Memorial Day

To those who gave their lives for our freedom - the ultimate sacrifice. May they never be forgotten...

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." - John 15:13

"In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me: As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free; While God is marching on." (vs. 5, Battle Hymn of the Republic)

Scratch and Sniff

If you could be a scratch and sniff sticker, what smell would you be and why?

Jordan and Erik

So I thought I would write a more personal blog entry and see what everyone thinks about some of my friends. On the right, we see Jordan. Tall, handsome, sexy, and smart, Jordan graduated from the University of Minnesota with dual degrees in Physics and Computer Science. He is currently employed at MIT's Lincoln Labs near Boston, MA, and is considering attending medical school just to prove he can. He is driven by a desire to not be that guy in a bar who's in his sixties who tells everyone he could have done this or that if he wanted to but never did.

My next friend is Erik. Erik is smart and funny and has a high level of serotonin. I really don't know who I like better: Jordan or Erik. Perhaps you can help me decide. Erik tried to graduate from college but failed. Instead, he decided to serve his country by learning Arabic at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA. He has a "10 year" plan for his life, which involves getting a masters degree and teaching in the Middle East. He desires to share the gospel with the Muslim world, and will probably marry his long-distance (she lives in Miami) long-term (they've been dating for like 200 years) girlfriend.

Together, the three of us make up TF3S, which stands for "Task Force Triple Seven." I can't give you the details, but basically we're a counter-terrorist organization. The 7 is because it's a holy number, and the 3 is because there are 3 of us and Jesus rose on the third day. Ok, I've told you enough! Any more and I have to shoot you.

Anyway, I'd like you all to rate Jordan and Erik in whatever categories and whatever scale you desire.

Modesty

Today I went to church. I don't always go cause I'm not very disciplined, but I actually got out of bed. I like my church - good teaching, etc - except for one major issue: the way women dress.

It seems as if many Christians today desire to fit in with culture. To do this, sacrifice of values must be made. One that is a particular frustration of mine is how women dress.

I don't think women - especially Christian women - understand how the male mind works. Men are VERY visual. To use some examples that may seem strange to women:

1. Men lust over mannequins.
2. Men lust over girls of ANY age if they look sexually mature.
3. Men lust over relatives that are sexually attractive.
4. Men lust over pornography, including cartoon pornography, and can be sexually satisfied in this activity.

As an aside, men often find these thoughts and actions simultaneously disgusting, but only because culture has taught us that these are wrongful (rightfully so, I might add). Men may engage in these at different levels/frequencies/intensities (i.e., not all men look at porn), but all are tempted by them in some way.

These reactions exist because the male sexual nature is physical. Men can enjoy a sexual experience with a woman whose name they don't know to the same extent as they can with a woman they know everything about. Some may even prefer it.

This is true of EVERY male. Billy Graham is not free from these thoughts. Yes, a man can learn how to control his actions, and even his thoughts to some extent (which are controlled by actions that prevent those thoughts from occurring, such as avoiding seductively dressed women). But it becomes hard when even going to church means going to a sexual charged environment.

Men are responsible for their actions. But women become guilty of causing other believers to sin when they don't dress modestly. Unfortunately, Christian men and women (I blame both... see my previous post on Responsible Men) have failed to teach that modesty has value, especially to their children.

So to those women who read this (and I know most of you dress conservatively and I really appreciate that), I wish to inform you that your Christian brothers are struggling because some of their sisters are not careful with how they dress. You may already know this. For whatever reason, the value of modesty has been minimized, and it is to the Church's own destruction.

Shaving

I've always been good with personal grooming. Shaving wasn't really a problem until the last year or so. As it turns out, I cut myself... all the time. If I don't cut myself, I get rashes or I end up not shaving close enough. Here is a typical shave for me:


Note the obvious darkened area above the upper lip. That's not from not shaving close enough, but rather from having to go over the same spot 10 or so times in order to actually shave everything.

