A hint of pride... speculations

Basketball was quite a bit of fun today. We won one game, and lost the other. Class went pretty well today. I actually got the assignment for next week done in class. :D I still have to finish up our most recent project though. It is quite interesting actually. We are creating new processes (both client and server processes). Work has been a lot of fun. I didn't get as much done today as I would have liked. I ran into some issues with this photo viewer that I created... it needs to get the right image and the right data from the database at the same time. I think that works just fine, but when that data is changed... or photos deleted (especially if it is the last existing photo), the photo can't be in use while it is being deleted. It just has a lot of messy things about it, but it should be pretty sweet once I get it working. :) I was reading again in Judges today. In Judges 7, Gideon has them yell, "For the Lord, and for Gideon." I probably wouldn't have thought of this if it were not for the discussion Pastor Tim and I had earlier today. Is that not a bit prideful? I called it speculations in the title because I do not know this for a fact. It is possible that since he was mentioned in that dream that he over heard, mentioning his name when they yelled might be just an added confirmation to that dream. Either way, knowing what happens in the future with Gideon, I would not be surprised if this wasn't at least partially out of pride. We need to be extremely careful when God gives us victories. The glory must go to Him. When we start to take the glory that He deserves, we place ourselves on the same level as Him... and it sets us up to be thrown down off that high place that we set ourselves. Let us give all the glory to the only One that deserves it.

God protects the obedient!

School went well today. I got a C on one of my exams which I'm not too thrilled about, but I did my best... it is in God's hands. With baseball being over now, I will have a little more time which will be nice. It is also nice to get a break from the negative influences (at least to some extent). I didn't do my devotions until just a few minutes ago. Better late than never... but definitely not ideal. I was really encouraged by the story of Gideon in Judges 6:25-31. Take a look!

Now on the same night the LORD said to him, "Take your father's bull and a second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal which belongs to your father, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it; and build an altar to the LORD your God on the top of this stronghold in an orderly manner, and take a second bull and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah which you shall cut down." Then Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the LORD had spoken to him; and because he was too afraid of his father's household and the men of the city to do it by day, he did it by night. The Altar of Baal Destroyed When the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was torn down, and the Asherah which was beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar which had been built. They said to one another, "Who did this thing?" And when they searched about and inquired, they said, "Gideon the son of Joash did this thing." Then the men of the city said to Joash, "Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has torn down the altar of Baal, and indeed, he has cut down the Asherah which was beside it." But Joash said to all who stood against him, "Will you contend for Baal, or will you deliver him? Whoever will plead for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because someone has torn down his altar."

You would think that Joash (Gideon's father) would be really upset at Gideon for doing what he did. It is amazing how God protected Gideon when he was obedient! It is definitely an encouragement to me to be obedient to Him no matter what He may ask of me. He is always faithful!

Running the 5K

We had the 5K run for Menifee today. I must say, it was kind of fun running in a suit (pictures here). I actually meant it entirely as a joke until a friend offered to pay for the dry cleaning... then it turned into a fund raising campaign for flying to Texas for the Rebelution conference this summer (donations still accepted). :D I came in 11th place in my age category (20-29)... my time was 25:33. I was pretty happy with it considering that I don't think I've ever run that far before. It was funny to get the different questions from people... "Are you and [Mormon] elder?..... oh, never mind, you don't have the badge.", "Did you seriously run in the suit?", "Nice running shoes (talking about my dress shoes).", "Oh, I like that.", "I am soo doing that next year.", "Uhhh, are you running for someone?", etc. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. You should try it sometime... (just kidding). One thing that amazed me was the amount of Mormons that were volunteering at the race. I guess it was a little bit sickening... knowing that there are that many Mormons in this area. At the same time, I see a lot of things that the Mormons do and wonder why Christians aren't doing it. For example, not long ago, I saw a bunch of Mormon guys working on cars for elderly people. They really are good examples of service... if only they would have the truth of God's Word planted in their hearts. I was reading in Judges 5 today... and it reminded me of a conversation I was having with a friend of mine the other day. We were talking about depending on God... and it seems like He waits until we try, fail, and come to the point of complete helplessness before He intervenes. I think without these trials, we wouldn't really be dependent on Him. My prayer is that we will be dependent on Him completely... that we wouldn't have to go through these trials in order to be reminded of the need to depend on Him.

Depending on Him experienced once again

I went back to work on that guys computer again tonight. The first few times that I tried to install windows this evening (I have done this probably 15 times at home and never had an issue), it was giving me some error and wouldn't do it. I called a friend of mine and asked him... he was just as stuck as I was. As I sat there in the chair, I said... God, I can't make this work, it is going to have to be You. Well, of course it works the next time I try even though I didn't change anything. :) God is good! Funny thing is I was just talking with a friend yesterday about dependence on God. It's late... off to bed I go.

