How should we remember 9/11?

September 11th holds a special place in my heart. It was a catastrophic day that changed the course of my existence. I give thanks to God for that day (not for the terror, but for the good that God wrought from the terror). I look back and think often of the story of Joseph being sold into slavery by his brothers. God exalted Joseph, making him second only to Pharaoh in the kingdom of Egypt and eventually Joseph ends up saving his own brothers from famine. Upon finding out that it is Joseph whom they sold (the punishment for which is death) they seek his forgiveness to which he replies in Genesis 50:

"Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today."

My soul leaps at this statement because it fits me precisely. About a year after joining the Marines on October 4th, 2001 (because of 9/11) I gave my life to Jesus and asked His forgiveness for my sins and the way I had lived my selfish life. I saw that though wicked men had meant the terror attacks of that fateful day for evil, God had used it for my gain and saved my life.

The anger, fear and loathing I felt in those days has been replaced by a foundation of love, trust and hope in Christ so that I may now repeat after the Psalmist in chapter 91:

³ Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
⁴ He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
⁵ You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.

I say all this to suggest that you remember 9/11 not for the violence of the day, but for the heroism of the human heart that was exposed in so many people. Search your heart for those qualities you saw that made you proud and emulate them: The sacrifice people made when they laid down their lives for their friends and strangers, the firefighters and police who climbed the stairs into the inferno, the military personnel who served, the ones who lined up for blocks to donate blood, money, teddy bears and anything else that would bring healing and comfort. Remember the flags that flew from car windows, off of bridges and out of windows. Remember the smiles, nods, handshakes and conversations we had with strangers in those following weeks when we all saw with clarity the importance and need of a loving community.

For you Christians, remember the call from 1 Peter 2 and be that community others would seek to join in the face of distress and calamity:

"...you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light... Keep your conduct among [unbelievers] honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God... For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God."

Keep the faith, do not be afraid and never lose hope. We do God's work and He has already won!

Current thoughts on a relationship

I'm on a dating site called "okCupid." It's pretty interesting but one aspect of it makes me chuckle. It's the ignorance of Christians, atheists, agnostics, whatever, when they state their belief and then write "but not too serious about it." How can you not be that serious about atheism? How can you be "slightly serious" about your Christianity? There are only two conclusions I can draw: 1) You don't really care where you stand (or fall) or 2) you're so immersed in living according to the world that you can't help but put "not too serious" in following your convictions.

That being said, I am totally serious about God's faithfulness towards me because I see my own hypocrisy in the above paragraph! I love the Lord without a doubt but I also love my sin just as much at times and am called ONLY to trust in a Savior who gives to me not only my measure of faith, but my strength to run from the carnal desires of my heart. My sin is powerful inside of me so all I can say to others is that God's grace is greater and it is conforming me into the image of God's own Son. My only hope even being saved are the continued and renewed mercies of the Lord every morning.

I wrote that to a girl I met and followed by saying:

If you're interested in me and the above leaves you disheartened then it should because I can promise that I will be a constant let down in and of myself. I don't want a woman who puts her faith in my ability to be a godly man. I want a woman who puts her faith in God to make me the godly man He desires. Likewise, I desire only to know God's grace powerfully so that I may be merciful and forgiving to not only myself but to my future wife as well. It's not a love that makes sense to the world because it's an active love towards those who have hatred against me in their hearts. As Jesus did for us, we are called to fight on behalf of those who are trying to tear us down. That can totally include the "significant other" in our lives. There can be no truly successful relationship without Jesus because unconditional love cannot be offered without knowing Jesus intimately.

Risen from the dead.

A friend asked for proof that Jesus rose from the grave, so I addressed the question behind the question that many people are really seeking the answer to (Why does that matter?):


"Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. By faith it is understood that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. That being said, people did see Jesus rise up from the dead. More importantly, that incredible sign was not, in and of itself, enough to save those who experienced the miracle without faith. "Proof" does not fix a broken heart."

Philisophical testimony.

I have not found myself publicly blogging for over a month. This bothers me a bit but I have accepted that the Lord is simply encouraging me to bide my time and be content with the simply life He has given to me. I am writing today because I recently made a new friend who has really got my mental juices flowing.

He wrote an intriguing comment to me:

" I do not believe that we are created in god's image. I believe that god is created in our image...more precisely our deeply embedded need to deal with the "darkness outside our cave", our need to have answers to what comes after death...our fear that this is all there is and death is just that...the end. Humankind has always had a problem with The End.

For me, when I hear people say that have "faith" in this god or that goddess, I hear them really saying they have "need". A need to know the transcendent...a need for an answer that works for them, that comforts them, that allows them to get through Life, that Answers the fearful "darkness outside the cave".

