$1.50 Latte!

So Starbucks (and pretty much any cafe) can get pretty expensive right? Well here's a nice trick for a $1.50 caramel latte.

With your registered Starbucks card, order a tall coffee for a buck fifty. Ask for added caramel syrup (or flavor of your preference) with room for cream. Add your half and half, stir, and voila! a not bad imitation of a latte! When you like to visit Starbucks often (as I do), but don't like spending a grip of money there, this is a nice cheap way to spruce up the visit, rather than having a plain cup of coffee.

If you do like to visit even once a month, then you really ought to have a registered card. You get a free drink on your b-day, and after 5 purchases you'll get to "green level" and the caramel syrup I mentioned will be a free add to your drink. AND if you're planning to enjoy the cafe ambiance for a while, you can get a free refill of your imitation latte! Can't beat that that with a stick!

What was that you said...in your heart....with your actions?

I always find it interesting when I hear statistics about the religiosity or theistic belief of the people of the U.S. It's always something like, "95% of Americans believe in God, so stop trying to take 'in God we trust' off of our national monuments" or something to that effect.

Here's an example from an article written in June 2008:

(it was the first link to pop up to a google search "what percentage of Americans believe in God"):

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/06/23/ST2008062300818.html

In case you didn't take the time to click and spend the two minutes required to read that article (and I don't blame you, but if you have the time I encourage you to read it because it's interesting), it basically says that 92% of Americans believe in some sort of "higher power", even 20% of atheists claim to believe in some sort of (personal or impersonal) supernatural entity. Incredible... - and often this type of information is cited as some sort of good news in a political context. Yet, the belief noted is a completely worthless form of belief. It is far from faith and in fact is even less than the acknowledgement given God by the demons (James 2:19 "You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe - and tremble!") Because at least the demons acknowledge that there is only One and that He is a personal God.

What initially got me thinking on this was passing through Psalm 14 on my evening reading. The first part of the first verse is often quoted, many times in jest, and I think I probably saw it 5 times last year in email forwards saying we should give atheists the holiday 4/1 to celebrate. "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God'". And something struck me when I read it this time. The psalmist (David) isn't talking about those who say with their lips or their mind, "there is no God." Rather those who say it in their heart. I wonder how many people of that day would have said such a thing with their lips. I think everyone in the Israeli community at the time was a theist, and all the surrounding peoples were most likely poly-theistic pagans. Who would be saying "There is no God" as the "intellectual atheist" does today? I think no one. Consider the rest of the verse:

v.1

The fool has said in his heart,

'There is no God.'

They are corrupt,

They have done abominable works,

There is none who does good.

v.3

They have all turned aside,

They have together become corrupt;

There is none who does good,

No, not one.

v.4

Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge...

And do not call on the Lord?.....

So of course, this is a great passage to address what the Bible says about the atheist. Look around, see the creation. Look inward, observe the moral compass. OF COURSE THERE'S a GOD!

But even more than that - this is talking about those who live like there is no God. It's about those who say it with their heart, with their actions. Those who have "become corrupt" and "done abominable works". And verse 2 gives a perspective on how and why this seems so foolish:

v. 2

The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men,

To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.

It's so absurd to imagine a creation denying the existence of it's creator. It's like a child telling his/her mother, "you're not my mother". And mom is thinking, "uh...I was there when, after nine miserable months of carrying you around in my belly, I very laboriously pushed you out." It's the kind of statement to which one almost wants to add the tag ["you idiot"] (i'm not trying to be rude here, I'm just saying - I think a mom would know.... of course hopefully one would never call their child an idiot, and I'm definitely not recommending it. Especially since in this illustration one most likely envisions a very young child. It's just that, being told by your own offspring that you aren't their parent, or for God to be told by His own creation that he doesn't exist - such a statement leaves one incredulous).....but getting back on point - for a person to claim that there is no God is like that situation, to the power of 10 to the power of 100 to the power of 1000.

So verse 2 says that God is looking down upon us, His creation, to see if anyone will seek Him. And I even sometimes think, when studying apologetics or watching a debate between a Christian and an atheist, how funny it must be from God's perspective that people are spending time debating about His existence. Of course I love apologetics and support a full defense of the theism and the Christian faith, but it's just a funny thought when considered from His perspective. He is in heaven, watching, waiting.... "Will you stop debating, and just acknowledge, turn toward, worship, and seek me?"

