Las Vegas

I am sitting in the Las Vegas airport, waiting for my flight back to Orange County.  My dad was on business out here, so my brothers and I flew out yesterday morning to spend the last day with him.  We just relaxed by the pool, ate great food, and saw Spamalot! The Musical.  The show was hilarious!  

Even though we had a good time, I could not help but notice the emptiness that was so apparent everywhere I looked: from billboards to hotel facades, casinos to the massive Barry Manilow picture on the side of the hotel that flashed his fake smile over the city.  The cries of emptiness and pain were evident amidst the glitter and lights. 

This reminded me not only of the pain and brokenness of the world, but also of how we, as Christians, can fall into the same trap of fake lives, building facades so that we look "Christian" on the outside. We can do all the right things, say all the right words, and pray all the right prayers.  

Jesus addresses this in Matthew 23:27-28.  In talking to the Pharisees and religious leaders, he says, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!  You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean.  In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness."    

These were the words in my mind as I walked down the Las Vegas strip.  These are the words I hear when I notice that I have fallen into Pharisaical living--"righteous" on the outside, but an unclean heart on the inside.  

I hope and pray that we all seek authenticity in how we live. I don't mean to give an exhortation to act rude, mean, and cold if that is what we are on the inside.  Rather, let us have a sober mind about how we act as Christians:  talk to God about your heart condition, ask others to pray for you, and seek the transformation of your heart.  The Holy Spirit will change us from the inside out.  

May our hearts be the focus, not the outward appearance, for the Bible says, "As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man." (Proverbs 27:19)  God is concerned with our heart, not the glitz and glam of our outward appearance, no matter how bright and attractive it may be. 

I'm A Youth Pastor?!

After a long interview process of a couple of months, I have been offered the position of Youth Pastor at Pacific Church of Irvine!  I start this Sunday!  I am so excited!!!  God has definitely been guiding this process, and I cannot wait to embark on this journey.  

May the Lord guide me...

The Storm Before the Calm

The current weather is so indicative of this week of finals for me.  It was a flood of craziness, a rain of stress, disconnect, and gloom.  I'm not bring dramatic, I actually feel like it was a storm spiritually, mentally, and emotionally.  However, I see the storm subsiding and the calm arriving.  Oh, summer!  

I Am Officially Done with the Semester!!!

I finished my last final!

Now I just have to wait until Monday to go home.

Motivated by the Kingdom

My last post, which was written a couple hours ago, ended hopeless.

However, I sucked it up and started studying for Jesus' Life and Ministry.

It was an amazing experience.

I was blessed by the way that Jesus brought the Kingdom in his ministry.

Everything he did focused on how he fulfilled what Israel could not.

He was the righteous remnant of one. 

His baptism was representative of the crossing of the Red Sea.

His 40 days in the wilderness was void of complaining, idolatry, and testing God.

His death was on behalf of the world, and his resurrection gives life to all!

It is wonderful how God uses his Word to bring us out of apathy and into joy.

I was surprised at the change of heart I experienced through studying for a final.

We ought to look at how God uses the ordinary for us to experience the extraordinary! 

Brain. Dead.

I finished my John final!

I had to write EVERYTHING I knew on the Gospel.

We could use our laptops, which was nice.

It ended up being 4 1/2 pages single-spaced.

My brain is fried.

One more final:

Jesus Life and Ministry @ 5:00pm.

Where hast thou motivation gonneth?

I Love Lists on Blogs!

Okay, so I realized that I love doing blog entries with lists in them.  They look cool and are easy to read (and write).  Plus, I love lists in the first place.  It must be my type-A personality.  Anyway, this is my list on my thoughts and what is going on this week. 

• Just two more finals left!  I cannot wait for this to be over.  However, finals were pretty easy this semester.  No more than one thing a day.  
• I found a new awesome place on campus.  I'll probably blog on it later.  It's just a shame that I found it so late.
• New favorite thing: washable crayons for wall art!  Very childish, I know, but awesome for studying for tests and preparing for sermons.  My dorm wall is currently covered in brainstorms on John 3-4.  The only downside (or sometimes upside!) is that the other guys on the hall can get a hold of them and write messages in unexpected places in your room.  
• I am excited to be home in my own room.  There is just something about having your own place that makes me feel centered.  Books, art, plants, and candles-- my escape! 
• There is a sweet European band called Alphabeat that is amazing!  Watch their music video, "Fascination."  It rocks! 
• God is the God of the ordinary.  He uses ordinary people, places, and things to show and teach us extraordinary things.  
• I am going to Las Vegas next Friday with my brothers.  We are flying out for a night to meet our Dad, who will be there for business.  We will be seeing Spamalot! the Monty Python Musical.  It should be a cool time of relaxation and fun.
• Summer classes I'm taking: New Testament Theology independent study with my greek professor, Dr. Yoshikawa.  I am really excited for this!  I will also be taking Political Science and Social Problems online through Saddleback College.  Should be pretty easy. 
• Still looking for a job.  Waiting on a call from the church about the youth pastor job.  Trusting God's provision and greater plan in whatever happens. 
• I saw my brother's musical, Into the Woods on Saturday.  He played Jack from Jack and the bean stock.  He did awesome! Go Jordie!
• Why is it so hard to receive grace over trying to earn it?
• I may get straight A's...or close to it. Crazy!
• God is Good!

Failed All-Nighter

About a week or so ago, my ever-so-awesome roommate, Steve Salisbury, and I had a 10-page paper due the following morning and neither of us had started.  

Being the end of our third year at Biola, we realized that neither one of us had ever pulled an all-nighter.  You see, we are the kind of guys who go to bed early to get up early.  1:00am is usually our quitting point, no matter where we are on an assignment. 

