So I have started reading Velvet Elvis that Aaron and Jessica gave me. :) So far some good stuff in there, only to the second chapter. It starts out as one of those "back to the beginning" books where not much is said except for "putting a new angle on Christianity" I am neither for nor against that idea so let me jot down some thoughts I had about it...

On the argument of "Do we correctly know as much as we can about God?" vs. "Does it really matter if some of it is wrong?" This is kinda the Doctrinaires vs. Mystics thing.

I believe arguments for both sides can be moot based on one thing I do know. (Something I have learned from reading Tozer.) It is God who justifies every act and every truth. He declares them right according to no other source or evidence but himself. So then it seems our debates and arguments within the Church (see: body of Christ) as to which doctrines to hold to i.e. trinity, speaking in tongues on baptism of Holy Spirit, yada yada yada, are moot in comparison to our PERSONAL, real relationship with God. These doctrines and beliefs ARE important, really, but compared to one's true relationship to God, their importance becomes infinitely small.

I shall conclude it as such: Nothing we know or say of God changes who He is, was and will always be. He justifies every thought and action of every sinful human by His grace through Jesus (see: salvation), even doctrines and philosophies. Therefore I would stick to His side, like glue, and let him sort out your issues :)

So the idolatry part. Idolatry is when man comes up with a god, or his idea of how god should be, and then makes an image of that based on his understanding. Ergo most gods end up resembling the man who carved it. So perhaps Idolatry could be defined as deciding for God who He is.

mistrE

pt.1

My thoughts of the moment.

Been reading Tozer, God's attributes. God is infinite and perfect in every way. And He does not have grace, He is grace. I keep on failing of course, but He hasn't given up on me yet... I need to call Kelly. I feel like an ass. Like I just gave up on all of those girls over there in Vienna, showing I didn't have the gall to show my face, or even try to make it back. Seems like everything I do has a selfish motive behind it. Like I have lost God's selflessness since I have tried this whole "self-sustaining" crap. My desire is to live for God's pleasure. Ya know, please him. And get as close to Him as humanly possible, and then when I can get no closer, may this mortal flesh rot back to the dust it came from, and then I will see my Lord face to face. I have strived so hard these past few months to not hold onto things, in the event that God calls me off to some strange land, and every goal I had halfway accomplished, and every relationship that was halfway developed, was cut off from me in one fell of the sword. (Not a literal sword mind you, I’m not expecting martyrdom for at least another ten years.) :p So lately my only successful option has been to search out the Lord and inquire of Him how I should handle each relationship and goal I find. Lol, that sounds so spiritual, but these inquires are have a dependence ration of 100:0 100- God’s coolness/awesomeness to come through to 0- my coolness of making my prayers sound so holy. (Warning: divide by zero error.)

For an actual topic

Your grace will be… a mystery

Forever loved, infinity

To tell the story, eternity

Mystery, it’s quite a concept. Most of the time we have one expectation when it comes to a mystery or something mysterious-- solve it, or explain it, or exploit it. For a mystery seems unattainable, and for some reason anything that is out of man’s grasp he must have. Why is this? I dunno, might have something to do with the garden, a serpent, and a lie. Which is sad, probably the first time God wept over the human race. Oh oh! Ya know, with our human nature, if God would reveal everything about Himself to us, many of us, in our arrogance, would no seek to spend more time with Him, but rather, put Him aside as a name drop, and move on to continue filling our portfolio. Although, this whole scenario is impossible, not only with God being infinite, but if we were to know everything about Him, every mystery in the universe would be answered and therefore nothing else would be pursued. Anyways, moving on from this logical exegesis.

*disclaimer- my theology sucks, and my rhetoric may contain heresy, just doing my best to convey what I see in my minds eye*

*disclaimer of the disclaimer- words suck anyways, and human thought brings down the lofty concept of God, and theological exegesis makes finite explanations of the sufferings and salvation which “the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care,” 1 Pet. 1:10*

An age ago the triune spoke, “Of our image, let us make this man.”

He gave it life and called it good.

Which means my face once looked like His,

But if so I can not recall

For at my first breath, sin was there

To maul the image we shared.

Literally it cut us off, the Creator from the creation.

And so I have never known His image… well not the whole at least.

But guess what? A man, (really God) made out of flesh what we could not!

A mortal body, with an image of God our Creator! You know the story. God became man and made his dwelling among us. And died, but in the process, restored to us His image.

