Seanfucious Says...

Matthew 3 and 4

2012-01-25T20:34:00.000-08:00

I've been struggling to find a way to blog regularly about anything in particular, between my work schedule, church schedule, and just generally busy life. However, I found it imperative I get back into my devotionals and get closer to Jesus. No longer will I intentionally stray from the path laid out for me, and I will let God strengthen my walk daily.

Part of my devotionals will be a blog, after I take time with the Word. Here is the first. I started the book of Matthew recently, and tonight I read Matthew 3 and 4.

Matthew 3 is primarily about John the Baptist preparing the way for our coming Savior. John the Baptist's role in the proclamation of our Lord fulfilled the Old Testament prophecy. John spent his time preaching, asking for people to "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." He does this in spite of the pharisees, who were known to be corrupt and selfish, rather than selfless. He even warns them that they are just trees waiting to be cut down unless they repent and change.

John's preparations were not in vain, as Jesus traveled from Galilee to be baptized. Despite the protests of John, Jesus taught it was necessary for him to be baptized. God opened the Heavens to praise this act, and proclaim Jesus His Son. Reading through the chapter, I think it was so important that Jesus gave us his example of baptism. It completely validated what John the Baptist was doing, and gave us an example of what all Christians must do.

Jesus begins his ministry, overcomes the devil, calls on his first disciples, and heals the sick in Matthew 4. Pretty busy guy for just getting started! That's what happens when you are God...not only can you do the most startling, amazing and incredibly moving miracles, but you can multitask as well!

Jesus overcoming the devil is a very famous bible story, but it doesn't get any less moving when you read it again. The devil attempts to tempt Christ with the riches of the world, and with every temptation, Jesus calls upon scripture to strike him down. For me, even it isn't explicitly stated, this is example of why it's important to be strong in faithful in the Word. Any sin can be answered through the Word, and can be prevented. Going through seasons away from it, I found myself in sin daily. However, the word was there, waiting for me to come back to it. Now that I am back with it, I can use scripture in life like Jesus used it to withstand temptation. If being Christlike is the goal, what can be the easier if not to follow his example?

The rest of Matthew 4 is concerned with the beginnings of Jesus's ministry. He preached as John did, that the Kingdom of Heaven was near. It was an urgent call for repentance. His first disciples were Peter, Andrew, James and John. He explained to them they would be fishers of men. They just gave up what they were doing to follow Him. Who could blame them? In the very next breath, Christ was healing the sick. People from far and wide sought Him, and he was generating large crowds. I wish I was there. To be a direct disciple of Him would be something incredible to experience. Christ came to heal sin, and he started with sickness of the most unfortunate to begin to show us.

"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." These words really made an impact on me, realizing how much of a dot we are in time, and how little time there is to truly make a positive impact on people. I feel like as important it is to spread the good news, Jesus shows here why its important to walk the walk as well.

Matthew 5 and 6 tomorrow.

"We Stand Not For Empire" - The Dish | By Andrew Sullivan - The Daily Beast

2011-06-23T05:08:00.000-07:00

"We Stand Not For Empire" - The Dish | By Andrew Sullivan - The Daily Beast

FDA Rolls Out New, Grosser Anti-Cigarette Warnings | ThinkProgress

2011-06-21T09:21:00.000-07:00

FDA Rolls Out New, Grosser Anti-Cigarette Warnings | ThinkProgress

This ad is grossss

Word of the Day | Definition, Word Origins, and Quotes at Dictionary.com

2011-06-09T09:33:00.000-07:00

Word of the Day | Definition, Word Origins, and Quotes at Dictionary.com

In The Dark OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

2010-06-21T22:32:00.000-07:00

"In The Dark" Behind the Scenes Part One

2010-01-01T20:32:00.001-08:00

This is some behind the scenes goodness from the set of our music video.