The sad thing to consider is this: how many of those 92% of Americans that say with their mouth when polled that they believe in God, are saying in their heart that "there is no God"? And how many Christians are living verse 1 "corrupt, they have done abominable works..." and thereby saying with their heart that there is no God.

It's convicting - when God "looks down from heaven upon" me, I want Him to see that I "understand" and "seek God."

GOD, as the One who deserves and demands our attention, love, adoration, respect, fear, and WORSHIP, does not need to justify His existence to us. He doesn't need to explain why he should be our priority. As GOD, He is entitled. He depends upon nothing, we depend upon Him.

I'll end with a quote from Dr. William Lane Craig in his Defenders series of podcasts. I think this is well put, true, and convicting of the heart:

God ought to be our ultimate concern...and since God is the ultimate being, He ought to be our proper ultimate concern; to substitute anything else in God's place is therefore, literally, idolatry. And it's interesting that many of the passages in the scriptures on the notion of God as self existent come in the context of a condemnation of idolatry...because to put anything in God's place as one's ultimate concern is idol worship. Now if I were to ask "how many idolaters are here in the class this morning?" we probably wouldn't see too many hands raised. But suppose I were to ask you "What is your ultimate concern in life?" What would you have said? If it's anything other than knowing and serving God, I think you're worshiping a lesser God. You're putting something in the rightful place of God, the self existent one, our ultimate concern....

In the most absolute sense, He is Lord. Everything else depends upon Him, He depends upon nothing. He is Lord. And therefore in our lives, we need to depend upon the One who depends upon no one.

Alvin Plantinga

You must read about this man.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_Plantinga

haven't been too forthcoming with my thoughts as of late....

Materialism and lethargy and complacency

Isaiah 2:7-8 "Their land is also full of silver and gold, And there is no end to their treasures; Their land is also full of horses and there is no end to their chariots. Their land is also full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands. That which their own fingers have made."

I signed up for a philosophy class. There was only one session so far, but during the random chit chat and rabbit trails of the first session. The professor mentioned a historical/social/philosophical theory from some guy whose name I can't remember. And unfortunately, I'm barely not too lazy to type this at all, let alone to get up and go get my class notes. But in any case, this guy, whoever he was, had the idea that in history there are only two types of periods. Golden Eras and Historical Crises. He said that at any point in history a society was either at one of the two or in transition from one to the other. In other words, societies never just kinda plateaued at a sort of average, mediocre level, but were either doing really great or really horrible or were on the way from one to the other. Part of the problem, is human nature. (part??? I don't know, it might be the whole problem)...It's kinda awful. As my professor asked, (loose paraphrase here), "once things start going well and there are no more major problems that need to be solved, what do people start diverting all of their attention to?" I instantly thought - "themselves", but being too timid at that moment, I said nothing. Someone suggested love, someone suggested community.... the professor said yes to the guy who's answer was love... but clarified.... it's love a particular sort.....love of ME - love of self. And I tend to think that she is right. And thus a society would begin its downward trend toward the crisis as people began to focus on themselves and what is in their own selfish best interest.
It's interesting thinking about this stuff at the same time as taking a political science class and learning all about the founding of the nation. People at that time obviously felt that the preservation of their society was something worth fighting and dying for. And of course there have been other points in history where Americans have risen to fight extreme challenges and face big fights. (thus we still speak English and not German or Japanese) And of course there are still so many today who have committed themselves to protecting this country - I admire them greatly.

But so many many many people walk around clueless and don't even care. They don't notice, know, or care about the goings on of the governing class. And then, there are so many of us who care, but don't quite know what to do. So we are relatively informed, but all it empowers us to do is talk about it. Which helps, but doesn't effect immediate change (that is to say - there are benefits of talking to people, but that will only help at the next election rather than helping to steer the current course and affect the thinking of those with the power at the moment). For most of us, the law of intertia is more than just a physical law, but it is a law governing habits and lifestyle. Therefore - we won't make a stir until it's too late, we've already been affected. We've already been taken over.....materialism has done its damaging deed. It causes a stupor - an inability to see what really matters. A self absorption the hampers any action for something greater than oneself.

but this is not the point I really wanted to make.

