In the spirit of New Year's, and as a way to get this thing rolling again, let's try a resolution.  While I encouragethe regular types of posts, I think a trip through the Good Book would be perfect for 2006.  I would ask all members to participate.  The idea is this: that we would have one book, or one part of a book, per a certain period of time, and whoever's turn it would be would write a post based on that section of the Bible.  It could bring to light many ideas which we do not really think of often.  The options would be to start in Genesis and go straight through, to start in the New Testament and flip back once we have completed Revelation, or create a custom order.  The period of time would also need to be decided, along with the order in which we would rotate the post-writing duty.  Please respond with all available speed so we can begin as early in this new year as we can.  God bless you all.

"Once again I'm looking to the past again. No, I'm not getting trapped there
again. I pretty much wasted at least a year of my life stuck in the past, always
reliving my mistakes. Not a fun time, let me assure you. This time I'm
revisiting the past in order to learn from it, to see how far I've been able to
come, how far I have yet to go, and hope that perhaps through my experiances
others will be able to spare themselves some of the Hell that I went through.
No, I won't be sharing specifics of everything, if you want to know specific
things, ask me outside this public forum.

One of the more recent things in my life is constant self-depreciation,
considering myself to be a lot worse than I really am, considering my life to be
a lot worse than it really is. While I have made mistakes (and some rather hefty
ones, I'll admit), there has never been a time I qualified for the "Stupidest,
lamest, most pathetic, scum-of-the-earth, irredeemable loser" award. Many people
that I know are going down that road when it quite simply isn't true. Not one
person that I know is deserving of any of those titles in the least, most
especially the "I screwed up and there's no hope for me" one that I've been
hearing a lot. There is always forgiveness, there is always healing in the arms
of the Father.

Another things that I suffered from in the past was getting myself into
situations I knew were wrong. Sorry to burst some of your bubbles, but I've got
too many stains on my robes. I would go back to those situations, place myself
where I knew I would do those things again, and then constantly felt ashamed of
myself and wondered why I was having so much trouble, and always wondering if
the next time perhaps I'd go too far, perhaps I wouldn't be able to control
myself, perhaps I'd go and do the exact same thing again, when in reality I was
looking for it, I was deliberately placing myself in harm's way despite all my
convictions and statements to the contrary. Finally I had to just sit down and
say "enough is enough", decide what I really wanted, what I knew was allowable
within my morals, and then make sure I never placed myself in a situation where
there was the potential to cross those lines, and if I did get into those
situations, to get myself out of them at all costs, no matter how much I was
enjoying it, no matter how foolish I may have looked. So far it's worked. By
just saying "I will nto allow myself to go there", and by trusting Christ to
give me the strength to hold to that, I've been able to break out of all but one
of the things I had gotten trapped in, and have kept myself out of the last for
several weeks now. But I want to stressthat I could not have done it on my own.
Very rarely does a person have a strong enough will of their own to break free.
It is only through the strength and grace of Christ that I have been able to
come this far, and I rest in him every day to give me the strength to continue
in freedom.

A lot of people have spoken to me about their relational issues. There's a
simple solution for most relational issues that involve the, ah, non-verbal part
of a relationship at the end of this section. If you don't feel like reading
over more in-depth stuff, youcan skip there. Anyways, continuing... From what I
have learned in my experiance, there are several key factors involved in a
sucessful relationship. The first and foremore is keeping Christ the center of
the relationship. Dating or any other kind of relationship shouldn't be any
different from the rest of your life: Christ should be at the center of it, and
your relationships should be conducted in a way that glorifies him. The next
most important thing is friendship. You must be friends with anyone you have a
relationship with, otherwise it is all to easy to let the relationship slip into
a physical "quick fix". Hand in hand with the area of friendship, is that the
friendship must be placed first in the relationship. The moment the ability to
talk freely or to spend time without having the physical aspects of the
relationship stop being present, steps must be taken to restore that friendship,
else that relationship is certain to become shallow and "quick fix" very
quickly. Me and my girlfriend have made a promise that if our friendship ever
starts to be lost, that everything is put on hold until our friendship is secure
again. Admittedly, this won't help someone who's in it for a shallow, physical
relationship, but I would question any relationship that exists soley for the
physicality of it. I do not condemn those who are in such relationships or are
looking for such relationships, I merely put before them the question: Why? Why
are you just in it for the physicality?

