Samson

I asked God if he could indulge my desire to write a song about Samson. I see Samson as a sad story. He was a judge and a killer, but I think all he really wanted was to have a family like me. In that way, I feel like Samson. So strong and set apart, but at the same time so alone and yearning for something simple and fulfilling.

I don’t want to be like Samson and let my pride cause me to take God for granted. I don’t want to be like Samson and let my pride cause me to take things before their time, like when he slept with the prostitute or was with Delilah. Samson’s eyes were put out long before the Philistines removed them; he lost them when he went to the prostitute and murdered his own dream by trying to take hold of the wrong thing at the wrong time. He became blind in the spirit, and eventually, how he was in the spirit manifested on this earth. He became blind to danger, to his pride and forgot his errors in the past, and repeated the same mistake with Delilah that he did with his first wife (Timnah?), only this time it cost him his real eyes.

At the end of his life, Samson had made too many mistakes. He was past the point of family and past the point of freedom. Time, and how he wasted it with his pride had taken them away. He had his blindness, his re-growing hair, and his chains. He was in a place to do only one thing, and it fell so far short of what his life could have been. The only thing that he could do, the best that he could do, was bring that temple down, and die with it. So he finally died to himself and asked God to help him do it. It was only when Samson's spiritual blindness was brought to his attention in a grisly way and his status stripped from him as a prisoner that he was willing to do the one thing he should have done far earlier: let his pride die. Die to himself. When Samson destroyed the pillar, he wasn't just taking a temple out and killing a bunch of people in it; he was, finally, dying to himself. It was too late for that to give him what he could have had, but it was enough for him to achieve the greatest thing that he could in that final moment of his life.

And in some ways, that is the most important thing. We cannot dwell on the time we have lost. I went through a few days at sand camp and then when I asked the right question, God gave me a revelation that I wish I had discovered before I went away to sand camp. But I can't worry about how my experience might have been better if I had only done x y and z. What I have to do is ask myself, "What is the best thing I can do right now?"

Christ referred to his body as a temple. There is a verse somewhere that says something about hating oneself. I think that I am beginning to understand what that means. It does not mean "hate who you are" or "hate your body" or "hate your likes and dislikes" or "hate your personality" or "hate your calling" or any of these. What it means is, "hate your pride and everything it stands for within you". I feel like there is a connection to our bodies, which are referred to as temples, and this idea of being willing to "hate" or "die to oneself". I believe that this idea that the body is a temple is not just a physical reference, but a spiritual one as well. Christ was the only one of the face of the earth who fully hated and died to himself, and yet there was nothing about him that he should hate. He was willing to die like a criminal and accept charges against him even though they were not true. This is a divine paradox. God is all about truth and not accepting things that are incorrect. I mean, this is the same God who has told me very clearly "Praise me" and deserves it 100%. Yet, this one time, Christ was willing to take this one injustice,this one insult and apply it to himself, the one who deserved it least in the universe. He took all wisdom and nailed it to a cross, declaring that Love is greater than Wisdom.

And he did it for me.

"And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." Colossians 2:15

"Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."
John 12:23-25

A Song

No one will probably be able to see it on their computers, but I wrote a song in Chinese and want to share it with y'all...even if it only shows up as little hollow boxes...

爱在这里

我躺下的时候

爱在这里，爱在这里

我起来的时候

爱在这里爱在这里

每天我看见爱

从天堂像雨一样飘下来

如果我听我看

爱就会出现

从东到西

爱在这里, 爱在这里

从北到南

爱在这里,爱在这里

虽然痛苦偷袭

但是我不会恐惧

我走在爱的路上

永不迷惘

Translation:


When I lie down
Love is here, love is here
When I arise
Love is here, love is here

Every day I see love
Drift down from heaven like rain
If I listen, I will see
Love will appear

From the East to the West
Love is here, love is here
From the North to the South
Love is here, love is here

Although pain waits in ambush
I will not be afraid
I will walk the path of love
Forever, without confusion


Some things in the written Chinese are implied idiomatically or poetically and not openly stated. I needed to the teacher's help a lot on this... apparently the way I wrote it (which was much more..."to the point" in terms of prose) was not very poetic/ Chinese sounding.

