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World Changing: Epic Fail

January 22, 2012

Religion. It’s a topic that has been under some scrutiny in recent years. A recent video went viral titled “Why I Hate Religion but Love Jesus”. While I agree with most of what the video had to show, there are a few things that need some clarification. For example, Jesus did hold the feet of the religious to the fire but He was not against all religion. If we want to be world changers, we have to think differently about things we’ve come to take for granted.

Even as a boy, Jesus understood the importance of church attendance (Luke 2–in his day, the synagogue). He taught from there as well as listened and asked questions. He never condemned this form of religion. Matthew 4:23 says: “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.” So he did spend time in church so-to-speak. He did not however spend all his time there. We was AMONG the people, healing the sick. Christians today have done an excellent job surrounding themselves in a sub-culture while totally ignoring the need to be “among the people.” It kind of reminds me of the phrase: “If you want to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat.” This applies here. If you want to change the world, you have to get out of the church.

Let’s face reality. The church has failed in many aspects. It was never intended to be a place to “scare the hell out of you”. It’s not what God wants at all. He wants real people. People who want to follow Him because they love Him, not because they are afraid of eternal punishment. But that’s what the church is selling. They are selling “life insurance”, it’s its not working. I would call that an epic fail.

Furthermore, we are supposed to be helping the sick, the poor, and the needy. Yet, the loudest voice to denounce programs which help these people comes from the church. And what is the church doing about it? In a general sense, nothing. Yes, there are many churches who do answer the call and give everything without an agenda. It’s not the church’s job to play politics. It’s the church’s job to be Christ to the world and make disciples. Period.

Do I believe the western church has utterly failed in it’s message? Yes. It’s not about whether or not they are being relevant. Many are. Many do a good job putting on a show. But what it comes down to the “meat and potatoes” (as some friends of mine would put it), portions are rather meager. It’s easy to say we have a church full a believers. It’s harder to say the “d” word. Why? You don’t have to love to believe someone. But you do have to love them to want to be a disciple of theirs.

The Epic Fail continues in areas the church has decided are “high profile” sins. Today’s being the argument over whether gays should marry (or even be given equal status at all). The arrogance of the collective church to suggest that God is a respecter of person and sees one sin as less than another is sickening. The church dares decry that gays shouldn’t marry when they can’t even keep their own relationships in order?

Don’t get me wrong. I love the church. I love my church. And not any church is perfect. But you should be alert to the subtle ways the enemy uses to steal away life. He doesn’t have to keep people out of church. He just has to keep the church from being effective. We need to mimic the life of Christ. We should be showing people love regardless. We should be forgiving and forgetting (this is hard even for me). After all, it’s what God does and it’s what he wants us to do. If we walk in His light and His love, He will give us the strength to come through it all. We need to see the world the way God does. The church needs to stop acting like pharisees and more like Christ.

More in this series to come.

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A Victory!

January 20, 2012

SOPA and PIPA are dead (at least for now)! http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46072484/ns/technology_and_science-security/#.TxmjDW_wt2A

That is all! Victory dance!!!

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World Changing: An Introduction

January 20, 2012

So many people are trying to change things. The entertainment industry is trying to change the rules of the internet. Occupy Wallstreet protestors are trying to change the way of the free market. We, as humans, start wars over change. We decide we don’t like how something is going, we deploy troops and force it to change. I support and love our troops. They do things I know I could never do. They stand up when I know I would be to cowardice to do so. They deserve our respect whatever your feelings on our current war is. But none of these are a way to change the world for the better.

In this series of blogs which will have a category heading of “Changing the World”, we will explore both secular and Biblical methods to be world changers and also discover how strikingly similar and compatible both these contrasting views (at least in the mainstream sense) are. Just remember this: If you want to change the world, you have to step out of the church. This isn’t just the church building, but the Christian sub-culture in general. There are many other ways to be world changers by simply influencing those around you. We will follow Christ and his examples as well as other notable humans who made life better for others as they journeyed through life.

The Bible says pray without ceasing. It also says that only God can change hearts. Be praying now for God to show you ways to change the world around you.

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████ ████████ ██████████ ██ ███████████

January 18, 2012

Like with any blog post, I w██████ ███████ ███████ ████████ ███████ ███████ ██████ █████████ ███████ ███████ ██████████ ███████████ ████ ████ ██████████ ████████████ ███████ ██████ █████ █████████ ████ ███████████ ███████████ █████████ █████ ██████ ███████ ███████ ██████████ ████████ █████ █████████ ███████ ████████ ██ ███ █████ ██████ ██████ ██████████ ██████████ ████████████████ █████████  ████ ███████  ████████ ███████ ████████  ████ ████████ ███████████ ███ ███ ████████ █████ing. 