Looking back at the verse in Isaiah - it starts off sounding like what one might think seems to be a decent state of affairs for a country. "full of silver and gold...no end to their treasures...full of horses....no end to their chariots" Sounds great - their is wealth and mobility. Compared to other nations and compared to history, one could say it seems as if there is no end to the wealth and mobility of the people of the US. (though we better realize there is an end to the wealth before our creditors cut us off - but that's another topic). Yet we see that just as Israel had, so has the U.S. followed the wealth with improper worship: "their land is also full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made." In a sense Israel followed the pattern I was talking about earlier. They hit a high point and became so infatuated with the wealth that they turned their eyes and hearts toward things of the earth. When they hit their ultimate low, they were burning their babies in the fires of sacrifice to these false gods. How sad it is to see that here in the US, we have come to the same place where our culture sacrifices babies to the gods of wealth and pleasure. People can't afford it, don't want the responsibility, or the cramp on their lifestyle - so they murder their baby. In the ancient times, they made religious excuses - justifying it by saying it was for worship. Today, people claim it's better than raising a child in poor circumstances, and then coat it with the absurd notion that the baby isn't fully human to try to help themselves swallow the painful reality. What is everyone's main focus and main love? ME. SELF. I'm not trying to point the finger and say how awful everyone else is - this is just the sad state of humanity. This is what we come to when our nature goes unchecked and is given free reign.

Look what's written next in Isaiah 2:11-18, 20-21 "the lofty looks of a man shall be humbled, the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord of hosts shall come upon everything proud and lofty, upon everything lifted up - and it shall be brought low - upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up. and upon all the oaks of Bashan; Upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up; upon every high tower, and upon every fortified wall; upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all the beautiful sloops. The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day, But the idols He shall utterly abolish...In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which they made, each for himself to worship, to the moles and the bats, to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the crags of the rugged rocks, from the terror of the LORD and the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake the earth mightily."

I'm not a scholar on Biblical prophecy, but I believe this to not only be a word for what was coming upon Israel, but also about what is coming upon mankind in general in "the day of the LORD" (v. 12)

It is sad that as human beings we get to the point where we would need to be awakened in such a violent fashion. But eventually God has enough and decides to wipe out and wipe away those things that people make so important that actually aren't. I think this is the sad state and description of so many people in the world today. They have so many riches to distract them, they have (in their mind) no need of God, and they can keep busy enough to not really think about it. Christians ought to never come to this point - we must keep our eyes on the goal, we must keep our mind on heaven, we must lay up treasures there, where "moth and rust do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal" (Mt. 6:19-21)

It's beautiful the prophetic imagery here in Isaiah 2:10, it says, "Enter into the rock" and who is the rock, the stable foundation upon which a life can be built and be able to weather the storms of life, the rock of our salvation, the one upon whom the church is built - it is Jesus Christ.

I don't know how really to solve the political dilemma in my own life - how to get past just talking. How I can actually DO something and keep my day job. But I do know that, as a Christian, step one in facing any problem is ALWAYS to "Enter into the ROCK"

I'm not sure if there was a singular larger point I have been trying to make or if this has seemed to be coherent at all. But I guess if anything - the point I'm getting at is that we ought to fight against complacency, don't give in to materialism, and enter in to the Rock daily, remain solidly grounded upon Jesus at all times rather than waiting for the time that "He arises to shake the earth mightily" (maybe that's three or four points - but that's ok, you catch my drift, right? you get the point(s))

