It's the last day in the year. Wave goodbye to 2014, and welcome 2015. I thought I would take this time to reflect on the year, and share what I've learned and how I've grown.
January:
January is always a cool month. I did Bible Quizzing, and quizzed out for the first and last time ever. We came really far that year and I was really encouraged by it all. Better still, I got to memorize a good portion of Romans, which became my favorite book of the Bible after that. Plus, my mom and I have birthdays.
February:
I got to push a car out of a snowbank on Valentine's day. You know, the usual, romantic stuff that you'd normally do that day. And my brother Garrison has his birthday in this month too.
March:
I attended WinterJam in Pittsburgh PA. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing from what I remember, but 4.5 hours later we were hanging around listening to bands. The best part of this trip by far is when Mike from Tenth Avenue North was singing "You Are More", he was going around, grabbing the hands of the people who had them outstretched to the stage. I walked over there too, and reached my hand up, not really expecting anything. But as he walked by me, he grabbed my hand, looked me in the eyes, and sung "You've been remade!" That alone might have been the coolest part of my year, because it made me realize that I had in fact, been remade.
April:
Saw God's Not Dead, and attended Flower City Work Camp, so it was a great month for me spiritually. Both of these events were extremely impactful on my faith.
May:
Was the Groomsman in a wedding, and graduated High School... on the same day.
June:
Earned my drivers license, went to prom with a date, and went to URIMON. (Church's annual youth retreat.) This was probably my happiest month of the year. So much happened to me in those 30 days.
July:
Well I bought my WiiU, but that's not significant for anyone but me.... Although my Dad's birthday is always pretty fun.
August:
Kingdom Bound. Always awesome. Except this year I got to lead all 3 days of morning Bible Study. That was awesome for me, and hopefully for a lot of other people.
September:
Started MCC. Horray.... But I also started this blog up. And started an internship at my church. To top this, I attended Uprise Fest, In PA. Another 4.5 hours later, we were listening to Uncle Si from Duck Dynasty, Kickin it with Family Force 5, Rocking out to TFK, Shreddin' it with Red, Bumpin' it with Lecrae, and Killin' it with Skillet. Best lineup ever.
October:
Went to my first-ever Midnight release with my buddy Matthew to grab Super Smash Bros. for 3DS. Then there was also Halloween, but I skipped out on Trick or Treating to instead have an outreach, which had an amazing turnout.
November:
Video Games Live. Not describable by any means. But I did tear-up once or twice during the show. My brother Will also had a birthday.
December:
Finished my first semester of College. But more importantly, I gave my first ever sermon in front of my entire church. I was incredibly blessed by the number of my friends who came out to see me. You can watch my sermon here.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Saturday, December 20, 2014
The Extra Mile
This blog post is long overdue. Let's go.
There's been a topic on my mind as of late. That topic is grace. Ever since I watched a video on grace, I can't stop thinking about it. It's so fascinating to me. The concept seems so surreal, yet at the same time, so much a part of our everyday lives. We live in a world that is fallen. Grace is becoming rarer and rarer. And when it does happen, it slips by unnoticed. Why is that?
All over the news, we hear about murders, school shootings, drugs, crime rates, gay marriage rights, political scandals, ebola outbreaks, hollywood controversies, and so much more. Only when it's this time of year do you hear about people being nice to each other, and doing random acts of kindness. Now, I'm not against the news displaying the random good deeds of others, because in reality you might get a domino effect going. Which is good, but the holidays shouldn't be the motivator for the reason. The reason should be the motivator for the action.
Let's take God into account when illustrating this example of grace: The reason was us. We sinned. But he loved us so much that he wanted to be with us anyways, despite our brokenness. The action was to send Jesus, who started as a helpless infant, and grew into a righteous man. All the while, never sinning, in order to remove all sin from us, and make us holy in the eyes of God. That's grace right there. We did nothing to deserve God, but he gave us that chance to be with him anyways.
To put it into perspective, let's use this analogy: say that after coming out of college, a student is left with crippling debt. $120,000, to be exact. It would take that person years upon years to pay that off. But if someone heard about that debt and paid it off for them, that would be mercy, because while that person's debt would be paid, they would fall back into debt the next day. Grace would be if that same someone paid off the debt, then gave that student an additional $500,000 for them to live off of. So then imagine that $500,000 appeared in every single person's bank account in the world. Not only would this be highly suspicious, but it would also illustrate how beautiful and free God's gift of grace is. How do you choose to spend that gift, freely given to you?