Don’t like censorship? SAVE THE INTERNET! GET INVOLVED AND STOP SOPA/PIPA!

http://www.savetheinternet.com

http://www.americancensorship.org

http://www.stupid-america.com

-The █████████

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What Would Jesus Say!?

December 12, 2011

I was watching the Daily Show on December 8th when I saw something that just totally blew me away (you can watch the 19 second clip here: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-december-8-2011/moment-of-zen—what-would-jesus-say-). Once you watch the clip, keep reading.

It’s shocking to me how people are so sure of what Jesus would do or say. Most people do so without really knowing (or caring) about what Jesus already said and who he was. The lady in the video proudly says: “…maybe he would say I miss hearing you say Merry Christmas.” Sorry, I don’t think Jesus would be pre-occupied with such a thing. Let’s forget for a second that Jesus was Jewish and that Christmas wouldn’t be in His vocabulary anyway.

What is wrong with Happy Holidays anyway? Well, from the Etymology Online Dictionary, we learn that the word “holiday” came from the Old English word “haligdæg” which basically means “holy day”. Thus, Happy Holidays can be translated to “Happy Holy Day”. With this little bit of enlightenment, it makes perfect sense to wish someone a Happy Holiday when referring to Christmas, Easter, or any other “Holy day” (the Old English use actually used haligdæg as the word for the Sabbath (used during approx. the 1500s).

To be honest, the word meaning doesn’t really matter and Jesus would probably agree as well. I for one think that Merry Christmas gets a little lost anyway. I remember a boycott campaign for Target back in 2006 because they used the phrase “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” in their advertising. While many of the Christian community might disagree, I am ok with it (I may not have been then, but I would be should it have happened today). Why such an absurd call to action? Do we really need a retailer such as Target or Walmart to justify our faith? These companies only say “Merry Christmas” because they want your money, plain and simple. The fact that they use Merry Christmas at all suggests that Christians spend a lot of money this time of year (and these retailers know this). So of course, they want to keep the spenders happy and wish you a Merry Christmas. They don’t care about Christ, they just want your money. Because of the meaning behind it, it really has no meaning at all.

So what would Jesus say? What would He do? He would probably wonder why all this “shopping” was going on while people are starving. Giving and exchanging gifts is not a bad or evil thing to do. But if the question must be raised about what Christ would do, then we need to face reality. Billions of dollars are spent on things we don’t really need while real hurting people are dying of starvation by the millions. Would Jesus really be concerned about Happy Holidays versus Merry Christmas? We need to stop putting words in Jesus mouth and just do what He already said to do.

Remember, if everything you do is to the Glory of the Lord, then Happy Holidays is just as fitting as Merry Christmas. I for one hope everyone has a very Happy Holiday season, whatever Holiday you choose to celebrate.

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It’s Not Me, It’s Me!

December 8, 2011

Alright, so imagine my surprise when I learned that I have an apartment and cable in Colorado. The only time I’ve spent in Colorado was the 2 hrs I spent at the Denver Airport waiting to board a flight to San Diego. Identity theft can occur to anyone no matter how safe you think you might be. I for one monitor my credit constantly (and I have to give props to Bank of America Privacy Assist). If it had not been for BofA’s Privacy assist, I probably wouldn’t have caught it as quick as I did. Identity theft is a real problem and a real threat. But, it’s not something that I’ve let steal my joy. It has only made me view things in a new light.

For example, there is another one who is constantly trying to steal our identity through his lies. Satan constantly bombards us with thoughts that make us feel inadequate and not feel like we belong in Christ. I guess you could call him the ultimate identity thief. But he’s been at it far longer than anyone else has. He is sneaky. Whenever we stumble and fall, he’s there to accuse us and condemn us preventing us from drawing closer to the One we should be identifying with. Most often, his thievery is subtle and can even mask itself as “truth” when really it isn’t.

No matter what you have done and not matter how bad you think you are, you still have an identity. Whether you’ve been ill-treated by a church or by somebody else, your identity has not changed. God’s love is still there, drawing you to Him. Christ was our example. He showed us that we could identify with Him wherever we are in life. Whether we are a tax collector who takes a little extra for ourselves or an adulteress whom everyone is ready to “stone”, he showed us that we are still loved. He is still cares. And that there is nothing that can separate us from His love.

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:38-39

Your true identity lies in Christ. Don’t let anybody steal that from you.

-The Anzanite

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Who Steals Your Joy?

November 30, 2011

Have you ever noticed that when someone makes your mad, your day is miserable and the other person seems to be having the time of their life? That incident that made you mad has not just consumed you and has robbed you of access to a good day. In other words, that person has stolen your joy.