The thing is that if I wait a couple days between shaving, I get a good shave:


Now before you tell me about different razors or creams, I've experimented a lot. I use and recommend Gillette's Sensor Excel with their Sensitive Skin shaving gel. It has worked the best for me by far.

I used to use an electric razor, but it doesn't work for me anymore. I think that's cause I'm getting older and my facial hair is finally starting to get thicker. That's good cause I'm starting to get gray hair too. However, I don't think my facial hair grows fast enough for me to have enough stubble to effectively cut everyday. Thus, I have to go over the same spot multiple times and apply pressure, otherwise nothing will be cut. However, this causes rashes.

Anyway, I would appreciate any advice.

Statement of Faith

There has been some recent discussion on other blogs (Brett and Ochuck) regarding statement's of faith. This has apparently come out of some current debate in the Church about the need for such statements and, presumably, their effect on reaching the unchurched.

I'll be honest. I haven't read up much on this topic. It has struck a chord with me, though, because I went to a church that seemed to have this "ideal" of no statement of faith (they do have a "Things of Importance" section on their website). This seemed quite enjoyable at first. Everything was very community oriented. I appreciated the people.

That was fine until the pastor declared, "the bible is not the word of God." He opened it up to questions later and I asked him about that statement. He told me that Jesus was the Word of God, not the bible, and our reason for believing the bible is that "it's our story."

First off, he was wrong about the bible (here's an example of Jesus calling Scripture the word of God). I got curious about the other beliefs of the church, so I emailed him a list of questions. He responded by telling me that the church "has no official stance" on any of my questions. One of those questions was "how is one saved?" Through a series of emails, my questions were avoided and no answer was given. To be honest, the responses came across as arrogant to me. Eventually, he told me essentially that he agreed with me on salvation (the question it eventually boiled down to), but was hurt that I "accused" him of not believing that it came through faith in Christ. Since he hadn't told me he believed it did, I had no reason to believe that was his stance.

I use a specific example not to say that others are like this, but that it is vital to know what we believe as Christians, and to be able to have unifying statements based on Scripture (superfluous beliefs aside - statements of faith are foundational, not based on disputable matters). One cannot build without a foundation to stand on. Without it, discussion even amongst believers becomes futile and painful.

My question becomes, then, to those who believe that there shouldn't be a statement of faith (or something similar): on what ground should a group of believers stand? The ground of Christ, yes, but we see today with the popularity of things such as the Gospel of Judas that standing on Christ means more than just an ambiguous declaration of belief. Christ has come to mean whatever anyone wants him to mean.

Scripture tells us:

...Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have... 1 Peter 3:15

And at another point it says

Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. 1 Timothy 4:16

I think this speaks to a bigger issue of life, which is that people need definition. They need to know who they are, where they belong, and what the heck they're doing in life. Without that, people have no direction. This is not to say one should blindly follow some code they don't know about. But think of all those movies where you see the hero being trained for battle by his instructor. There are rules to follow - a code - a set of beliefs. They may not be written, but they sure are clear.

This principle can be plainly seen in the military. The Marine Corps still remains one of the least softened forces in the military. They don't have a huge problem with recruitment either. People join the Corps because they crave definition, rules, and the like. There is also, within this, a strong sense of community and belonging since everyone knows their purpose.

The same should go for the Church. Are we not part of God's Army? Sure, the Church is not be the military. It is a relationship with God, I agree. But without a set of codes - a clear goal - a set of principles - a battle cry - a foundation to stand on - a community of a singular purpose... out of what are we to act? How are we to know even what we believe is true? On faith? Yes, but faith is pointless if it isn't clear.

I have been somewhat disenfranchised from church recently not because of too many statements of faith, but with the idea that doctrine has little value, that the bible's words can mean different things, and that Christianity is a religion of feelings. I just don't believe that that is the Bride that Christ desires.

P.S. As a disclaimer, none of this was in direct response to anything on any other blog or directed towards anyone in particular. Just merely a ranting of my own thoughts...

