Saturday, October 4, 2008

How Can you Lord?

Here is a song which I was inspired to write from a situation I had a while ago, feel free to comment. The Chorus is meant to be sung or recited (I don't have it in music because I am not a musician) after each verse:

Verse 1
How can you forgive me so?
How can you love me Lord
when all I seem to do is sin?
You say to me Lord,
that you hate the sin I do.
So how Lord?
How can you love me so?


Chorus
Forgive me Lord!
I have sinned, my God!
Rebelling against you
with my very thoughts.
My Eternal Lord,
I have sinned!
Love me God!


Verse 2
I am the worst,
the worst of all your works.
Only you my God can know,
know how wicked I am!
How is that you love me?
The worst of your creation!


Verse 3
Curse me Lord!
Suffer for me no more!
Send me to Hell in your place!
I ask of thee my God,
die no more for me!
I will suffer for my sin!

Verse 4
I plead to you Lord,
do not take my place!
I do not wish for your death!
I nailed you to the cross!
I gave you over to die!
Do not die for me Lord,
I will face the wages of my Sin.


Verse 5
I love you my Eternal Lord!
Give me damnation in your stead!
Do not save me from my sins.
Suffer no more for me.
No more pain bear for me!
I love you my Christ!

Verse 6
How can you suffer so?
Why do you die for me?
How can you bear the Wrath,
of your Father, The Holy God,
because I have sinned?
Why do you Love me so?

Verse 7
Why do you bear the constant pain,
of my sins on your back?
How can you love me,
a sinner?
Only you can know,
how wicked I truly am.
How can you suffer for me?


Verse 8
I now know why,
you suffer so.
It is because you are Jesus.
The Savior, Emmanuel, and Son.
Because your very being is,
infused with the Love of God!


Verse 9
I thank you Lord!
O my God,
I now know that you will die,
for me no matter what I say!
I am Saved!
I am yours!
I give you thanks my King!

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Electronic Multitasking

A Response to “The Challenge of Attention in the Digital Age,” an article written by R. Albert Mohler Jr.

[excerpt:] “Professor Dennis Dalton began his lecture on Mahatma Gandhi's mass civil-disobedience campaign following the Amritsar massacre, focusing on the Indian activists' persistence in staying attuned to their own inner morals despite the crush of British imperialism. The students flipped open their laptops and started clicking away. A few solely took notes, but many flipped back and forth between multiple windows: shopping on Amazon, cruising Facebook, checking out The New York Times Style section, reorganizing their social calendars, e-mailing, playing solitaire, doing homework for other classes, chatting on AIM, and buying tickets on Expedia. Josh kept a list because he was in such disbelief.”

The point of Mr. Mohler's article is to point out a serious problem within the culture – an obsession with using digital objects to multitask. I believe that he is completely correct with his assessment of the situation – that youth are becoming and have become more concerned with what their Facebook status is and whether the price on those sandals on Amazon has gone down enough to be in your price range, than they are with setting aside the time to sit down and simply read a good book or listen to a lecture or sermon.

I have noticed this trend as well, not only in the life of the young men and women around me, but in my own life as well. I have recently noticed the inordinate amount of time that I spend on the computer and other digital objects of entertainment every day, and the impact that they have had upon my educational and social life. While Facebook and IM are wonderful ways to communicate with people, they are no substitute for face-to-face conversations. While You Tube videos and MP3 players are fun and entertaining ways to pass the time, they are no substitute for taking an hour a day to sit down and dive deep into a passage in the Bible, or to read several chapters of a book written by authors such as John Piper, John MacArthur, or Jerry Bridges.