In a debate amongst atheists and Christian scholars, the question arose: "What makes Christianity so unique?" C.S. Lewis was there, and after arguing for a while, they flipped the question onto him. "It's simple" he said. "It's grace." This really is the defining factor of Christianity. We would still be living by Old Testament standards if we didn't have grace. And no one wants to live by those standards. They were hard standards to live up to.
Grace is not based on character or merited to us. In fact, it's the complete opposite. If it were based on factors, it would not be grace. If you have been shown grace, you probably won't be acting the same as you did before. And part of the reason why we, as Christians, should act differently, is because we were shown insurmountable grace. Someone died the death that we should have died. We cannot act the same after something like that happens. If someone stepped in front of a car for you today, how would that change you? We don't think about these things a lot, but that's exactly why I wrote this. Because when we think about what Jesus did for us, it should break us. Every time. And yet it doesn't. "Oh someone died for me and removed all of my sin, that's nice." And that's it. That's all the recognition we give. Why is that? If you grew up in the church like I did, then you've probably had Jesus's death hammered over your head a million times. That might be why. If you didn't grow up in the church, then how are you living your life? Is it to give Jesus your all? Allow me end this with a challenge: Next time you have the opportunity to show someone mercy, show them grace instead. It changes lives.
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast."
Ephesians 2:8-9
There's been a topic on my mind as of late. That topic is grace. Ever since I watched a video on grace, I can't stop thinking about it. It's so fascinating to me. The concept seems so surreal, yet at the same time, so much a part of our everyday lives. We live in a world that is fallen. Grace is becoming rarer and rarer. And when it does happen, it slips by unnoticed. Why is that?
All over the news, we hear about murders, school shootings, drugs, crime rates, gay marriage rights, political scandals, ebola outbreaks, hollywood controversies, and so much more. Only when it's this time of year do you hear about people being nice to each other, and doing random acts of kindness. Now, I'm not against the news displaying the random good deeds of others, because in reality you might get a domino effect going. Which is good, but the holidays shouldn't be the motivator for the reason. The reason should be the motivator for the action.
Let's take God into account when illustrating this example of grace: The reason was us. We sinned. But he loved us so much that he wanted to be with us anyways, despite our brokenness. The action was to send Jesus, who started as a helpless infant, and grew into a righteous man. All the while, never sinning, in order to remove all sin from us, and make us holy in the eyes of God. That's grace right there. We did nothing to deserve God, but he gave us that chance to be with him anyways.
To put it into perspective, let's use this analogy: say that after coming out of college, a student is left with crippling debt. $120,000, to be exact. It would take that person years upon years to pay that off. But if someone heard about that debt and paid it off for them, that would be mercy, because while that person's debt would be paid, they would fall back into debt the next day. Grace would be if that same someone paid off the debt, then gave that student an additional $500,000 for them to live off of. So then imagine that $500,000 appeared in every single person's bank account in the world. Not only would this be highly suspicious, but it would also illustrate how beautiful and free God's gift of grace is. How do you choose to spend that gift, freely given to you?
In a debate amongst atheists and Christian scholars, the question arose: "What makes Christianity so unique?" C.S. Lewis was there, and after arguing for a while, they flipped the question onto him. "It's simple" he said. "It's grace." This really is the defining factor of Christianity. We would still be living by Old Testament standards if we didn't have grace. And no one wants to live by those standards. They were hard standards to live up to.
Grace is not based on character or merited to us. In fact, it's the complete opposite. If it were based on factors, it would not be grace. If you have been shown grace, you probably won't be acting the same as you did before. And part of the reason why we, as Christians, should act differently, is because we were shown insurmountable grace. Someone died the death that we should have died. We cannot act the same after something like that happens. If someone stepped in front of a car for you today, how would that change you? We don't think about these things a lot, but that's exactly why I wrote this. Because when we think about what Jesus did for us, it should break us. Every time. And yet it doesn't. "Oh someone died for me and removed all of my sin, that's nice." And that's it. That's all the recognition we give. Why is that? If you grew up in the church like I did, then you've probably had Jesus's death hammered over your head a million times. That might be why. If you didn't grow up in the church, then how are you living your life? Is it to give Jesus your all? Allow me end this with a challenge: Next time you have the opportunity to show someone mercy, show them grace instead. It changes lives.
