Chipper

Just thought I would post an update on my tooth. Yup, still chipped. I am going to the dentist on April 6.

The Apostles

In his book The Imitation of Christ, Thomas à Kempis made a great statement about the Apostles. Let us learn from their example:

They were poor in earthly things but rich in grace and virtue. Outwardly destitute, inwardly they were full of grace and divine consolation. Strangers to the world, they were close and intimate friends of God. To themselves they seemed as nothing, and they were despised by the world, but in the eyes of God they were precious and beloved.

I Loved This Movie

This movie is absolutely worth watching. Michelle and I watched it over at Walter and Ily's house the other night. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas illustrates the equality of race and the sanctity of life. I highly recommend this movie. And yes, it is sad, but it is very good.

Do You Get It?

I think the Lord is trying to tell us something in Psalm 136:

1 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!For His mercy endures forever.2 Oh, give thanks to the God of gods!For His mercy endures forever.3 Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords!For His mercy endures forever:4 To Him who alone does great wonders,For His mercy endures forever;5 To Him who by wisdom made the heavens,For His mercy endures forever;6 To Him who laid out the earth above the waters,For His mercy endures forever;7 To Him who made great lights,For His mercy endures forever--8 The sun to rule by day,For His mercy endures forever;9 The moon and stars to rule by night,For His mercy endures forever.10 To Him who struck Egypt in their firstborn,For His mercy endures forever;11 And brought out Israel from among them,For His mercy endures forever;12 With a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm,For His mercy endures forever;13 To Him who divided the Red Sea in two,For His mercy endures forever;14 And made Israel pass through the midst of it,For His mercy endures forever;15 But overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea,For His mercy endures forever;16 To Him who led His people through the wilderness,For His mercy endures forever;17 To Him who struck down great kings,For His mercy endures forever;18 And slew famous kings,For His mercy endures forever--19 Sihon king of the Amorites,For His mercy endures forever;20 And Og king of Bashan,For His mercy endures forever--21 And gave their land as a heritage,For His mercy endures forever;22 A heritage to Israel His servant,For His mercy endures forever.23 Who remembered us in our lowly state,For His mercy endures forever;24 And rescued us from our enemies,For His mercy endures forever;25 Who gives food to all flesh,For His mercy endures forever.26 Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven!For His mercy endures forever.

Now read the text without the "His mercy endures forever."

Psalm 136

1 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!2 Oh, give thanks to the God of gods!3 Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords!4 To Him who alone does great wonders,5 To Him who by wisdom made the heavens,6 To Him who laid out the earth above the waters,7 To Him who made great lights,8 The sun to rule by day,9 The moon and stars to rule by night,10 To Him who struck Egypt in their firstborn,11 And brought out Israel from among them,12 With a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm,13 To Him who divided the Red Sea in two,14 And made Israel pass through the midst of it,15 But overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea,16 To Him who led His people through the wilderness,17 To Him who struck down great kings,18 And slew famous kings,19 Sihon king of the Amorites,20 And Og king of Bashan,21 And gave their land as a heritage,22 A heritage to Israel His servant,23 Who remembered us in our lowly state,24 And rescued us from our enemies,25 Who gives food to all flesh,26 Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven!

Truly, His steadfast love endures forever. Because it is repeated so much, it is almost as if the Lord is trying to drill it in our heads: "My mercy endures forever."

Saint Patrick's Day

Good ol' St. Patrick's day...Well, today is my brothers birthday! He turned 23! Happy birthday brother. We went to El Torrito...yum! This is a picture from last year:

Phil showed up to school in this really funny green hat:


I have always laughed at this video and due to the superstition that is involved with this day about leprechauns, I thought I would post it. Have a laugh...where's the gold at?




Interesting stuff:

Due to all the beer drinking and superstition that is involved with "Saint" Patrick's' Day, I thought I would post some things that he personally wrote. I read The Confessions of St. Patrick last night and his life is pretty remarkable and completely contrary to the contemporary vain traditions that are associated with his life. If you would like to know the history about St. Patrick, check out Mark Driscoll's blog. I will not blog about the history of his life, but you will be blessed by the life of this pirate prisoner turned legendary missionary. These are just a few things I thought I would post:

#1: “I, Patrick, a sinner, a most simple countryman, the least of all the faithful and most contemptible to many…”

#12: “. . . before I was humbled I was like a stone lying in deep mire, and he that is mighty came and in his mercy raised me up and, indeed, lifted me high up and placed me on top of the wall. And from there I ought to shout out in gratitude to the Lord for his great favours in this world and for ever, that the mind of man cannot measure.”

#16: “I used to stay out in the forests and on the mountain and I would wake up before daylight to pray in the snow, in icy coldness, in rain, and I used to feel neither ill nor any slothfulness, because, as I now see, the Spirit was burning in me at that time.”