Pleased with his question and my response on a generic level, I desired to immortalize the spirit of the conversation below:

I do not turn to faith out of fear of what's to come but out of hope of what I will be made into. That's a better promise than anything this vain life can give. After all, the righteous and the unrighteous alike find their end in the grave. Death is the great equalizer of all people but if we believe in nothing after it then it is impossible to truly thrive in this life. What's the point if there is no justice? The wicked see their days prolonged while the righteous end their days in misery. The thrifty give the bounty of their labor to those who did not work for it. The peaceful of heart find their end by the sword.

In other words, no hope for an afterlife (or to see Jesus face-to-face) causes us to live like hell in this life. Without Christ, our philosophy should simply be to, "Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die!"

Any comments would be appreciated!

Dying to save the dead

A person will die for one they love. Will a person give their life for an enemy, or someone unknown? It seems to be a rhetorical question and yet there is a remarkable answer which involves the only possible means by which the heart can learn to love unconditionally. Meditating on this concept, a friend of mine reminded me that most of Jesus' apostles died to follow Jesus. They did not die for the idea of a crucified man, but for the living reality of a resurrected Savior who loved them in spite of their sins and denials. Their lives embodied the scripture in Colossians 3:23 that states "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men."

All of us, at times, look at our faith as work or actions that we must do or must refrain from. For example, as a positive work, many believe that we must tithe to the church to be faithful. Others believe in negative actions of righteousness such as avoiding alcohol. However, the radical truth of the gospel is that Christianity is not at all about what you do or don't do. It is about the works that have been done on the sinner's behalf. The apostles did not live or die for Jesus because they had to. They lived and died for him because they loved every aspect of His existence and unconditional love.



Christ does not ask us to go through anything that He Himself has not already been through. His followers were willing to give up their lives for Him who is worthy of all glory and honor. After all, He gave up His own life as God in the flesh to save their depraved and dishonorable lives. Their works were the result of a heart change that was manifested outwardly. In other words, they produced good works because what they gave honor to changed. They esteemed works in life that brought honor to God instead of self-seeking works. This is the means by which we have faith in God's kindness that leads us to repentance in order to produce works worthy of repentance!


The process of producing good works is a result of getting to know the man, Jesus Christ. Everything He undertook during His life was meant to highlight the perfect and humble love of His Father. By contrast, the people whom He confronted through His words and works often revealed the depth-less depravity of the human heart. All of His works culminated in His death on a cross where the penalty for the depravity of His faithless apostles and every sinning child of God was paid for. Christ gave His life for His enemies and those who did not desire to know Him so that they would have a change of heart that produced an unconditional love for all people. Anything that comes from such a heart is worthy of honor.

What does your religion teach? Does your life mirror this radical love? Do your works bring glory to yourself or to Jesus? To answer these questions, consider that in order to know what you want in life you must first look at what you have or how you live.

Questions that probe the soul.

I found a great blog entry that is worth quoting. It discusses the two different ways of reflecting on our salvation and faith. Here are the two groups of questions for you:

The weaker questions-

*Do you know you are a sinner?
*Do you want to go to heaven?
*Have you asked Jesus into your heart?
*Do you remember a time when you prayed to receive Christ as your Lord and Savior?
*If not, would you like to do that now? Repeat after me. “Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I’m a sinner. . .”

Questions of strength-

*Do you believe that you are sinner who has fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)?
*Do you believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God (Matthew 16:16; Acts 8:37)?
*Do you believe that He died for your sin according to the Scriptures, that He was buried and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (I Corinthians 15:3-4) and that apart from His substitutionary, atoning work on the cross you would spend eternity in hell according to the Scriptures (John 3:16; II Corinthians 5:21; I John 4:10)?
*Have you confessed Him as Lord (Romans 10:9-10)?
*Do you hate your sin (Ezekiel 36:31; Romans 7:15-20)?
*Do you treasure Christ more than anything or anyone else (Philippians 3:7-10)?
*Is your life characterized by a spirit of continual repentance (Romans 2:4; II Cor. 7:9-10)?
*Do you strive to be holy in all your behavior (I Peter 1:15)?
*Do you long for the Word of God (Psalm 119:20; I Peter 2:2)?
*Do you bear fruit in keeping with repentance (Matthew 3:8)?
*Do you love your Christian brothers and sisters (I John 3:14-16)?
*If not, come to the cross. Repent of your sin and believe the gospel (Mark 1:15). Turn from the darkness to the light, from the dominion of Satan to God and receive the forgiveness and inheritance God offers in Christ (Acts 26:18). Confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9-10), go and sin no more (John 8:11), and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace (II Timothy 2:2; Hebrews 12:14).

How often have you talked with Mormons?