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast."
Ephesians 2:8-9
Sunday, November 30, 2014
With Every Breath
Today was my Grandmother's 84th Birthday. Now, my grandma has been through a lot in the period of her life. She talks about some of it, and most of the time I assume she's not paying attention to what she's saying. She always seems so lost in thought, and I can only imagine how much she's witnessed, how much things have changed for her. Rarely do I think about the blessing that it is to be alive. Even in the darkest times of our lives, we still have breath in our lungs, and that is certainly something to be thankful for. Even in the less-serious times, (like stubbing your big toe), we should be thankful that we have the breath to complain about it. We could be doing a hundred-million different things with our lives, but here we are today. No matter what you choose, Remember this: we're on God's time, not our own. So don't waste it.
Time is an interesting concept. No matter what we do we can't change how fast or slow it goes. In areas of our lives, like school, we wish it were faster. In other areas, like getting married, and raising a family, we wish it would slow down to a crawl. But no matter what we do we cannot alter the linear flow of time. So here's what I propose; live every day like it's your last. How do we do this?
Well my grandma already has it figured out, since she already takes this advice literally. She honestly didn't expect to have lived this long. She told me just the other day, that she didn't expect to get past 75. But nine years later, she's still breathing. She doesn't know when God will call her home. But every day I see her, she is one of the happiest, funniest people I know. She cherishes every day that she gets to watch her grandkids grow up: something she never thought would have happened. She's happy to be alive still.
Don't live for tomorrow. Live for today. But most importantly, live for something.
Personally, I live for God. My life is meaningless without him.
What do you live for, and are you living for the right things?
"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Matthew 6:31
Time is an interesting concept. No matter what we do we can't change how fast or slow it goes. In areas of our lives, like school, we wish it were faster. In other areas, like getting married, and raising a family, we wish it would slow down to a crawl. But no matter what we do we cannot alter the linear flow of time. So here's what I propose; live every day like it's your last. How do we do this?
Well my grandma already has it figured out, since she already takes this advice literally. She honestly didn't expect to have lived this long. She told me just the other day, that she didn't expect to get past 75. But nine years later, she's still breathing. She doesn't know when God will call her home. But every day I see her, she is one of the happiest, funniest people I know. She cherishes every day that she gets to watch her grandkids grow up: something she never thought would have happened. She's happy to be alive still.
Don't live for tomorrow. Live for today. But most importantly, live for something.
Personally, I live for God. My life is meaningless without him.
What do you live for, and are you living for the right things?
"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Matthew 6:31
Saturday, November 15, 2014
Course Correction
I have the bad habit of being late to places.
Sometimes this is preventable, sometimes it's not. For instance, perhaps I should start looking for my wallet and keys before I have to leave. Or maybe pack up all of my things 20 minutes beforehand, as opposed to 5. Or, in my most recent case, simply know when I have to be places. In September, I got 'hired' at my church as an intern, and now I'm tasked with a variety of activities. Part of my responsibilities include showing up to meetings, and I have a lot of meetings to attend. The two main meetings that consistently remain the same time are the Intern meeting at 1:30, and the Staff meeting at "6:30", both on Friday. I thought I did a pretty good job at showing up to both of these meetings on time. However, for the past few weeks, I felt like the staff meetings had been starting early, because they were always in session when I got there. Yesterday, I asked my youth pastor, Chris, why they had been starting early every week.
"Uh, no. We always start on time. You're always thirty minutes late." Notice how the above "6:30" is in quotes? This is because the meeting actually started at 6.
I felt pretty bad about this to say the least. It really, really bothered me that I didn't know when the meetings were, even though I had been to a couple before they started. What this taught me is that I am not very good with time management, or communicating with people. As soon as I got home, I shot Chris a text, copiously apologizing for being ignorant about the meeting times. He told me that he was going to mention something later, but I beat him to it. He thanked me for realizing my shortcomings and apologizing. All of this made me ask myself: Where else in my life am I going wrong without realizing it?
Someone (don't remember who) once said "Ignorance does not exclude you from the law." I learned this the hard way. I showed up for the last fifteen minutes of every meeting and didn't realize that I might be showing up late. Surprisingly, no one called me out on it for three weeks. Protip: let someone know they're screwing up before they find out themselves.
"Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted."
Galatians 6:1
If you see someone straying from their path, point it out to them. I had no idea that I was in the wrong until I asked about it. If you think about your life, you're probably not going to recognize unintentional, recurring mistakes that you might be making. Only when someone points it out to you does it become obvious. In Christian circles, this is often called "Accountability partners". But unless we're dealing with a sin issue in our lives, we shouldn't have to ask people to be accountable to one another. It should just happen naturally, but in a way that is loving. Be too hard on someone, and they'll probably stop trying altogether. Be too soft, and they probably won't take the message seriously. Strengthen one another in shortcomings.
"If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them."
James 4:17
Sometimes this is preventable, sometimes it's not. For instance, perhaps I should start looking for my wallet and keys before I have to leave. Or maybe pack up all of my things 20 minutes beforehand, as opposed to 5. Or, in my most recent case, simply know when I have to be places. In September, I got 'hired' at my church as an intern, and now I'm tasked with a variety of activities. Part of my responsibilities include showing up to meetings, and I have a lot of meetings to attend. The two main meetings that consistently remain the same time are the Intern meeting at 1:30, and the Staff meeting at "6:30", both on Friday. I thought I did a pretty good job at showing up to both of these meetings on time. However, for the past few weeks, I felt like the staff meetings had been starting early, because they were always in session when I got there. Yesterday, I asked my youth pastor, Chris, why they had been starting early every week.
"Uh, no. We always start on time. You're always thirty minutes late." Notice how the above "6:30" is in quotes? This is because the meeting actually started at 6.
I felt pretty bad about this to say the least. It really, really bothered me that I didn't know when the meetings were, even though I had been to a couple before they started. What this taught me is that I am not very good with time management, or communicating with people. As soon as I got home, I shot Chris a text, copiously apologizing for being ignorant about the meeting times. He told me that he was going to mention something later, but I beat him to it. He thanked me for realizing my shortcomings and apologizing. All of this made me ask myself: Where else in my life am I going wrong without realizing it?
Someone (don't remember who) once said "Ignorance does not exclude you from the law." I learned this the hard way. I showed up for the last fifteen minutes of every meeting and didn't realize that I might be showing up late. Surprisingly, no one called me out on it for three weeks. Protip: let someone know they're screwing up before they find out themselves.
"Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted."
Galatians 6:1
If you see someone straying from their path, point it out to them. I had no idea that I was in the wrong until I asked about it. If you think about your life, you're probably not going to recognize unintentional, recurring mistakes that you might be making. Only when someone points it out to you does it become obvious. In Christian circles, this is often called "Accountability partners". But unless we're dealing with a sin issue in our lives, we shouldn't have to ask people to be accountable to one another. It should just happen naturally, but in a way that is loving. Be too hard on someone, and they'll probably stop trying altogether. Be too soft, and they probably won't take the message seriously. Strengthen one another in shortcomings.
"If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them."
James 4:17
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Seven Of Hearts
Whether you realize it or not, your heart defines you. What you say, what you do, what your passions are, and what you care about, make up a large portion of who you are. And just like personality, the type of heart changes from person to person. Here are some examples of hearts that I've come across:
- Tender Heart
- Braveheart
- Warm Heart
- Sweetheart
- Wise Heart
- Bursting Heart
So these are most of the hearts I have encountered in my life. I probably didn't mention every single heart that there is, so if you don't see yourself on this list, then I apologize. But I made this list for a reason; to show that everyone has a unique heart for something. When we start to see these hearts, that's when we make connections with people. That is how you can tell when people are real and true. As great as these hearts are, there is one that you want to avoid having:
- Stone Heart
Saturday, October 11, 2014
Value of X
16x-8=5x+3
Don't worry, you don't have to solve this equation in order to continue with the blog post. But I put this here as an example: I feel like every person struggles to find value in something, just like our friend X in the math problem. X in algebra always represents an unknown number, and you usually don't know what that number is until you solve the equation. And X can represent just about anything.