Habits

Have you ever gotten your food at a restaurant and the person giving you your food said, "enjoy your meal," to which you responded, "you too"? I have.

Responsible Men

My fiancee (w/ an accent on the first 'e')

and I are reading the book "Reforming Marriage," by Douglas Wilson, for our premarrital counseling. It has turned out to be the best book I've ever read on marriage, albeit one of the only ones. It's a very short read, and I recommend it even to those for whom marriage is not a current desire (or expectation). Another book I know is good but haven't read is "Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood," written by John Piper and Wayne Grudem (free .pdf copy online).

Anyway, the first book had a comment I thought very convicting to me as a soon-to-be husband. Notably, I agree with it completely. Wilson says:

"Because of how God made the world, men are always responsible for everything that happens in the feminine world - whether they want that responsibility or not, and whether or not women want to acknowledge it... When a couple comes for marriage counseling, my operating assumption is always that the man is completely responsible for all the problems. Some may be inclined to react to this, but it is important to note that responsibility in not the same thing as guilt. If a woman has been unfaithful to her husband, of course she bears the guilt of her adultery. But at the same time, he is responsible for it.

"To illustrate, suppose a young sailor disobeys his orders and runs a ship aground in the middle of the night. The captain and navigator were both asleep and had nothing to do with his irresponsible actions. Who is finally responsible? The captain and navigator are responsible for the incident. They are career officers, and their careers are ruined. The young sailor was getting out of the Navy in six months anyway. It may strike many as being unfair, but it is indisputably the way God made the world. The sailor is guilty; the captain is responsible.

"Without this understanding of responsibility, authority becomes meaningless and tyrannical. Husbands are responsible for their wives. They are the head of their wives as Christ is the head of the church. Taking a covenant oath to become a husband involves assuming responsibility for that home. That means that men, whether through tyranny or abdication, are responsible for any problems in the home."

A little later in the book, speaking of biblical duties of wives and husbands, he says:

"Not only is he [husband] responsible before God to do his job, he is responsible before God to see that she [wife] does hers. And of course, this is not done by bossing her around. It is done through nourishing and cherishing her."

I really appreciated this concept of men being responsible for everything. I especially related to the example of responsibility in the military (he's exactly right).

Thoughts?

Welcome. Why the URL? Other...

Welcome friends. I decided to create a blog. That means that I will either be commenting more on other blogs due to more time online, or I won't. Yes, I am that insightful. The answer is yes... or no! Profound. Anyway, I will also tell you why you're reading this blog. It is for one or more of the following reasons:

1. You're my friend.
2. You know me but are not my friend.
3. You hate me.
4. Someone linked you here.
5. The blog's name intrigued you.
6. I pissed you off w/ something I said on another blog.

Whatever reason brought you here, please feel free to comment as much as you would like on anything.

Regarding the URL... I'll admit, I stole the idea of the word "mercenary" from Jordan. It was so good I just had to steal. Also, I thought it quite appropriate to my view on the Christian life. Dictionary.com defines mercenary as:

1. One who serves or works merely for monetary gain; a hireling.
2. A professional soldier hired for service in a foreign army.

First, I see myself as one who "serves or works merely for monetary gain" in the kingdom of heaven. Matt. 6:19-20 speaks of storing up treasures in heaven. Although I am an imperfect being, I strive to make God's glory the center of my life, and the afterlife my focus in what I do. If my hope is in this life, this life is worthless. Thus, I strive to work solely for heavenly treasure.

Second, I have become a professional soldier in God's Army. Matt. 11:12 says that "the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force." II Cor. 10:3 tells me that I am in this world, but do not wage war as it does. Although through Christ I have joined God's kingdom, I live in this world, and thus belong to a foreign army - an army from another land.

Christ, a foreigner to this world, has hired me to carry out his work. He is my Captain and Lord. I work to gain treasures in heaven. Thus, I am a mercernary for Christ.

...
Now for the "other." I'm debating on a name to keep for this blog. I'm open to ideas. Also, please tell me, if you could choose, what illegal drug you would be and why.