A Blog Apart

I love kung fu, and while it may be hard to believe, studying kung fu aids in my spiritual growth. One of the ways it aids me is that it gives me an avenue of expressing abstract principles of truth that stick with me.

here is a great example that I am teaching now in my kung fu class this week.

I watched Joshua Harris’ video on purity, and he made a comment that got my mind to thinking (no jokes please ;)

He said that purity was lost by tiny little steps away from righteousness, away from holiness. He cited David and his sin with Bathsheba. That whole little episode began with this thought: that when kings went to war, David stayed home. It was not a big deal, just a little step. He wasn’t were he should have been. Then he saw a woman bathing on her rooftop, and instead of looking away and praying away the sinful thoughts, he looked. He watched, he lingered, he lusted. Then he called for her, and one thing led to another until not only was he an adulterer, but a lier, and a murderer too.

All because he took a few little steps, half steps towards sin away from God’s holiness.

Being the martial minded person that I am, I naturally thought of some kung fu concept that I could use to parallel this idea, and it came quite naturally. I have found that one of the best ways to close the gap with someone, or to force them back, isn’t with brute force or by leaping a great distance, but by taking small steps. We call them half steps and we use them to cover, create, or keep distance between our opponents and ourselves.

It would amaze you how close I can get to you without you even knowing it by only taking half steps. Or, even force you into a corner that you don’t want to be in by taking half steps. I can work my way through a very crowded room by half steps, and step someone all the way across the room and never take a big step.

sometimes we let ourselves get worked into a corner, or forced into a spot that comprimises our witness, that effects our own relationship with God without ever even realizing it because we never took a big step. Many times, as I was a beginner, I had a tendancy to get myself backed into a corner. I never could figure out how I got there. Then one day, I realized that it was because I wasn’t being aware of the small steps that I was taking backwards. From that day on, I began using that to my advantage, taking small steps forward.

Just like that realization and the application of taking small steps forward, we need to spiritualize it and begin taking steps towards holiness and purity and not away from it.

thanks for reading, write at ya later.

Recent events in India have started me thinking about the subject of organ selling. No one disputes that organ donation is a good thing. Well except for a few radicals and fringe groups. But I was curious concerning the reasoning on a ban of the sale of organs. It’s a subject, quite frankly, that I had not really thought about. I am a registered organ donor and would gladly offer my kidney and or liver to help someone in need. So I started researching the subject. Reasons against the sale of organs seem to revolve around the following.

1. Neither the Human Body nor it’s parts should become a commodity
2. Legal sale of body parts would lower the level of donated parts
3. Legal sale of body parts would unfairly target the poor

2 and 3 are spurious arguments that really should have no bearing on the discussion. Which leaves number 1 to consider. Human Life is unquestionably sacred but does that extend to a single kidney? Does it extend to the body after death? These are questions which must be addressed for any kind of conclusion to be made. This seems to be a moral issue in it’s entirety since the benefits of organ sale would undoubtedly be very high. Supply and demand apply to medical practices just as much as they do to commodity goods. The black market would be practically elminated. The supply of organs would undoubtedly rise and more people would recieve the medical care they need.

The real question then becomes is it moral (if legalized) to sell a portion of your body to another? And like any question on morality you must turn to a source of moral authority. I happen to believe the bible is the best one out there and for the life of me I can not find anywhere that says your liver, kidney, lung is sacred. I’m wondering if anyone out there knows of a passage that is relevant. Because I’m kind of leaning on the, It’s better to donate but not wrong to sell an organ camp, provided of course that it is legal to do so.

I don’t think that I’ve really done enough research to draw a firm conclusion yet though so please let me know what you think.

As a Christian, modesty is important. I don’t think many Christians understand what true modesty is.

I looked it up on dictionary.com and came up with this:

Modesty:
1. the quality of being modest; freedom from vanity, boastfulness, etc.
2. regard for decency of behavior, speech, dress, etc.
3. simplicity; moderation.

Whenever I speak of modesty to somebody, I immediately hear from the other person about clothes. Depending on the person, I get some good responses and some bad. Most of the time, when I’m talking to one of the youth girls I work with at church, I get a roll of the eyes and a deep sigh. I overheard two of them talking about it and saying, “Yeah, that’s just Julie. She doesn’t know what it’s like out in the real world.” That hurt, but I know that some of them listen to me. I’ve seen a t-shirt or tank put on underneath a stylish low cut shirt and smiled to know that that girl is trying to do what is right in God’s eyes.

