I was listening to a song called "Cat and Mouse" by the punk/screamo-lid band Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. A very good song and a very good band. One phrase of the song really sticks out in my mind concerning relationships.
"You said that you would die for me, you must live for me too"
Gentlemen, I'd like to address you first. If you really are in love with a woman I am willing to say that you probably have told her that you would die for her. If you haven't told her that, you probably have thought it. I know this is true because I have and I know how men think!!! Now let's take a look at this phrase, "You must live for me too". Dying for a woman, or any one for that matter, is a huge cause and a very noble one at that. John 15:13 makes that perfectly clear... however the liklihood of us men having to die for the woman we love is slim to none.
My point is this: Don't tell her or even think that you'll die for her literally if you won't do it figuraively. What I mean is sacrifice your time to please her, to do something for her. Don't tell her that you'll die for her than go sit on the couch and veg in front of the TV while she is cooking, cleaning, watching the kids, etc. You can prove to her that you'll die for her by doing it everyday, simply by sacrificing your time and pleasures for doing something for her. Show that you will literally die for her by figuratively doing it for her in your everyday life. Sacrifice something you enjoy to help her. I gaurantee that she will vocalize her appreciation, gratitude, love, respect and honor for you.
Now I wish to address the Ladies. Don't ever forget about the sacrifice that your man is willing to make for YOU!!! You may or may not understand what goes on in his head and why he would do that but never disrespect it. Give him the unconditional respect!!!
Ephesians 5:33: Each man should LOVE his wife... and the wife should RESPECT her husband!!! UNCONDITIONALLY!!!
About Me
- Jakob
- A young man seeking after the Lord's will for my life. I am a believer in the One True God (John 14:6). A current student in college excited to be transferred to a Christian school to major in Youth Ministries!!! Yeah I believe the Lord is leading me to His ministry!!!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
TGIT... Thank God It's Thursday!!!
I am dead tired as I post this cuz I've been up past ten every day of the week and it's been constant work... so it's a literal lack of much needed sleep. Oh and I'm at school as I type this too so I can't go take a much needed nap!!!
Anyways I was talking to a friend last night at AWANA and she too finds it hilarious that apparently beats two and four are sinful according to many people who oppose CCM! Also I was impressed that she knew a little bit about hymn history and the music to for the early hymns were actually secular tunes.
Also I got an article from my youth pastor and in it discusses the sexualization in advertising contributing to rape. WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE!!!! You women hold a lot more power than you give yourselves credit for. You, just like everyone else hold the power to change the world.
The way I see it is this... men began lowering their standards. The women followed in unison and here we are today with divorce, non-married living together, and the list goes on!!! I believe that, not only the women but the men too can raise and hold onto the standards proper for believers than we can change the world. It only takes one person to start a revolution!!!
Don't be afraid to rise against the world. I am certianly going against a lot of what the world "teaches" about dating and I have caught flak from fellow believers for it!!! But I know it's right because as believers we are literally "slaves" to Christ following after His will for our lives!!! I challenge all you young people out there to question the standards you hold... Are they following after the world or are they following after Christ?!?!?!
Anyways I was talking to a friend last night at AWANA and she too finds it hilarious that apparently beats two and four are sinful according to many people who oppose CCM! Also I was impressed that she knew a little bit about hymn history and the music to for the early hymns were actually secular tunes.
Also I got an article from my youth pastor and in it discusses the sexualization in advertising contributing to rape. WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE!!!! You women hold a lot more power than you give yourselves credit for. You, just like everyone else hold the power to change the world.
The way I see it is this... men began lowering their standards. The women followed in unison and here we are today with divorce, non-married living together, and the list goes on!!! I believe that, not only the women but the men too can raise and hold onto the standards proper for believers than we can change the world. It only takes one person to start a revolution!!!
Don't be afraid to rise against the world. I am certianly going against a lot of what the world "teaches" about dating and I have caught flak from fellow believers for it!!! But I know it's right because as believers we are literally "slaves" to Christ following after His will for our lives!!! I challenge all you young people out there to question the standards you hold... Are they following after the world or are they following after Christ?!?!?!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Here I'll Stand
On Monday I gave some time for prayer. I was at work, loading a part in a machine, pressing the "start" button, and deburring the finished part, so I had time. Out of the 2 hour time of prayer I came to a spiritual high. I think the greatest thing was that lately I had been struggling with giving my time to God for prayer. Sincerely looking to Him for guidance and giving my time to Him rather than the typical prayer before meals and before I go to bed, it was great!!!
A little while ago I did a Bible study on prayer and was amazed at all God's word had to say about prayer and the power that it holds:
It really is amazing. Probably the scariest part of it is that we throw that away because we rarely take the time to sincerely look to God in prayer other than our normal daily time we take!!! How many times have you taken time out of your day to just pray??? Personally I have not done it many times, yet every time I do I come out refreshed, knowing God listened to me, at the same time listening to all those who were praying at the exact same time I was!!! It really is amazing!!!