Faithfulness

I went down to Murrieta to work on a guy's computer... kind of a side job. Anyway, it was a little frustrating. I was just trying to install a new hard drive and install windows xp on it... simple right? For some reason, it wouldn't boot from CD... when I finally got it to boot from CD, it wouldn't recognize the hard drive. It was being a royal pain! Soo... I am going back tomorrow night to see if I can get this thing working. God was good in that I got 4/5 on my quiz today. I realize that is a B... and I don't particularly enjoy B's, but these quizzes are very difficult (very specific questions based on like 50 pages of reading at times). Anyway, I am very thankful for that. I just started reading Judges as of yesterday... Judges 2:6-7 caught my attention.

When Joshua had dismissed the people, the sons of Israel went each to his inheritance to possess the land. The people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of the LORD which He had done for Israel.

When I think of the nation of Israel in Biblical times, I think of a nation that is constantly falling away from the Lord. While this is true, take a look at the above verses. Reflecting on my ups and downs in my walk with the Lord, it is very possible that the nation of Israel was more faithful to Him than I am (at least at times like this). It is amazing that after all God has done for me, I still choose to be disobedient to Him at times. It doesn't make any sense. It is exactly the same thing as saying... "God, I really would rather not have your best." This sounds completely stupid... and it is... but we do it all the time. My prayer is that God would constantly remind us that He has our best interests in mind even when we feel the urge to do things our own way.

The silence

School has been going fairly well. We had a couple games yesterday. I went 0 for 6... ouch! Maybe 0 for 5 with a sacrifice, but neither are good. haha I played center field the first game (at least the part of the game that I was able to make), and then catcher the second game. I got hit twice in the same spot on the wrist at like 80 mph... not the most pleasant feeling (but it's not as bad as you'd think). I have been really wanting to go to the Rebelution Conference in Dallas at the end of June... so I came up with an idea (hehe). If total donations to the Daniel's Texas Rebelution Conference Fund exceed $150, I will run a 5K (3.1 miles) on Saturday in a suit and tie. :) I might do it anyway, but don't tell anyone that. I was reading Psalm 62:1-2 this evening, and it reminded me of the need for listening through the silence.

My soul waits in silence for God only; from Him is my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken.

Life has been a bit busy lately, and I would have to say that I am definitely lacking in the "waiting in silence." If you would keep me in your prayers, I really do need to slow down a bit and listen to Him. I have noticed a couple times recently where I said or did something that surprised myself (in a bad way). I know that this comes from not being focused on Him... much of this focus comes from quality time spent in prayer and in His Word (which has been lacking these last few days).

Friends are graduating...

We went to some friend's senor recital last night. It kind of brought me to the realization that friends are graduating and moving away. It is very exciting to see what God has done and is doing in their lives... but it is also a been sad to see them go. Tomorrow night is our last Bible study for the semester. I guess it all has to come to an end at some point. I am really looking forward to tomorrow night though. I finished up 2 Peter today. I love the exhortation that he gives at the end after talking about the end times and how we will be challenged in our faith.

You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

8 weeks until summer!

This quarter has been good so far. Today was probably the longest day that I've had so far, but God was good. I have been doing some research (on my own) about water powered cars. Technically, it is hydrogen powered, but I call it water powered because it wouldn't require the storing of hydrogen in the tank. It would do the electrolysis only when needed. I still don't have quite enough understanding to know if it will work, but it looks like it has good potential. I thought of a method that might speed up the electrolysis process (separation of the water into hydrogen and oxygen). A previous graduate of La Sierra called our school regarding their relative who lives down here having some computer issues. My instructor passed on the information to me, so it looks like I have a job fixing his computer. Turns out that his wife just passed away very unexpectedly, so I spent nearly two hours on the phone with him while working on his computer remotely. It still needs a lot of work. I actually had him order a hard drive online so that we could start over from scratch. I know that it is a "job", but it is definitely an opportunity to share the love of Christ in this difficult time that he is going through. If you could keep me in prayer, that would be great. 2 Peter 2 was a very sobering passage to read. It really describes the heart that is full of wickedness... and there are definitely things there that I see in myself. I don't know why I tend to look at passages like this and think that it is talking about "wicked" people. The reality is that I am full of sin just like they are... and it is only by God's grace that I am what I am. He is the only source of any good that is in me.

Learning more stuff....

I am taking this systems analysis class this quarter. It is more of a business class than it is a computer science class (in my opinion), but it is still very important. There are a lot of things in it that are related to programming and deciding if some software will be worth the time to program it. Even though it isn't my favorite class, I think this information is going to be very useful when it comes to being out in the real world. :) Baseball practice was fun and a bit tiring. I actually slept in a bit today (until 9)... it was quite nice to feel completely rested when I got up. I am planning on playing basketball in the morning, then heading off to work again. 1 Peter 3 was a blessing today. It gives a very good explanation of how godly relationships should function... something that I am thinking more about these days. Verses 15-16 are about being ready to give an answer to anyone... something that has definitely come to be practical a lot more during my college years. I learned how unprepared I really am. You usually don't have time to go look something up, it needs to be right there and ready... and it isn't like a sermon where you have prepared just for that topic before hand, this is like a random quiz of the Bible. It is essential that we study the Word so that we are prepared just like we are commanded to be.