I find it funny that the Chinese also try to rhyme their poetry...from learning Chinese I have realized that, actually, there is far, far, far less of a difference between humans than we are inclined to think. Really we are the same in so many ways...it just so happens that different cultures went in different directions. As far as I am concerned, China could have wound up being the "Christian/Capitalist" bunch (I of course am using the term "Christian" VERY loosely...) and we could have been the "Atheist/Communist" bunch. It just so happens...it turned out this way.

Fun fact: When Marco Polo went to China, the then-leaders wanted him to bring back Christians to teach Christianity throughout the country...but there was a squabble in the papacy that controlled the church at that time, and only two dudes went, and one went back home along the way due to illness...I don't remember what happened to the other guy. Imagine if the church had had its act together...the world would be so different.

Shocker!

This is just kind of a general announcement that I will be soon changing my major from Geology to Basket Weaving, er, I mean, East Asian Studies. I have found that while I think rocks are neat and I like Geology conceptually, I just can't stand it (or science in general) in practice. I believe Einstein sums it up best when he says that science as an interest and a hobby is a wonderful thing, but actually pursuing it and being involved in the process ruins it for you in some ways. This is true with me. I will get a Minor in Geology and be on my merry way into a major with no known outcome...but that's OK, because I know that God will take care of me as he has continually this year and I am not going to sweat it. I am going to do what I like, and I know that what I put my hand to, God will bless. I was strongly considering changing my major last semester, but got cold feet and moreover decided to at least finish the year with geology and see how I felt about it.

The irony is this: I am more likely to graduate on time now that I have decided to change my major than if I had stuck with Geology. Funny? You bet!

Also, I will be going to China next winter and currently have about 1/2 the cost covered in a $300 down payment I made and the $2,200 scholarship that I got to go to China. Between all the different costs including tuition for the classes I will be taking, it will be about $5,000 (just for the study abroad trip in winter session), so I am already halfway there. Things have become complicated, however, as the gravy train has more or less ground to a halt and I will not be receiving help for tuition or rent from my family this year. Therefore, this paragraph is a shameless advertisement for my cause, and if anyone wants to sow into my education, I would be very grateful.

So. Anyway. East Asian Studies. Whoohoo!

Keith Freaking Richards

At the Lakeland FL revival that I was at recently, Todd had a word of knowledge about Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. If I am not mistaken, they have since talked on the phone together, but this is the only thing I could scrounge up at the moment:

“Last night Todd made a strong statement about Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. Yes, you heard me right. I was so shocked by the detail that I wrote down exactly what Todd said and the time he said it. At 8:55 Eastern Standard Time on 5/1/2008, Todd gave a word of knowledge that Keith was watching the revival from a borough of London and that he was wearing a maroon colored shirt. He said that he was caught up in the worship and something about God reaching out to him. It was definitely a step out on the water, if you know what I mean. This should be something that can eventually be independently verified as being true or false.”\

I received a comment from Hannah today stating this:

“Todd actually followed up on the Keith Richards thing last night (May 2). A Hollywood director called Todd and told him that Keith WAS watching the night that Todd gave the word of knowldge…because Keith called her and told her (the Hollywood director) that he had just heard Todd Bentley talking about him.”

I mean, seriously. Keith Freaking Richards. Do you know how awesome it would be if he got saved? A friend of mine from VCF, Melissa, thinks that Ozzy Ozbourne and Eminem are going to get saved. Honestly, I have a feeling they will.

God is like...a good beef stew

I love God. He made everything, and since everything exists to glorify him, it seems that there is little that he cannot give you a better understanding of him through. Case in point: I was eating at a wonderful place called "A Piece of Ireland" with some friends of mine and, clearly led by the Lord, I ordered the Guinness Beef Stew. It was the most delicious stew I have ever eaten. After that great meal, I went down to The Gathering, a youth conference being held by a local church called "Vineyard Christian Fellowship" (some of you may vaguely remember this as the place where I participated in an outreach event called Liquid Love).

So, I was laying down and just soaking in the Lord's presence. The worship team started playing Jeremy Riddle's "Sweetly Broken" which almost always stirs my heart up, and then this revelation hit me like a sack of golden potatoes:

"God is like a good beef stew."