Through the mystery of grace.

So now I get the pleasure of two mysteries, the first of my origin

And the second, of my redemption wh00t!!

The cause in-between, why I went from a perfect image to one needing to be redeemed

Doesn’t need too much explanation, I am very familiar with that failure

Been growin’ up with sin, and rebellion is a familiar advocate

‘nough about that. The mystery lies in grace not sin. I know well enough how to screw up, but grace… grace makes dry bones live, and only God knows how. Ezek 37:3

Psha! Titles, meh

Redemption it draws nigh!
Not that we deserve our redemption, for we have loved ourselves beyond restraint. Our desires have been lusted after, killed for, bought with blood money and sold us into slavery. The destruction of sin has disfigured, corrupted, poisoned and ravaged us to death. I suppose to understand redemption I must know of my wickedness and pray for forgiveness. My sin shows me the void of my soul and the debt I owe. Forgiveness brings me love and peace. But had I only been forgiven, and not redeemed, I would still be in the void of death, unable to pay its ransom, save but with my life. Actually there could never be any forgiveness without Jesus paying my debt and redeeming the value of my soul, for the debt had to be settled and the books balanced before I could cross the void back to the life and family I once knew before my rebellion. My Father stood, eyes always on the gate waiting for my hand to lift the latch and my feet to return me home.

Indeed but I will not enter alone, for my escort, the One my Father sent to retrieve me and pay my debt, walks by my side the whole way. As I continue the path to my Father's kingdom, Jesus strolls with me, telling me stories of His fame, describing to me His kingdom, and most importantly, instilling in me the wonders of His love. Not only is He with me, but also His Comforter aids me. The Holy Spirit is my light in darkness, my strength when I fall. He carries the wisdom and thoughts of God, and keeps all truth. He never lacks power, nor does He slumber or idle with nothing to do. Rather, when I rest, He keeps watch over me while angels and deamons battle in the spiritual realm.

Hallelujahs, and the transition thereof

I have been listening to a song recently, Hallelujah.
Now my mind is full of Hallelujahs. I find it very interesting, (yet not surprising) that the words have been changed over the years according to different . . . experiences with Hallelujah. The first writer a Jewish man, told he was of Aaron's line. Oddly enough he became a Buddhist priest. The second writer became a Christian as has experienced God change his life, and songwriting and is a worship leader.
I like both versions of the song, the sad one sings of a stolen Hallelujah, and the other a new found Hallelujah. What I must ask then, is where is MY Hallelujah, or how will it come to me...

Leonard Cohen's version
I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Your faith was strong, but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you
To a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Baby I've been here before
I know this room, I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you
I've seen your flag on the Marble Arch
Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah

There was a time you let me know
What's really going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?
I remember when I moved in you
And the holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Maybe there's a God above, all I ever learned from love
Was how to shoot at someone who out drew you
And it's not a cry you can hear at night
It's not somebody who's seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah


Lincoln Brewster's version
I love You Lord with all my heart
You've given me a brand new start
And I just want to sing this song to You
It goes like this the fourth the fifth
The minor fall the major lift
My heart and soul are praising Hallelujah

Hallelujah

I know that You're the God above
You're filling me with grace and love
And I just want to say thank You to You
You pulled me from the miry clay
You've given me a brand new day
Now all that I can say is
Hallelujah


my search for a transition... (work in progress)

The only one who changed the world
And made the Devil's plans unfurl
Bore on Him our broken Hallelujahs
As they raised Him to a tree
His love was spilled for you and me
And to our hearts returned the Hallelujah

Before the worship moved in me
There were no ways to set me free
A dark and lonely soul before I knew You
Lust and anger full of pride
Was all I ever knew inside
But then You came and brought the Hallelujah

Rules of Life

It's been a little bit since I have written, and published at least, so I thought I would get this darn thing up to speed. Gonna start at the most recent and work backwards, so here is my first.


David's Rules of life
#1 Don't take yourself too seriously
#2 No one cares after midnight
#3 Be &#*!@ real!! Both ways
#4 It's ok, we won't remember half of what you say, but we still like you
#5 Refer to rule #1, you have bigger fish to fry

Dragged, (drug?) on of my friends to church last Sunday. That was really awesome. Found the time <---> line of our world hidden right before my eyes on a hill (not Golgotha.) Mebbe I ought to write to explain...

