The Reason for the Return

                                   

     First off let me apologize to you if you have read my previous posts and wondered why I stopped. Blogging is a lot different than I originally thought it would be. It is a task that very much can get in your head and mess with you. Let me explain.

     When I started blogging I did it because I love writing and thought this would be a great platform to share my writings with others. It began that way but quickly I learned that it can be hard coming up with new material regularly and you basically have to give yourself a due date and come what may you better have something posted. Then I began over thinking it when I saw all the shiny toys for counting people and everything I read said "Grow your blog so you can make money" and I didn't know how to market, so I felt like I was doing it wrong.  Then after  I read these things I would get on and see how I wrote all these posts and I couldn't see any results from what I was achieving and I kept struggling with "how should I make my blog better?"  It honestly got to the point that what I thought was expected of me (and all bloggers for that matter) was something I was not willing to go through. I was not ready to make my blog a store front to peddle wares and since I couldn't do that I felt there was no point to continue. Maybe one day I will be less cynical about, but that day is not today.

     Well, time has now past and I have had a chance to work through some things. My wife, Marsha, and I have been reading a book together called Quitter by John Acuff and it talks about a guy who was a serial quitter from jobs. He hated his day jobs and wished he was doing his dream job. His dream job was to be a writer and he talks about the true struggles of doing what you love. Between timing fixing me and my thinking being corrected by things like Quitter I have realized that what I really want to do is to start writing here again. Not with expectations, but with an understanding that writing sometimes gets hard.  Really though, is a dream worth doing if it isn't hard?

-Jason

                      Why We Keep Training Our Leaders

    One night this year as  I was working the church's children ministry program, one of the kids came up to me and said sorry for an event that had occurred earlier that night. The problem had already been fixed, I wasn't concerned about it happening again, and  so my response to the sorry was "Okay." and I didn't think anything else about it. However, one of the other leaders told me that was an incorrect response. He said there was a formula for what to say and I should have said "I forgive you!" Well, if your anything like me you don't like textbook answers, but as I thought about it I began to understand something.

     Nobody can read my mind. The kids, the staff, even my friends and family can't know what I mean.  "Okay" to them can just as easily mean I don't forgive you or I don't care about you. It is only when we know why we use textbook answers that we can begin to deviate from that path. It is not an attempt to sound forced or calloused, it is simply a formula for not messing up taught by someone who has probably learned that lesson the hard way.  This is just an example of the importance of why if you are a leader you must not stop learning on the job. You can never see a problem from too many ways, or have too much good training. Remember that we don't become leaders to please ourselves. It is actually a form of serving....albeit from the front.

-Jason

                                   Sachem: The Bird Prince

     When the English first began encountering the Native Americans in New England there were a multitude of tribes. Many of the tribes in this area were ruled by princes they called Sachems. Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island, said this term referred to certain small birds. "A small bird is called a sachem...because of its 'sachem' or princelike courage and command over greater birds, that a man shall often see this small bird pursue and vanquish and put to flight the crow and other birds far bigger than itself." The idea was that a smaller bird (or person) could defeat his opponent who was overpowering due to his boldness and confidence.

     If you live in a part of the world that is anything like mine (Louisiana) you have seen these small birds chase bigger birds off. They have no reason to expect to win, they just take charge with courage and tenacity. Take a moment to think about when you have acted like a prince before, not cocky or arrogant, but just bold. Maybe you have heard the old adage; when you don't know what to do, just act like you do.  This is the same concept. Writers and thinkers through out time have preached principles such as "Fortune favors the bold" and apparently this is how the Native Americans of Massachusetts saw their world too.

     Sometimes you just need to step out of your comfort zone and act like a prince. Be bold and go get what you want in life.


-Jason

A sachem (mockingbird) chasing off a crow.

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                              Why We Know Anything About Assyria

     Sometime around 770 BC the Lord came to a man named Jonah. This man was a prophet, and the Lord told him to go to Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrians. Once he was there, he was to tell them they had 40 days to repent or the Lord would destroy them.  Now, 40 is a symbolic number in Hebrew literature that signifies a time of transition, so effectively the Lord said he would give them a small amount of time to correct their ways, and if not they would be destroyed.  Assyria, by this time was already known for being wicked and there was no reason to think they would repent...but they did!

