St. Patrick's Day

Since yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day, I thought I would post something with that backdrop. St. Patty’s Day is a fun day. It is not a national holiday, but it is celebrated all across this country by people from every sex, religion, nationality, color, and orientation. It is a day for people to get off from work, put on their green garb, and head down to the local pub for some green beer. It is a time for people to let their hair down and unwind. Some people, by some miracle, even develop an Irish accent when they talk. This may have something to do with the green beer, but I don’t know.
It is also a day for school-aged children to put on green and run around looking for classmates and adults alike not wearing green, and give them a little pinch. Everybody holds on to that little hope of finding a leprechaun and getting his pot of gold.
I even celebrate St. Patrick’s Day because it is a fun day, but also because of my Irish heritage, even if it is watered down over the generations. I still admire the Irish, and I am a little proud to say, “Yeah, I’m Irish.”
But, I wanted to take a little time to share something that was written by the Catholic Church’s Patron Saint of Ireland, St. Patrick himself. It is called ‘St. Patrick’s Breastplate’ or “The Deer’s Cry’. The language may be a little outdated and weird, but keep in mind that it is from the 5th century A.D. I hope you enjoy:

I arise todayThrough a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,Through the belief in the threeness,Through the confession of the onenessOf the Creator of Creation.
I arise todayThrough the strength of Christ's birth with his baptism,Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,Through the strength of his descent for the Judgment Day.
I arise todayThrough the strength of the love of Cherubim,In obedience of angels,In the service of archangels,In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,In prayers of patriarchs,In predictions of prophets,In preaching of apostles,In faith of confessors,In innocence of holy virgins,In deeds of righteous men.
I arise todayThrough the strength of heaven:Light of sun,Radiance of moon,Splendor of fire,Speed of lightning,Swiftness of wind,Depth of sea,Stability of earth,Firmness of rock.
I arise todayThrough God's strength to pilot me:God's might to uphold me,God's wisdom to guide me,God's eye to look before me,God's ear to hear me,God's word to speak for me,God's hand to guard me,God's way to lie before me,God's shield to protect me,God's host to save meFrom snares of demons,From temptations of vices,From everyone who shall wish me ill,Afar and anear,Alone and in multitude.
I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul,Against incantations of false prophets,Against black laws of pagandomAgainst false laws of heretics,Against craft of idolatry,Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.
Christ to shield me todayAgainst poison, against burning,Against drowning, against wounding,So that there may come to me abundance of reward.Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,Christ on my right, Christ on my left,Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,Christ in every eye that sees me,Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise todayThrough a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,Through belief in the threeness,Through confession of the oneness,Of the Creator of Creation.

I came across found this prayer a few years ago after we sang a song in church that contained part of this prayer. It is the next to last stanza of the writing that starts with ‘Christ to shield me today’. A few lines down it talks about what should be our goal as Christians. To be so consumed with Christ that He is before, below, in front, and behind us, on our right and left. To have Him with us when we sit down, lie down, go to sleep, get up, and walk around. When people look at us, hear us, talk of us, and think of us, it is Christ that they see, hear, talk about, and think of. THAT is the relationship we need to strive for. It is when we have that much Jesus in our lives that we can face any kind of trial and tribulation. It may not necessarily always be easy, but we can rest knowing that He is with us always.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. If not, sorry. I hope that you had a fun St. Patty’s Day. I did, and it did not involve any green beverages. Instead I was around THOUSANDS of people at the zoo. Wow. But the kids had fun. Take care and be blessed. I love all of you, and I am here for you.
*When I first heard the words of this I went home and started looking for those words until I came across this. I immediately loved it and wanted to know more about the man St. Patrick. I thought I might share with you just a little. Did you know that St. Patrick wasn’t actually Irish? Say what?! I know it’s crazy. He was actually English. He was kidnapped at the age of 16 and sent to Ireland as a slave. He also worked as a shepherd in the mountains. He continued to pray and cry out to God. One day he felt that he was told by God to return to England. So, he escaped, and went home. He then studied in several monasteries. He then began doing missionary work in several places, when he felt he needed to return to the place that was like a prison to him for so long. He returned to Ireland and started sharing the love and story of Christ. He is credited with converting all of Ireland. Now keep in mind that there are stories that he drove out all of the snakes from Ireland. That is why he is also the Patron Saint of people with a fear of snakes. Now, I don’t know if he rid the entire country of snakes, or if he converted every non-believer, but I do know that it had to take a whole lot of love and forgiveness to want to return to the place that probably didn’t hold a lot of fond memories for him, just to minister to the people.
He felt they deserved the same grace and mercy that he did. I probably would have felt like Jonah from the Bible did towards the people of Nineveh. He did not feel they deserved anything but judgment and wrath, God felt otherwise. Eventually Jonah saw the light, it took a lot of convincing, but he saw it. Old Patrick went right in spreading love. We should all have that mentality. Anyways, sorry to keep on, but there is a lot of good stuff around this guy. Take care!
Jason

