More crazy pictures :)

"Why a moral life won't get us to Heaven"

So in my GNED class or Christian worldviews (for those who dont go to LU) I read a paper by Jimmy Williams called "Why a moral life wont get us to heaven." It pointed out some important points that I forget about in my day to day walk with the Lord. I thought I'd share some of them:

•  Humans are the only animals in the world who worship. The centrality of human religious thinking points to an unmistakable reality: that humans instinctively know, or at least suspect, that there exists One to whom they are accountable for their behavior. They also assume, or know, that they have fallen short of what that higher being requires of them.
• It cannot be misunderstood: there is good in people, actually a great deal of good. Humans are not as bad as they could be. The point is simply this: if our premise is that to get to heaven one has to be good, then how good is good enough? God is not demanding goodness, He is demanding perfection!
• A wise old Baptist preacher once said, "It isn't difficult to get people saved; it is difficult to get them lost!" This is man's dilemma: like the Pharisees, people cling to the old fig leaves of self-effort instead of submitting to the covering God Himself has provided for all (Christ's sacrificial death, the Cross). Each of us must choose one or the other

My favorite point:

• We have discovered that the salvation offered by Christianity is uniquely opposed to all human efforts to secure it by working one's way into God's good graces. In fact, if God expected us to attain our salvation through good deeds, then God made a terrible mistake. He allowed His only-begotten Son to come to earth-robed in human flesh- and die a horrible death on a cross for our personal, eternal benefit. To choose a "good works" path to God is to negate the total significance of Christ's death, making it meaningless and unnessecary.

I forget some of these basic facts about humanity and Christianity. God has a plan and nothing was done by accident. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) but that is why the sacrifice of Christ is so amazing. That God could love a being who has failed so much, but still wants to redeem amazes me!

Until next time...

"Don't store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal." Matthew 6:19 (NLT)

As I read this verse this morning I realized the amount of time and energy I spend laying up treasures for myself here on earth. There are only two things that will last in this world: God's Word and His people so therefore shouldn't those be the two things I spend the most time with. 

Lately, I have been so encouraged because the Lord has richly blessed me with a fire for both of these things. His word is so alive and convicting. It's a double edged sword that strikes straight to the truth, but it is also compassion and kindness. Everything we need can be found somewhere in those 66 books.There is nothing God has not planned or preordained to happen, so why are we fearful or worried. 

The other thing the Lord has been faithful in blessing me with are friends, God's people who know Him and who love one another. Genuine compassion and mercy have been hard for me to find, but the Lord did not make me wait for very long. He has stored up an abundance of these people here at LU and I am blessed daily by them. 

I found this poem online and really enjoyed it. I hope you do to...

Give me time to dream, oh Lord
Time now for reflections
Time to rid my frazzled mind
of a thousand and one expectations.

Give me just a moment
to observe this changing time
~to shut out noise and disturbances
~To sweep them from my mind

Let me notice little things
you give unselfishly
~the falling leaves, the pure white snow
~all the gifts you give to me.

Let me look forward to tomorrow
without worry or regret
~forget the past and accept the present
~don't let me give up yet

Slow me down, Lord, slow me down
~so I can see your face
~to pause and let the blessed calm
~my negative thoughts replace.

Let me take the time to live and love
instead of racing out of control
Slow me down, Lord, slow me down
and still my restless soul

Some of the pictures from the all-nighter

1st Post

Hello everyone,
So this is my first time posting anything. Right now I'm sitting here in the common room with my awesome roommates and amazing SLD. We watched the movie "Invictus" and I would not recommend it to anyone. Its hard to follow and well here are my feelings: Nelson Mandela is liked by many people but they frequently forget he was in jail for being a terrorist. It was a race/apartheid problem but he is a glorified terrorist. I just dont know how much I like that. But anyway, we're pulling an all nighter for the fun of it and in celebration of not having work this minute because this week has about killed us! 3 tests and 2 quizzes which was no fun. Anyway,look for pictures and who knows what else to come...