     According to the ultimatum the Lord allowed Nineveh and the Assyrians to keep on going. This simple fact is what brings us to our point.  There were all sorts of small insignificant nations in the ancient world and the Old Testament that we know practically nothing about. We don't know about the Edomites or the Aramites, or other tribes mentioned except for names and maybe a few kings, but Assyria is different.  It's different because it went on to have many strong kings who built an amazingly advanced empire. A large empire from modern day Iraq all the way to Egypt.

     The really interesting part is this; If Nineveh didn't repent in 770 BC, all of the great kings, the empire, the advanced civilization they created would have been destroyed during its infancy. Most likely when someone said Assyria, you would think exclusively of the Bible stories, and maybe one day an archaeologist would have dug up the city, not been very impressed and just jotted it down on a map.  The Assyrians were given a choice and they had 2 possible responses: 1) except God 2) be destroyed   Their choice of listening to God resulted in the Assyrian Empire lasting for approximately 160 more years and giving us a vastly greater amount of records about them. 

-Jason

A painting of what Nineveh may have looked like.
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Citizenship of Heaven

                                                     

 " For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; ²¹ who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself." 

-Phillipians 3:20-21

      Chapter 3 of Philippians is a passage where the Apostle Paul is talking to the church in Phillippi about the goal of the Christian life and how we should press on despite our struggles.In this same chapter we get the passage quoted at the top. This passage by itself has relevance, but it has no background.

Phillipi is located north of Greece in Macedonia. It was founded by Phillip II, Alexander the Great's father and consequently bears his name.

      You may have previously read the blog post Ides of March where Julius Caesar was discussed, and how on March 15th 44BC he was brutally assassinated. This assassination left the Roman world in chaos, but by November of the next year (43 BC) the 2nd Triumvirate (rule of three men) had come to power. Mark Antony was the senior leader, Augustus was next, and also a man named Marcus Lepidus. One of the first things these men did was hunt down the assassins of Julius Caesar. They caught up with them in northern Greece and they had a battle at Phillipi where Brutus and Cassius, the 2 generals of the opposing force were killed.


    Later, when Augustus had taken full power and became Rome's first Emperor he set up Phillipi as a monumental city to remember the defeat of the Assassins. William John Conybeare in his book The Life and Epistles of St. Paul says Phillipi was "gifted by Augustus with the privileges of colonia (colony). It thus became at once a border garrison of the province of Macedonia and a perpetual memorial of his victory over Brutus".  The accolades the city got from the Emperor and the citizenship they received were very important and made them proud. Citizenship in the Roman world was a big deal and not something to be treated lightly. Often men would serve over 20 years in the army for a piece of land and the right to call themselves citizens.


    The Apostle's point was clear to the audience he was speaking to. Yes, Roman citizenship is highly sought after, but being a Christian means we are a citizen of heaven. That is something we should treasure!


-Jason

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                               The Liar's Paradox in the Bible

      When you read the books written by the Apostle Paul you realize you are reading a very well educated man. He was a Pharisee trained under Gamaliel, one of the most famous Jewish Rabbis.  He also knew Greek and was obviously familiar with Greek writings as well. One of these examples is found in the book of Titus. Titus was a younger disciple, who was sent to Crete and here Paul is teaching him through a letter. Suddenly in the text we get this weird passage.

 ¹⁰ "For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, ¹¹ who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain. ¹² One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, 'Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.' ¹³ This testimony is true. For this reason reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith". (Titus 1:10-13)

This is a map that shows where Crete is. An island found right off the coast of Greece and Turkey.

     The reason this is called the Liar's Paradox is because if a man is from Crete and says that all men from Crete are liars; how can you know if he is telling the truth or not? A paradox simply means 1 of 2 things:       1) The statement is false because it is impossible 2) It seems contradictory, but in reality expresses a truth that is not easy to see or understand.

     Let's begin with Paul. Is he showing his true colors as a racist here? Would he dump a whole group of people together as all good-for-nothings? No of course not! If we are to understand what is going on, we must make an attempt to figure out what he is talking about when he says "One of themselves, a prophet of their own said 'Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.' "  (By the way, yes....if you are from Crete you are by definition a Cretan. I know you were wondering about that.) Now back to our story.
Who was this guy Paul came up with to quote?