"Trying so Hard to fit in until I found out that I don't belong here"- Switchfoot
Indeed sometimes I wonder if I will spend my whole life learning that I am but a stranger here, destined to wander an alien searching for home... And yet this Earth holds a memory, or perhaps a vision of our future, not unlike a tree in winter, a willow perhaps, just a skeleton of its former splendor. But a splendor that will return as spring does every year! First with a warm breeze, uncovering sights that have been hidden for ages. Then with a spark and rumble heaven descends on the willow and soaks into its roots. Ironic that life down here depends on heaven to revive it. Then, as the sun (Son?) shines, form and color return to it. Hmm, and I thought our world only told stories, not prophecies. And whoever decided our world was just a probability out of billions, (the only to win the jackpot of $life!), didn't listen enough to the ancient voice. Of course, any man wrapped up in his intellectual pride rarely does, me included :D Am I proposing that nature speaks? Only what Good allows it, and think of it in text-like terms, rather than audible ones.

Finish blip insert random thought Life sucks when you stop loving people and love yourself instead"
Ohh good idea lets do some Ulysses style for the boat floating Well I have to say I am not too fond of freewheeling but sometimes I do anyways Hey that was a great RVB episode I just watched on my other tab What if we all had crazy voices in our heads telling us unreal opinions about life Wait we already dooo Ah if only to shut the little twerp up and have some peace and quiet up here End Blip
Fin?

Ah Paree, how I miss it so. It's meandering river, peaceful promenades, annnd strip clubs (j/k I don't miss those) But I have seen better love. Ok time for bed, my brain juice ran out.

Holy as all get out (no serisously, get out)

mood: laughing at my seriousness
reading: end of James 2
next week: work, looking for a better job
what I miss: dang, Vienna man, painfully

Strength, weakness, trust, forgiveness
Sure I have some strength
But God loves my weakness
When I use my strength my pride swells up and I look good. Dang good.
But God uses my weakness, my weak will to sin, my unsure words, and love that has no confidence.
He uses those things and changes my world with them . . . and I am humbled.
Humility brings me closer to grace. Grace works in me to sanctify me.

Humanness - holiness
Ah yes, now I remember. (Mothers will warn their children about me for saying this, lol.)
Sin is indeed harmful.
And God's desire is to deliver us from it.
Through grace. Through sanctification.
But most of the time I expect God to rise me up on wings of eagles and fly over my problem . . . (sin, addiction, whatever label it gets.) So I beg God to take me above my humanness, make me (literally by def.) super human. But as the scripture lists it, (Isaiah 40:31) and P. Lloyd pointed out - first you fly, then you run, but most of the time, you walk. Walking is as human as it gets (just above crawling, which I do a lot of too, heh.) So maybe sanctification <-> holiness <-> deliverance is a walk with God, as human as it gets, not superhuman for the elitist few.
*Disclaimer* When I walk though, I definitely trip along the way, but God knows this. (not suggesting He causes or desires for us to fail) Otherwise we would all be flying, no stumbling in the air.
Hmm, perhaps such things that are hard in life, those things everyone can say is a weakness, i.e. pride, grieving, doubt etc. are not things we learn how to fly over as we become sanctified super Christians... but things we learn how to walk through with greater wisdom and grace, rather than avoidance.
Take grieving, you got your denial, anger, bargaining and acceptance stages of the common griever. I have seen people, myself included, try to "skip" a step in the process, thinking, "Since God has delivered me, he will keep me from anger" and trying to go through the process faster. But then you just have to deal with that feeling later, you don't get any shortcuts in life. Especially when you are a Christian. Shortcuts are for wimps.

Back Home for summer

Just wanted to write a little (as much as I can) to show that I am still breathing and let everyone know how my life is going. So
-made it back, 40 hrs of travel
-worked today, Sat back at me ole' job, was nice, and calm
-parents are out of town, I'm all home alone, then later they will leave for 2 weeks
-eating sausage, kaiser rolls, and sparkling water to ween myself off of Austrian food (or my version thereof)
-God is good, He is distant, but I am desperate right now, so I won't stop fighting till I be dead
-I miss everyone back in Vienna (dunno what ya got till it's gone)

future speculations? dunno, one day at a time. As of now I just know God has called me back.

My prayer: Whatever it takes.

ok, bye bye!