So why do you care about some math problem? Because I think it relates more to real-life than you might know. (And they say that you'll never use this stuff in real life). Lets start by filling in the blank: what do you find value in? For me personally, I find value in those who love me: namely my family and friends. These people are always willing to step up and support me when I ask for it. I find value in these people because of how much they all love me. When I am not with these people (which is very rare) I become significantly more depressed. For each person, X might be different. I know a lot of people who are sports enthusiasts, who live for the game and the competition. For these people, they might find their value in sports. Feeling that their role is important. Making good plays. Performing well. If they can't do any/all of these tasks, they are going to suffer. Big time. Because that's where they place their value. I remember hearing recently that a significant number of professional football players commit suicide after their career ends. Because that's where they funnel all their value. Once the fame and fortune is gone they no longer know what to do with their lives.
So I'll ask this again: What do you find value in? Really take time to think about that. Once you figure that out, think about this next question: What would you do if that thing was gone? If you couldn't solve for X? It's hard to imagine isn't it? I'll be honest: If I didn't have the people in my life that I do, I'm not entirely sure what I would do. Probably just stoop down low and drag my feet through life like a zombie. I certainly would not be the same person.
So let me give you this: As amazing as X is in your life, it should not be the center of your life. Think about this; once something becomes your "center" it becomes what your life revolves around, as if it were a planet. When you make a good thing your "ultimate thing" it becomes a bad thing. Relationships comes to mind when I think about this. When someone is "head over heels" for someone else, they start setting an expectation for the relationship, that will eventually become unreal; something no one can fulfil. Then the relationship suffers because of that.
I think you get the idea by now. We have one bit of unfinished business left; solving that math problem at the beginning. Let's go ahead and solve the equation.
16x-8=5x+3
16x-8+8=5x+3+8
16x=5x+11
16x-5x=5x-5x+11
11x=11
x=1
I made the answer 1 on purpose. Because there's only one thing that we can truly find our value in. I could just go and say what I'm thinking of, but that would be no fun. I'll leave this open to interpretation. ;)
Thursday, September 18, 2014
We Are Not Alone
I know this ambiguous title might make you think I'm about to talk about aliens in outer space. I'm not. What I am here to talk about is a song, that a friend of mine recently sent me. It really hit me hard after I stopped to think about the lyrics. I wanted to take a few minutes to share it and discuss it.
Not Alone - RED
This song is an awesome reminder that we are never alone in this life. There will always be someone there to pick you up when you fall. Since this is a Christian band, the message of the song is referring to God/Jesus being there for you when you fall. Never ever underestimate that power. It's too easy to do when things aren't going your way.
However, sometimes it takes time to find that path when you do wander, and you rarely find your own way back. There are other people in this life to help you find that path.
I went through a rough patch in my life. I'm assuming most people have. When I couldn't see God in those times, there were people who took the time to help me wash the mud out of my eyes. Who took my arm around their shoulder when I was walking with a limp. Who took the time to learn my struggles and talk me through it. I thank God every day for these incredible friends. You know who you are.
If you're reading this and you don't have a friend like this, get one. Being open and real with another human being is something that is hard, but ultimately one of the best possible things you can do. Admittedly, friends like this don't exactly come out of the woodwork. It does take time to build trust with one another. But in the end, both people will become wiser and more mature by helping one another grow. Both people can pick the other up in their time of need, and reassure them. Correct them when they go astray. Speak life and wisdom into them. You don't know what kind of impact you might have on someone.
Always remember that God will never leave you nor forsake you. But in case you forget, have someone remind you.
"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:
10 If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up."
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
Not Alone - RED
This song is an awesome reminder that we are never alone in this life. There will always be someone there to pick you up when you fall. Since this is a Christian band, the message of the song is referring to God/Jesus being there for you when you fall. Never ever underestimate that power. It's too easy to do when things aren't going your way.
However, sometimes it takes time to find that path when you do wander, and you rarely find your own way back. There are other people in this life to help you find that path.
I went through a rough patch in my life. I'm assuming most people have. When I couldn't see God in those times, there were people who took the time to help me wash the mud out of my eyes. Who took my arm around their shoulder when I was walking with a limp. Who took the time to learn my struggles and talk me through it. I thank God every day for these incredible friends. You know who you are.
If you're reading this and you don't have a friend like this, get one. Being open and real with another human being is something that is hard, but ultimately one of the best possible things you can do. Admittedly, friends like this don't exactly come out of the woodwork. It does take time to build trust with one another. But in the end, both people will become wiser and more mature by helping one another grow. Both people can pick the other up in their time of need, and reassure them. Correct them when they go astray. Speak life and wisdom into them. You don't know what kind of impact you might have on someone.