     Somewhere around 600 BC there was a man named Epimenides. He was supposed to have been a prophet, a miracle worker, a vision seer, and a poet. This poet part is the most important here because it is why the Apostle quotes him. How exactly does a man get away with saying his entire country is full of liars however? According to A.P. Staff in an article at the Apologetics Press website

"The first step in understanding this alleged contradiction is to realize that Epimenides was a poet. Poets, playwrights, and other writers sometimes use a literary technique known as hyperbole, which is a deliberate exaggeration used to make a point. To say that “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons,” is to say that the Cretan society as a whole was immoral and decadent, not necessarily that every single individual in that society was a liar, evil beast, or lazy glutton."

      It is not a new phenomenon in the history of the world to think the time we live in is the most corrupt time ever. People often refer to ideas of how their childhood was better or how the up and coming generation is worse. The truth is that there have always been people who say this. People over the ages may live in a different world, but the traits of what makes man a human are always basically the same. When someone says something to the effect of "Young people today don't respect their elders" they do not mean every single individual, but use these terms as blankets to generalize the whole group.

     Now that we have found out what the poet meant, lets look at the social impact of statements like this. If you tell someone something over and over again it becomes very hard to fight it. In a way it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If a man sees his entire country and everyone in it as liars, why should he be anything else? After all it is expected of him.  This was the challenge Titus faced. How should he deal with a people that have been told there whole lives they are liars and no good? What should he do to overcome a national stereo-type they had created?

     The next verse in Titus is Paul telling him to "reprove them severely, so that they may be sound in the faith."   This is a concept Christians should be familiar with. When you reprove someone you are not criticizing to be mean, but to help them grow.  It means be tough with someone who is harsh with themselves, but do it in a way they know you love them. I would call it "Tough Love." Being the good guy isn't always fun!

-Jason


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                                   Finding the Beginning of the Alphabet

     Every time you write a word you are practicing the skill of writing. This skill is based on words that transfer thoughts from the writer to the reader, but the question is.....where did we get this alphabet that helps us communicate in the written word?

    Most European languages such as English, French, Spanish etc. all have the same or very similar letters. The reason for this is because they come directly from Latin. The Latins developed this form of the alphabet sometimes around the 5th century BC and spread it from Italy throughout the Mediterranean world as far England in the west to modern day Iraq in the east.  However, the alphabet itself is far older. When we go back as far as we can, we find the earliest form of the alphabet we use being practiced by a group of people called the Phoenicians.  These people were sea-faring merchants (related to the Canaanites of the Bible) who used the alphabet to keep records of their goods. As they expanded across the Mediterranean Sea they came into contact with the Greeks. Now the Greeks were interested in this language but they had a problem with it. There were no vowels. A Phoenician would just know where the vowels belong because he grew up speaking it, but it didn't work the same when the alphabet was used by another language. For example: "Whr d th vwls blng n ths sntnc?"  Makes for a head ache. Even if you can figure it out, it still causes issues like "should this be an 'a' or an 'e' here?"

     The Greeks then took this alphabet and added vowels to the 22 Phoenician letters and merged some of the others into a 24 letter system. Also as a consequence of the Greek tinkering the first two letters "Alpha" and "Beta" were used to name the "Alpha-bet(a)". [ If you were wondering, the Hebrew alphabet is actually called the "Alefbet" after its first two letters "Alef" and "Bet".]   From there a people from northern Italy called the Etruscans took the alphabet and changed it a little more and passed it on to the Romans who set the modern day alphabet into its primary form.

 This is the Greek alphabet, notice the similarities between it and English are there despite the odd looking letters.

     Keep in mind that Arabic does not follow this pattern. Arabic's roots come out of the Semitic languages, such as Hebrew, Phoenician and Canaanite etc. While our alphabet was making its way through the Greek and Latin languages, Arabic and Hebrew were on a completely different path.This shows us that alphabets that look as different as English and Arabic can in fact have the same basis.  Finally another path to consider is Russian. While the Russian alphabet also went from Phoenician into Greek it never made its way through Rome. Somewhere in the 900s A.D. the Christian church in Constantinople sent a missionary named Cyrus to Russia. There he found the people had no written language and he wanted to teach them the Bible in their own tongue. To accomplish this Cyrus formed a new alphabet based on Greek that was its own unique style. This was later dubbed the Cyrillic Alphabet and it explains why Russian looks so foreign to western eyes, but in reality it is pretty close to Greek.

 This is the Hebrew alphabet, which is very close to what the ancient Phoenician would have been like, although languages do tend to change over 4,000 years. Also, the reason the A is on the right is because Hebrew is read from right to left.