in Christ

seeking God's will v. wanting to follow it

I have been praying over a big decision lately. I feel that either choice will include difficulties. Likewise, both choices seem to point to a bright future, since in all things I will be walking with the Lord. However - I can't say that I am completely neutral. I have a strong preference. Facing this decision has been haunting and taunting me for a few weeks now. For the second time, I tried to dedicate a week to doing more praying and less talking about the issue. My aim was/is to hear God's voice and to really seek His will in faith that He will reveal it to me. I also hoped that during this time He would speak the same thing to my wife so that after a week, when we discuss it, we will hopefully be sharing the same heart.
Here's the hard part - every single time I try to pray very specifically and diligently about the situation, every time I have it on my mind and take it to the Lord, the path ends in a feeling of depression, a knot in the gut and chest, a very heavy heart. I can't understand or imagine why. It seems like when I take things to the Lord, I should be completely settled and at peace about it. I'm sure that this torn feeling comes from the fact that in taking it to the Lord, I'm hoping for a particular outcome. My prayer is something like this "Oh God, please show me YOUR will for this situation, show me what you want us to do!" which is immediately followed by the thought of "oh I hope hope hope His will is option A. If His will is option B - I will be so sad and depressed by taking that path." I want to do God's will, but I also have my own will. I want to be a person who submits his will to the will of God, yet I so struggle with the fact that I desperately desperately want His will to line up with mine. And I know I know I know....my will is supposed to line up with His not vice versa. But I don't know how to get myself to that place. So in the mean time - I feel the knot, a bit depressed at the dilemma, a bit depressed at the possibility of option B, and then even more depressed by acknowledging the fact that I'm not just neutrally seeking His will - perfectly contented to do whatever it is that He wants but am instead hoping for option A. what to do? what to do? I'll continue to pray - though maybe feeling quite under a cloud, having all my smiles only ever comes from something shallow because beneath the surface I'm always torn and my default state is a state of sadness. But now I'm praying not only for God's will, but that my heart will be inclined to follow His will either way and that He will restore joy to my heart.
....sorry about this... it's not something new I learned today is it? it's just me whining....

A wee little bit o' information for today...

New thing learned for the day:

Great news! My baby, who is soon to be born, is a BOY! This is was a very great new thing to learn today!

Another thing I learned is that I was very wrong in a discussion with a friend recently. I was under the impression that the U.S. Constitution was very clear about what it means for someone to be a "natural born citizen". Apparently it's not so clear. So, perhaps, someday my son will still be eligible for the Presidency even though he was born in Japan. Because he will be instantly a U.S. citizen on account of being born to two U.S. citizens. He won't be a Japanese citizen, so I believe he would be considered a natural born citizen. I read some very interesting information on Wikipedia. Check out the following links....peruse at your leisure.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_United_States#Eligibility
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_born_citizen_of_the_United_States
If you are reading, friend who I had this discussion with, (and I very much doubt that you are) I now eat my humble pie. Yum yum, delicious!
And as far as my son being president. I wonder if the country can last long enough to wait till he meets the age requirements. More than that - I hope hope hope, desperately hope, that Jesus comes back first. Please!


Thought for the day:
In thinking about the earlier post regarding reaching goals. I today was reminded of 1 Corinthians 6:20 "For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." Of course one of the key phrases being "which are God's". In setting goals or chasing ambitions it is first of all most important to make sure that we are aligned with what HE wants since we do, after all, belong to Him (if we are Christians that is). What good is it to set goals if upon being reached, they provide only temporal value. It's hard to keep this in mind and really grasp this idea in a meaningful way, but just because it seems like a great accomplishment doesn't mean it is. I gave a speech one time (literally. I only ever gave a speech once) and I have to say it was the most terrifying experience of my life up to that point. But in it I encouraged people not to focus on investing their life simply for the future or worse yet, indulging in the pleasures of the present, but to invest life in eternity, by giving it all to Jesus Christ. For most people who heard it, what I said has probably been long since forgotten. But having to say that to a couple thousand people somehow seared it in my mind. Matthew 6:19-21 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (NKJV) Therefore, while I don't retract any of what I said earlier (I don't think), I must say that today God realigned my perspective a little. Not that I shouldn't be focused and determined to reach goals, but that I need to be attuned to HIS will and laying up treasures for heaven when I set my goals.
It's so hard, because it involves surrender, death to self, and doing things I plain old don't want to do. Yet I have to remember that God is loving and has good plans for my life (Jer. 29:11)

I feel there is so much more to think about regarding this subject and the earlier one - yet they are deeper than I and I have a hard time thinking them through. But that's ok - it's just one step at a time, one thought at a time, one day at a time. Perhaps I will soon learn something new that will help to tie these things together in my mind. How do we have ambition and endurance to do good, yet admit that we are weak? How can we attempt to be strong, but in someone elses strength? How can have goals, yet surrender them to someone else? How can I possibly have the strength to die to myself and my desires and live this way day to day without ever caving in and seeking after my own plans and hopes and desires? How can it be possible to aim for making someone else (God) happy, and hope that this will produce in us the most joy - more than seeking our own happiness? Well - I don't pretend to know. But I do want to learn. I like to learn, although it is hard at times.

Praise God for His love toward us, His patience with us, His mercy upon us, and His grace in us. He is so good.