But this night was going to be different.  We were going to attempt the impossible: Stay up all night!  Then go to Denny's at 6:00am to celebrate before 8:00am when our papers were due!

We were stoaked!  We documented the night hour by hour:

10:51pm

12:28am

1:44am

4:01am

SLEEP!

So much for our all-nighter...

Drained.

I am so tired.

Not only physically, but emotionally, spiritually, and socially.

I want Jesus.

I want to hear his voice say, 

"Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy-burdened ...

and I will give you rest."

Yes, rest. 

How beautiful that sounds.

Rest from the fast-paced,

paper-to-paper,

person-to-person,

email-to-email

craziness we call life.

There is so much more than this.

There is so much more than 

grades.

Papers.

Finals.

Jobs.

Money.

I just want Jesus. 

Grace for a Slob

This is what I look like today.

Greasy, unwashed hair.

Stubble.

Twice-worn, coffee-stained t-shirt.

Faded sweatshirt with bleach stains.

Oh, and I didn't brush me teeth for the first few hours in public. 

I say all this, not to be dramatic or materialistic (which I probably am). 

I'm not about to say,"I know I don't look good, so don't judge me!"

I'm not intentionally dressing down to look cool either. 

I bring this up because as I saw what I looked like and thought, "I am a slob!"

Not only in my appearance, but also in my heart. And mind.

But regardless, God loves me and chooses to work in and through a slob.

In working through the book of Numbers for Old Testament Theology,

I have noticed the same idea.

Numbers could also be called "The Suckiness of Israel"

That's all the book is: an account of the ways that Israel failed to obey God.

The God who saved them out of Egypt!

But God still worked in and through them.

He kept his word to bring them to the promised land!

He keeps his word to us.

He gives us grace, even though we suck.

I'm a slob.

And I still receive grace. 

Praise the Lord!

Coffee and Homework

CwReAeZkY

(If you can't tell, the title says "CRAZY week")

And honestly, it is very crazy.

I have so much to do, but it is kind of nice.

When I have a lot to do, I a thrust forward in work.

But I also run out of energy quickly. 

Here's my list for the week:

• Numbers Outline
• Joseph Paper (10-12 pages)
• Gospels content exam
• RA Duty
• Toast with HOST
• RA program evaluations 
• All-Hall BBQ
• Some Greek assignments
• Job interview on Saturday
• Group paper for Jesus' Life + Ministry (for next week)
• Greek Text to Life project (for next week) 

This is what I need to do to stay sane/healthy:

• Retreat with the Lord DAILY!
• Exercise
• Eat healthy
• Sleep 7-8 hours/night
• Spend time with friends + Kaitlin
• Remember that there are only 2 or 3 weeks left!!!

ALMOST THERE....

Angels and Baptism

Angels Game

Kaitlin and I went to the Angels game today.

It was so hot!!! (And so is this picture, right!?)

These are our friends Megan and Davey...

They went with us to the game.

I loved the fact that Davey wore Dodgers stuff!

(and, no, they didn't play the Dodgers)

Baptism

My brothers got baptized today!

It was a time of celebration and worship.

My Dad baptized them.

This is Jordie (15)

This is Jeremy (17)

They are artsy and talented.

So, they sang "I Will Wait For You"

by Phil Whickham

I am so excited that my brothers are following Christ.

They are growing into strong men of the faith.

Their musical worship skills are very admirable.

And they are constantly seeking the intellectual and emotional sides of Christianity.

The Family! 

10 Thoughts From This Week

1. Wow, that John exam wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.  I also haven't received my grade back.  I could be tricking myself into thinking I did better than I actually did.
2. The "not-yet" part of the inaugurated kingdom is frustrating the heck out of me.  I hate seeing the pain and suffering of this world.  
3. My frustration with the "not-yet" has led me to yearn and long for the completion of the kingdom of God on earth.  "Come, Lord Jesus, come!" has been the deep cry of my heart.
4. Number 2 and 3 (above) may, in fact, be God's answer to my prayer for what Richard Foster calls the "gracious prayer of tears": being moved by the sin in our lives and others' to the point of tears.  In a sense, it is a glimpse of God's broken heart. 
5. Spiritual Theology as presented by Eugene Peterson in Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places has been in my head CONSTANTLY!  Basically, I am over wanting to learn theology and the Bible for the sake of knowledge...it is stupid.  Theology demands a response.  It is impossible and pointless to truly study theology and the Word of God without life-transformation. There is no divide between the secular and the sacred!  Theology is not divorced from daily life!  
6. My roommate and I created the biggest mess in our room due to our Romans papers that were due today.  Commentaries, Bibles, and a plethora of other resources were laid open across desks, our couch, and the small dorm room floor.  We kind of looked smart...kind of. 
7. I am so excited to rest this weekend, especially after talking about Sabbath in Dr. Lunde's class today.  I am starting to see the natural cycle of my soul: being filled (resting in the Lord/Sabbath), then giving myself away (serving/ministry/work).  
8. I can't wait to spend quality time with my beautiful fiance!  Our schoolwork and RA jobs take a toll on us both.  Josh and Kaitlin time is needed (aka watching The Hills, eating mexican food, and jacuzzi!). 
9. My brothers are getting baptized on Sunday and I am so excited!!!  I can't wait to celebrate this with them.  I have been trying to prepare myself for the beauty of this sacrament.  Sometimes it can be such an ordinary thing in our minds (especially since it is taking place in someone's backyard pool), but there is so much to it and I want to experience and celebrate it to the fullest. 
10. I have found that my dreams often have a huge effect on how I start my day.  How I start my day has a huge effect on how the rest of my day goes.  I should start dreaming of really cool things.