iJesus

Thanks to Apple's innovation with iTunes, iPhones, and iPod Touches, we are now able to access thousands of games, news sources, and social web applications with just a few taps on a screen. Since I am a Verizon Wireless customer, I do not have access to an iPhone unless I switch over to the new AT&T system and pay a hefty price for it. Since I appreciate the value that iPhones have, I decided to drop some money on an iPod Touch, which has all of the same functions of an iPhone except the ability to make phone calls and send text messages. However, with its wireless internet capabilities, I have access to Twitter, Gmail, and pretty much any other channel of hand-held communication. I even have a Bible application.

I have never been the guy who gets excited about reading. I made it through high school and three and a half years of college by reading only three books from cover-to-cover that I was required to read . Many of my friends make fun of me for this, but devote my time to things that I do like, and reading is not one of those things. As a Christian, this has posed a major hindrance to my spiritual growth because God's word and instructions for life are written down, and to learn them, I have to...Read.

One of my friends with an iPhone is an elder at my church back home, and he showed me the Bible application on his iPhone. With this application, I can follow along with a daily Bible reading course, look up verses in nearly 15 different versions and 20 different languages, and find commentaries of any verse that confuses me just by tapping the screen of my iPod Touch. Just like Twitter and Facebook connect people to the social web, this application helps reconnect me to God. It's weird to think about.

My "get-my-life-right" initiative started Sunday night when I went to buy groceries at Wal-Mart. Whole grain bread, skim milk, Total cereal, 100% orange juice, and other items that are potentially beneficial to my health were on the list. I started training for a half-marathon. I wake up early to eat a bowl of Total cereal, drink a glass of orange juice and a glass of coffee, and pull out my iPod Touch to guide me through the day's Bible study. I have tricked myself into reading the Bible. Since I'm not holding a book in my hands, it just doesn't feel like reading, and I am now connected to God's Word again. I feel like I'm missing something, though.

Even though I am reading the Bible, I still feel like the personal aspect is missing. When I have the Bible application open, I am still one tap away from checking the weather with my Weather Channel application, tweeting my status on the Twitter application, checking the sports scores on the Sportacular application, and finding a movie to go see with the Flixter application. Instead of taking a timeout from my on-the-go lifestyle, I have simply implemented Bible study time into it, creating a false sense of pausing with God. I read, scroll down, read, scroll down, and even when I learn something new from reading I Corinthians, the process feels rushed, forced, and impersonal.

I suppose that one of the reasons why spiritual growth is a journey is because I not only have to figure out what path God wants me to take, but I also need to find out my method of transportation - how I will get from point A to point B. Reading is a tedious task for me, but I understand it to be a necessity for spiritual growth. iPhone or not, having a personal Bible study must be personal. I'm working on it.

The Gospel in LOST

Before the days of DVR technology, I would have to rush home from church to watch episodes of "LOST" every Wednesday night. Thanks to the power of SuddenLink's DVR capabilities, I can watch ABC's hit drama whenever I feel like watching it. Now in its 5th season, "LOST" has millions of people still baffled and asking, "What was that?!?" At each commercial break I have about 15 seconds to wonder what is going to happen next (before the days of DVR I had about 6 minutes), and I am still blown away that after watching this show for four years, I am still surprised every episode.

The episode that was extremely surprising was aired yesterday, Feb. 18, when the Gospel of Jesus was spoken through the character Ben. The setting is a sanctuary, and the scene opens with Ben, a shady character who seems to make everything topsy-turvy, sitting in a pew with his hands folded in front of his face. John Locke, a wise old man who was paralyzed from the waist down after surviving a fall out of a high-rise apartment but was then healed when his plane crashed on a mysterious island, walks in and sees Ben praying. They begin talking about doubting their current circumstances, and Ben walks over to a painting of Thomas reaching out to touch Jesus' wounds following the resurrection.

Ben refers to the story in John 11 when the disciples debate with Jesus about returning to Judea, a place where Jews where especially unruly toward the idea of Jesus being the Messiah. The disciples tell Jesus that he should not go because it is unsafe, and Ben quotes Thomas who said, "Let us go also, that we may die with him." Ben adds that, unfortunately, Thomas is not remembered for this statement of faith, but that he is remembered for his doubt. It was Thomas who did not believe in the resurrection of Jesus and stated that he would have to see and touch the wounds to believe.

Typically, all of the off-the-wall comments and occurrences that happen in "LOST" all fly together at this point - a secret government program to keep the island's experiment a secret, polar bears, human extermination, romance, a crazy French lady, a Scottish sailor, time travel - but this three minute scene stood out to me because it was the Gospel. It mentioned Jesus, his disciples, his death, and his resurrection.