JACK CHOP

2009-11-12T08:32:00.001-08:00

Funny stuff

No Spirit needed, thanks

2009-08-13T20:12:00.000-07:00

I won't even justify it with a picture, because the women are beautiful and may draw you in. Frank Miller's The Spirit is simply one of the worst movies I've ever seen. It was poorly acted, rendered, and absolutely abhorrent. I'm frustrated writing this because I was so offended by its sheer stupidity.

soft and delicious music

2009-08-12T18:36:00.000-07:00

So I've seen a couple really sweet acts lately of the softer variety and I felt like I should share them with the world. The first is Ben Karis-Nix. I recently saw him with the other band I'm going to mention, and what a surprise he was! I saw hm sound check, and honestly, came away with not expecting too much. He just looked like another person who picked up a guitar and thought, "Hey, I can probably do this!" It turned out he would've been right. He opened up for the band, Destry, whom I did not particularly care for, and hit just the right chord with the audience. He had a great natural flow in from the microphone, seemed earnest and very much the blue collar musician. He had stories to tell of how he was homeless on the west coast, to how he was recording in cabin on a lake in the middle of the woods.

I purchased his CD, We are Giants Now, after the show and it was fantastic. There were two tracks in particular that stood out, "Giants," and "Explosions Underground." He used animal sounds he recorded, along with synth, madolin, and his acoustic guitar through the whole disc. I highly recommend it.

The second band I'd recommend is The Narrative, out of Long Island, NY. Their CD, Just Say Yes, is in the vain of emo-rockers Death Cab for Cutie, but I feel they give a better performance. They have great stage presence, sound, and people. I talked to their singer/pianist Suzie, who was a sweetheart, and she was talking about how their tour was going. It was one of those conversations where you came out wanting to see them succeed. They have the talent to do just that, and if they are in your area, see them!

...and I'm back.

2009-08-11T22:59:00.000-07:00

I hate being sick.

I'll blog about more interesting stuff tomorrow.

After the stimulus, this seems perfect

2009-02-09T21:43:00.000-08:00

The United Socialist States of America

This is simply amazing...amazing.

2009-02-05T19:50:00.000-08:00

Very Stimulating

2009-01-28T17:40:00.000-08:00

The house just approved 819 billion in stimulus spending. I know 335 million of that was for STD prevention. I'm going to have to read where the rest is going.

Ouch...I hope we get 4 years of this!

2009-01-28T17:33:00.000-08:00

In order to commemorate our fearless leader, I thought we'd celebrate the other side of being our President. Obama tried to walk into a window today. Bushisms? How about Oblunders?

A Sobering Reality

2009-01-27T15:34:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, change was brought to America. Yesterday was the day that Hope died. Our President, Barack Obama, reversed a policy set into motion by George W. Bush in 2001. With this move, Obama showed the bipartisan spirit, the power of unity, and fiscal responsibility really meant nothing to him other than being a campaign tool. Here's the story.

Barack Obama lifted restrictions on abortion funding overseas. This is appalling on few different fronts.

What happened to the compromise? Throughout this campaign, Barack Obama had conservatives (like myself) teetering on the possibility of supporting him because he didn't seem like such a radical liberal (even though his thin record suggests otherwise.) Abortion is a difficult issue to compromise on because of the many implications it has, but many people thought he might embrace something like the Democrats for 95/10 plan, which, instead of focusing on laws around abortion, would focus on reducing abortions by 95% over 10 years. No compromise for Obama though. Not an attempt to unite.

What happened to the economy? This executive order (which was quietly issued around 7pm two days ago) just continues a disturbing trend that Obama has set of avoiding the economy. Obama has managed to shut down Gitmo without knowing where he would be transferring the terrorists, shut down the CIA blacksites overseas, and fund overseas abortion clinics before he even nominates a commerce secretary! Does he really feel spending money on funding abortion is the appropriate thing to do to an economy that is puttering along right along right now? He had no record to make a determination from before, but now he does. Obama thinks using your tax dollars to fund abortions overseas is exactly the righ thing to do in a recessions. Never mind the life issues, think about the fact that WE ARE GIVING MONEY THAT WE COULD USE to abortion clinics OVERSEAS.

