Wise people amaze me.

And no I am not talking about the wise guy mafia type. But rather the type of wisdom that comes from Pastors and other godly people God puts in your life.
Because Jessica and I live 700 miles apart we were not able to meet with my hometown Pastor for our first premarital counseling session in person but had to do it over a conference call. The conference call was a bit strange but I was soon swept away by the power and enlightenment of my pastors counseling. His name is Joe Novenson and I highly recommend that you listen to some of his sermons. It will enrich your life.

This link should take you to some of his sermon.
Click on www.lmpc.org
Click on Sermons
Click on Sermon Library

Hearing a good sermon is like getting a shot of epinephrin. It awakens my heart, it gets my blood moving and gives me life. When the day or the week has siphoned off my tank, a good sermon can fill me back up and empower me for Christ.
Thank the Lord for the people He has appointed to bring us the good news!

I listened to a sermon from one my other favorite pastors today. Rankin Wilbourne of First Presbyterian Church in Chattanooga. He is an associate pastor there and not much older than me. When I used to live in Chattown I would go to Wednesday night services there. (Whats up with that "d" in Wednesday? Why is it there?)

The sermon I listened to today opened a series on the "Parables" starting with Mark 4:1-20.
He starts out by mentioning the bumper sticker, "Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven" And we all say Amen to that ...
but is that all there is when it comes to being a Christian? That eternal life comes down to being "just forgiven"?
He then goes on to quote a leading pastor today who laments that Christians today are weak, the church may be growing but that church goers are all too often indistinguishable from the world.

In Romans it says, confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is Lord and you will be saved.
Rankin is arguing here that our confession with our mouth means nothing if we dont belive in our heart. He then goes on throughout the sermon by looking at Mark 4 what it means to believe in your heart.
In a way of answering that he looks at the central theme to all of Jesus' parables.

How much do you hear of the Kingdom of God? Not much, its not in our vocabulary much but it was the main focus of Jesus' ministry and his parables. This Kingdom pervades in everything he says and does. Starting his ministry Jesus claims in Mark 1:15 "The time has come, the kingdom of God is near. Repent and Believe the good news!"

Rankin gave this definition to Kingdom of God. His kingdom, his rule, is where He wants done is done. That is a pretty basic definition but it centers on the main point. Dallas Willard says that the Kingdom of God is the eternal kind of life now available to us.

Jesus' life, death and resurrection makes possible our living into the life and heart of God.
Christianity is not just about what happens to us when we die but an invitation to live in Him RIGHT NOW! Eternal Life has already started!
John 17:3 says "This is eternal life, that they might know God and Jesus Christ he has sent."
I loved this because we dont stress enough what it means to live in God day in day out. We don't consider that we already have eternal life!
This takes me to a quote from a book I've been reading, "Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church":

"All of us live in some sense of story or other, and the most important thing is to live in God's story, the story-line of the Bible itself. The gospel of the Kingdom invites us into a large, all encompassing story; the stories of Adam and Eve, Israel, and the church were always intended to be lived in. Living there is a huge privilege. Choosing to live outside Gods story has serious ramifications (a wasted life and hell come immediately to mind.)"

The Christian Message is not just about what happens at death, its not just about sin. Its not just about confession. It is about life! All too often we've reduced our Christian life to Sin Management.
Instead we need to be TRANSFORMED by living out the Kingdom of God: To care about what God cares about.

Rankin goes on to really delve into Mark 4:2-20. I could go on paraphrasing Rankin's sermon but I know it doesnt compare to hearing it yourself. I simply wanted to pass on a few pearls of wisdom.

This is my last pearl. In talking about Mark 4:7, "Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain." Jesus interprets his own parable referring to the seed among the thorns and says "Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceifulness of wealth, and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful."

Ranking gives a John Piper quote from his book "Hunger for God" in reference to Mark 4:7. (Bear with me, its long but good)

"The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie.
It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for Heaven but endless nibbling at the table of the world.
It is not the x-rated video but the prime time dribble of triviality we drink in every night.
The greatest adversary in loving God is not His enemies but His gifts.
And the most deadly appetites are not from the poison of evil but from the simple pleasures - for when these replace an appetite for God the idolatry is scarcely recognizable and almost incurable."