I've had the pleasure of meeting some very zealous and kind Mormons at Escondido Charter High School (ECHS). After getting to know them, we began discussing some scriptures in a small group earlier this week. One girl in particular was speaking with a friend and bringing up a passage from James 2 that states:

"What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."

"But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?"

I carry a small pocket bible with me during my work day so when the student being talked to by the Mormon girl asked if I had a bible I gave it to her...with a caveat. I brought up a passage from Ephesians 2 and asked if either of them could reconcile the two passages:

"And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others."

"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

Any useful thoughts before I post the rest of the conversation and more of my thoughts later?

Eight Christians burnt to death in Pakistan after Koran is ‘defiled’

In the face of death it is necessary to inject the hope of the good news that saves us. Before posting the actual story of the murder of at least eight innocent Christians I will give some scriptures that the Lord has given as our promise of comfort.

Romans 8:35-39

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Hebrews 11:24-27

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.

The article from www.timesonline.co.uk:

Paramilitary troops patrolled the streets of a town in eastern Pakistan yesterday after Muslim radicals burnt to death eight members of a Christian family, raising fears of violence spreading to other areas.

Hundreds of armed supporters of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an outlawed Islamic militant group, set alight dozens of Christian homes in Gojra town at the weekend after allegations that a copy of the Koran had been defiled.

The mob opened fire indiscriminately, threw petrol bombs and looted houses as thousands of frightened Christians ran for safety. “They were shouting anti-Christian slogans and attacked our houses,” Rafiq Masih, a resident of the predominantly Christian colony, said. Residents said that police stood aside while the mob went on the rampage. “We kept begging for protection, but police did not take action,” Mr Masih said.

Police and local officials said that at least eight people, including four women and a child, were killed in the fires. Two others died of gunshot wounds. Residents said that the casualties were much higher; one claimed that the number of dead could be in the dozens as many bodies were still buried under the rubble.Shahbaz Bhatti, the Minister for Minorities, said that 40 Christian homes were torched in rioting. He said there was no truth to allegations that a Koran had been defiled, and accused the police of ignoring his appeal to provide protection to Christians.

Tension started mounting last week after Muslims accused three Christian youths of burning a copy of the Koran. They denied the allegations, but clerics called for their death. On Saturday hundreds of supporters of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an outlawed Sunni sectarian group, poured into the town from surrounding districts. The group is believed to have close links with al-Qaeda and has been involved in several terrorist attacks targeting security forces in recent years.

Television footage showed armed men running through the streets, gunfire, and women and children wailing. Blackened furniture lay outside burning homes, while a group of people rushed a man suffering from burns on a cart through the streets. Rehman Malik, the Interior Minister, said that the paramilitary troops were sent after police and the local administration failed to control the situation. Security forces were also placed on high alert to prevent violence from spreading to other towns of Punjab.

Security in Gojra, which has a Christian population of about 50,000, was tightened yesterday as funerals were held for the eight victims. Christians make up a small minority of Pakistan’s 160 million people and have been the target of attacks by Islamic extremists before, particularly in eastern Punjab.

Christians also face intimidation because of discriminatory blasphemy laws, including one that carries the death penalty for defiling the Koran and images of the Prophet Muhammad. The law is often misused to settle personal scores.

Just as the world was not worthy of Christ, the world is not worthy of those who suffer like Him in anticipation of the promise that awaits them at the resurrection. The Christian's hope is not in this world but is stored in Heaven where it cannot be defiled or destroyed. Those who store up their treasures there will be rewarded with an eternal life that does not fade with the passing of time. We are safe only in the hands of Him who loves us.

There is life after death.

I have been trying to figure out how to write this post for a few weeks now. Death is not something that people generally enjoy to dwell upon so I was stumped as to how I could present it in a hopeful manner. A couple of things happened today to help me understand it myself and also communicate what it is I have come to know in part.

I have been meditating on Hebrews 11 for the past couple of weeks now. It is called "the chapter of faith" by many people and as I have read and considered it I have come to understand it more deeply as a chapter about hope in the face of death. As it says in the beginning, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. What have I hoped for? What is the promise that I have faith in that I do not see? I hope for a perfected life that is characterized by love and peace. The evidence of my hope is my desire to receive these better things and the full assurance that these better things will be given to me.

Why do I hope for these things? I hope because this life I have been given is subjected to futility. I wake up from unfulfilled sleep, go to work to a job that is never finished, seek praises of men who the next day withdraw them, earn money to buy things which do not last, fall in love with people who will die and eat only to be hungry again. It is all vanity. I entered naked into a world that is disappearing and will leave this life naked with nothing that I have worked for.

Yet, as for my sleepless nights, God's compassions never fail and are renewed every morning. As for my unfinished work, Christ finished His work on the cross and sat down to rest at the right hand of God. As for the praises of men, I have the praises of my Father in Heaven which never disappoint. As for money and that which does not last, the Lord is my portion forever. As for love that ends in death, Christ's love for me was forever perfected by His death. As for my hunger, the Lord is my bread of life. I have eaten and drunk of Him and will never hunger or thirst again. I was blind but now I see.