Always remember that God will never leave you nor forsake you. But in case you forget, have someone remind you.
"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:
10 If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up."
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Fifteen-Fifty-Six
You're probably wondering: What does the title mean? What about the numbers? Why is the sky blue? All of those questions and more will be answered in this post. (Okay maybe not the last one. But still, you get the idea.)
So let's start with the purpose of this blog. What do I hope to accomplish though writing? Well there's a few thing that I had in mind:
A): To post my stories, poems, and any other stray thoughts I might have.
B): To share my insight on a particular matter, either in my own life or from somewhere else in the world.
C): To discuss religion. Specifically Christianity, but also other beliefs if they meet criteria B) or E).
D): To indirectly help other people shape their own views on the topic of discussion for the blog.
E): To talk about something interesting in my life, as it occurs.
So while that seems like a lot, it really isn't. I don't know what will happen in my life, but I could end up posting about all of these things simultaneously because of a single discussion with someone, or perhaps just one of them. Time will tell.
Next, why the name? What purpose does "Operation 1556" serve for this blog? Allow me to elaborate: we'll start with the numbers. For those of you who know me, you should know that when I use numbers ambiguously, they generally refer to Bible verses. In this case, it's Romans 15:5-6, which reads the following:
>May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had,
The most important part of this is "the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had". This is mind-blowing to think about in a lot of ways. First you have to ask yourself what kind of mindset Jesus might have had. Judging by his actions in the Bible, we can probably unanimously agree that Jesus was selfless, caring, forgiving, humble, wise, and loving, to name a few attributes. I could go on all day, but this is a good place to work off. I honestly think it's incredible that Paul prays that the Romans have the same mindset as Christ. Why? Because, if we (meaning people in general, but more likely Christians) had the same mindset as Christ, always putting others before ourselves, what would the world like? How would it be altered? Think about that.
Lets tackle the first part of this now, why does Paul say "The God who gives endurance and encouragement"? God gives a lot of things, but this is not exactly the first thing I think of when I think of God. However I think we can get our answer as to why if we look back on the overall tone of Romans. In the 16 chapters of this book, Paul is constantly encouraging the Romans on how to live a healthier lifestyle. In Romans 1:8, Paul commends them for their faith, because it was being reported all over the world. How amazing is that? And if you continue to read Romans, it's pretty encouraging stuff. For that reason, it's probably one of my favorite books in the entire bible. So therefore, the word encouragement is included because of the encouraging nature of the Gospel message, which Paul brings to light in the book of Romans. We're encouraged to live a radical lifestyle, we're encouraged to press on toward the goal, we're encouraged to endure in suffering. Which leads us to our next word.
Endurance. Interesting choice of word. But it's not really as complex as you think. To me, God is always giving us that endurance to get back up when we fall. Isaiah 40:31 comes to mind when someone mentions endurance:
>so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
One mind, one voice. Unity. Unity through Christ. Unity in Christ. Unity in praising God. It's so simple, and yet there's so much division in the modern day church over anything and everything. What seems like such a simple command is causing people to leave the church, because no one can completely agree on the message of the Bible. What two people might agree upon in one part of the Bible, they disagree in a different part. From the Jewish to the Christian to the Catholic, no one can seem to agree on anything. We've got the presbyterians, orthodox, baptists, methodist, etc., who all have something different to say about the Bible. "We should do this." "We shouldn't do this" "We should be more of this" "You should have these ideas about these topics" "Don't believe everything you read it's not all literal" Honestly: I don't care what anyone else thinks. But why do these differences in thought cause separations? Why can't we just come together in unity and praise God like we were made to do? Because in the end that's all that matters. Will determining what time of year Jesus was born get us into heaven? Will any differences in thought keep us out? As long as the basic core message is the same (Jesus lived and died and rose again and will come back one day and there is only salvation through him), then it shouldn't matter what we think about what. This verse calls us to be unified, and yet look at where we are today in American-Christianity.
So finally, I can tell you what the name means. It's essentially saying "This blog is a mission to unify people through Jesus Christ". That's it. Do I expect everyone to change their minds by reading this blog? No. But I hope and pray that those differences can be put aside for the sake of Christ.