I hope you enjoyed our little tour of the alphabet, I have opened up the comments section where anyone can post now as long as you tell the drop down menu "Anonymous". Don't use that as an excuse to not leave your name however. Also feel free to leave questions or thoughts as well.

-Jason
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                            How Does This Affect Me?

     Have you ever noticed that everybody has certain subjects they just hate. Ask them "What subjects in school did you like?" and part of that answer is almost certain to be "Well I liked this but... I just hated math, English, history..." or some other subject.  I was always under the impression that the reason people don't like these fields of study was because they had bad teachers. These teachers just didn't teach them to enjoy the subjects. This is true to an extent but, there is more to it. I think I have found another layer behind this mentality of being mortified by whole fields of study.

     Lacking a proper name for it, I shall call it the "Mentality of Relativity". Now what in the world do I mean by this?  Well, relativity simply means that we humans like to know how the things we put into our minds relate to us. No one wants to fill his/her mind with useless mental garbage. We require a reason for needing the information.  My mind struggles with the idea of why I  hear people tell me they don't like history. Really? You don't like history because you don't think it relates to your life? Yet you are okay with filling your brain with anything from Twilight to Southpark?  I really had problems with Christians telling me this...I mean after all, the first 2/3rds of the Bible have a LOT of history in them. The reality of it though is that it is all about your mindset; hence the "mentality" word.  When we mentally decide something is useless to us we want nothing to do with it. Even if something is entertaining then it has some value to us, but if something is neither practical nor entertaining why should we waste our gray matter? This is a very legitimate question that almost all high school students ask their algebra teachers after all.

    Suppose we were to change the way we teach history, math, English etc. to kids (and adults for that matter) and we added extra stress to how the subject relates to them. Would we would have better results? When we teach that the reason we study history is "so we don't make the same mistakes of the past." that's fine, but how many people regularly read about World War 2 and say to themselves "Next time I take over a country, I won't exterminate the Jews." No, of course not! Very few of us will ever have major political issues like that confront us in our lives so that lesson becomes useless. History in fact is more than that. It is the story of mankind. It teaches us where we came from and why we do the things we do. It explains traditions and why certain cultures act differently from one another. On top of that the people we read about show us over and over again that they had the same emotions, ideas, fears and dreams that we do today. Sure their worlds were a little different, but the personalities of people are always the same. When you read a good book or watch one of your favorite movies the things you remember are the moments when you see the humanity of the characters. They overcome their trials and inspire us to be the best we can be. This is the true story of history. Man's eternal struggle with facing this world and historians were the guys( and sometimes gals) nice enough to write it down for us.

This is the scene from Gladiator where Maximus reveals himself to the Emperor and says:

My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, Commander of the northern Armies, faithful and loyal servant to the true emperor Marcus Aurelius, husband to a murdered wife, father to a murdered son, and i will have my revenge, in this life or the next.

     This is the kind of language we all understand. It is experiencing the bad things in life and struggling to find a way to keep going.



      If we really want to be our best we should at least examine why we irrationally hate specific types of learning. I for example have always hated math, but I am trying to look at it with fresh eyes and understand a lot of people love it.  Who knows, maybe I am missing out on a great world because I never had someone teach me how it could be useful to me. More importantly though, whatever it is you love you must learn to teach it to others in a way that they grasp it not only with their minds, but also with their hearts!

-Jason

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Intentional Change

     I always think of experiences people have (myself included) where we have this great event happen and swear our lives will forever change. Then we pledge all these drastic changes....but come next week, or sometime in the not-to-distant future we go back to just how we were living  as if nothing had ever happened.  That is not an experience I would ever encourage, sure it's great, but it's usually not real. Should someone actually want to improve their life they must not think of having big events that change it, but a slow, methodical, and most importantly an intentional change. Think....setting goals (Spiritual Disciplines Part 1-Setting Goals) 



    Now, what exactly do I mean by becoming intentional?  Think of it this way, no matter what you do in life you are never exactly the same. You learn a little bit everyday, you begin or continue to form habits, you try new things or you reject new things etc... Now think about what you do that gives you that feeling of meaning and purpose in your life. Are you actively doing at least one thing a day to improve yourself in that field? Let's talk about jobs for example, if you are a salesman and you LOVE music, are you doing at least something to achieve that goal? I can tell you from my personal life that their have been many days where I did nothing practical, nothing at all where I was thinking about bettering myself or achieving any of the things I want(ed) to do in life. When I look back I won't remember the days I spent watching tv or playing video games. The days I will remember are the ones where I helped a friend, taught a kid about Jesus, spent time with my wife and daughter. Those are things that have eternal value, because their importance are higher in the long run. My eternal value scale however, also includes writing and teaching.