How is my sight evidence? Can I point to the things I see as a proof of something others don't know? Perhaps. I have an analogy that is the first of the two things that helped me to better understand death. Do you remember the Magic Eye stereogram books that came out years ago with all those 3D images you had to find in a jumble of of seemingly random colors? I hated those books because I could never find the images. It always seemed like others were able to pick them out with ease. Still, would it not have been absurd for me to demand proof that they were seeing the pictures? They would simply reply that they could see the image!

Death is much the same way. The world looks at it and sees a terrifying end to a confusing life and it dies for lack of a better promise. But those who believe look at the stereogram of death and can see the image of perfected life.

Death is very often abrupt and unexpected and happens to those who seemed to have their entire lives set before them. The death of my cousin's boyfriend of a year and a half was the second clarifying event for me today. My cousin just turned 18 this weekend and was unable to celebrate with her boyfriend because he was ejected from a car that his drunken friend was driving and died. I called my cousin's family up and shared some tears and consolation for their sudden loss. He had been like family to them. I pray to God that he is in Heaven with His Father now. I have found the song "Homesick" by Mercy Me to be good to listen to at times like these:



Also, "I Will Rise" by Chris Tomlin:



Lastly, "Carry you to Jesus" by Steven Curtis Chapman:



With Christ, death is simply a gateway for those who would love to be with God, the giver of life. The believer does not mourn as those who have no hope for he knows that precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. Death is the culmination of love for Christ died to save His children so that He could raise them up to live for eternity in the everlasting city of God. That is why I can quote these scriptures from Hebrews 11:

On Abraham's hope for his inheritance:

"¹⁰For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God."

On Abel, Enoch, Noah and Abraham's deaths:

"¹³ These all died in faith, not having received the promises [on earth], but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth...¹⁶ But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them."

On Moses' faith of better things to come:

"²⁴ By faith Moses...refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, ²⁵ choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, ²⁶ esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward."

I must admit that there is much that I am missing here. I can truly only say that this world was not worthy of Christ, but we were of great worth to Him and He came to this sad planet to save us in order that we would be worthy of a better world. He came to take us from a place of unnatural death in order to present us before God, holy and blameless, so that we might live in His city forever in natural life.

Providential randomness.

I'm not sure what my subject heading is going to have to do with what I write about but perhaps it has everything to do with what I am going to write about since this will be random. It's wonderful how God exercises absolute authority over all randomness and weaves it into a rich tapestry of life that can only be seen through faith.

The lesson of faith is this: Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And also: Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

And again: Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

I was considering the ways of faith in the tempest on Monday night while driving back home from school. As I was entering the on ramp for I-78 I saw a spider walking across my windshield. At that moment I got the green light to go and began to accelerate in my merge lane. I began to think that it would be neat to see how fast I had to go before the spider was torn from my astonished gaze. The speedometer needle crept up to 30 mph and then 40 and, as I watched, the spider began to hunker down into my windshield to cut down its wind profile. I marched my way up to 75 mph and could see that the spider had attached a silk line to the glass and was using every measure of its strength to hold on. Still, its windward legs flipped over its head and it began to slide. At this point, I took mercy on the spider and slowed down to 65 mph to see if it could endure the test of its strength all the way to my off ramp. It didn't make it through its tempest and blew off into the dark night.

Allow me to extrapolate my thoughts: I have found that I am in the place of that spider more often than I care to admit. I am caught in a situation that I cannot handle and my response is to buckle down defensively and use my strength to maintain an untenable position. My foundations are my sins and I run to them for comfort. In so doing, I am fearful that I will be taken by the night without support beneath my feet. Yet, it is fear that drives the engine of destruction if I am fearing those things that have no endurance before God. I fear my sin because I know that it has no power to save me and will lead me to death. But what is my lack of faith to the God of all creation? What is my fear to the God who casts out fear with His perfect and mighty love? He can provide even in the midst of my faithlessness and does even provide for me the small measure of faith that I have. It pleases Him to prove His faithfulness to me when I am lacking in faith.

We have a firm foundation in the middle of the tempest. We fear and stand in awe of a God who is mighty to save. We can release our grip from those things that so easily ensnare us and trust that Christ is holding us in His tender grasp. We can do this because He is the one who faced the tempest and was forsaken by God. Our Savior had no place to rest His head. He held onto our worthless sin and became sin when it held the power of death over us. By so doing, He enslaved death which had no power over He who gives us life. May Christ be our foundation because He is not dependent on our strength to hold onto Him. We are dependent on His mighty hand and its hold on us.