Another disturbing thing is the lack of confidence someone may have in you for asking for a prayer request. Trust in their good will and leave the judging up to God. If you have something that you don't want to become public knowledge, keep it to yourself, but when someone asks you for a prayer request say unspoken or just don't say anything at all but I'll pray for ya anyways!!!
A little while ago I did a Bible study on prayer and was amazed at all God's word had to say about prayer and the power that it holds:
"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him" (1 John 5:14-15).
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7).
"…The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective" (James 5:16).
"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18).
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7).
"…The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective" (James 5:16).
"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18).
Mark 10:27
27Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God."
Mark 11:24
24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Luke 22:40
40On reaching the place, he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation."
Luke 11:9-10
9"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
John 14:13
13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.
It really is amazing. Probably the scariest part of it is that we throw that away because we rarely take the time to sincerely look to God in prayer other than our normal daily time we take!!! How many times have you taken time out of your day to just pray??? Personally I have not done it many times, yet every time I do I come out refreshed, knowing God listened to me, at the same time listening to all those who were praying at the exact same time I was!!! It really is amazing!!!
Another disturbing thing is the lack of confidence someone may have in you for asking for a prayer request. Trust in their good will and leave the judging up to God. If you have something that you don't want to become public knowledge, keep it to yourself, but when someone asks you for a prayer request say unspoken or just don't say anything at all but I'll pray for ya anyways!!!
Monday, April 4, 2011
CCM
Last night was the coolest display of lightning I'd have ever seen. What a great way to show Your Power God, Kudos!!!!
Any ways last semester I took an English class that was hellbent on writing papers, of course I really enjoyed that!!! The research paper was the largest and the most stressful paper I've ever had to write. I decided to write it about Contemporary Christian Music (CCM). At that point in my life and still I really enjoyed seeking out the arguments for and against CCM because I have such broad musical interests. If you have looked at or read my interests you will see that there are many different musical artists, both secular and Christian.
First for those who do not know, CCM, in my opinion, is taking Christian-based lyrics and putting them to rap, rock, metal, metalcore, screamo, punk, pop, etc. different kinds of music genres. Personally I am very much for CCM because, for one reason, I have such a broad interest in so many different kind of music genres.
Second for those who do not know, traditionalists are those who oppose CCM, for the most part. They think CCM supporters are pushing away the traditional hymns from the church. Oh and did I mention that they think CCM is of the devil. The present some good arguments and some rather ridiculous ones, both using Scripture passages. Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 are the two passages mainly used, both of which suggest "Speaking to one another in Psalms and hymns!"
However they only present half the verses, which is so convenient for them to leave out the other halves which say "singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord!" (Eph. 5:19), "Singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God!" (Col. 3:16). They fail to mention that although they are both the verses they'll use to present their arguments against CCM.
A point that I am trying to make is this: The music and to a certain extent even the lyrical content of the song does not matter. It is the attitude of the performer and the heart is something ONLY God can judge! I'd like you all to take a look at Psalm 150. It is very short but in it, the author talks about worship. It is to be loud( clanging cymbals) with lots of instruments.
Do I think that churches should get rid of Hymns? By all means NO!!! I LOVE the traditional hymns, but I want people to understand that CCM is an alright form of worship!
My personal favorite argument is that the downbeats of 2 and 4 are satanic. I'd like to see a Bible verse on that please! They are sinful because those are the beats that the snare drum will normally be hit for a downbeat which is helpful for the other performers to count the beats in a measure! Also solos are sinful because they put all the attention on the performer. What if the performer is playing for their Lord God???!!!
I see that fellow believers judge what they cannot, the heart of other believers!!! They judge the book by it's cover. They accuse CCM being satanic because it is taking the genres of the secular world and putting Christian lyrics to the music. If one knows their hymn history, they would know that a lot of the popular hymns we sing today once had secular music to it until the artist made the music we know it to be now!!!
Please understand that I am not out to get these people who oppose CCM. I love my hymns and really enjoy singing them in church, but I want people to open up there eyes that God is who we want to worship and all the attention goes rightfully to Him!!!
I'd like to close with a quote. "God gave Rock and Roll to you!!!" Gene Simmons
Any ways last semester I took an English class that was hellbent on writing papers, of course I really enjoyed that!!! The research paper was the largest and the most stressful paper I've ever had to write. I decided to write it about Contemporary Christian Music (CCM). At that point in my life and still I really enjoyed seeking out the arguments for and against CCM because I have such broad musical interests. If you have looked at or read my interests you will see that there are many different musical artists, both secular and Christian.
First for those who do not know, CCM, in my opinion, is taking Christian-based lyrics and putting them to rap, rock, metal, metalcore, screamo, punk, pop, etc. different kinds of music genres. Personally I am very much for CCM because, for one reason, I have such a broad interest in so many different kind of music genres.
Second for those who do not know, traditionalists are those who oppose CCM, for the most part. They think CCM supporters are pushing away the traditional hymns from the church. Oh and did I mention that they think CCM is of the devil. The present some good arguments and some rather ridiculous ones, both using Scripture passages. Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 are the two passages mainly used, both of which suggest "Speaking to one another in Psalms and hymns!"