 


  We live in a very fast paced world where no one feels like they have time for anything. The dirty little secret though, is that we make time for what is most important to us. If what you say the most important things  to you are end up being the things you spend little to no time doing, then that probably means 1 of 2 things:  1) You are lying to yourself  or 2) You are not satisfied with your life.  Let me tell you this, if I am not writing something or teaching something on a regular basis then I am not happy. Period!  Your burning passion(s) is that important. Neglect it at your own peril!  The most important thing is to decide in your mind you are going to change and do whatever it takes to keep that attitude, because we naturally move closer to where we look.

-Jason

                  Sometimes You Just Have to Stand Up


    When I was in high school there was a girl who was adamantly opposed to Christianity. I was told "She's a pagan." by some of my classmates, but I have no idea if that was even remotely true or what she believed in reality. It was clear however, she was not a fan of the church.  One day there was an email in my inbox that was addressed to somewhere close to a hundred students (myself included) from this girl. My memory from that long ago is not good enough to repeat it verbatim but the overall point was that Christians are hypocrites and do not practice what they preach. This letter was very angry and full of vile and at that time of my life it was very shocking to read.

      Well I waited a couple of days and no one responded to these accusations.  I knew in my heart that the Lord wanted me to reply, and so I began an email explaining that I understood there were many Christians who didn't live what they taught, but that did not mean we should all be written off. People will always behave like people. We  will always struggle with failure and making the right choices, but this does not make an entire faith unworthy of consideration due to the faults of those who claim membership.  The girl responded to me in an instant message the next day and we talked a few minutes. She said she knew that not all Christians were like that and thanked me for taking the time to respond. However, the reaction that was most surprising to me was a small minority of my classmates who were Christians. They chastised me for "airing dirty laundry" or "trying to embarrass her or hurt her feelings".  I assured them I did no such thing, but it was a wake up call that even people who you expect to be on your side will turn on you when you rock the boat no matter the truthfulness of what you say.  Despite this I believe the strongest and most positive reactions were from the majority of the Christians who reached out to me to express thanks for standing up when it was needed and others who responded to her in kind. There is nothing special about me or my abilities to reason, but when the Lord is your guide he will pick times to use you when it counts more than anytime YOU pick to do something.

    
     There is a strong spirit that even effects Christians where we would just assume not make waves, but part of the faith of a Christian is that you should be making some. Romans 10:13-14

"For whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved; How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?"

This is a cross dedicated to the Christian Martyrs that is standing inside the Colosseum....those who really stood up for their faith.

     Am I sad I hurt those people's feelings? No! Would I have been sad if I had hurt the girl's feelings? Not at all! I am not in the business of apologizing for the Gospel. I believe it with every fiber of my being! Does a sixteen year old kid seem like the best candidate to argue theology? No. However, that girl needed to hear a positive Christian message, one that was genuine. Not whatever fluff and lies whoever she knew had taught her. People know when you lie to them and consciously or sub-consciously they are affected by how we Christians live our lives. We should never be afraid to rock the boat. Like the verse in Romans says, how can the world know about Christ if we don't tell them?

 Isn't that the point?


-Jason
   

                     Athenian Words in the New Testament

     The writing of the New Testament of the Bible is an interesting story.  Written by a group of Jewish men and one Greek doctor (Luke) it was written entirely in Greek. Yes, that is right! Jews who wrote in Greek. What you have to keep in mind was that Greek was the language everyone knew in those days. Today English is the world's most dominant language, but back then it was Greek. The particular form of Greek was called "Koinonia Greek" which basically meant "Common Greek". While it is very possible to understand the concepts of the New Testament without knowing Greek there are some words and background that help enrich the passages. What this blog proposes to do is to look at a few Greek words and explain them in a Greek cultural viewpoint. The reason I call them Athenian words is because Athens, the most famous of the Greek cities is the most well known and understood and we can use the lens of Athens to explore what these terms mean in the Greek language. They are not specifically Athenian words, we just understand them because of the Athenian writers in ancient times.