Should we be surprised? The answer to that is unfortunately no, because Obama did have a record on abortion. It was a radical, frightening, and horrifying record that was buried behind his eloquence that so many people fell victim to. Obama was the only state senator in Illinois to vote against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act. This bill protected newborns from being left to die if they were accidntally born alive during an abortion procedure. This bill was endorsed by Pro-Life and Pro-choice groups alike as protecting children while properly protecting the women's right to choose. Obama claimed he voted against it because of the wording of the bill, and if it was similar to the federal version, he would vote for it. Later in Obama's time as State Senator, this bill came up again. It was a direct COPY of the federal bill. There was one vote "no" on this bill, and it was our President's. There is no surprise Obama signed this executive order, because he wouldn't even vote for protecting newborns as a state senator. It's barbaric.

I gave him a chance, and he blew it in the first week. Where was the compromise? Where was the understanding? Better yet, where was the fiscal responsibility with our money? Pro-Life? You should be outraged that the most pro-abortion senator in our lifetime is President, and has not taken the approach he claimed he would with other issues to your issue. Pro-Choice? You should be outraged that he is taking YOUR money and spending overseas, rather protecting the poor in this country.

Your move, Barack. I've only been right about you so far.

Here's another one.

2008-11-10T21:27:00.000-08:00

This one is called Memories.

I'm back!

2008-11-10T21:13:00.000-08:00

Ever since I've been promoted at my office, life has been incredibly hectic, and I've been depressed with the leftward shift our country took so it's been a while. Let's get back to business...promoting truth and...ME. Check out my band, Ballast!

Oh Yeah, I Forgot to Mention...

2008-09-24T15:23:00.000-07:00

...that I'm sorry I've been MIA for a month. School's started, work has been hectic, and I've been been stressed. I'm back though, and I have a WHOLE LOT to post about...

Grace Capital Church

2008-09-24T09:19:00.000-07:00

I've recently been going to a new church after a long time of floating around from place to place. I'm prepared to call it home at this point, and I'd recommend it to anybod within driving distance. Read about it here.

Technorati

2008-08-04T13:58:00.000-07:00

...has me listed as both a white liberal, and a communist. White, yes, but liberal commie????

Simply incredible.

2008-08-01T09:50:00.001-07:00

I purchased an X-Box Elite, to supplement the Wii I've been using for a year about 4 months ago. I've been enjoying varieties of different games such as Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty 4, etc etc.

There has been a travesty. The machine now freezes once you turn the games on. So do I send it in to Microsoft? Do I bring it back to Walmart? I am beyond annoyed.

Obamanation

2008-08-01T08:34:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late on this quote. Barack Obama:

"I have become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions."

Oh Barry, Heal me!

Future Vacation Spot

2008-08-01T06:56:00.000-07:00

Thank you, National Geographic.

Sane Liberal

2008-08-01T06:08:00.000-07:00

I just watched a great Bloggingheads, and Robert Wright really impressed me. For someone (I think,) is more of a scientist than a political analyst, he is very impressive. He talks to David Frum about a variety of different issues, and both presented very sensible arguments. I'm going to try an embed the video, although I don't see anything giving me the ability to do that on its webpage.

It's a Fight

2008-07-31T13:53:00.000-07:00

I have a feeling that Rick Davis won this fight...

(h/t Matt Lewis)

Amish Paradise

2008-07-31T11:33:00.000-07:00

So my blog has been called little, and I've been called Amish today. I'd call that pretty eventful.

P.S. white pizza is very good. Mmmmmm.

Slavery is Awful...

2008-07-31T05:13:00.000-07:00

...which is why I don't understand Michael Medved's newest blog post:

The idea that the House of Representatives now officially endorses the claim that “slavery in America resembled no other form of involuntary servitude in history” is an embarrassment—one more shameful demonstration that preening politicians are willing to assault history, the truth, and even their own country in their mad, headlong pre-adjournment rush to serve the stern gods of brain-dead, America-hating political correctness.

