Deliverance

Last Sunday I heard a sermon that provided some insight on the way that God works in our lives. As humans, sometimes we can feel so far away from God's grace. But the reality is we have an active God, an alive God, one that became human, not one that is apart from all things human. Consider this Scripture from Daniel chapter 3 as King Nebuchadnezzar attempts to throw Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into the fiery furnace for not worshiping his golden idol.


"[King Nebuchadnezzar said] But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?"

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in the matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."

-Daniel 3:15b-18


Not only do these verses show us the extreme faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, but also how God is trusted to deliver them out of the situation. I agree with the pastor of the sermon who suggested God delivers us it 3 ways:
1) From the fire,
2) Through the fire, and
3) By the fire
In this case, the 3 men were delivered by God from the fire. However, throughout life we experience deliverance in the other ways. I think of men like Job who were delivered through the fire, and still stood strong and untouched in their faith. And I think of myself being delivered by the fire sometimes, as in stupidity and in my ignorance I am unaware of the Holy Spirit's work in my life.

At the end of the day, we know that God is good. And that no matter how he delivers us it is for the good. As Job once said, despite nearly going through hell, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. " (Job 1:21)

Living the Poetic Life

A.E. Housman is considered one of the famous poets (and one of my favorites) of the 19th and 20th centuries for his works like the A Shropshire Lad. However, in his lifetime, he considered himself more of a classical scholar than a poet. Therefore, he didn't speak about his poetry publicly until the end of his life in The Name and Nature of Poetry, a lecture he gave in 3 years before he died. Despite Housman's issues, when he speaks, I listen. And when he was given the opportunity to speak of poetry after all he had written, his main argument was that poetry was intended to appeal to the emotions and not to intellect.

When I began to think about this, I started to notice the concept in his poetry, but I also began to notice it in my life. How much of my life do I try to live poetically? Or how much of my life, apart from school, do I live based off my emotions and not on intellect. This brings me back to an age old questions, and that is whether we should act more upon emotions/feelings or on intellect/reason. I can definitely say that my friends and I, in our senior year of college, have chosen the former. We stay up late every night, we have as many 'parties' as possible, we randomly go to the creek/river, we never miss an opportunity to eat together, play Mario Kart 64, have a jam session, talk about something controversial, and procrastinate on homework. Senior year is good, but just like all good things besides our salvation, it will come to an end. Maybe we should start using our heads a little more, but we're dreamers, and I'm not seeing a definitive ending to our poem anytime soon.

XLIX. Think no more, lad; laugh, be jolly

THINK no more, lad; laugh, be jolly:
Why should men make haste to die?
Empty heads and tongues a-talking
Make the rough road easy walking,
And the feather pate of folly
Bears the falling sky.
Oh, ’tis jesting, dancing, drinking
Spins the heavy world around.
If young hearts were not so clever,
Oh, they would be young for ever:
Think no more; ’tis only thinking
Lays lads underground.

-A.E. Housman, from A Shropshire Lad

Scripture, Frost, and Ecology

Recently, in my studies, I am beginning to recognize the power of Scripture. That sounds kinda crazy, but isn't it unique how some passages from the Bible speak to you over and over, no matter how many times you read them? For me, one of these passages is Isaiah 6, when Isaiah sees the LORD. Chapter 6 in itself is an unbelievable story, from the imagery of God, the description of the seraphim, and Isaiah's confession, healing, and commission. I personally cannot find any other passage in the Bible that, in the same amount of detail, describes the 'almightyness' of God.

In my human life I may never get to see what Isaiah did, but I get to see it in all different kinds of ways, especially in nature. Everyday we see miracles with our own eyes, but we take them for granted. Robert Frost dedicated most of his life and writings to capturing not only the beauty, but the 'almightyness' of God in creation. I love the first stanza of the following poem, but I pray that sometimes I can keep less "promises" than the storyteller.

Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.



In my ecology class I am taking this semester, we have been talking a good deal about how animals carry out normal biological processes under crazy conditions. One of these unbelievable animals is the rainbow trout, who truly proves the 'almightyness' of God to me. Literally the whole time I was in class as we talked about the concept, I was just thinking..."this is crazy/unbelievable/something only God could think of!" If you aren't a science person, please try to hang in there as I attempt to explain this, because I have to try.


Biology is based off of the concept that DNA is converted into protein through two processes known as transcription and translation. Proteins form 3-D structures and then come together to make enzymes. Enzymes are what fuel biological processes...basically, they take what the animal has and converts it to what the animal needs. Temperature plays a huge role in the effectiveness of enzymes, therefore each one has what scientists call an optimal temperature. Well, this poses as a problem for rainbow trout because they live out in the ocean, say near Alaska, and then travel inland and upstream to spawn into much more shallow, warmer waters. Therefore, the enzymes that they used while they were in the ocean become useless once they move into the warmer waters. To survive and reproduce they alter their biological processes to produce an isoform, or a new enzyme the has its optimal temperature that matches the warmer streams. This happens from the same DNA as alternative processes occur between transcription and translation that change the enzyme to what the trout need to survive. The craziness of it all, is that it happens automatically and the trout have done it for years to be able to travel upstream to reproduce. But why would they go through all the biological trouble? I mean, they aren't really "fit" for the warmth of the streams...and how did they learn how to do it? Only God knows...