I think that the entire culture would benefit greatly if youth simply took a few hours a day to shut down their computer, plug their MP3 player in to charge, find a comfortable couch, sit down, and read a real book, not some teen vampire fantasy. I know I would. In fact, I am one of the guiltiest in this regard. I sat down to write a blog post on this subject last night, and realized that I also had my Facebook up, my music up, and I was chatting with 3 people online. A couple days ago, I took some of my own advice. I wasn't feeling well, and was taking a Sick Day from school. So, I grabbed The Bravehearted Gospel, went upstairs, and read a couple chapters of that. Then, I came downstairs, got a blanket and an extra pillow, and lay in my couch for the next 55 minutes listening to my pastor's sermon that I missed the day before. I got more out of that sermon than almost any that I have listened to from the pew, because I was in a relaxed, open-minded mood, and I was doing absolutely nothing else.

The Harris boys once wrote an article about Multitasking. "No one seems to want (and no one can find) a place for quiet," wrote Francis Schaeffer, "because when you are quiet, you have to face reality. But many in the present generation dare not do this because on their own basis reality leads them to meaninglessness; so they fill their lives with entertainment, even if it is only noise.[1]" I think that this is completely accurate. This is why we try to constantly be doing multiple things at one time – to avoid having to to face reality. We don't like reality, it's harsh, and it often hurts. We'd much rather talk to someone in an environment where we can simply close the chat window and sign off if we get in an argument, than be thrust into a situation where we have to deal with an argument right then and there.

Al Mohler hit the nail on the head when he wrote this article. Teens and adults alike have become obsessed with communicative technology, in order to be in an environment that they can control, and to avoid the harshness of reality. We need to drastically change the way we think and act in regards to technology, and we need to take the time to sit down every now and then, and immerse ourselves in a good book or sermon. I think that if we do, we shall become more focused, more well-mannered, and more thoughtful in the way we behave and speak.

[1]: Article no longer exists, no link is valid.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Ideas?

I was just wondering if any of the 2 or so people reading this had any ideas on what we should write about? We have multiple authors, so we'll try to cover all of your ideas.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Youth Of Eternity - The reason behind the name.

Youth Of Eternity: Youth that have live with eternity in mind. Because we are Christians, we know that we will go to live with God in Eternal Glory when we die, and therefore are afraid of nothing on this earth. If we bow down to peer pressure and the ideals of the world and culture, then we are admitting that there is a force that impacts us more so than God Himself, which is not true.


There ya have it!

(We will start posting regularly soon, we're still organizing this blog)

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

The Myth Of Adolescence

When Alex and Brett Harris started a blog 3 years ago with a post titled The Myth Of Adolescence, they had no idea what they were getting into. They merely wanted a personal blog where they could throw around some ideas and debate some biblical realities. However, this three-part post gained the attention of thousands of Christians around the world, and has inspired the Harris boys to write a book. From this book, two national conferences have been held, with thousands of people attending each stop. They have been interviewed on national television, and by countless smaller organizations. What was in this post that gave it the power to change the world? Truth. And that truth is this: The Christian youth of this day and age live in a way that is in stark contrast to what the Bible teaches. It is an obvious fact that no one seems to realize. The so called “Christians” of this world seem more intent on conforming to the culture, than living against it, as Christians are called to do. We are called to live lives that blatantly declare to the outside world “I am a Christian!” Why are we teenagers so obsessed with looking “cool?!” Does it say in the Bible “Be thou cool?!?!” NO! It says “whether you eat or you drink, do it all to the glory of God.” (1 Cor 10:31). If we give into peer pressure, and try to conform to the desires of those around us that are not Christians, then we are outwardly admitting that there is something on this earth that affects us more than the Lord God Almighty. If we are more afraid of what others will think of us, than what God thinks of us, we are admitting that we do not serve God with all of our heart and soul and mind. This message is not only for teenagers, it is for everyone. Teenagers simply demonstrate this lack of passion for the Word Of God more blatantly than most adults. It is time that we Christians revolted against the culture, instead of trying to become more like it! It is time for us to get on our feet and refuse to bow down to the wills and whims of those around us, and to show the world that JESUS IS MY LORD!