Strength in Numbers

So, I was reading today and came across a lot of verses that seemed to be pointing me in one direction. I read in Proverbs 4:23, "Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life." It got me thinking of the whole garbage in, garbage out philosophy. That if you take junk into your life, you're going to spit it back out. This could be with the music you listen to, TV you watch, or the company you keep. I love praise music and there is a lot of far out stuff on TV, however, I don't think that is an excuse for us Christians to make ourselves a little wholesome bubble and only listen to Christian radio and watch the 700 Club. We need to stay in touch with the world, to stay in touch with reality, so that we can be relevant to non believers. I do think this verse hits home when applying it to the company you keep. If you bring the wrong people close to your heart there is no describing the depths of the pain you could encounter. Its really making me long for a strong body of believers up here. I know they are here, I just haven't found them yet.

It frustrates me, because I know I could be doing so much more for Christ if I had a support group behind me. I know that I don't need one, I know that I can do all things through Him, but one of my human weaknesses is that by myself I can be timid. Sure to some I seem like an extrovert, but in a campus of 50,000 strangers, some extremely far from God, I can get intimidated. It's almost laughable how little I talk about God or church up here, whereas this summer I was talking to strangers about church on a street corner in Lima. Just because I had some people with me doing the same thing.

I do not think life is meant to be done alone. Even the Bible talks about strength in numbers, comparing people to a rope. I believe that is what the heart of the church is. A group of people trying to live for God, together. We can accomplish so much more as a team than as an individual. We are all members of one body, and Paul stresses that we go towards the kingdom of heaven in unity.

I think sometimes we forget about what we're here for and what the church is for. Sometimes we make it about deep theological insight, or a self help service. Neither is bad, but its not Jesus. I think believers grow in their spiritual walk and forget what drew them in to begin with, Jesus. We think we need a bigger building, more lights, louder music, we forget that we need to rely on Jesus. I think this is a huge cause of people getting too big for themselves in ministries or other positions. When it becomes more about how well you preached, how well you sang, how well you played guitar, and less about Jesus, we're doing something wrong.

I know I'm rambling, but I guess all I'm saying is that we need to work together. Believers need to join together as much as they can, they need to put away personal aims, glory, and accolades, and look to the Father for direction. Sure one person can make a difference, but the whole body of Christ going in one direction, for one purpose, in Holy Unity? That's what changes the world.

judas iscariot's death

here's something cool i learned about recently. i had a question regarding exactly how judas iscariot (the dude who betrayed Jesus) died. in the book of matthew it says he hung himself, in acts it said his guts spilled out. so i took the question to my cousin who just graduated seminary. here is his answer:

Luke's account of Peter's speech in Acts should be seen as supplementary to Matthew's account and not contradictory. As you have noted, Matthew records that Judas returned the money to the chief priests and then went and hung himself. In Acts, Luke records Peter's message with Judas as the buyer of the field. Remember in Matthew that the chief priests would not accept the money and put it in the temple, so the money still belonged in Judas's name. They used Judas' money to buy the field, so indirectly Judas is the buyer of the field.

Luke leaves out the phrase that he hung himself and only mentions that he fell headlong and burst open in the middle and his intestines spilled out. We deduce from what we know in Matthew (that he hung himself) that the falling headlong was a result of being hung - either the rope broke from the weight of the hanging or someone cut it down. Also deduced is that Judas died on the field that the chief priests brought, and the people hearing about Judas gross death referred to it as field of blood (according to Luke's account). From Matthew's perspective, it was called field of blood because it was purchased with blood money.
Conclusion: Matthew's and Luke's account are not contradictory, but rather supplementary - we get a fuller picture when both are placed side by side.

cb


i thought that was a convincing answer. plus, hes a pretty smart guy.

resurrection in a nutshell

there, i just put all the old stuff up.

i just finished reading this little section in the back of my bible about the validity of the resurrection, and it was real simple and straight to the point. not to mention very convincing. i just thought it was cool how simply they stated everything, id never seen it put together so clearly.

but yeah... its a little past 2:30, and i have to finish watching this rerun of sportscenter before i go to bed. good night all.