#47: “Now I have put it frankly to my brethren and co-workers, who have believed me because of what I have foretold and still foretell to strengthen and reinforce your faith. I wish only that you, too, would make greater and better efforts. This will be my pride, for ‘a wise son makes a proud father.’”

#55: “But I see that even here and now, I have been exalted beyond measure by the Lord, and I was not worthy that he should grant me this, while I know most certainly that poverty and failure suit me better than wealth and delight (but Christ the Lord was poor for our sakes; I certainly am wretched and unfortunate; even if I wanted wealth I have no resources, nor is it my own estimation of myself, for daily I expect to be murdered or betrayed or reduced to slavery if the occasion arises. But I fear nothing, because of the promises of Heaven; for I have cast myself into the hands of Almighty God, who reigns everywhere. As the prophet says: ‘Cast your burden on the Lord and he will sustain you.’”

#62: “But I entreat those who believe in and fear God, whoever deigns to examine or receive this document [his confessions] composed by the obviously unlearned sinner Patrick in Ireland, that nobody shall ever ascribe to my ignorance any trivial thing that I achieved or may have expounded that was pleasing to God, but accept and truly believe that it would have been the gift of God. And this is my confession before I die.”

Traditionally, “The Breastplate Prayer” has been attributed to him. I have only quoted a section of it due to its length:

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,

Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ on my right, Christ on my left,

Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,

Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,

Christ in every eye that sees me,

Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today

Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,

Through belief in the threeness,

Through confession of the oneness,

Of the Creator of Creation.

According to tradition, Patrick used the three leaf clover to describe the trinity.

So, as the world drinks beer, wears green, and searches for leprechauns and gold, think upon the historical Saint Patrick that served the Lord. If he was still with us today I am sure he would be completely upset at what is celebrated in his name. This is what Patrick would say to us: I wish only that you, too, would make greater and better efforts" (Confession 47). Of course, he is talking about making greater and better efforts of serving the Lord and spreading the gospel, which is obviously contrary to drinking green beer, pinching people, and searching for leprechauns.

Evangelism in America

This is an interesting read on evangelism in America and what might just happen to start getting Christians to share their faith.

Taken from John Piper's newest book, Finally Alive (171-172):

What Will It Take Today?

What will it take so that thousands of Christians in our churches become passionate about telling the gospel to unbelievers? One of the reasons we don’t do it as much as we should is that life in
America is so entertaining that thoughts about desperate, eternal, spiritual need are hard for us to feel, let alone talk about. The world is just too interesting and entertaining. It feels awkward to make ourselves or others uncomfortable with thoughts about perishing people. It’s heavy. But life in America is light.

So perhaps what God will choose to do is what he did for the church in Jerusalem. They were not moving out from Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the world in evangelism the way Jesus told them to in Acts 1:8. So Stephen was raised up to bear such irresistible testimony (Acts 6:10) that the only way his adversaries could handle him was to kill him (Acts 7:60).

And when they did, the persecution spilled over onto all the Christians in Jerusalem. “And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles” (Acts 8:1). And what was the result? Acts 8:4: “Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word” (Acts 8:4). Literally: “Those who were scattered went about gospelling the word (euangelizomenoi ton logon, Acts 8:4–5). They weren’t preachers. They were just ordinary folks, thousands of them (Acts 2:41). After they were driven out of their homes, they went everywhere telling the good news.

Is this not an amazing response to persecutions and pain and loss and exile and homelessness? They did not go everywhere complaining. They did not go everywhere questioning God. They went everywhere “telling the good news.” O that we would so love the gospel and have so much compassion for lost people that tribulation and distress and persecution and famine and nakedness and danger and sword and gun and terrorist would turn us not into fearful complainers, but bold heralds of good news.

Precisely when they were persecuted, they went everywhere telling the good news of Christ. Maybe the Lord will do it that way. He certainly is doing it that way in some parts of the world, and millions are being born again—through the loving, bold, clear telling of the gospel by persecuted Christians.

It's Gone!

I chipped my tooth playing basketball! I was driving towards the hoop and I got close lined!

I think I like the new look. Now I can really be a hick. Anyone have some overalls I can have?

Corrupted Schools

As many of you have heard, the public schools in California are a hot topic right now. Schools have had to drastically cut their budgets, which means that people are going to get fired. In the district that I work at (the Corona-Norco School District) we are cutting a projected $37 million for this school year and the next. Therefore, many teachers are going to receive a pink slip. By law, the teachers are suppossed to receive them by March 15. So as you can imagine, teachers were very scared today and many of them wore pink clothing in order to "protest" this giant problem.