What can you do about it? Steal it back. Better yet, don’t let it be stolen. Jesus wanted us to walk in live and forgiveness. Forgiveness and love are synonymous with each other because you can’t truly love someone if you are holding a grudge. The example from the previous paragraph is proof that forgiveness must come first. Jesus said to forgive 70 times 7. This was not a command to keep a tally and then suddenly stop at 490. It was an illustration to show that love has no bounds. God’s love for example continues no matter what we have done and no matter how many times we screw up. It is so powerful that even though many would reject Him, He still sent His Son to die. He died for the worst person just as much as he died for the best. Yet, His love was greater than all that.

Someone steals our joy when we get offended and then refuse to forgive them in our hearts. Sure, we may be cordial to them after an ordeal, but we become bitter because inside, it’s still festering. We need to lay those things down. When people offend us, they go on with there day while we end up having a bad day that often leads us to have consecutive joyless days when we have to cross paths with that person again. Instead, we should have a joy rooted where is should be. Psalm 16:11 “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” We must remain in His presence to have the fullness of joy. If our joy comes from our fellowship with Him, then it can’t be stolen. When we are in His presence, we have no problem forgiving because we see everyone the way God does. He looks past our imperfections and sees all of us as something to be cherished, loved, and worthy of mercy and grace. We should look at people in the same light and respond likewise.

-The Anzanite

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You Mean This Is Still Here?

November 26, 2011

I know. You are looking at the date of the previous post and wondering why I even bother posting to the blog again (or how in the world the anzanite.com domain name still works). To the latter, it has to do with a simple little fact that it’s automated and just continues to renew itself (unless I manually tell it to stop). As for the first, things don’t always work out the way we plan them. It’s been said before (and I admit, rather cliche) that if you want to make God laugh, show Him your plans. Let’s just say regular posts (lately) have not been in His plans.

Does this mean His plans have changed? I have yet to see. Although I have felt a prompting to return to the blogosphere, it wasn’t until I started ranting on a friend’s blog tonight that I noticed that I have some things I feel I want to share. This blog has evolved in many ways and I am excited to see where it will go and how it will reach people in the future. So, here’s to the future. I have some great things to share. I hope you will take time to read them.

-Mr. Josh

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Love. Read. Pray.

February 26, 2011

It’s been along time since I posted a blog. There has been a lot going on in my life–my physical life (job, living arrangements, etc) as well as my spiritual life. Over the past few months, God has been working out a few things with me. There have been questions that I have raised and a deeper search that I committed myself too. There are a great many things God has changed my perspective on, is currently changing, and I am sure will be changing as I draw closer to Him.

But what does it mean to draw closer? I hear people say all the time, “I want to be close to God.” But when asked how, they can’t seem to give an answer. I was one of those. Some great speaker would ask “do you want to get closer to God?” Yes I would say but then still be left in the same place I was in before I said it. Then it hit me. We say the things we know God wants to hear but we don’t want to take the time to see that it happens. This is where I was. I would say I wanted to get closer to God and then find excuses why I couldn’t spend time seeking Him. After time would go by, I would become angry and lay the blame on God wondering why He was so distant and wouldn’t help me get closer to Him.

But that’s just it. He was there the whole time. I’m the one who didn’t draw close to Him. Stellar Kart has a song called “Spending Time With You”. It talks about how we end up with all this “time” and yet, still seem to give God the short end of the stick. When we hear something that makes us feel guilty, we run to Him and promise to give him a few minutes every day, or an hour, or a morning. But He doesn’t want that. He wants all of us.

Starting our day in His Word I believe is important. But why are we doing it? I don’t know about you, but I’ve committed many times over to giving God the morning time to read His Word and listen to Him only to find myself slowly letting it go until I am soon using the morning for my own self interests. Why does this happen? I’ve discovered that it has nothing to do with the action as it does with the action and motivation behind it. If I were to ask honestly for a show of hands of everyone who has ever felt obligated to read His Word daily, I’m sure that many of you would agree that you felt that way. I did. But I am learning that it is not the act that makes the difference but why we do it.

I am not someone who was doing it for the love of being with God as is suggested by the book Crazy Love. I was doing it because I was always taught that I should. Honestly, it’s not fun at all doing something because we have to. It’s much better doing something because we love what it means and stand for. Even further, our time in the Word should be a time spent with our Lord whom we should love and look forward to meeting on a regular basis.

I can honestly say that since I’ve changed my attitude on this, I’ve honestly seen His Word come alive in ways I never did before. Hopefully, God willing, I’ll be able to share those experiences here on the blog. This isn’t my work, but the work of the Spirit in me so it will go the direction that God leads. Should it not continue, then it is directly the work of God wanting my time for something else. After all, doesn’t the time ultimately belong to Him anyway? Thus, this is a new beginning for Behind the Waterfall—the place of so many beginnings.

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New Video Projects

September 9, 2010

Been working on a few video projects for North Pointe. This is the most recent: You can subscribe to our new YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/northpointekids. Enjoy!

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