WOW! Epinephrin Shot right there! Convicting. So how do we avoid this? How do we produce fruit? Repent and BELIEVE in your Heart and Live into the eternal life, and the heart of God.

Jordan and Jessica Update

I thought I would put up some pics of Jess and I because a comment that was left on one of my posts. It asked if my "pilgrim's journey" ended when I met her. I guess it did in the blog world! But no, my journey has not ended and it has only just begun another chapter. And I am truly blessed God has put this wonderful woman in my life. So I just wanted to share a little bit about what we've been up to.
Jessica was up here in January. And we had a great time just being able to see each other every day rather than burning up the telephone lines. We spent a day in DC and that is where most of the pictures are from.
And now she is coming back up in 10 days!
We have tried to visit each other once a month. The time between our visits is tough and our time together seems too brief and feels more like a dream than reality.
Although in March and April she will be up here for 10 days each and then she will move up in May for the summer. Then in August she will move back down to TN and prepare for our wedding which will be September 9th!
Please pray for us as we plan everything. There are so many things that are not settled yet! At least we have a date and a church.
This is the sanctuary of Lookout, where we are getting married.



The pictures below where taken mostly in DC but a couple where here in Baltimore.

Jordan and Jessica

Posted by deconbrodi

I posted yesterday too.

I am going to make up for my absence by posting at least one article a day.
This won't be an original post, but something I found off the internet. I will post something original tonight.

I found this article on World Net Daily and it is an amazingly written piece by a sage of his generation.
The author is a 16 year old boy who wrote an article about his generation. He actually has a regular column on WND and apparently he has already written a book. Wow. Anyway, read on.


Today's hedonist youth: Just looking for peace
Posted: December 4, 2004

© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com

Growing up as a teen in America seems to be an experiment in social anarchy – that is, if you hang out with the right people. Because of this, the problems arising are obvious. This generation is the topic of unending gossip and the target of endless public-awareness campaigns – from teen sex to drugs to abortion to pop culture, and all areas of morality.

America's youth are an amazing testament to Aristotle's idea of a human's imitative nature and even the biblical idea of self-awareness and unceasing comparisons. You mix these natures together with an increasing acceptance of all things, deviant or not, and you have a generation – mine – that is often compared to William Golding's "Lord of the Flies." Then, just for a little spice, throw in a society ruled by greedy CEOs, unimpeded – despite the laughable efforts of the FCC – in their marketing of all kinds of entertainment and products. What do you finally arrive at with this mix? Honesty. I'll explain.

Look at the characteristics that best define my generation: few restrictions, social anarchy, over-exposure to a shallow culture, little depth in education and unrestrained gratification of carnal desires (sex, drugs, etc). Basically, we do what we want. Thus, we come to a generation that is reminiscent of others, but bolder. There is no righteous mask to hide behind and no justification. This blatant behavior is not unique on a worldwide scale, but it is new within American history. It demands notice.

As we come to this place of increasing hedonism, at least we're honest with ourselves. We want escape from life's pain; we want comfort. We can't fool ourselves: We want rest from the problems. We are working out our redemption in the vanities of the world. This behavior leads to dissatisfaction. As the age old Christian belief goes, there is a void that must be filled.

Then, on the other end, there's Christian subculture. In an effort – which I'm sure is sincere – to reach a younger generation, we seem to be presented with leaders that dress up the Gospel to make it feel more appealing. This manifests itself in many ways. Instead of serious prayer, we throw a pizza party to spike the numbers on Wednesday night. Instead of real accountability and friendship, we go to the next big conference. We've got our 40 days for purpose, an endless parade of self-help books, concerts everywhere and events to get everyone excited. While there's nothing inherently wrong with some of the teaching in which we take part, the trends taking place within Christian subculture suggest unhealthy obsessions over the Next Big Thing. I realize the gross generalizations, but, if we're honest, this is the reality of Christian pop culture.

Unfortunately, in an effort to reach this group of people, we're getting it all wrong. True answers are never found in sensationalism, and depth does not reside in the Next Big Thing. And so, for refugees fleeing from the depravity and shallowness that is American pop culture, we offer them little more than watered-down truths and a sensational subculture that is frighteningly reminiscent of the greater American society.