So let's start with the purpose of this blog. What do I hope to accomplish though writing? Well there's a few thing that I had in mind:
A): To post my stories, poems, and any other stray thoughts I might have.
B): To share my insight on a particular matter, either in my own life or from somewhere else in the world.
C): To discuss religion. Specifically Christianity, but also other beliefs if they meet criteria B) or E).
D): To indirectly help other people shape their own views on the topic of discussion for the blog.
E): To talk about something interesting in my life, as it occurs.
So while that seems like a lot, it really isn't. I don't know what will happen in my life, but I could end up posting about all of these things simultaneously because of a single discussion with someone, or perhaps just one of them. Time will tell.
Next, why the name? What purpose does "Operation 1556" serve for this blog? Allow me to elaborate: we'll start with the numbers. For those of you who know me, you should know that when I use numbers ambiguously, they generally refer to Bible verses. In this case, it's Romans 15:5-6, which reads the following:
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.So what does that mean for the blog? I'm going to break this down bit by bit, starting with the first line.
>May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had,
The most important part of this is "the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had". This is mind-blowing to think about in a lot of ways. First you have to ask yourself what kind of mindset Jesus might have had. Judging by his actions in the Bible, we can probably unanimously agree that Jesus was selfless, caring, forgiving, humble, wise, and loving, to name a few attributes. I could go on all day, but this is a good place to work off. I honestly think it's incredible that Paul prays that the Romans have the same mindset as Christ. Why? Because, if we (meaning people in general, but more likely Christians) had the same mindset as Christ, always putting others before ourselves, what would the world like? How would it be altered? Think about that.
Lets tackle the first part of this now, why does Paul say "The God who gives endurance and encouragement"? God gives a lot of things, but this is not exactly the first thing I think of when I think of God. However I think we can get our answer as to why if we look back on the overall tone of Romans. In the 16 chapters of this book, Paul is constantly encouraging the Romans on how to live a healthier lifestyle. In Romans 1:8, Paul commends them for their faith, because it was being reported all over the world. How amazing is that? And if you continue to read Romans, it's pretty encouraging stuff. For that reason, it's probably one of my favorite books in the entire bible. So therefore, the word encouragement is included because of the encouraging nature of the Gospel message, which Paul brings to light in the book of Romans. We're encouraged to live a radical lifestyle, we're encouraged to press on toward the goal, we're encouraged to endure in suffering. Which leads us to our next word.
Endurance. Interesting choice of word. But it's not really as complex as you think. To me, God is always giving us that endurance to get back up when we fall. Isaiah 40:31 comes to mind when someone mentions endurance:
but those who hope in the LordGod definitely gives endurance. There's no question about that. We just need to hope in him to find it. If we didn't have God when we fell, where would we place our hope? What would encourage us to keep going if there was no goal in sight? Would we even have the endurance to keep going? With that said, let's move on to second part of the verse:
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
>so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
One mind, one voice. Unity. Unity through Christ. Unity in Christ. Unity in praising God. It's so simple, and yet there's so much division in the modern day church over anything and everything. What seems like such a simple command is causing people to leave the church, because no one can completely agree on the message of the Bible. What two people might agree upon in one part of the Bible, they disagree in a different part. From the Jewish to the Christian to the Catholic, no one can seem to agree on anything. We've got the presbyterians, orthodox, baptists, methodist, etc., who all have something different to say about the Bible. "We should do this." "We shouldn't do this" "We should be more of this" "You should have these ideas about these topics" "Don't believe everything you read it's not all literal" Honestly: I don't care what anyone else thinks. But why do these differences in thought cause separations? Why can't we just come together in unity and praise God like we were made to do? Because in the end that's all that matters. Will determining what time of year Jesus was born get us into heaven? Will any differences in thought keep us out? As long as the basic core message is the same (Jesus lived and died and rose again and will come back one day and there is only salvation through him), then it shouldn't matter what we think about what. This verse calls us to be unified, and yet look at where we are today in American-Christianity.
So finally, I can tell you what the name means. It's essentially saying "This blog is a mission to unify people through Jesus Christ". That's it. Do I expect everyone to change their minds by reading this blog? No. But I hope and pray that those differences can be put aside for the sake of Christ.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.
-Romans 1:16
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