The thing is though that modesty isn’t just about the way we dress. Notice the second definition up there. It is the one we are using and concerned with at this time. Dress is the last thing mentioned before the etc. Behavior and speech are mentioned as well. If a girl talks in a sultry voice or walks with her hips visibly and purposely swaying, it won’t matter what she is wearing, the guy will change the way he sees her. The first impression of how she looks is destroyed by the way she is acting. He may meet her at church or a youth event, but he isn’t thinking of how Godly she is.

The same applies to men and not only to women. Men should dress modestly. Please, don’t take your shirts off in public. I kind of like chests and I’d rather not see it because I wish to remain pure to my husband. Tight pants and muscle shirt tanks apply here as well. Though I think tight pants are disgusting, I know that some girls will swoon after watching a guy in some go by. There are some things guys do that can make a girl think the wrong way. A back or neck rub can be more than just relaxing. Leaning on the wall nearby may be fine, but towering over a girl while leaning can be a bit intimidating to some and enjoyable to others, depending on the attention the girl wants.

Also, modesty is not just about keeping the opposite gender from lusting. Let’s look at the definition again. “Regard for decency” can mean making sure our clothes are clean as well as our language and behavior. Being vulgar, whether it is through cussing or making bad jokes, is not being modest. It may not make someone lust after you, in fact, it may do quite the opposite, but as a Christian, it is like taking a chisel to our testimony of how Jesus has changed us through salvation.

One last thing, it isn’t part of the definition, but how modest are your thoughts? Much of the world around us does not understand how Christians should think. There is a lot out there that contradicts what we are taught in the Bible. Do you try and keep your thoughts pure? In other words, do you let hate, lust, envy, or covetousness in? Those thoughts are against what is in God’s word. We must remember Philippeans 4:8. It is our guide to modest thoughts.

As Read put it, “Modesty is an outcropping of our Love for Christ and our desire to please Him.” (quoted from a comment from the original post on my personal blog. )

So, how modest is your lifestyle? I know that mine is not modest enough. I try very hard to dress, speak, and act modestly, but I don’t always succeed. I want people to look past the clothes and flesh, right to the heart of me where Jesus is in control. I know that they don’t always see that and it grieves me.

Sorry for the delay. work has been crazy.

I feel your pain. But in our defense… work unfortunately can take quite a toll. And for those of us who are freelance it comes in spurts. Like this last spurt for me. Also the server has been in a somewhat undeterminate state due to two moves and I think there are still some things that need to be repaired. For instance I noticed that commenting is not working and my wife is not even able to log in right now. I’ll try to devote some time to getting those issues fixed this week. I’m a little swamped right now though.

But on the subject of creativity and the christian community. My church is currently starting to look at our options in that arena. The Church as a worldwide body has unfortunately failed to stay a creative force in our culture and that culture is feeling the effects even now. I’d like to point out some encouraging trends though.

• Facing the Giants
• Center For Creative Media

and a great number of friends have been expressing sentiments in this same vein (you being one of them ). The point is that there are people who want to reverse the damage and become expressive forces in our culture. We need to put our support behind them and assist where ever we can.

What does the coincidence of recent postings on ABA with the latest dry spell signal? Have we as Christians lost our imagination? Have we decided that fighting the good fight just isn’t worth our time? Or could it be that we’ve run out of meaningful things to say?

Whatever the case, I find it a shame that two months have gone by and none have used this wonderous forum for any purpose other than to show that the fellowship of believers is apparently divided.

Sometimes the most difficult things to say are the things that need saying the most. That works both ways.

Look around at most things that most people do today and you’ll find one thing: absence of Jesus. Modern society has fallen hook-line-and-sinker for the lie of the enemy and modern Christianity has fostered that lie by discluding Jesus from just about every facet of its existence and shame on us for allowing it to happen. Where is Jesus in the modern Church? Where is Jesus in her members? Where is the zeal for Him, where is the focus? The shameful thing is that churches today spend more time and effort in lifting themselves up than in proclaiming the Gospel. Websites pop-up with the name of the pastor on every page but the name of Christ on only one. Sermons are filled with commentary on how to relieve stress or make friends or effect political change. Again I ask, where is Jesus?