I understand this is somewhat politically correct, but it doesn't seem like there is any reason to get upset about this. We all hate slavery. We all know it was an abhorrent practice. However, its not like this resolution tarnishes our image, or compromises the national interest. It does go a little too far, basically saying Americans were the worst slave owners. Last time I checked, all of them were bad. Just some thoughts on an overly dramatic post on (not surprisingly) Townhall.

Drill Bra

2008-07-30T18:46:00.000-07:00

This was a Japanese horror film. While being one of the more violent movies I have ever see, it reminded me of Kill Bill. Blood was spewing from every orifice, due to the cartoony fight scenes. I don't exactly recommend this badly dubbed movie.

Day Job

2008-07-30T13:39:00.000-07:00

So I do collections. I actually enjoy it, but this weak economy is actually killing my business. Neither candidate has talked about restoring value to the dollar. Where is that rhetoric? How about letting people learn from mistakes, and stopping the government bailout? Giving people a strong dollar and deregulation will free up cash. The government needs to stop pandering to irresponsibility, and start restoring value to my cash.

Matt's Replacement

2008-07-29T15:55:00.000-07:00

Ta-Nehisi Coates is going to be the blatantly liberal blogger at the Atlantic. I think this a great choice, and the Atlantic continues its winning streak of great voices. There's no collection of bloggers better on the whole net.

Corruption

2008-07-29T12:16:00.000-07:00

I was originally working on an article about Kwame Kilpatrick, current mayor of Detroit and underreported story of the year, and I'm going to make it on corruption in general, with the indictment of Ted Stevens coming to light. Posting will be somewhat light until then.

2008-07-28T14:43:00.000-07:00

Step Brothers is funny. Very funny. I'm not going to credit Will Ferrell for that though. Judd Apatow creates funny, and Ferrell and Reilly are just the beneficiaries of it. I'm just a little sick of same old Will Ferrell shtick and how he has managed to play the same character in every movie and been successful.

This is coming from someone who thought Stranger than Fiction was his best movie, though.

Inconvenient

2008-07-28T09:38:00.000-07:00

It gets aggravating to buy games ranging from $30-$50 and finding out they don't work anymore after you let someone borrow them.

I hate it.

Theme of the Day

2008-07-25T07:35:00.001-07:00

Media Bias

2008-07-24T09:24:00.000-07:00

I hate talking about media bias. We know its there. We know channels tilt left, and that channels tilt right. Radio is a conservative oasis, and the nightly news is a left wing stonewall. I like this story though. Sure it talks a little about John Edwards "love child," but it really focuses on the fact that Larry Craig was lambasted and the left is complacent when one of their own is in the fire. I like the Jesse Jackson example.

Unwelcome

2008-07-24T05:34:00.000-07:00

Barack Obama was met with at least one upset native when he visited the Western Wall. What I find more interesting are Jake Tapper's commenters on his blog. They are outrageous, funny and a little further right than I'm used to. I'm used to The Atlantic's commenters who, while very thoughtful, are usually a left of center crowd. ABC's don't seem quite as well spoken though.

One thing; was Obama actually expecting himself to be met with "more reverence"? That seems a little heavy handed, and I am officially on gaffe alert for the rest of his trip overseas.

Someone's Surprised...

2008-07-23T16:00:00.001-07:00

This made me laugh.

Credit Crunch

2008-07-23T12:45:00.000-07:00

After hearing people are killing themselves over the homes, I still don't think we should punish the mortgage companies for giving out sub-prime loans. I haven't decided whether I believe in caps on interest rates, though. Personally, I believe free markets tend to balance themselves out, and not to trivialize the "crisis," but predatory lending usually means that there is predatory borrowing.

I'm not going to claim to be an economist, but banks and other lending institutions make money off of the interest on the loans they give out. Therefore, it makes sense for them to give out as many loans as possible. That would include people with bad credit. They don't force people to take out the loans, charge up the cards, or buy the car. People (Americans in particular) do that because of convenience and procrastination. Why pay today what you can attempt to pay for the next 20 years? I think we should let the free market balance itself, by letting banks fail and letting customers fail. Is this too libertarian of an attitude to have? Is it too much to ask people and businesses to be good stewards of their own cash?

