Matthew 3 and 4

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

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

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

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

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

In The Dark OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

"In The Dark" Behind the Scenes Part One

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

JACK CHOP

Funny stuff

No Spirit needed, thanks

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

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.

I hate being sick.

I'll blog about more interesting stuff tomorrow.

After the stimulus, this seems perfect

The United Socialist States of America

This is simply amazing...amazing.

Very Stimulating

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!

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

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.

This one is called Memories.

I'm back!

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...

...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

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

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

Simply incredible.