Jesse, Keeper of Hens, Part 2 -- Jeremy's Story

What I'm about to write about is top secret. Nobody is supposed to know about it. Why disclose such top secret information you might ask? The answer is simple: I think it's funny.

The Proposal
A few days ago I was walking down the hallway on the second floor of dorm M26 at Liberty University when I ran into my friend Jesse Henning (i.e. keeper of hens). You might remember him from a post that Andrew wrote a few days ago. Being done with classes for the day and in the mood for a little relaxing competition I asked him if he was in the mood for being beaten in a friendly game of disc golf. Jesse, not one to turn down a challenge, quickly responded in the affirmative and issuing a similar challenge of his own. We were all ready to head out when we realized that neither one of us had a car. Not to worry, Jesse's roommate Daryl didn't have a problem loaning his car out to us on one condition: Jeremy drives.

Ok, pause here. Although this stipulation of Daryl might seem a little prejudice against Jesse, it was made with good reason. That reason being that Daryl's car has a standard transmission and Jesse had never driven a stick-shift out of a parking lot before.

The Stealing of the Keys
We are now heading down to the parking lot to pick up the car that I'm supposed to drive. As we walk I notice that Jesse hasn't handed me Daryl's keys yet. Figuring that his thoughts were simply elsewhere I just let it go for the moment. Little did I know how wrong I was. Not only was Jesse's mind not wandering, he was actually scheming about ride ahead. As we approached the car we both turned towards that driver's side. Thinking awkwardly that maybe he was going to open the door for me, I kept my mouth shut. As the car drew closer I noticed that Jesse seemed to be walking faster. "Man, he really can't wait to open that door for me... that's weird and more than a little queer," I thought. All of the sudden it dawned on me: Jesse is holding onto the keys because (scary music here) HE WANTS TO DRIVE!!!!!!

The Ride
To be honest I wasn't that nervous when Jesse first climbed into the driver's seat. I mean how bad could it be? It's only a stick. Right? He quickly proved me wrong. The key is put into the ignition, the clutch pushed in, the engine turns over: we're ready to go.

Attempt #1: He puts it in reverse and proceeds to ease off the clutch. The engine shudders uncontrollably and then promptly fails.
Attempt #2-5: The car again shakes like a pre-pubescent boy talking to a girl for the first time (or Andrew whenever he talks to girls). Again the engine cuts short leaving an awkward silence in the car (similar to the result of Andrew talking to girls).

Another pause here. Between Jesse's first and fifth attempts he managed to allow the car to roll dangerously close to the car parked directly in front of us. And when I say "dangerously close" I mean literally 6 inches. Ok, play ball.

Attempt #6: The first five tries failing miserably, I was noticeably doubtful of the success of a sixth try. Jesse, not to be beaten, laughs nervously and says "Wouldn't it be funny if I hit the car in front of us?" (Word to the wise: when in Jesse's shoes NEVER say that to your passenger). And then, with a pealing of rubber (and more than little releasing of my bladder) we were off and in business.

The rest of the ride to and from Peaks View Park consisted of a series of stalls and obscene gestures from the people stuck behind us. At one time I literally called up my mom to tell her how much I loved her and how to divide my possessions up after I had left this world... she didn't pick up. The whole time however Jesse kept shifting and grinding the gears with all the talent of teenage girl. Long story short we made it back to campus in one piece and with only a little smoke coming from the engine.

This story got me to thinking about our life as Christians. How many people are just like Jesse's driving when it comes to making decisions and just living? I think many times we end up making decisions in life without consulting the wisest Being ever, Jesus Christ. We know what we want to do and are determined to do it our way. As noble as these intentions and goals may be, we often haven't the slightest clue of how to go about them, and yet we still push on blindly, grinding the gears as we go. All the while, Jesus is looking on from the passenger seat, waiting for us to realize our weakness and inability to make the right choices on our own. He's just waiting for us to hand the keys over to Him and let Him take control. Jesus should not be our co-pilot. He wants to be, and rightfully should be, the only pilot of our lives. On our own we'll ruin the transmission of our life.

So which seat are you in?

-Jeremy

Roller Coasters and Bridge Jumping

Roller coasters are fun. What’s not to like about waiting in line for two hours for at most a 5 minute ride that rockets you around a small metal track that takes you up 10 stories only to drop you right back down in a literal free fall which is guaranteed to test the strength of whatever muscle controls your bladder. It’s fantastic. Seriously. I love roller coasters. But I was just thinking about what a roller coaster would look like to a person that had no idea what it was for. I mean the basic idea of a roller coaster is that you get on, you go up in the air, turn around a few times, and then come back to where you started. Seems kind of pointless, doesn’t it? It’s different if you’ve been on a roller coaster before. If you’ve been on a roller coaster you know the adrenaline rush, the thrill of dropping hundreds of feet strapped to a steel cart. If you’ve ever ridden on a roller coaster you know that the point isn’t to end up on the opposite side of the tracks than where you started. It’s not about the destination. It’s all about the ride.