The Point of this Post

My union, the CSEA (California School Employees Association) is updating all of us about the corruption that is going on in the various districts. Well, the Hemet school district is in a mess! While teachers are being laid off, the Superintendent and 7 of his assistants are receiving raises! Their greed is causing others to lose their job.

They will be receiving a two-year compensation package totaling $2,875,726.00 in
the midst of devastating cuts to education funding.

Wow. You can imagine the uproar that is happening. Hard working teachers are losing their jobs, and the big shots are getting raises. Check out a video of one of their intense board meetings by clicking here.

All of this chaos brings one word to my mind: corruption!

Doesn't this situation give evidence that we live in a fallen world?

Treasure

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field" (Matthew 13:44).

Good visual:




We have true Treasure.

A Valuable Quarter

Whether or not the following story is true or not, it serves as a great reminded that some people are watching our Christianity closer than we think. Sometimes the small things that we do really can make a difference in someone else. Check it out.

Several years ago, a preacher from out-of-state accepted a call to a church in Houston , Texas . Some weeks after he arrived, he had an occasion to ride the bus from his home to the downtown area. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him a quarter too much change.

As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, 'You'd better give the quarter back. It would be wrong to keep it.'

Then he thought, 'Oh, forget it, it's only a quarter. Who would worry about this little amount? Anyway, the bus company gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a 'gift from God' and keep quiet.'

When his stop came, he paused momentarily at the door, and then he handed the quarter to the driver and said, Here, you gave me too much change.' The driver, with a smile, replied, 'Aren't you the new preacher in town?' 'Yes' he replied. 'Well, I have been thinking a lot lately about going somewhere to worship. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change. I'll see you at church on Sunday.'

When the preacher stepped off of the bus, he literally grabbed the nearest light pole, held on, and said, 'Oh God, I almost sold your Son for a quarter.'

MV #5

This verse is just another jewel to add in the treasure chest of verses that show the authority and validity of the Bible (such as John 17:17 and 2 Timothy 3:16-17). The entirety of the Word is truth.

The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.

Psalm 119:160

Weekend Wedding

Michelle and I went to Patrick and Bobby's wedding on Saturday. It was great! I always like going to weddings because they ultimately remind me of how one day there will be a great wedding in heaven, where the believers are the bride and the Lord is the Bridegroom. Here are some pics:

Sometimes...

you just have to have some fun and be a gangsta...

Birds, Snakes, and Trashcans...Oh My!

As some of you know, I help run a recycling program at my work where I take a few students out to the lunch area to collect plastic bottles. We turn in all of our bottles and spend the money for things in the classroom and for field trips, like going to Disneyland. We are able to raise quite a lot of money!

Anyways...I was digging through a trashcan with my "claws" and look what I found....


Yup, I found a dead bird and a dead snake. The snake was fried to a crisp and was like a centimeter thick! Maybe the bird killed the snake and died from it's venom? lol j/k.

I just thought I would share my random discoveries at work...crazy/random huh? The snake has actually been in the same trash can since Monday! You would think that they would take the trash out, especially since there is a dead snake in it, lol.

MV #4

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore

Psalm 16:11

Isn't this verse sweet? Because of the Lord we have the path of life, fullness of joy, and pleasures forevermore.

You make known to me the path of life

He is the guide (You) and I am the traveler (me). He shows me the way (path) that is perfectly aligned with His will (life). As a young man, it is extremely comforting to know that He will make known to me the path for my life. He has already led me to the narrow path of salvation through Christ, so I can be confident that He will continue to show me His path.

in your presence there is fullness of joy

Fullness of joy is found in his presence! I need to continually remember that true joy is found in his presence so that I don't make broken cisterns that can't hold any water; instead, I need to go to the Fountain of living water (Jeremiah 2:13). Fullness of joy! The Holy Spirit's presence is in us, but I can't wait to be in His presence!

at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Who is at the right hand of the Father? Jesus! There are pleasures forevermore more found at the right hand of the Father, where Jesus is. Therefore, there are pleasures forevermore found in Jesus.

Also, it is pretty cool to know that I have the same verse memorized that the Apostle Peter had memorized. In Acts 2, Peter preached a sermon and he quoted Psalm 16:11 by memory (v.28):

You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

Remember! LIFE, JOY, and PLEASURES are found only in the Lord.

Disneyland Field Trip!

I went on a field trip to Disneyland last Thursday with my work. Phil and I had such a great time! I truly loved it and enjoyed every moment of it because we had a blast and Phil had so much fun. After we rode the rockets, the ride operator gave Phil the Honorary Citizen of Disneyland button! Check out some pictures!

I'm an Artist

This past week I finished my art project. I did it while I was with Phil during his third period art class. Of course, I don't get a grade on my project, but it would be an A! Since Allison has been posting pictures all of her art projects for school, I thought I would post mine!

Kung Fu Panda is sweet!

So, am I a pro or what???????