The simplest solution to most problems involving the physical aspect of a
relationship is the following: clothing remains on the body, and hands remain
outside the clothing. (Yes, guys, this means hands to yourself. There will be
plenty of that once you get married, now is not the time to be studying
anatomy.) This usually cuts down on 75-80 percent of the physicality problems in
a relationship. For an even more effective solution, set "no hands zones" over
various portions of the body. That should take care of over half of the
remaining issues. If you still think that physicality is a problem in your
relationship, learn to just hold hands and talk or do other things, like take
walks outside or play games (like Risk or Monopoly). I guess one could sum it up
as follows: If you would feel comfortable doing it in front of God (or for those
of you who don't believe in God, your grandparents), you probably shouldn't be
doing it.

And guys, please respect the ladies. Treat them like you'd like another guy to
be treating either your sister or your future wife. If you'd beat the crap out
of a guy for doing that to your sister or future wife, you probably shouldn't be
doing it yourself. Ladies, don't settle for someone who won't treat you
properly. If the boundaries you set aren't being respected, or if you yourself
aren't being respected properly, send him packing because he's not the kind of
person you want in your life for a long period of time, and there's most
certainly someone better out there.

My apologies if I came across as judgemental, that was not my intent. For just
as Christ was not sent to this world to condemn it, niether am I here to condemn
anyone. I don't like the "write 'advice' on a 2x4 and beat them with it"
approach to helping. I will be blunt at times, but never intentionally mean or
cruel. If I have been mean or cruel or judgmental or condemnatory to you, I ask
for your forgiveness, and for you to point it out to me so that I can do my best
to avoid it in the future."

Thanks to a newcomer.  This world could use less "sugar-coating" and more people just being frank.  Try not to get too caught up in your past, it's not good for any of us, yet it is necessary to learn from our past mistakes.  Continue to shine for Jesus.  In Him, Theophilus

"While we're talking about favorite songs, I thought I'd talk about mine:
"Amazing Love (You Are My King)".  I listened to this song with repeat on my
iPOD all day today.  It always seems to strike an emotional and spiritual cord
each time I listen to it.  I can imagine myself saying these same words to
Christ as He lay dying on the cross, especially the chorus. 

Amazing Love is about focusing intently on what God did for us and the
sacrifices He gave.  The verse really spells out what we should realize when we
think back on what He did.  Too many times we think about it and don't give it
enough thought.  Part of the reason is that you hear the line so much.  In
almost every church service I hear in the prayer something to the like of ".and
thank you for sending your Son, to die on a cross for our sins." but how much do
you really thank Him?

For those of you who have seen the passion like I have, you know it was a brutal
eye opener.  I remember repeating the question, "Why God?  Why me?  Why go
through all that?"  Though as hard as it is to dwell on the pain and agony that
Christ went through, for us, it helps us see how deeply God truly loves us.
This song seems to build on that premise.  We're forgiven, because he was
forsaken.  We're accepted where God was condemned.  We're alive and well, and
His Spirit is inside us.  All because He died for us, and rose again.

The two other things I get out of this song come from the end of the chorus, and
the bridge.  If we truly love God, it will bring us joy to honor Him.  Serving
Him should make you feel more complete than it would to do anything else.
Although we don't always feel this way when we are criticized and persecuted,
deep down we know we're doing the right thing.

Lastly, as this song's bridge sings, we need to make Him our king.  That doesn't
mean go to church and obey the Ten Commandments.  It means giving every aspect
of our lives to His control.  He won't settle to be in charge of you just a few
days of the week, or only certain areas of your life.  He loves us enough to
take care of everything, and knows how to handle things a lot better than we do.
He wants be your king.