 This is the Parthenon, the temple to Athena.  Athena was the  patron goddess of Athens known for her wisdom.

     The first word is church or ekklesia in Greek. The word means assembly and it was a word that had a legal background. The city of Athens is famous as being the first Democracy in the world. This meant that all male citizens could come the assembly meeting and debate and vote on the laws and other matters that the people of Athens found important. The idea of Christians setting up a church or assembly was not something they made up on the spot but a word with a tradition. A word that meant a gathering together of the people to take care of the important matters in community. The people gathered on a hill called the Pnyx, and there they elected generals and city officials, as well as planned for the coming year and it  had the powers of peace and war. There was no thought of individualism in this word. It was a word pregnant with meaning and it pointed to the glorious Greek past and carried on the tradition of Democracy in a new, religious way.

   Next is the word boule, this word means council.  According to Aristotle in his book The Athenian Constitution , the boule was  a group of citizens who looked over all the matters of state with a fine tooth comb and decided which matters were the most pressing. From there they took these matters and brought them before the assembly and gave advice on the proper policy before the voting occurred. This council came to play a major role in defining what the city did, in fact they normally laid out the agenda and unless there was a heated issue or some other problem they usually got the suggestions they put forward.  They were not all powerful and could be ignored by the assembly, but in reality they set the destiny of the city.
This brings us back to the New Testament:

" In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will"  Ephesians 1:11

     The word counsel there is that Greek word boule. It means that not only did God suggest we have an inheritance it means that he laid out the agenda. God is not merely an advice giver, he is a plan maker, an agenda setter and we should remember that when we see God "giving advice" we are really seeing a word that means God is setting up the plan he has always had in mind.

This is the Pnyx hill where the assembly met, you could  look across and see the Parthenon from here.

                                          

    Not really of spiritual value, but interesting none the less. The Parthenon is actually the Greek word for virgin. It was the temple to Athena the virgin. The story of the virgins in Matthew 25 refers to them as Parthenois, the plural form of Parthenon. ( That word was discussed just for fun).

     Well I hope you have enjoyed our brief look at Greek culture seen through the prism of the New Testament, if you have any questions be sure to make a comment or send me a message. I would love to hear from you.

-Jason

                                  We Don't Understand Time

  In 2007 I took a trip to Rome and Athens as my college graduation present. While I could go on and on about how awesome the whole experience was I am continually brought back to one particular conversation. While we were taking a tour of the Coliseum and the ruins of the Roman Forum our tour guide was discussing the advanced ages of the columns and buildings we were passing. We were walking along a road of what appeared to be black gravel and someone asked her "How about this road? How old is it?"

    "Oh not very old."  she remarked. "It was probably built during the Middle Ages."  Saying I was shocked would have been a gross understatement. In my American mind 200 years ago was really old. Yet this road was a mere 700 to 900 years old.When compared to the other buildings in Rome though, which were built sometime around first century AD, I guess 700 years isn't that old compared to 2000. Europe has such a history that American's can barely comprehend because we can not think like that. If you were to tell a European about that really old mansion built in the 1700's they would probably laugh at you.  What made the point sink in all the more was our next stop, Athens. The guide at the Parthenon told us that construction of this most famous tourist destination in the city was  during the 440s and 430s BC. That is over 2400 years ago!

Then, think about this. The Great Pyramids in Egypt were built sometime around 2470 BC....that makes a grand total of 4,482 years ago (give or take). Cleopatra who lived in the first century BC was closer to our time period than she was to when the Great Pyramids were built. The way we talk about Julius Caesar, Cleopatra and Alexander the Great was somewhat comparable to how a Greek in the first century BC would have talked about Ancient Egypt.  

Now back to the initial point. We do not understand time here in America.  Here's an example for you. The people who lived in the time of Jesus or the apostles did not feel like they were living in this newly created world where everything was new and exciting. They felt like we do, that history was all around them and they could look both into the immediate past and the far distant past to learn about their world, just like we can today.

                                            Introduction of the Hero

     When I was a kid I used to play this game on my Nintendo. It was called Dragon Warrior and you played as a dragon slayer whose goal was to save the world. The really cool part was that while there were classes(professions) in the game like Soldier, Merchant, Pilgrim, Fighter etc... your character was called "The Hero." What made a Hero? He was the guy with the most courage, he had the ability of rallying others to his cause, he got the best gear, and he was the guy who took a bad situation and saved the day despite the problems.