I proceeded to seize my notebook and furiously expand on this lovely nugget of understanding and felt lead to share it (because revelation is also like a good beef stew, in that it should be shared!). For those of you who either do not know what beef stew is, or find it so disgusting that you can't get anything out of this note, my apologies and prayers go with you (apologies that this note isn't for you, and prayers that you will see the light and eat/enjoy beef stew). But hopefully everyone else will get it.

So. God is like a good beef stew. The beef is kind of like the power and authority of God that we have as adopted sons and daughters; it has more flavor than the other things in the stew like the potatoes and carrots by themselves, and is on the whole a much more attractive morsel on its own. The beef is also like the power in that the only way that we could have it is by something being sacrificed; Christ's blood had to be shed in order for the authority over the enemy and creation to be given over us so that we may deliver the oppressed, heal the sick, and do many other spiritually miraculous things besides. It is also like the beef in that beef, in older times, was a rarity that required labor to have in your food. If you wanted beef, you had better be willing to work a few extra hours that week to get something other than pork or chicken in there. The same is with the power. You don't get it without practice and working at your gift. And, finally, the beef helps you build muscle, it makes you strong (yes this is circular..."ingesting power makes you powerful!"... but this should be a no-brainer). You'll never build muscle on celery. And really, you just can't have beef stew without beef. I mean, man alive, it's in the name of the dish!

The character of God is like the potatoes and carrots. It's like the potatoes because, like potatoes, God is simply...good. He just is. Potatoes are the same way. They're just good. For lots of reasons, mostly having to do with taste and how they compliment other things. At the same time, his character is also like the carrots, because they help us to see better (I credit this particular bit to my friend Nate Krause, who mentioned this when I told this to him today). If that last sentence didn't strike you, read it again because it's deep. And next, we return to the circular thing, because the carrots and any other veggies in there are actually good for you and nourishing to your body, providing nutrients it needs that the beef can't provide. And, really, you just can't have beef stew without carrots and 'taters, because honestly who has ever heard of such a thing? You couldn't call it stew without carrots and 'taters. They go together with the beef like...well, like beef carrots and potatoes in a stew (besides, using "like peanut butter and jelly" as a simile is just lame). The other reason being if all you ever have is straight beef in your stew, you'll get fat and unhealthy. You need some (relatively) healthy stuff in there taking up space.

But here's the thing that makes all of this special: His love is like the gravy that saturates everything, and what makes stew special and different from everything else. Without the gravy, there is no stew and there is no seasoning. The gravy is the most key and special part of the stew. A stew lives or dies on its gravy. Without the gravy, the potatoes are just potatoes, the carrots are just carrots, and the beef is just plain hunks of meat. And sure, those things nourish, but here's the rub: God doesn't want us to just live and sustain ourselves to the end of our race here. Does he want us to endure? Yes. Without a doubt. But he also wants us to live to the fullest and most awesome experience we are willing to have the faith for. When you order a stew, you don't get it to gulp it down quick and wash it down with soda before the taste of it can sink into your tongue like some of the dining hall food around here. You get it because it's delicious in all it's gravy saturated goodness. And speaking of saturation, there's another reason why his love is like the gravy; in order for the other stuff to really be a part of the stew, they have to soak in that gravy, until it's permeated everything in that stew, so that the savory flavor is in everything and not a single bite is without that delicious flavor.

So...

If you're being served a God who's like a stew without beef, send it back and get some beef in there.

If you're being served a God who's like a stew with no 'taters and veggies, send it back and get some 'taters and veggies in there.

If you're being served a God who's like a stew with no gravy...smack your server upside the head and send it back. I mean...seriously. They should know better. And I might even say to never go back to that restaurant again... because if they don't know that gravy is supposed to be in stew, then that's one messed up place. Maybe you can learn how to make stew yourself and come back one day to teach them (if they're willing to learn)...but until then, avoid that establishment like the plague!

So thanks for readin'...man am I hungry now. All of this talk of 'taters and stews...

Author's Note: The comment about backhanding your server is meant to be figurative. It is not nice to slap your waitresses, not to mention illegal and Not Very Nice and/or Biblical.