Here’s another one for you. Bridge jumping. What’s the object? To jump off a 30 foot bridge into a river or body of water of some kind and live to do it again. You don’t really understand how far of a drop it is until you actually push off. Once airborne, though, you’re first thought is, “AHHHHHH!!!!!!!” And your second thought usually finishes that statement with another, “AHHHHHHHHHH!!!” And then there’s the wait. From moment you leave the safety of the bridge to the moment you hit the water feels like an eternity. You’re just waiting and waiting and waiting until you suddenly hit the water. But once in the water the first thing a person does is scramble to get out. From the moment the break the surface tension of the water they’re clawing they’re way back up. But why? Because the point of bridge jumping isn’t the water at the end, it’s the free fall, the rush.

Roller coasters and bridge jumping remind me of our faith in God. I wonder how many people put their trust and faith in God because they want to go to Heaven and not Hell. How many people don’t understand that the true goal of Christianity is not to escape punishment for the things we’ve done wrong. The point is a relationship. God didn’t save you from a death sentence because He thought it was just a nice thing to do. He did it because He loves you and wants to spend time with you. I think that people who put their faith in God because they want to go to Heaven are missing the point entirely. Just like roller coasters or bridge jumping, the ultimate goal of Christianity is to know God and make Him known.

So what’s your reason for believing in Christ? Is it mostly selfish? Is it to make sure you get a sweet mansion in Heaven? Or is the goal of your belief, your faith, to know Jesus and talk to Him every day?

-Jeremy

Jesse, Keeper of Hens, Part 1--Andrew's Story

Scene:
Ford Explorer completely on "E"
My good friend Jesse and I are driving to find gas. We decide that the first gas station seen is gonna be an oasis for the car. So Jesse drives and as he stays in the far most right lane, 7 gas stations on the other side of the road completely pass us by. Now, I imagine that the first one came and passed so quickly, he didn't have any time to really think about it, but the other six were one after another in a row. Completely next to each other. And we were still in the right hand lane, apparently waiting for a gas station to miraculously teleport itself to where Jesse could neatly pull in.

So what's the point?

Well, isn't that a bit like us? We live like we can go on for all of our life on empty, never taking time to switch lanes as it were to spend time with God.

Jeremy and I have a desire to spread a passion of knowing Jesus, and if there is anyway that we can assist you with how to spend time with God, we wanna help you with that, but the most important thing is to take time and make it real.

Have you taken time to fill up?

Jeremy (jgstone@liberty.edu)
Andrew (adpaulus@liberty.edu)

Giving Your Faith Guts

Coffee is amazing. It’s quite literally my drug of choice. I mean, yes, I could stop drinking if I had to… I think… but why stop doing something that makes me so peaceful and my thoughts so coherent and that gives me good grades? If you’re wondering whether or not this rambling on about coffee has a point then I’m sorry to disappoint you. Because it doesn’t really, aside from the fact that I don’t have any at the moment and really wish that I did. My coffee maker is at most 20 feet from where I’m sitting. But to make coffee would require me to get up out of this comfortable chair, walk out the door of Andrew’s room, across the hall, and then into my room. This would be followed up by the necessary preparations for coffee making such as: cleaning out the stale, old dried up coffee grounds from the last pot of coffee I made, filling up the water container in the back and putting it back on the coffee maker without spilling it five times (a feat in itself), and then filling up a fresh filter with new coffee (preferably Dunkin Donuts). That’s a lot of stuff to do. I may love coffee more than Andrew loves Husker football, but I’m also lazy. Coffee’s just too much work for me right now. See? I told you I wasn’t addicted.

But I’m not just lazy about inane things like getting up to make some coffee. I also tend to be lazy about things like school and working out (although you wouldn’t know it from my washboard abs and toned pecs). More importantly and more dangerously, I have a tendency to be lazy about my relationship with God. I go to bed all pumped about getting up early and spending time talking to God, but when I wake up I hit the snooze button almost without hesitation. I tell myself that I’ll do it later on in the day. I say I need my sleep so I can be a better witness for Jesus. That’s such a load of crap. The truth is I don’t value God enough. I view God like ordering in the drive-through at McDonalds: if it’s taking too long I just skip it and go on to the next thing in my day.

It doesn’t end there. I’m also lazy about standing up for my faith. I’m the kind of guy that hates conflict. Debating is my worst enemy, right up there with dentists and needles. One of the things that turns me off the most is the endless fighting over which denomination is the most right. As a result, when an individual says something in opposition to my faith whether it’s directly attacking it or not I tend to let it slide. I don’t want to disturb the peace, to make any waves. What a horrible way to live! Always trying to please everyone. Isaiah 8:14 says that Jesus is “a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” While I don’t think that this is an excuse for a no holds barred Gospel where Christians unapologetically cram the Bible down the throats unbelievers, I do believe that the good news of the Gospel will offend some people. I believe that some people will just think it’s crazy. But that’s not always something to shy away from. 2 Peter 1:5 says that one of the things that we must add to our faith in order for it to be complete is goodness (“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness…”). At first glance goodness seems like a weird word to put in that verse. Shouldn’t it say something about having a good quiet time or praying a lot in order to fill your faith? Instead all it says is that we need to have goodness. What does that mean, that we’re supposed to just be good? Isn’t that kind of obvious on its own? In actuality, the Greek word, arête, that is translated in the NIV as goodness really denotes manliness, a courage or valor. So Peter isn’t telling us that we need to be good, he’s telling us that we need to grow a pair! We need to stop tip-toeing around truth because it’s inconvenient for our friendships. True and effective faith requires the guts to back it up, whether or not that’s getting up early to talk to God or it’s finally telling a friend about the difference Christ has made in your life. Do you have the faith to submit completely to the Lordship of Jesus Christ? Do you have what it takes? Being a follower of Christ was never meant to be easy. If you say you’re a Christian, then live like one. Be different. I dare you.