      Today we live in a peaceful society, we don't fight battles or have monsters lurking in the night...well usually. We are focused on work and education. What is the first thing people always ask? "What do you do for a living"? or "Oh your in school? What is your major?" Somewhere along the way we have lost the desire to continue to improve ourselves, to learn, and to grow. Men are not taught how to be a man, how to behave. Women are not taught how to pass their skills on to the next generation and be an excellent lady the way it is described in Proverbs 31. We have more television shows than we can imagine, and the ability to gain more information from one newspaper than people 100 years ago could have received in their whole lives, yet there is still a huge need to teach people how to live in a morally upstanding way.

      With this as our background I am introducing The Hero. The Hero does not begin his journey as one, in fact he is very average and anyone can be a hero.

      All generations of mankind have had their heroes. These are people that outshine their contemporaries because of their braveness and willingness to act when no one else will. It is not special powers or supernatural giftings that make a hero, but a will power that they can achieve their goals and a sense of morality stronger than their comfort zone.

      I am not suggesting I am a hero or am trying to become one, I am simply saying that we as a culture do not act like what we do in life is really that important. Is living your whole life for a paycheck really worth living for? Is getting to watch TV or throw parties on the weekend worth wasting 5 days at work on? The hero mentality begins with a burning desire to do more in our lives than run-of-the-mill. My thought is this......if I am not actively trying to do something that has long term consequences then I am wasting my time and inevitably my life. That is one thing I am not prepared to do.

                                         The Reverse Primary Strategy  

     Most people have strong opinions about politics. That is why the phrase "Don't talk about politics and religion" exists. Here in America most of us are divided somewhere along the conservative/liberal line, but more people are closer to a moderate position than a Communist (far left) or Anarchist (far right) position.  While I admit to leaning more to the conservative side I have no intentions of debating who is right in this blog entry. The objective today is to discuss the Republican Presidential Primary and what I find is a very likely strategy that is being used by Mitt Romney.

    Common wisdom is that when you run in a Presidential Primary you play to your base, in this case you speak and act strongly conservative. However, when the General Election rolls around it requires a candidate to get as close to the middle as possible to draw the Independent vote to your side. There are people that make lots of money in politics telling candidates how to draw that so needed independent crowd. The problem however, seems to be two fold. First, Primary voters have tended to pick moderate candidates such as John McCain and Bob Dole( who both got beat in the general elections despite their appeal to the independents) Second, playing to the center does not seem to work that well. 

   Should you go back in history to 1980 and 1984 you will see that Ronald Reagan absolutely crushed his opponents in both elections by running not as a moderate, but as a conservative. He even won most states that normally have nothing to do with Republicans. The strategy of appealing to the center as a Republican seems to fail miserably in the general election despite all of the talk about it being necessary.  

    The Republican Primary of 2008 was a contest with the 2 main players being John McCain and Mitt Romney. Romney at the time was the conservative candidate but got stomped by McCain with the help of the media and the split vote of several conservatives all running.  If you look back at the different state primaries and add up all the votes for conservative candidates versus moderate candidates the conservatives usually won. There was just more conservatives. This is where my theory comes in. Romney is no doubt a smart guy, every business he touches makes lots of money.  I can't help but think he looked at 2008 and told himself he couldn't win the primary running as a conservative. However, if he could win the primary as a moderate and THEN switch to a conservative stance during the General Election, he could use the Reagan based model and possibly propel himself into the presidency. This idea seems far better than a moderate candidate running.  I cannot verify he will do this, I just think this is the ticket to success. We shall see!

                         Spiritual Disciplines Part 2: Hearing the Voice of God

      How does a person go about hearing the voice of God? Does that seem a little old fashioned to think God can speak to us today? Well, if you think that then you have been lied to your whole life. There is in fact 3 ways that God speaks to us. First, there is the Bible (God's ordained words passed down for thousands of years). Second, he often speaks to us through people who speak what he has spoken to their hearts to say. Finally, there is God speaking to our hearts. It is sort of like your conscious, but it is in fact the Lord actually talking to you.