Amazing Love (You are My King) by: Billy J. Foote

I'm forgiven, because you were forsaken;
I'm accepted, you were condemned;
I'm alive and well, Your Spirit is within me
Because you died and rose again

( Chorus )
Amazing love, how can it be?
That you, my King, should die for me?
Amazing love, I know it's true
It's my joy to honor you
In all I do, to honor you

( Bridge )
You are my King
You are my King
Jesus, you are my King
You are my King"

Yet another touching song.  These composers show in their songs the striving to give back to God the incredible gifts with which He has blessed us.  I can only hope we also bless God with our talents and abilities.  This ties in well with the entry on Microwave Christianity.  That author also poses the idea that we need to think more on how awesome God's ultimate gift of His love to us is, and how much pain and damage, physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, which He ripped away from this world with His death.  It is awe-inspiring.  Please continue to go light your worlds, which is another good song, and may God help you with the plans He has prepared for you, "plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for."  In Him, Theophilus

"one of my favorite songs of all time is called the heart of worship...matt redman is awesome, but that's not the point...the song is heartfelt, it's brutally honest, and if you pay attention, you'll catch something special.

for those of you who don't know the full story of the song, it goes something like this.  matt's church was renown for its worship, its musical talent and their awesome praises to God.  people came from all over to hear them and raise their voices to the Lord.  the problem was people started coming just for the music, not to praise God, and would leave before the sermon.  so they stop having the music for awhile, and then one sunday, matt is alone with his guitar in front of the church, and plays this slow, deep, emotional ballad of sorrow, regret, and repentance.  the lyrics will be at the bottom of this post for those of you who don't know it.

i was just playing this, and the same things kept flooding my mind.  two big things, really.  the first is that Jesus needs to be the center of our lives...we need to be living for Him, making it all about Christ.  this i've heard over and over.  the new thing was the true heart of worship...not the center, but the heart.  i had lost it for a while, and was praising God for others to hear, for the feeling of doing something right and making myself better.  i needed to get back to the heart of worship, to re-obtain it.  the heart of worship is a mindset, it's not about me at all.  my stuff, my family, my friends, my future, my present, my past, my life, my all...that's what it's not.  it's God's stuff, God's family, God's friends, God's future, Gott's past, God's life...it's all God's, because He gave His all for me...why, i'll never know, and i doubt anyone can truly comprehend it.  amazing love, o how can it be, that You, my King, should die for me?  another great song, but another time.  you've got to lose it all to gain something more.  "what good is it to a man, if he should gain the whole world, yet lose his soul. whoever tries to save his life will lose it, but whoever is willing to lose his life for My sake, he will save it." mark 3:36-35 (yes, reverse order, my paraphrase).  if you give it all to God, He'll give it back with even more.  and you can't just give the big things, the trouble, etc.  you've got to give it all, every single breath, as the song says. God just rules like that...literally rules.  another interesting concept...someone take this and run with it.  God bless.

'when the music fades,
and all is stripped away,
and i simply come,
longing just to bring
something that's of worth
that will bless Your heart.

i'll bring You more than a song,
for a song in itself
is not what You have required.
You search much deeper within
through the way things appear;
You're looking into my heart.

i'm coming back to the heart of worship,
and it's all about You;
it's all about You, Jesus.
i'm sorry, Lord, for the thing i've made it,
when it's all about You;
it's all about You, Jesus.

King of endless worth,
no one could express
how much You deserve.
though i'm weak and poor,
all i have is Yours,
every single breath.

i'll bring You more than a song,
for a song in itself
is not what You have required.
You search much deeper within
through the way things appear;
You're looking into my heart.

i'm coming back to the heart of worship,
and it's all about You;
it's all about You, Jesus.
i'm sorry, Lord, for the thing i've made it,
when it's all about You;
it's all about You, Jesus.'"

I feel it.  Can you?  I encourage all of you to come back to the heart of worship, and to relearn what it is to give your life to the Giver of life.  On another note, I would also encourage someone to take up that idea the writer left off: "God just rules like that...literally rules."  Keep your eyes on Him, and let Him guide your paths.  May His peace be with you all.  In Him, Theophilus.