas is about more than what's under the tree, it's about God's amazing gift of His son to mankind. Christmas presents are nice to give and receive, but we just need to remember why we celebrate December 25th. As Americans, we can get caught up in buying presents, opening presents, sporting events, etc. on Christmas Day and miss the whole meaning of Christmas. It's almost easy to get distracted because of all the stores open on Christmas Day. This is a sad thing to do, because of all of the blessings God gives us. God deserves and desires gifts from His people, a gift like spending time in the Bible or in prayer; it's a gift for the person as well as a gift to God.

While I was researching and planning this article, I found a great article on About.com titled "10 Ways to Keep Christ in Christmas"; it gave me some of the ideas I'm writing, so I would suggest reading it. Anyway, #8 on this list is my favorite: "Attend a Christmas church service together with your family". I (now more than ever) enjoy going to the Christmas Eve service at my church; I enjoy singing Christmas hymns, lighting the candles in silence, reading the account of Jesus' birth, and seeing the North star in the night sky. The North star reminds me of how faithful the Magi were in following the star they saw to see the newborn King; they had the kind of faith we all should have.

"After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route." (Matthew 2:9-12)

So Merry Christmas ,everyone. Thank you for reading my blog. In the words of Tiny Tim, from A Christmas Carol, "God bless us, everyone!" 

Live Like It's Your Last Day

I'm sure most of my readers have heard Tim McGraw's song "Live Like You Were Dying" (for the lyrics: http://www.songlyrics.com/tim-mcgraw/live-like-you-were-dying-lyrics/); if not, I would suggest listening to it, it has a great message. 

"This song is associated with McGraw's father, Tug McGraw, who was hospitalized with a brain tumor on March 12, 2003. It was revealed that he had cancer. He was given three weeks to live by the doctors, but surprisingly survived nine months. He died on January 5, 2004." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_Like_You_Were_Dying_(song)#Content)

To sum up "Live Like You Were Dying" for those of you who have not heard the song before: the song revolves around a man telling the singer that he did numerous things as if he were living his last day, because his father, on his death bed, told him that he had plenty of life before him and he needed to live like he was dying. Some of the things this man did were:

• he went skydiving
• he went mountain climbing
• he became a better husband
• he read the Good Book
• he gave forgiveness he had refused to

This song's message is that you should live everyday like it's your last day. The message of this song is something to think about, because we never know how long God will keep us on earth, it could be 16 years or 102 years. That being said, you can't worry about how long you're alive (on earth) because you can't control your lifespan, but you can control what you do while you're here. If you see something that you need to do, such as visiting older family members, helping those in need, helping a friend in need, giving someone a Bible, or other Christian duties, then do it now not later.

I used to procrastinate all the time on everything: I would wait until the day before to due projects, I would promise myself that I would start reading the Bible the next day, or I would say that I'll get to something when I get to it. Don't be like that, there are many assignments and other things that I would have done better on if I would have started them earlier. I, with a lot of help from God finally overcame procrastination and I'm glad I did. I would consider procrastinating as living in the future.

People also live in the past many times, focusing on how they should have handled a situation and figuratively beating themselves up about it. It is good to look back into history to see what you should do in the future, but it's not good to say what you could have done in the past because hindsight is 20/20. I have done this many times before as well, it's not any better than procrastination. All anyone can do is live now, not in the past or the future.

Here's some scripture related to what I'm saying:

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." (Matthew 6:34)

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil." (Ephesians 5:15-16) 

"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony." (Colossians 3:12-14)

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." (Philippians 4:8-9)

So, remember to live life like it's your last day, don't let the future or the past restrict you from doing God's work when you need to. I know it can be difficult at times to what needs to be done now, but Jesus did what he needed to do when he was on earth and he led by example. "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." (Philippians 4: 8-9)