The Flag and the Bible

*This is a post that I made on MySpace in October of 2007. I hope you enjoy it.*

I used to get a daily Bible study on my e-mail called "Two Minutes with the Bible" by the Berean Bible Society. Sometimes they have some things that make me scratch my head in confusion, but sometimes they have things that hit me like a ton of bricks and make me shout "WOW!!!" Tonight as I was reading this one it really struck a chord in me. I posted it on here for you to read, and then I will add some things at the end. Enjoy and I will talk to you in a second or should I say 'Two Minutes'....get it it's called 'Two minutes with the Bible' never mind...Read on:

THE BIBLE ON THE FLOOR

by Cornelius R. Stam

"...Thou hast magnified Thy Word above all Thy name" (Psa. 138:2).
As I passed by my study the other night, I noticed that I had left a Bible lying on the floor next to a chair. In studying I had put it down momentarily to consult a reference book and had neglected to pick it up again.

Now, as I caught a fleeting glimpse of that blessed Book lying there, it bothered me; in fact it bothered me enough to make me go back and pick it up and put it where it belonged.
Then I began wondering why so trivial a matter had troubled me. Was it because I remembered how dad would never allow anything to lie on top of the Bible? Had mere sentiment confused my thinking?

Surely the Word of God is forever settled in heaven and that book lying on the floor was only paper, ink and a leather cover. Or was it? Was it not also the Word of God as given to us? And as such, was it not representative of God Himself? If our country's flag must be treated with honor and respect; if it is sacrilege to treat it as mere cloth, how much more is this so where the Holy Bible is concerned!

No, it was not merely dad's example that came to mind as I saw the Bible lying there: certainly it was not only that. Rather it was a Scripture passage of which he often reminded us; the inspired words of David quoted above:

"Thou hast magnified Thy Word above all Thy name."

To be sure God would have us use His Word as a textbook from which to learn His will. It is no sign of reverence for this great Book to leave it lying untouched on the shelf. He would have us use it and study it, perhaps underlining important passages and marking significant connections. But with all this we must never forget to treat it with the reverence and honor due the written Word of God.

Welcome back. See I have had some issue with the way that some people seem to worship the American flag. Now don't get me wrong, I do think that the flag is something to be respected; more what it stands for. It represents the men and women out there who have so bravely put their lives on the line for our freedom. The freedom to wear what we want in public, to write or talk about things we are passionate about, and to worship which ever god we want.
That definitely needs to be respected. But, think about what the Bible represents. Everyone knows what it says: For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16. Yes, those men and women gave their lives so we could live because it was their call of duty. God left the comforts of heaven to come to earth as a man. He walked, sweat, bled, and died for us. Not because it was His call of duty, or He had nothing better to do. He did it because He loves us; because He could not stand the gap that sin had put between us and Him. So He came and died so that we could get back to Him. That is a MUCH better story.

Now don't take this as anti-American or that I am trying to take away from our military. Because I am not!!! Continue to respect the flag and what it is a symbol of. But think about what is between the covers of that Bible, thank God for His word. I hope that you got as much out of this as I did. If you didn't I apologize. If you did then thank God. Again if any of you have questions, concerns, or complaints let me know. If you have any kind of prayer requests or praise reports, PLEASE let me know. Have a great day, and I hope to write again soon. Until then....

Jason

Conformity

If someone were to ask me what I felt was the most powerful song, or the one that speaks the most to people, I would have to say 'Camouflage Soul' by All Together Separate. I know this is kind of a weird way to start out a blog, but hopefully you will see the reason why. If you would like to hear the song you can do a search on the net, or go to MySpace and find them on my own page or on All Together Separate's . If you don't care to listen, here are the lyrics:

Camouflage Soul

Another chance has come and gone

And I allowed my faith to fade into the background

How can I claim to be like your Son

And keep hanging on to what I knowHe died to free me from?