This was not an in-depth look at the Gospel by any means, but I cannot doubt that someone watching "LOST" last night realized that he/she was Thomas, doubting the existence and divinity of God. That person could have been looking for something to fall into his/her lap as a sign of the Truth. Today is it more likely to hear Jesus' name in a derogatory fashion, and it is far more likely to hear $%@$# than the Gospel. It could be that the writers of "LOST" intended for this scene to fit into the list of crazy things that don't make any sense. Even still, the story of Jesus and his resurrection was revealed, and millions heard it.

Valentine's Day...Ugh.

Remember the days in elementary school when you would go to the grocery store, pick out some totally sweet Ninja Turtles or Barbie (gender appropriate, of course) Valentines cards, and give one to every person in your class during the Valentine's Day party? If you are a boy, then I'm giving you a Ninja Turtles Valentine. If you are a girl, then you're still getting a Ninja Turtles Valentine.

Luckily, my fiance is pretty low maintenance and told me that she didn't want anything for Valentine's Day. After conferencing with several of my peers, the results are in...When a girl says this, she is lying. That is why Nuns cannot get married or date. Every year for Valentine's Day, they would say to their boyfriends, "Oh, honey, I don't want anything for Valentine's Day." That is a lie, lying is a sin, and Nuns cannot sin.

I made cookies for my fiance for Valentine's Day. The recipe (yes, this recipe was on the side of the Betty Crocker box) said that I could make approximately 38 cookies. I only made 9. It is not like I got carried away and made them all the size of a personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut. I only made 9 because I burned all the rest of them. I blame my oven.

All the hopeless romantics out there and my good friend Krista might think, "Aww, that is so sweet. He made her cookies, and he even burned them. What a cute boyfriend." Thanks for the encouragement, but since only nine cookies came out right, I was only able to eat one. If I ate more, I would look like a slob. Eating 4 out of 38 cookies isn't a bad percentage, but 4 out of 9 will put you on Mauri with the fat babies.

We went to dinner and then went out to see He's Just Not That into You. As far as chick-flicks go, this one was pretty good. It had humor, and it made some valid points that could make life easier for every person on the planet. If a guy wants to date a girl, then he will do whatever he can to make it happen. No more waiting for the guy or girl to call, talking to your friends at work or school, or sleepless night thinking, "Is this person going to dream about me tonight?" President Obama should enact a social policy forcing schools to make the viewing of this movie mandatory for all eight grade students. That is a change I can believe in.

This post is also dedicated to my good friend, Krista.

One

As I drove past the campus yesterday, I noticed that our college had paid to put flags on each one of the light poles on the trail that wraps around the circumference of our campus. Even though our university is pretty small, we still have a large percentage of students that come from outside Texas and the United States. Each students comes with his/her own set of cultural beliefs, goals, and ideas, but the awesome thing about Christianity is that no matter where we are from, we still serve the same God and believe the same Gospel.

In Ephesians 4:4-6, Paul writes, "There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." There is a growing trend today that accepts multiplicity. It is ok to be wishy-washy in some situations. You can believe what you want as long as you let me believe what I want. This post-modern idea that there is no absolute truth makes it very difficult to understand what Paul wrote to the 1st Century Church in Ephesus.

Back when I was young and fat, I would but at least one donut at church every Sunday. For many years, there was no option - plain glazed or plain glazed? But then something magical happened. What's this? Chocolate icing?!?! It was a fourth grader's dream come true. I love chocolate...but I also love plain glazed. I was at a fork in the road, and both paths were very delicious.

Similar situations are found in other places, too, where we are forced to make a decision between two, three, or several options. McCain or Obama. Cheese or pepperoni. Organic or regular. Paper or plastic. Diet or regular. God or no God. Whenever a person makes a decision, he or she typically weighs the options before making a choice. A mental "pro/con" list is made, and an action is taken. There are usually benefits to both options, but each choice also has its weaknesses, and sometimes we simply take the easy path - right down the middle. In my case, I got one plain glazed and one chocolate iced. Did I mention I was the fat kid?

As Christians, we have to make choices everyday about our faith, but we see in Paul's writing that there isn't much room for debate. One. One. One. So, ultimately, we have two options. Do I believe what Paul wrote - YES or NO? No matter what flag flies over our homeland, the same holds true for all of us. There is one God over us all, and by making the choice to believe in Him and follow Him, we are united. As one.

News, Weather, Sports, and Church

Last night while watching the Lakers play the Celtics, a commercial came on advertising a local church. The preacher stood in an empty chapel and petitioned me to join him this Sunday either at the church or in the comfort of my own living room. The comfort of my own living room - interesting.