The manifestation of this phenomenon is in the believers and their daily lives. I read writings of people who expound greatly on things of Christ only to have the sweetness of that writing tarnished and broken because others applause puffs up the author making him think he is something he is not (don’t applaud man, applaud God!) I hear complaints from the people of God because they hate their job or they don’t sleep like they want to or they’re lonely or any other list of non-sensical and meaningless grumblings. I go to Church and am told nothing of my sin and nothing of my depravity (one of the largest churches in my town has the unwritten motto “We don’t make you feel like a heathen for doing ________”). I am hardly ever called to task on those things that offend my Creator. I am rarely rebuked, admonished, or even scolded by the Church for anything I do that is wrong. I am never held accountable by those who claim to be friends. Even the tone of this letter is too global and not close enough to home for the readers (and author) to grasp its message and the direction of that message. This makes the next statement hard to hear (and hard to write) but necessary in its delivery:

This is not meant to convey this message “True, true. I know people like that and it makes me sick.” This is meant to be ingested and digested like this “I am guilty of putting myself, my ego, and my needs above the will of God. I am guilty of breaking the first commandment and have idolized myself above all else.” The state of mind that the each of us is doing fine is wrong. We are not. Each of us is equally guilty. Each of us has used the forum of A Blog Apart to benefit himself on just about each and every occasion.

“And the Lord sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, “There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds. But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up. And it grew up together with him and with his children; it ate of his own meat and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveler unto the rich man, and he was unwilling to take of his own flock and of his own herd to dress for the wayfaring man who had come unto him, but took the poor man’s lamb and dressed it for the man who had come to him.” And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord liveth, the man who hath done this thing shall surely die. And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.” And Nathan said to David, “Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: `I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul, and I gave thee thy master’s house and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. Why hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? Thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon…and David said unto Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said unto David, “The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.”

This author is beginning his journey by turning from things that would destruct and turning to those things that Honor and profit Jesus Christ and the ministry He left each of us.(It has been wrong of me to use this forum in a manner unworthly of a child of God. I have attempted to usurp glory that is God’s alone. For that I have repented.) Christ is the one that should be reflected from each member’s being. We should take no (zero) accolades from this life and that part of it we affect. The praise is not ours and shame on us if we take it anyway.

So where is Jesus? He is here, in my heart and yours. Let make sure he is not hidden from the world; a world that desperately needs Him.

The words of John the Baptist make a fitting end:

“He must increase, but I must decrease. He that cometh from above is above all; he that is of the earth is earthly and speaketh of the earth. He that cometh from Heaven is above all. [emphasis added]

Just thought I would supply this information for you guys to give you some perspective on the timeline of Genesis and why the geneologies are important in the Bible.

Did you know that Adam died approximately 1000 years before the flood? That’s all.

Did you know that Noah was only 9 generations down from the beginning of the world? Not that far along really.

Did you know that Noah’s grandfather was the oldest man to ever live and die (Methuselah - 969 yrs), who incidently died the year of the flood. I wonder if the flood was related to his death? Hmm.

Did you know that Adam was alive and well for nearly 300 years after the birth of Methuselah, who was alive and well when Shem (Noah’s son) was nearly 100 yrs old? that means that the Creation story could have been told to Methuselah directly from Adam! And to Shem directly from Methuselah! Only had to change hands twice to go past the flood!

Now, did you know that Shem was alive and well for 150 years after Abraham was born, and for 50 years after Isaac was born! that means that Shem could have relayed the story to Isaac, only changed hands three times to the father of the Israelite people.

Did you know that Isaac was only 77 (he lived to be 180 yrs old) when Jacob’s son Levi was born? Levi could have heard the story from Isaac his Grandfather and that only means that to the beginning of the 12 tribes of Israel, the events of Genesis only had to pass through 4 times!!!

Now get this! Did you know that Levi (who lived to be 137) was only 70 years old when a guy named Am Ram was born, who was Moses’ father? Hmmm! the Story of Genesis that is pre-Moses’ era only had to change hands 5 times before Moses put it into writing for us in the form of the Book of Genesis. Think about that!!!

simply incredible!!!

Noah, actually talked with someone who learned about creation from Adam!!!! Noah’s great grandfather still hasn’t died yet! Enoch was taken straight to heaven only 69 yrs before Noah was born!! Seth, the 3rd son of Adam, died a mere 14 years before Noah’s birth. Enos, who was Seth’s son, lived and talked with Noah for 84 years!!!!!

Imagine being able to hear about the Garden of Eve from your father as a child, and about Adam and Eve, and then turn right around and ask Adam what it was like because he is your grandfather!?!?!

Now from Abraham to David was 14 generations, from David to the exile was 14 generations, and from the exile to Christ was 14 generations.

Christ was 2000 years ago. Does that kind of make our whole history sound rather short to you? It does me!