Obamessiah

2008-07-23T10:08:00.000-07:00

He's come to heal you, raise the dead, and bring water to your crops...

Prince of Darkness Cited

2008-07-23T09:06:00.000-07:00

Bob Novak hit a pedestrian yesterday in DC. Apparently, the racing lessons really helped him at the ripe age of 77.

The Tragedy of Hellboy

2008-07-22T15:15:00.000-07:00

The Dark Knight didn't only put the Bat up against a psychotic clown. It also put a beat down on Guillermo Del Toro's Hellboy series.

I was really hoping to see a third Hellboy. I find him to be an endearing character with a sense of realism compared to other comic characters that come out of the woodwork every few months onto the big screen. Demon or not, Mike Mignola created a character that felt human emotions and was a "regular guy." I don't know if the public at large wants a hero like that, but it seemed there was an audience after its 34m+ opening weekend. Unfortunately, Batman flew down and brutalized the sequel.

Batman ate up Hellboy's entire audience, which saw Del Toro's pic fall 71% from the previous weekend. Sometimes phenomenons do that. They eat up the competition and regurgitate its remains. This makes me wonder if the X-Files is dead in the water next week with the Dark Knight aftershock.

ouch.

McCain-KenDoll '08

2008-07-22T12:41:00.000-07:00

So I have been against Romney for a while. I've been against him for running for President. I'm against him being selected for any office in general, to be totally forthright. I think he's an example of a fictitious man who's thirst for power overrules any core beliefs he may hold. I also believe he continually shifted positions during the primary out of political expediency. He is a plastic politician, seemingly incapable of any resemblance of consistent positions and devoid of any true core beliefs.

This is why I think McCain-Romney '08 could be a good thing. I'm beginning to believe in the Obama landslide, and I don't think a whole army of McCainiacs can stop. This hurts me as a conservative, because I know my taxes are going to go up, liberal Supreme Court justices will be appointed, and the brand that mostly represents my views is extremely unpopular. Good thing I'm not a Republican, I guess. Romney represents those bad big R republicans. He used to be the nuanced moderate, the one with new ideas, and now I'm supposed to believe he's Reagan? It's unfortunate McCain had to run this year, because I believe he'd be a strong President of great character and strength. I'd also hope to God he'd put good strong policy makers in his cabinet, because he doesn't pay attention detail as much as needed. He's going to lose, though. It's going to be a landslide, and at least he can take Romney down with him. If they lose, I don't have to worry about Romney being the nominee of my former party in 2012. I think they have a lot in common already, but if Mitt loses this year, it'll be even more relevant...

John Edwards = Mitt Romney

My favorite liberal blogger...

2008-07-17T11:17:00.000-07:00

...is leaving The Atlantic. Matthew Yglesias, everyone's favorite expert on liberal internationalism, mass transit, and basketball is leaving for the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank. I wish him luck, and hopefully he won't change from an independent thinking progressive to a cookie cutter democratic mouth piece. He's a very intelligent guy, from what I gather, and I look forward to see what he brings to CAP.

Conservatism at its best...

2008-06-20T14:21:00.000-07:00

I am no Obama supporter, but I think Ramesh has it right. Even though he is turning on a previous promise to operate in the current campaign finance, I think opting out is a good decision for America. What's more conservative than not spending the public's money?

Banner 17

2008-06-19T08:34:00.001-07:00

It was absolute obliteration, and I love it.

Guess not...

2008-06-15T21:46:00.000-07:00

KG must be tasting something sour, because he was a total non-factor tonight. Missing two clutch free throws?!?! Terrible. I'm still picking the Celtics in 6.

I'll miss you, Tim.

2008-06-15T16:25:00.001-07:00

A man that I hope to have an in depth discussion with in about 80 years.