New School Year, Same Ole' Freshman

A new school year always seems to bring the "love" to the forefront at Asbury. This year has proven to be no different... the freshman test the waters with other freshman, while the sophomores and juniors do some fishing of their own. All the hustle, excitement, and confusion that the freshman are going through reminded me of a poem. Housman may be a little more crude, but the story remains the same for the first semester newbies.

Along the Field As We Came By

Along the field as we came by
A year ago, my love and I,
The aspen over stile and stone
Was talking to itself alone.
"Oh, who are these that kiss and pass?
A country lover and his lass;
Two lovers looking to be wed;
And time shall put them both to bed,
But she shall lie with earth above,
And he beside another love."

And sure enough beneath the tree
There walks another love with me,
And overhead the aspen heaves
Its rainy-sounding silver leaves;
And I spell nothing in their stir,
But now perhaps they speak to her,
And plain for her to understand
They talk about a time at hand
When I shall sleep with clover clad,
And she beside another lad.

-A.E. Housman

Kayaking

Last weekend I went kayaking with some friends to one of my favorite places in the world on the Dix River in Jessamine County. It was my second time making the trip and I really couldn't wait to get back to those cold waters that run out from the depths of Herrington Lake. The whole trip I just felt at ease with the world. Completely free. Which is why I love kayaking so much. But I started thinking about how much we get caught up in our worldly lives. Everything that we do as humans seems so major...and so conspicuous. However, I would argue that there is so much more than what meets the eye, or even the mind. I was reminded by these verses that I have been studying lately of just how small we are on this earth and how skewed our thinking is. As Switchfoot once put it, "we were meant to live for so much more..."



If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you...

-Colossians 3:1-5a

I am not saying what we do in our lives is not important. We are blessed with life for a reason. However, we should make life just that, a blessing, especially to those around us. A simple life. Only that of which can be found in a kayak sometimes.

The Fantasy Factory

A couple of days ago I was watching a marathon of the TV show, The Fantasy Factory, with Rob Dyrdek. I thought the show was a lot of fun and found myself laughing out loud quite a bit, but I also fell in love with Rob's enthusiasm for helping others discover and reach their dreams. I'm not saying that I agree with everything that Rob does in his make believe world, but I can say that his enthusiasm made me want to go serve others. This weekend I was lucky enough to be blessed with an opportunity to do so.

Unfortunately, I heard I missed an awesome wedding this weekend. And I am very happy for my cousin Michelle and her husband Jason. Instead, I was asked to participate in a retreat with the athletes, coaches, and sports administration of Asbury University. We got to do some really cool stuff and we got to serve the local community of Monticello, Kentucky as a group. I can say that I got to hang out and interact with people that I would have never got to know if it wasn't for the trip. I am happy for the new relationships that I formed, but I am even more excited to somewhat understand what it means to put others before myself. I am not quite at the point where I can be completely unselfish, but this weekend I watched others model the characteristic. It was a relief to see, especially in the world that we live in today. The entire weekend I studied and reflected on Philippians 2:1-3.

-So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

Although I am not Rob Dyrdek, I love having the opportunity to do something for someone else everyday. I hope that I can be more in tune to the guidance of Christ in my life and be of one mind and of the same love as other Christ follows. I challenge others to join me, call me, text me...let's go serve some people and become the hands of God's Fantasy Factory.

Happy Birthday America

Oh, what a weekend. It was great to be home and visit with friends, especially those that live far away that you don't get to see often. But maybe the best thing about this past Independence Day was not only our right to freedom, but my individual freedom from work, responsibility, and "to do" lists. It was an impossible task, but I tried my best not to think about any of those things this weekend. My sole focus was to enjoy the times spent with others and alone in resting, reading...and maybe some tv/movie watching.

This morning I started one of the books I wanted to read this summer, A Farewell to Arms by Hemingway. I'm only about 45 pages in, but I am already enjoying the character development. In my opinion, Hemingway had a gift in creating these unbelievably exciting female characters. Both Brett Ashley (The Sun Also Rises) and Catherine Barkley (A Farewell to Arms) are brilliant and I recommend discovering both of them if you are into literature. I mean, you don't know anything about them really, but you cannot help but love them right from the start.

The World Cup semifinals start tomorrow, but I won't be able to watch the games because of work. I wish we were like other countries and stopped everything we did for situations such as these. For the first time in my life, I think I wouldn't mind living in France. Because despite whether or not work permitted, I would just go on strike for the day...supposedly it's an accepted practice. Since the US of A is out, I'm pulling for my second favorite country in the world, Spain!

Cool fact of the day, the title of Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, is linked to the verse Ecclesiastes 1:5.

-The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises.

If you've read the novel, the whole first chapter of Ecclesiastes seems to tie in someway...