However they only present half the verses, which is so convenient for them to leave out the other halves which say "singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord!" (Eph. 5:19), "Singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God!" (Col. 3:16). They fail to mention that although they are both the verses they'll use to present their arguments against CCM.
A point that I am trying to make is this: The music and to a certain extent even the lyrical content of the song does not matter. It is the attitude of the performer and the heart is something ONLY God can judge! I'd like you all to take a look at Psalm 150. It is very short but in it, the author talks about worship. It is to be loud( clanging cymbals) with lots of instruments.
Do I think that churches should get rid of Hymns? By all means NO!!! I LOVE the traditional hymns, but I want people to understand that CCM is an alright form of worship!
My personal favorite argument is that the downbeats of 2 and 4 are satanic. I'd like to see a Bible verse on that please! They are sinful because those are the beats that the snare drum will normally be hit for a downbeat which is helpful for the other performers to count the beats in a measure! Also solos are sinful because they put all the attention on the performer. What if the performer is playing for their Lord God???!!!
I see that fellow believers judge what they cannot, the heart of other believers!!! They judge the book by it's cover. They accuse CCM being satanic because it is taking the genres of the secular world and putting Christian lyrics to the music. If one knows their hymn history, they would know that a lot of the popular hymns we sing today once had secular music to it until the artist made the music we know it to be now!!!
Please understand that I am not out to get these people who oppose CCM. I love my hymns and really enjoy singing them in church, but I want people to open up there eyes that God is who we want to worship and all the attention goes rightfully to Him!!!
I'd like to close with a quote. "God gave Rock and Roll to you!!!" Gene Simmons
Friday, April 1, 2011
Modesty
Hey Baseball season is finally back... is this the year for my Cubbies??? Eh who knows, I am not one of those "This is the year" people anyways!!!
I have a question and maybe a suggestion for you women out there. I was thinking about all the cases of rape, sexual abuse and everything of that sort. I know the main problem is sin, the Bible makes that clear, but I have always thought what can we as humans do to help get the cases of abuse and rape down...
So my question is question is this: Do you think that the numbers would go down if the women would stop wearing clothing that reveals cleavage? Do you think that women should start dressing more modest and the numbers would maybe go down?
Ten bucks says that I would be barraged with women saying that it is the guys fault for looking and that they as women should be able to wear whatever they want. It's the whole feminist movement that is really hurt the men these days telling us to be more feminine when in fact we are guys and we are masculine. Guys are guys and girls are girls, there are many reasons God made us the way we are and there are reasons He made us with different mindsets and attributes. But this world is really trying to change them!!!
So Modesty, wearing clothing that doesn't reveal anything and the skirts are actually, in my opinion, knee length. My thought is this: What if you wonderful women out there did start wearing more modest clothing, what would happen? Would the statistics go down?
I don't know but I do know that a guys mind won't be going to places it shouldn't be as quickly as it normally would from a girl wearing some skimpy outfit.
Really the whole point right here is how about a little modesty girls??? Especially the girls who are Christians!!! Remember Romans 12:1-2, being set-apart!?!?
Also what would you say to God about your everyday outfits that reveal cleavage? I mean after all the Bible says that we are all going to have to answer to God, so you better start working on your perfect excuses or reasons to tell God why you wear and do what you wear and do!!!
I'd like to hear your comments!!!
I have a question and maybe a suggestion for you women out there. I was thinking about all the cases of rape, sexual abuse and everything of that sort. I know the main problem is sin, the Bible makes that clear, but I have always thought what can we as humans do to help get the cases of abuse and rape down...
So my question is question is this: Do you think that the numbers would go down if the women would stop wearing clothing that reveals cleavage? Do you think that women should start dressing more modest and the numbers would maybe go down?
Ten bucks says that I would be barraged with women saying that it is the guys fault for looking and that they as women should be able to wear whatever they want. It's the whole feminist movement that is really hurt the men these days telling us to be more feminine when in fact we are guys and we are masculine. Guys are guys and girls are girls, there are many reasons God made us the way we are and there are reasons He made us with different mindsets and attributes. But this world is really trying to change them!!!
So Modesty, wearing clothing that doesn't reveal anything and the skirts are actually, in my opinion, knee length. My thought is this: What if you wonderful women out there did start wearing more modest clothing, what would happen? Would the statistics go down?
I don't know but I do know that a guys mind won't be going to places it shouldn't be as quickly as it normally would from a girl wearing some skimpy outfit.
Really the whole point right here is how about a little modesty girls??? Especially the girls who are Christians!!! Remember Romans 12:1-2, being set-apart!?!?
Also what would you say to God about your everyday outfits that reveal cleavage? I mean after all the Bible says that we are all going to have to answer to God, so you better start working on your perfect excuses or reasons to tell God why you wear and do what you wear and do!!!
I'd like to hear your comments!!!
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