I'm tired of blending in

I'm tired of being one of the crowd

While everyone knows my name

Nobody knows my God

I don't want to be another camouflage soul

'Cuz I've been that way too long

I don't want to be another camouflage soul

I finally realize the danger in sitting on the sidelines

Conformity is failure

I have the disguise to look the part

But I don't want to wear Your cross around my neck

And not have Your peace in my heart

I'm tired of blending in

I'm tired of being one of the crowd

While everyone knows my name

Nobody knows my God

I don't want to be another camouflage soul

'Cuz I've been that way too long

I don't want to be another camouflage soul

I've got a change of heart

And I won't change my mind

I'm ready for a brand new start

Now I've got to change my life

I don't want to be another camouflage soul

'Cuz I've been that way too long

I don't want to be another camouflage soul

Isn't that a good song? Now, you may be asking, "Jason, that was a great song, you DO have an ear for good music, but what does that have to do with anything?"
Well, if you have a Bible handy, (if you don't, no big deal), turn over to Romans chapter 12. Go to verse 2. I have the New Living Translation, so if yours reads differently, don't freak out!

Romans 12:2 says:
Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

The New International Version says:
2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

And finally, The Message has the passage like this:
Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

I gave 3 different translations because I like to read how passages can be put into different perspectives. Each person might take something different from each of the different translations. I digress. I think this song and this passage go together like peanut butter and jelly.

Dictionary.com shows the meaning of conformity as:
action in accord with prevailing social standards, attitudes, practices, etc.

You see, when Paul was writing to the Romans, he was telling them not to be like the rest of the world. Paul himself was guilty of this early in his life. He spent his time persecuting the early christians. He was very caught up in the legalistic religion that the Jews were a part of. It took Jesus meeting him on the road to Damascus and renewing his mind for him to break away from the pattern of the time. After that meeting with Christ, he was no longer a slave to the world* and it's laws.
He became conformed to the mind of Christ. He was then in one accord with God. This set him apart from the rest of the world, and he paid for it. He was arrested and beaten because he did not allign with the thoughts of the religious leaders. Despite him spending so much time in prison, he never went back to his old way of thinking. He never took his eyes off of Christ, and the price He paid for him.
I think we as christians need to take this passage and this song and apply it to our lives.The first verse of the song talks about the frustration of knowing that you had the opportunity to stand out, to let God's light shine through you by standing strong in your faith. Instead you let your situation get the best of you, and God is pushed to the back of the room. Like a hunter in the woods with all of his Camo gear on, your faith just becomes part of the scenery. I am 100% guilty of this!!! I work in and have worked in several jobs where it was uncool or not 'manly' enough or something to be a christian. I allowed myself to get caught up in the gossiping (yes firemen do gossip), or the negative talk, crude jokes, or just plain being mean and hateful to people. Even though I don't cuss alot or do alot of the things that people I have worked with in the past do, i don't think I have let my faith stand out. Instead of being the hunter with the BRIGHT orange clothes on, I was a bush in the woods.
When the second verse says "I have the disguise to the look the part, but I don't want to wear your cross around my neck and not have Your peace in my heart." How many of us have, or seen someone, who is wearing a cross necklace or have a christian fish/bumpersticker on their car, and act in a way that would make God shake his head in disgust or flip you the bird because you cut them off in traffic, only to cut the next person off. I think the crosses and the 'WWJD' bracelets, and the bumpersticker/fishes, (I have a fish on my car) are cool. Some of them are even fashionable. Some people who wear the crosses, wear them because they are fashionable. But when we as christians are wearing them as a badge of our faith, we need to make sure that we are showing the true meaning of that cross, or doing exactly what Jesus would do.
Please know that I am not writing this as I look down my nose at everyone around me. I am writing this as I look in the mirror. That is why this blog is called 'Face in the Mirror'. It is a reflection of myself. I hope that others can see themselves in it. It is not my place to see this in others, only myself. My goal is to get to the point where when I look in the mirror, I see the face of Christ.
Do not worry about being different or labeled as weird. Christ and his followers were thought to be crazy or demon possessed. The bible tells us to be in the world not of the world. So if we are different because of our faith, then thank God. I hope this helped someone, it is certainly something I need to hear daily. If there is anything I can do for any of you please let me know. Have a great day and may God bless you more than you can imagine.
Jason
*God paid a high price for you, so don't be enslaved by the world 1 Corinthians 7:23

Was Jesus a Socialist?