Seeing church on TV is nothing new to me. I am sure that most people are familiar with the ministry at Lakewood Church in Houston, and Joel Osteen has become a poster-child for this generation's "televangelists." His charisma is treasured by the thousands that attend his church and the thousands more that tune in from their couches. Because of this, when I think of church on TV, I think of a huge production.

The lights must be perfect. Camera angles must be perfect. The sound must be perfect. The audience must be perfect. Churches spend thousands of dollars on producing their services to be sent out through the cable lines, but no amount of money will be able to reproduce the essence of a church's community. I feel like the true picture of a church is jazzed up when the camera comes on, and the focus moves more to the tangible elements than the Gospel.

One of the greatest things about going to church the being reunited every week with a community of believers. Most of my friends are friends that I have grown up with at church. Going to church forms relationships, and these relationships are an integral part of spiritual growth. This is why I am critical of having church on TV, because it makes it too easy for a person to become complacent with their faith. With no personal contact, there is no accountability, discussion, or confession. It takes an entire dimension out of God's reason for establishing the church.

I would be remiss by failing to mention that church on TV has proven to send the Gospel to people and places that would have otherwise missed hearing it. Some people watch church on TV because they are physically incapable to leave their houses. Others watch it because they feel that they would face the judgment of hundreds upon walking through the back doors of the chapel. But at the end of the day, these people are still hearing God's message, and some of them eventually leave the house, go to church, and become a part of that community.

As a church, we should make more efforts to personally reach out to those who cannot/do not come to church. Putting our services on TV is one way, but going to where they are will have a better impact.

What Would You Have Done?

I first saw this video on an MSNBC special edition of "Caught on Tape," a full hour episode of crazy videos of police altercations, car accidents, and fist fights in pizza parlors. When we walked into the house of my friend Krista, she was watching this video. Immediately we were all intrigued, but it was dinner time. With the help of SuddenLink's DVR capabilities, we recorded the show, and a few of us went out to get some pizza. Luckily, there was not a fight at the pizza place. I almost started on after waiting 20 minutes for breadsticks, though.

We returned to the house to finish the show to watch several replays of this video clip. Feel free to watch the video as many times as you would like. Imagine yourself getting jacked in the face by an NFL offensive lineman (For the record, the attacker is not an NFL lineman - he's just huge). The guy getting beat up suffered some broken bones and a concussion, but what would have happened had that fat dude on the right part of the screen or the stocky guy behind him actually did something besides watch and pick their noses?

Now, I'm no Superman, but I know that when someone within spitting reach is getting beat up, something inside me will most likely drive me to do something. I'm sure my friend Krista would have pulled out a nightstick or some brass knuckles and beat the snot out of the attacker, but those guys in the pizza place just watch while an innocent guy gets beat up.

"Whoa, that guy is huge. Whoa, uh, he just punched that guy."

"Yeah, dude, that one looked like it hurt."

"Whoa, we should do something."

"Yeah, let's just stand here and wait on our pizza."

"Whoa, good idea, bro-man."

"Yeah, uh, no pepperonis please."

That is not at all what those guys said, but I'm pretty sure that's what they thought. Basically, when you are standing in line at a pizza place, or any place for that matter, and you see a dude getting beat up, do something about it. Even if they attacker jacks you up, too, at least you get put on TV as "the person who got beat up while trying to save a guy's life" instead of "the _______ that just watched as a guy got beat up."

This post is dedicated to my good friend, Krista.

Bush/Kerry Super Bowl

When I turned on the TV last night to watch the Super Bowl, I really did not care who won. However, in the interest of protecting the integrity of competition, I decided to root for the Arizona Cardinals. Spoiler alert. I was a little disappointed that they lost.

I somehow managed to muster up some genuine support for the Cardinals as they held the Steelers to a field goal after Big Ben was ruled down within a foot of the goal line. I also expressed disappointment as Holmes made an excellent catch in triple coverage to score the game-winning touchdown. But at the end of the night, my overall attitude was still apathetic.

As I pounded my brain to think of an insightful post regarding the Super Bowl, my thoughts bounced back to the Presidential election in 2004 between George W. Bush and John Kerry. I, like most Americans, found myself at a fork in the road, and neither path looked inviting. Both sides had valid ideas that I felt would benefit our country, and each man stood for things that I felt were completely absurd. Ultimately, this election was one where many Americans checked the box beside the name associated with "the lesser of two evils" or "_____ isn't as bad as _____."

I picked a favorite team last night in the same way. I am not a Cardinals fan, and I am not a Steelers fan. What is an American male supposed to do when the Super Bowl means absolutely nothing to him? Watch it for the commercials? Yes. But I finally decided that I disliked the Steelers more than I disliked the Cardinals, so I put my checkmark in the box next to the Arizona Cardinals. Things didn't work out, but in the end, it's not a big deal. At least the _____ didn't win (feel free to fill in the blank).