To His marvelous light!

Today was my busy day at school, but it went quite well. I'll admit that I was a little bit lost in my systems and network programming class. Why does everyone have to use C++? haha Oh well, I guess I will learn some more new information. It is also in Linux, so that adds a whole new dimension. I think I'll be fine though. :) Monday night is my night to make dinner, and I got this sudden urge to make banana bread... so I did. It actually turned out surprisingly well. Miracles still happen. ;) I really enjoyed reading 1 Peter 2 this morning and discussing it with a friend this evening. Check out verses 9-12.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.

That is an awesome purpose statement... to proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light! I also love the encouragement to behave in an excellent manner. The Biblical example that comes to mind is Daniel... they couldn't find anything wrong with him except the fact that he prayed to God three times a day. What an awesome example of living for the Lord!

Back to Bible study

It seems like it's been forever since we had Bible study. I am so thankful for the friendships that I have through the Bible study. There really is nothing like a group of solid, Biblically-based Christans. It has been and continues to be a great blessing and encouragement to me. Several of the girls got together this last week and practiced a quartet of Amazing Grace. It was... amazing (pun intended). :) Worship time was a sheer joy. I absolutely love leading worship, and to be with a group that sings whole-heartedly to the Lord... and sings very well too makes worship just that much more enjoyable. I thought it was going to be the last Bible study before summer, but apparently we are going to have it one more time in a couple weeks. I am already looking forward to it. I started reading 1 Peter today and was encouraged to pursue holiness in verses 14-16.

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY."

If we just let ourselves go with the flow, we will definitely not living holy lives for long. We need to pursue holiness... it doesn't just happen. When it says, "all your behavior", it means it! Just thinking about all the things I do in a day, and how holiness relates to each of those things is a bit overwhelming. For example... how I spend my time in the morning, am I simply going with the flow or am I pursing righteousness and holiness? How about driving to school... am I honoring the Lord in the way I drive and in my time spent in the car, or am I acting selfishly? How about preparing for class... am I doing it for the glory of God, or am I doing it just to get by? How about my conversations with others... am I revealing who God is, or am I hiding the fact that I know Him around people that may not approve? How about baseball... am I doing my best all the time for His glory, or am I giving up when it gets tough and taking the credit whenever I do something good? The list can go on and on. My point is, we really need to be pursuing Him in all areas of our day, not just that 15 minutes where you read your Bible and pray.

Stop!

I had a slightly interesting experience today. I was stopped at a signal in the left hand turn lane on my way back from lunch. I notice a car a few cars in front of me looked like it stalled. I see people start to go around. Now, I am the car right behind her... and she keeps trying to start her car. The problem is that every time she does this, more and more smoke is coming out from under her car. I pull up next to her and honk/point toward where the smoke is coming out, and give her the hand across throat signal (like... stop trying to start it)! She yells a frustrated, "I know!" through her window and keeps trying to start it. She obviously didn't get what I was telling her although I have no doubt that she saw the smoke. I went around her, made the left turn, and parked nearby. I ran over to her as she was still attempting to start her car. I was like, "You really don't want to start your car when there is smoke coming out!" I got the "oh, I didn't think of that" look, so I told her to put it in neutral and got her pushed out of the turning lane and over to the side. She said she had a friend coming to help in a few minutes, so I headed off to class. As I was thinking about this... lack of common sense and all, it reminded me that I can be so caught up in the moment, my common sense to depend on God can be thrown out the window very quickly. I was thinking how unprepared she obviously was for this kind of situation. She really had no idea what to do. I realized that I could be the same way when it comes to depending on God if I am not continually filling my mind with His Word. We need to be prepared for whatever satan may throw at us. We must be deeply founded in God's Word. In the heat of the battle, it is essential that we just stop for a second and submit ourselves completely to His ways.

Or... not!

Well, I was (emphasis on the was) disappointed this morning. My teacher came in and said that we are going to have to have class on Friday! We all just about died right there. haha The new plan is... Monday for two hours and Friday for two hours. This means I don't have class until 1 pm on Tuesday and Thursday. For those that don't have class before 1 pm on chapel days (Tuesday/Thursday), they don't have to go!!! So, I no longer have to sit through save the earth, woman's rights, black appreciation, aids awareness day, etc. Praise the Lord! I'm not saying that these things aren't bad, but the put that kind of emphasis on them is definitely unneeded and unhealthy. It would be nice to crack a Bible open every once in a while. ;) Anyway, I am very happy about that. I may even have more time to work than I had expected! Anyway, I'm back to work tomorrow and then off to baseball. I need to get some sleep. I have a little bit of a cold.