On the cusp of the title...

2008-06-15T15:52:00.000-07:00

"Yeah, I can taste it." -Kevin Garnett

Tonight is the culmination of a series of events, orchestrated by Danny Ainge. Admittedly, I am not a fan of either Danny Ainge, or Doc Rivers. I think both have had an extremely inept for years in the green and white, and this championship won't change my opinion of them that much. Danny Ainge has two good trades, and Doc Rivers only had a good season because of those two trades. This trophy should be held by Pierce, Garnett, and Allen, with a wink and a nod to management, knowing they got some undeserved recognition because of the excellence of the Big Three.

There's no place like home...

2008-05-10T21:50:00.000-07:00

...because apparently the Celtics don't like to play on the road. EVER.

Keyes is a Tar Heel?!?!

2008-05-06T19:55:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry...I can't believe there are 12,200 idiots in NC. Alan Keyes!?!?

Posting is important

2008-04-29T21:42:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't been a very reliable blogger, but I think that will change with the invention of the Iphone. Let's see how active I am from now on.

Pineapple...

2008-04-29T21:12:00.000-07:00

is delicious.

I wish...

2008-03-26T07:57:00.000-07:00

...there was more time in the day.

Sickness

2008-03-02T15:14:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of blogging...I've had the flu for two weeks. It'll still be a little light for the next couple days. Here's something to make your day a little better, though.

Empty Hope

2008-02-20T22:09:00.000-08:00

Are you telling me that this Senator came on to Hardball that unprepared? This almost hurts me to watch.

Obama = Tax Collector?

2008-02-19T13:38:00.000-08:00

Have any of you democrats thought about the possibility of extremely high taxes under an Obama administration? To be fair, I can't be sure my taxes would actually go down under Big Mac but there is a good possibility they won't go up, which is what I really care about. Obama has come out and said that families that have a combined income of 75k or greater will get hit the worst...

Praise for Russia, Criticism for Russia

2008-02-17T00:27:00.000-08:00

Putin finally does something I like! Not that I wouldn't want all the journalists I disagreed with assassinated or anything like that, but he really puts the screws to Madame Hillary.

"At a minimum, a head of state should at least have a head." - Vlad "the impaler" Putin

He laid the verbal beating on her, and who knew had jokes?

On a side note, the former soviet nation is full of idiots. If they think we are shooting down our DAMAGED satellite to test out missle defense, they are crazy. Maybe we should let it just fall to Earth and nail Moscow. That'd be productive.

Testing pinging?

2008-02-15T21:42:00.000-08:00

To think, I actually want the world to know what I'm thinking!

Sir Charles the Foolish...

2008-02-15T19:48:00.000-08:00

Basketball is a fun game. The players are among the greatest athletes in the world. Some know how to treat their opponents with a sense of graciousness and respect. Apparently, Barkley doesn't think thats how politics should be. He just pushes Wolf around, spewing empty rhetoric about fake christians. Charles, can you please give a few reasons other than, "I don't like the direction they are taking us." I hope someone runs against him, and knocks him off the perch he's sitting on in 2014.

fake christians
by luvnews

Why he's still in...

2008-02-08T20:59:00.000-08:00

Mike Huckabee is still in the presidential race for a couple of reasons. He enjoys campaigning, he's positioning himself to be a major player in the Republican party for the future, and he's showing that there is a significant part of the party that doesn't necessarily feel represented right now. I don't know if that's entirely accurate, because John McCain has a fairly good record on life issues, aside from the stem cell debate, but it is still worth mentioning.

Unfortunately for Mike, I feel like his viability as a candidate in the future is completely gone though. When you are pegged as a "christianist" by people like Andrew Sullivan and make a few verbal gaffes as you just become a frontrunner for a major nomination, you get pidgeonholed. That's exactly what happened to Huckabee. I think it would be bright of him to become a major voice representing the social conservatives, and to grab a position in the McCain cabinet as the Secretary of Education, or of Transportation. Domestic policy seems to be a strong suit of his.