“If you do not stand firm in your faith you will not stand at all.” (Isaiah 7:9b)

-Jeremy

Meditation #1

Today is the sixth anniversary (or I guess yesterday was) of 9-11. Anymore, it's something that affects our life everyday and we refer to it often, but we never really remember it but a few times a year. To me, it spurs up a few questions...

What's the big deal about the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil?

Isn't it a good thing to know the difference of what good and evil is?

Often times I have heard many people explain Genesis 3 so that God didn't want Adam and Eve to know what was right and wrong, that He wanted them to be blind.

I think that is wrong.
It's missing the point.

The point is not what is right or wrong. The point is God.

Before the fall, all Adam and Eve knew was God. They knew Him. Intimately. Like Adam knew Eve and she conceived.

After they ate from the tree, they knew evil and they knew good. Intimately.

So what's the big deal? Well for one, the knowledge of evil. Not one person reading this has abstained from evil. What's even deeper than that, is very few people recognize evil when they're in it because we are so intimate with it.

I would propose there is a bigger tragedy. We can no longer know God. Back in the Old Testament, God required blood for evil. Imagine this, for the weight of it is incredible.

A sheep. Pure. White. Innocent. Think of it in terms of a pet, something that you've spent years petting, feeding from a bottle, nursing. Imagine walking with it, hearing it cry out to you.
Now imagine slicing it up with a knife.
Seems pretty sick to me.

Now imagine Jesus. Pure. Sinless. Innocent. A man with the ability to at any time stop the punishment he bore. Imagine walking with him, hearing him call out to you.
Now imagine ripping his skin with a whip, shoving thorns into his skull and pounding a nail through his hands and feet and leaving him for dead.
When was the last time you thought about it? He bore our wrath. Is the cross just an event like 9-11?

9-11 was a tragedy. So was the cross. The difference between the two is that my sins killed Christ. That's a pretty big stinkin deal. And what for?

That I might know God.

-Andrew-

Meditation #2

The greatest commandment.
Love God with all your heart, soul and mind.

Quite profound if you ask me. I mean, imagine shelling out $55 bucks to attend an over-crowded auditorium expecting to hear a 10 step process to improve your relationships with your wife/husband/boyfriend/girlfriend or whoever. Well, when you get to that crowded seat, you sit down to hear a big long introduction of a famous award-winning psychologist who comes out, looks real intently into the crowd and after a moment of anticipation says, "Love whoever you love with all you got."
I'd be pissed.
We want steps.
We want rules.
We want to be told how it's done.
We want to stay content with saying we love God.
But do we? I mean, what does that look like...to perfectly love God...?
Here's what I imagine it is.


When comparing loving life with loving God, life is meaningless.
When comparing loving food with loving God, food is crap.
When comparing loving football with loving God, our adrenaline is pumping to hear from him rather than the sound of a bone-crushing hit.
When comparing loving candy or soda or sweet tea with loving God, candy and soda and sweet tea becomes as bitter as black coffee compared with the sweetness of Jesus.
When comparing loving music with loving God, we sit in silence at the wonder an amazement of God.
When comparing loving love or sex or girls or guys with loving God, we would far more passionate and intimate alone with Him for all of eternity than would we ever be if we got what we wanted.

"If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." C.S. Lewis

-Andrew-

Hey!

Welcome to our blog. Right now, it is 10:36 and Jeremy and I are at this awesome coffee shop called "The Drowsy Poet: American meets the Caribbean."

When we were Freshmen, "The Drowsy" (as it's affectionately called) was a complete and utter crap-hole. The Coffee was fair, it was kinda dirty, the owner was kind of a jerk, just a remembrance of something that had once been glorious. Well, last year, the shop came under new management, a Jamaican man who instituted changes that really improved the store. The coffee is much better, the store is by and by cleaner; it is so much more of an amazing atmosphere.

Jeremy and I have both attended Liberty University for the last 3 years and as we've grown closer as friends and brothers, our discussions have grown from Nebraska football and Red Sox baseball to that of God, and we desire to share the deeper aspects of the conversation as best as we can. Our relationship with each other and with God has in a sense "come under new management."

We wish to as honestly and as openly as we can, share our musings with whoever would accept them--in hopes that they will encourage and challenge a deeper view of God.

In Christ,
Andrew Stoner (a hybrid nickname for the two of us combined...maybe more on that later)