Being controlled by greater culture is not a new deal within Church history. In the fourth and fifth centuries, and leading up to the Reformation, this behavior took place. Even so, historical precedent aside, our current predicament must be addressed.

We're all searching for peace. We're all searching for rest. Our actions are dominated by an overarching pursuit of paradise. I write because I desire acceptance. Just as some shoot heroine up their arm to escape pain, we're all pining for real life.

Groping around for God, we aren't pursuing seven principles to potential – that doesn't address the complexity of life. And if that's all Christianity is – a set of principles to give us morality – then it is not relevant.

There's a great book out by a guy named Donald Miller called "Blue Like Jazz," in which he discusses some of these ideas. He says he never liked jazz music because it doesn't resolve. Then, one night, he saw a man passionately playing his saxophone outside a theater in Portland. He liked jazz music after that. I think Donald Miller is right.

As deeply imitative creatures, someone has to show us the way. We see someone love God and we are drawn to love Him ourselves. That's where life is found, and that's all we need.




In "Seen and Heard," Kyle Williams takes on the establishment, offering clear evidence that a leftist agenda is at work in our nation. His lively, energetic analysis of current events is both informative and entertaining and will leave readers with a better understanding of the daily attacks against traditional family values. Order your copy now in ShopNetDaily.

Kyle Williams is 16 years old and a high school student living in central Oklahoma

"I have a blog?"

So what does one say when you haven't posted in nearly 2 months? And havent seriously posted since October?
I can't think of anything... I guess same thing happened these last couple months.
So I am watching Family Guy right now. Peter Griffen and his buds are dressed up as the A-Team.
That was a good show. I was a kid when it was on, I remember Mr. T and all that gold weighing him down. If the Mafia wanted him dead they wouldnt have had to attach cinder blocks to his feet.
Now Family Guy is doing a satire on the whole Rocky movie when he fights the Russian...whats his name Ivan Drago?
Thats off the top of my head and I am not going to google it.
But anyway, train of thought going on here.
Today in Church my mind was wondering. I always feel guilty about that. I am staring at the ground or up at a wall and then bam it hits me....I'm daydreaming. I sit up. Move my back against the chair, cross my leg, fold my hands on my knee and look right at the pastor. Its not his fault at all, its a great sermon. Talking about Israelites crossing the Red Sea, one of the three big moments in Exodus. I find myself start to drift back to my Bible. There's a map of the path the Israelites took across the Sea as they zigzagged back and forth through the desert just like my mind was zigzagging through the memories of my mind. Its hard to believe I was in Egypt almost 6 years ago. My mind was elsewhere. Racing against my friends in the hot desert sun from one pyramid to the next. Feeling like a kid when I climbed up Snefuru's Red Pyramid looking into the hazy horizon while the paid off Tourist police sat on his camel. Riding horseback at midnight around the pyramids and getting lost in the pitch black night hoping my horse knew his way home. Walking through the Khan el-Khalili market after swerving back and forth in a wild taxi ride. Hiking through the Valley of the Kings with the hot sun at my back and venturing into thousands years old tombs. Sailing on the Nile river where the desert's rolling hills met the cool blue waters.
And my mind is still wandering.
I told my fiance today how I felt.
I think this world is huge. I love history because it displays the immensity of our world throughout time and space. Walking in the desert next to 4,000 year old Temples and pyramids and now I am sitting at Church...reading, hearing about the people that were there so long ago....nothing seperates us but time.
And from that time to now, the time I have been away from my blog is next to nothing!!
So please forgive me.
Anyway, I am blown away by the whole time thing, the immensity of time and all the people and events that have ever taken place, and God is there and he is outside time and space. He is not constrained or contained by it.
All of it. This world, this space and all of time is being expressed at once; without time.
It is beyond my finite mind to comprehend but it gives me comfort to think about it.
It gives me comfort to think about how we are already sitting at the right hand of God.
We forget about that too much. The immensity of that needs to be in our life.
Knowing that God is bigger than even that immensity makes thinking about it even better.
For me, it gives me perspective. It gives me hope. It gives me comfort.