This is the first real post on here. You might be thinking, "What kind of title is that?!" Before you get the stones, pitchforks, and torches, read on. Then if you want to string me up at the end, then you will have to catch me. ;)

Let’s begin:

This is something that has been weighing on my mind for the last couple of years or so. Those who know me pretty well know that I tend to go on these rants about society, government, religion, etc. This post is going to touch on all three, if not more. Bear with me if I start to ramble or sound soap boxy, I don’t mean to. If any of you have any complaints, corrections, or comments, please feel free to let them fly; that is the point of this blog, to air out any concerns, thoughts, and ideas, and then learn from them or grow from them both spiritually and intellectually. So, I hope you enjoy.

Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines socialism:

1: any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods
2 a: a system of society or group living in which there is no private property b: a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state
3: a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done

Under this system, the state (government), takes it upon themselves to take all of the products, goods, and revenue of the nation and divide among the citizens. It’s goal is to take from the industrious and wealthy, (the have’s), and redistribute the wealth among everyone, including the less productive and less wealthy (the have not’s). The idea is to do away with class warfare, and give everyone an opportunity to live, albeit not as richly.

In a nation that has only known this type of government, this can work or looks good on paper anyway. But, let’s consider the United States. This country is essentially made up of 3 classes. The upper class is made up of people who have mastered their trade or skill, invented something that has improved the way we live, or has been just plain lucky. The middle class is made up of people who work long hard hours at their jobs; some of them even work multiple jobs. These people work hard to basically ‘survive’ or ‘get by’. The lower class is made up of people who may not work as much, for whatever reason. There are people who may not be able to work at all due to injury/illness. Then there are the people who choose not to work. There are varying degrees in all three of these classes; these are just some quick broad descriptions.

If the government were to come in and decide that they wanted to come in and ‘redistribute’ the wealth of the people, there would be some pretty unhappy people. There would be some serious class warfare going on; at least an increase of class warfare. We have been a capitalistic nation or a free market for so long, for the government to say that the income your hard work, intelligence, or good fortune has brought you needs to be ‘spread around’ would be a kick in the pants.
Karl Heinrich Marx (May 5, 1818 – March 14, 1883) was a German[1] philosopher, political economist, historian, sociologist, humanist, political theorist and revolutionary credited as the founder of communism. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Marx) He is also credited with coining the phrase “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need” in his 1875 Critique of the Gotha Program. This basically means that every person should give to society from there own earnings depending on their abilities. It also says that each person should be able to take from society according to what they need, regardless of how much they contribute.
Like I said a moment ago, this looks good on paper. This might work in a nation that was founded with this principle up front, but to jump ship from a free market society mid stream and switch over to this, would cause some serious problems.
To quote the words of the great philosopher, Coolio, in one of his works “Fantastic Voyage’, “If you don’t work then you don’t eat…”

Now, let’s look at what the Bible says. I have 2 main scriptures I want to focus on. The first is Acts 4:32-35; this is out of the NIV translation:

32All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. 33With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. 34There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.

The second is the story about the wealthy young man that comes to Jesus asking about eternal life. He explains that he has kept all of the commandments that Jesus said one must follow in order to have eternal life. He was feeling pretty good about himself until Jesus dropped the bomb on him. We pick up the story in the 19th chapter of Matthew verses 21 and 22:
21 Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
22 But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
Right now, someone might be saying, “Aha! See, Jesus is talking about the redistribution of wealth, and the passage out of Acts supports it. Socialism must be biblical!”
I might almost agree, but there are just a few differences. When Jesus is talking to this man he says, “Go…” This word in the Greek is Hupago. It means to depart or go away. This is a verb. It requires an action. Jesus did not tell the man to wait for a tax increase, pay his taxes accordingly, and then the ever so trustworthy government will give to the poor. He told him to ‘hupago’ and sell his possessions, and then give that money to the needy people in the area. Then, he was to follow Jesus, and then he would have eternal life.
It is the same with the early believers in the book of Acts. From time to time they would sell some of their possessions and give that money to the Apostles, and they would give where the needs were. This is close to a state run program, except that the church gave to the needy on behalf of the givers. I can pretty much guarantee 99% of the time the church has a better idea as to what is needed in it’s community as opposed to the government.
See, we as Christians need to do a better job of following Christ. We need to look at the world through His eyes. We need to have the love and compassion that he has.
There is a song by Brandon Heath called “Give Me Your Eyes”. In the chorus he says,
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see

See, if we will just stop and look out beyond ourselves, we will see the world. We will see people that are hungry, hurting, and alone. We will see the people who just can’t seem to get by. If we ask God to give his love for these people we might actually ‘Go’ and do something about the problems of the world.

