Well, now that that's over....

I think I'm just about back to perfect health again! After a trip to the doctors yesterday, and a diagnosis of bronchitis with some other strange symptoms (like blisters and sores in my mouth and throat!), I'm pretty sure I'll be in good shape for school tomorrow. That's good, considering we have our Christmas concert tomorrow evening and I need to be there to perform!!! Oh well, I'm sure it'll be just fine!!

Anyway, I've been pretty sick, but the antibiotics I'm on seem to be helping greatly.

It's hard to believe that Christmas is only a few short weeks away. It seems like it snuck up on me this year, and I'm really not ready for it in any capacity. I hope to get our family's tree up soon, but I'm not looking forward to it, because I'll have to do almost all of the work with my mom being out of commission.

Perhaps the reason the "Christmas Spirit" hasn't really hit me yet is this overwhelming feeling of increasing responsibility and a generally busy life. After all, it's hard to get into the giving mood, or the Christmas spirit, when working on schoolwork between shifts at work and class itself. On the other hand, I've been really committed to keeping up a decent social life this year, and that may be part of the reason I've been struggling (relatively) with schoolwork.

I'm definitely looking forward to Christmas break!

Well, till next time,

In Christ,

JP

I hate being sick!

It's hard to tell what God's will is in every situation, especially when we are suffering illness. Now, granted, I have nothing to complain about, after all, I have a minor cold, not a major illness or disease. But at the same time, these are the king of things that really hang on our souls. These little sickness may seem insignificant when compared to more serious diseases, but at the same time, when we are so caught up in our work, whether it be business or school, and we come down with a cold or minor illness, we find ourselves in despair mode.

Again, it's not as if we have anything in our lives that we can really complain about! We're the blessed ones, right? In America, we're born into the lap of luxury (even those that live in so-called "poverty" have so much more than those that live in third world countries), and our society promotes an intense hedonism that many enjoy.

It seems, however, that we become stressed, and we fret over the multiple petty things that go wrong in our lives! So, what's the problem? Why do we worry about every little thing?

Worry and despair go hand in hand. When we look at our lives, all we see is failure. When we look at life that way, I can sympathize with that. When looking back, we often see a life filled with mistakes, mistrusts, and disappointments. But God sees something different. Through the blood of Christ, he forgets our past failures and our successes, and reminds us of what he has done, and what he has promised to do.

One of God's most prominent promises for us is life. Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. This life is a memory of all our imperfections, and our successes are tainted with selfish pride and sin, but God promises us something else. The promise of a new life is the most prominent for a reason, it's the most important. We forget about everything, especially the small stuff, like our common colds, and move onto something bigger. Something that will surpass our imagination, because we haven't experienced true life.

In the next,

JP

Personal Creed

This is a paper I had to write for my Bible IV class at school. I thought it would fit well with the content of this blog, and might be of some interest, as well as give people an idea of what I believe.

I believe that I am a poor and miserable sinner. I am devoid of any redeeming qualities, and I deserve God's eternal and temporary punishment. I believe that I have lived to further my own will, instead of living in God's. I also believe that God has loved me so much that he would give his own son as a ransom for me. I believe that Christ payed my way to heaven, so that I might enjoy the Father more and more every day. Christ has renewed my heart and changed my direction towards God's will. I believe that my life will be successful only if I love God and others above all other things.

I believe that God is omnipresent, omnipotent, and all-knowing. I believe in the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They are one God, not three gods. I believe that God has revealed himself to humankind through the Holy and Perfect Scriptures. I believe that God once viewed me as dirty and despicable, but by God's unending love and mercy, he views me as a valuable child.

I believe that because of God's love and mercy toward me (shown most by the death of his Son, Jesus Christ on Calvary), I will not taste death. Instead, I will enjoy a new life in heaven with the Father. I believe that Jesus endured the punishment that I deserve so that I might enjoy this place. I believe that heaven is the place that God has created for us to live with him. A place that is without sin, where all people will function as we were created to function.

I believe that suffering and evil in the world are results of sin which we brought into the world, not God. God uses suffering for his own ends, as is clear in Scripture, but he does not cause people to suffer in the sense that he initiates the suffering. When God does use suffering and evil, it is to train and discipline his people to follow his will.

I believe that truth is found primarily in the son of God, Christ Jesus who said: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” Before Christ, God spoke truth to his people through his prophets, and their stories and words are recorded in the Old Testament. The New Testament testifies about Christ, the Son of God who is truth. Therefore, I believe that truth is found first in the Holy Scriptures. God speaks to us daily through our reading of Scriptures, and that is where the only true and unadulterated truth is found. Next, I believe that experience is the second best way to find truth, but experience, as all other sources that claim to be truth should, is tested to Scripture first.

I believe that the Lord has given me the gifts that enable me to serve his Church, and in the style of St. Augustine, I will “Love the Lord, and do as you please.” I pray that God will lead me in knowledge, truth, and love, to the serving of his people in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. I hope to preach the Word of God to those around me, and share the love of Christ. During the next four years, I pray that God will give me the strength to prepare for an intensive study of his Word and Will, so that I might be ready to become a shepherd of his sheep, in the name of the Lamb.

I believe “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few, therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest.” I pray that God would send his Holy Spirit upon me to help me live and serve the Father as a laborer in the harvest. I pray that I would forever uphold God's message of Love and redemption.

Mostly, this won't be of interest to most, but there you have it anyway!

In Christ,

JP

Faith expressing itself throuh Love...

Being a member of the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod has instilled in me a passion, a zeal, even, for the truth. I have long held (and still hold), that Scripture is the only rule and standard for life and theology, and that it's truth rings clearly for all things in life. But for a long time, I somehow missed an elemental part of Scripture. It's almost as if I read the text, yet skipped the title. For so long, I missed the theme of the Bible, and the one message that Jesus seemed to be screaming at me! Love.

Now, don't get me wrong, I refuse to compromise the truth to make other people happy or to satisfy their itching ears. But I've realized why I can't understand how to love these people. I haven't fully understood forgiveness. I don't remember where the verse comes from but it goes like this: "He who is forgiven little, love's little." You see, I haven't completely come to terms with the fact that Christ has earned my salvation. I haven't come to terms with the fact that God could forgive me! Someone who continues to sin against him day by day in ways that those around me don't see or hear.

But over and over again, I see God's grace in my life. My health (though I might not be in perfect health at the moment, it's nothing to gripe about!), my family, my amazing friends, my loving and incredibly patient girlfriend, and my life itself is a testament to the grace that God gives us each and every day, whether we choose to believe it or not. Most of all, I have a growing joy within me. A future certainty of heaven (a place I long for more and more with everyday of my life.... I've got a long way to go...) is instilling within me a love for people that I can have no part of. Truly, God's Spirit is working in me toward a true and perfect holiness.

Help me to remember that the sin I commit now is of no significance, and that my sins have been forgiven. Even those that I commit after my salvation.

Thank You, Lord.

No greater love is this, that a man would lay down his life for his brother. -Jesus

Long Roads...

Well, this is the start. This is the start of a very long road. I believe that God has given me the gifts to serve his church, and, taking the advice of Augustine, "Love God, and do as you please," I've decided to follow those gifts wherever they might lead me.

I'm only a high school senior now, but in about 9 years, I hope to be settling into one of God's churches, shepherding His people. I continue to live in God's grace, because I know that I am not by any means qualified, or worthy, of any post or position in his service, but I know that by the blood of Christ, I have worth and purpose in God's sight and in God's kingdom.

Thy kingdom come!

-James