      I know some people think that the Bible is just a dusty old tome with no more wisdom than the Vedas or the Koran, but the reason they feel that way is they can not understand how life can be in a book. When the creator of the universe says something it does not expire. His promises 3, 000 years ago are just as real and binding today as they were then. Hebrews 4:12 says that God's word is alive and powerful. It says the word is sharper than any two-edged sword and can judge the heart and intentions of man. You can read the Bible everyday of your life and still find something new because it is the very thoughts of God and we can never completely grasp the thoughts of the divine. A Christian that forsakes reading his Bible is giving up a tool that lets him know what the voice of God sounds like. If you don't read your Bible and someone comes to you and says this is what God wants and is lying you will not know it. The Bible teaches you what the voice of God sounds like so one someone claims God is saying what he is not saying you will know better.

     Next is other people. Sometimes we are not able to hear the voice of God from the Bible or we just do not want to. This principal is why Christians have to witness their faith rather than just handing someone a Bible and saying "I hope you enjoy this". If you want someone to know something you can't give them a recommended  reading list. You must instead be willing to sell the idea to them. Instead of telling someone who is having a hard life that the Bible says this and this we must say "Let me tell you what the Lord has helped me with" People in general know when you are lying to them and when you are being genuine. We can not expect to be a positive influence for Christ until we are willing to live a lifestyle that matches what we preach.

  Finally the Lord also can speak directly to our hearts.

"For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God". 1 Corinthians 2:10-11

    This verse tells us that God has given those who believe in him the very spirit of Christ so we can understand to some extent the very mind and nature of God. He speaks to our hearts telling us what is right and what is wrong. If your familiar with your Bible he will often recall verses to your mind that you may not have even thought about in a long time. Whatever the case when you learn what truth is no one can take away from you the ability to see what is a lie and what is not. Will you still fail occasionally? Of course! When you know what God's voice sounds like though, you will be able to hold fast to the promises he gives to you even when things are bad. If you are wondering if God gives promises to every Christian, the answer is yes. Just ask him and see for yourself.

                     Spiritual Disciplines Part 1:   Setting Goals

"For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope".  Jeremiah 29:11

     What kind of spiritual goals have you set up for yourself this year? Do you think setting goals is important or is it just something people do when they want to lose weight or start a new business?  I have always been a spur of the moment person and so setting goals is a challenge for me.  I completely understand if you look at goals and think you are wasting your time, but that does not mean I agree with it. I have consciously decided that I need to start setting them, so this is the walk-through of my Alpha attempt at it.

     The first thing I am doing is keeping an "Idea Notepad" where every time I have a new idea, be it good or be it bad; I am writing it down.  When you have a memory like mine it makes me wonder why I never have done it before....maybe I just forgot too.  I have also decided to make writing regularly a major goal. I don't care what topic or what length, I just need to make myself start doing it.  I am inspired by a quote I saw from Epictetus while I was in college. Epictetus was a Stoic philosopher which meant he believed you should not show any emotion over events that happen in this physical world, you should only express major care over the things that were of heavenly value. Here's the quote....

                          "If you wish to be a writer, write."

      How simple and yet profound that is! Can you imagine a world where people just did what they wanted to do? We have jobs to do, bills to pay, mortgage payments to make. How can a person just DECIDE to write and expect things to fall in place. Well, I am not here telling you I intend to be a famous writer next week, but what I am saying is that if I ever do want to have any level of success I need to go ahead and start. That is the lesson of Epictetus, if you want to do something you can't wait around hoping it will happen someday. You have to go ahead and take the leap of faith into that unknown.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where   thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also".   -Matthew 6:19-21

     When we think about setting goals we must also take into account our spirituality. We cannot solely focus on this world and expect to be happy. We should be storing up our treasures in heaven by making sure we live our lives to please God. I challenge you if you are reading this to make it your goal to be a little more intentional with God. Think about the Hebrews of the Old Testament when God would do something for them they would set up monuments to the memory of what God had done. Here is where God showed me the way, here is where he defeated our enemies etc.....

I am not suggesting reading this entry, getting off and immediately changing your life 180 degrees. However, maybe think about being a little more purposeful, to have a little more fervor in whatever you are doing. If it is praying, pray a little longer. If it is reading your Bible, do it a little more. If it is going the extra mile for someone....maybe look into going two.  Just be intentional!

 -Jason


( The idea of Spiritual Disciplines is taken from the Bible Studies we have been doing at mine and my wife's home for a few years now and our current study is material I am writing called "Spiritual Disciplines"   and this blog will be a chronicle of some of my personal feelings and thoughts I have that I didn't get to share in small group, or feel need to be said again.)