If we sit back and wait for the corrupt government of our nation to do something for the needy of the world on our behalf, we then have to accept the consequences of that decision. By that, I mean, we get stuck with the class warfare that both Capitalism and Socialism create.

Let me unpack this for a moment. With Capitalism you have a free market society. Within this you have the choice to work as much or as little as you want. With this you have the opportunity to make as much money as you can. You then have the option to do what you want with that money. You can either save it for a rainy day or retirement, or you can buy all of the stuff you want. You can do your best to keep up with that pesky Jones family, who seems to have everything. Or you can give to the less fortunate. One bad thing with Capitalism is that it breeds greed. In an attempt to obtain as much as possible, we tend to lose focus on those around us and focus more on ourselves. Society today tells us that you have to drive a certain type of car, wear a certain brand of clothes, live in a certain size of house, or have the latest gadget in order to be successful. Unfortunately, there are people who just get left behind. This can cause resentment on the have not’s behalf towards the have’s, and the have’s can look down on the have not’s because they don’t have what they do. This leads to class warfare.

With socialism the government decides that everyone needs to be equal. They impose taxes and other laws that take from the have’s, and then ‘share the wealth’ with the have not’s. Even if a person does not do their fair share of the work, they still get an equal piece of the proverbial pie. Some of them do not do anything to better society. They certainly are not required to do something on the behalf of the haves. If I can quote the great poet and modern day prophet, Coolio, again, he says, “You can’t help me if you can’t help yourself.” This type of environment causes class warfare for other reasons. The have’s will resent the have not’s for getting a part of something they did not put into. They will also resent them and the government for taking what they had worked so hard to gain. The have not’s will develop a sense of entitlement because the government says they are entitled to everyone else’s prosperity.

We as Christians need to do what the Bible says, and give with a cheerful heart. Jesus told us as believers several times to give to the widows, homeless, less fortunate, and sick and injured. If the church as a whole was more focused on doing what Jesus told us on a daily basis and on a global level, we would not need the government trying to force benevolence on us.

So in closing, I do not believe that Jesus was a socialist by definition. He does want us to pay our taxes and he wants us to help the needy, but he wants us to help out of the abundance of our hearts. This is just something that we all need to think about, especially me.

Relevant Magazine is a very good source to keep up to speed with things that are going on in the world, and organizations that are working to spread the love and message of Christ. They have a new project called Reject Apathy that is a place for people who want to change the world the right way to get involved. It is very new, so new that their website rejectapathy.org is not up and running as of today. You can read about it in Relevant Magazine, or online at relevantmagazine.com. I highly recommend this magazine to anyone who likes to keep up on things related to our culture and God. Hope you have enjoyed this as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Please give me any feedback good, bad, or indifferent. Take care and God bless!!!!
Jason

*It has been brought to my attention that I need to clarify some things that might be a bit confusing. Someone asked me when I was talking about "corrupt goverment", if I was referring to our current administration or a paticular party. They felt that I was broadcasting that I am a Republican or that I hate the Democrats. Neither of these could be more false. I do not consider myself a Republican or Democrat. I personally don't trust either party as they are run today.
I could fill a completely different blog on my political views, but I will spare you today.
Just know that when I talk about corrupt goverment, I am talking about politicians who promise to help the people with our tax dollars then turn around and help the special interest groups. I think both parties are guilty of this. Maybe someday I will elaborate more, but until then, be blessed and look for ways to be a blessing to others. I truly love all of you, and hope to hear from you.
Jason

New Blog

Hey there! I'm Jason, (if you didn't already know that). I started this blog originally on MySpace, but since not everyone has a MySpace, I decided to put it on here as well. The purpose of this blog is for me to put into writing the things that God places on my heart. Also just random thoughts about life that might come up. My passion is my faith and my ministry, so usually posts will have to do with those. Please feel free to comment on each post. I am open to good comments and negative comments. This is something I hope to help people, including myself, to grow in our walk with Christ. If someone doesn't know Him, then I hope that I can illustrate Him so maybe someone will want to get to know Him. So like I said, write back. It might help me. The things that I write in here are not me pointing my finger at the world. That is why it is called 'Face in the Mirror'. When I look in the mirror I hope to see Christ in me. Also, when people look at me, I hope they see Him and not me. This is for everyone. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope it helps. Take care and God bless!!!