J-O-Y

Remember that little Sunday school song you learned when you were little?

"Jesus then Others then You, /
What a wonderful way to spell JOY."

There is an amazing amount of truth packed in that little song. Truth that applies to my entire life. I see so many friends going around deciding what their personal standards are going to be because of their own convictions.

Now they make sure to reinforce their decisions with the Word of God so that their arguments are "foolproof."

But they miss that middle part. They say things like "it's not my fault if someone else has a problem with what I do" and "I shouldn't have to change my habits at home because of what other people struggle with." They blame others for being sinful while defending their own actions as "to the pure all things are pure."

There seems to be very little true joy in the church these days. I'm not one to rant about how "fake" Christians are and how they "plaster on smiles and pretend on Sundays." But I do know that there are many hurting people out there. Trapped under the weight of their own "liberties" these Christians drag themselves through each week rejoicing in temporal things.

How much different would the body of Christ be if we stopped and put others ahead of ourselves for once?


"Jesus then Others then You, /
What a wonderful way to spell JOY."

Tolerance

Tolerate me. Tolerate my ideas, my beliefs, my actions, and my attitudes. Don't tell me that they are wrong. Don't tell me that I can't think that way. Listen to what I have to say and let me finish my sentences. I must be heard and you must be silent until I am done speaking. 

But you have to think the way I do. I'm not going to listen when you present your arguments, no matter how sound they are. In fact, I won't actually know how sound your arguments are, because I won't be listening to them. I'll close my ears as soon as you start talking. 

This is the attitude of many people in my generation. We want you to give in to our demands, but we're not going to give in to your demands. We're going to push for our agenda to be number one and refuse to accept any other options. 

Romans 14:16-19 says "Let not then your good be evil spoken of: 

For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. 

For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men. 

Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another."

Edification is the name of the game. Not tolerance. 

Dreams

"Chase your dreams."

"Be responsible."

"Do what you love."

"Provide for your family."

"Do what you're good at doing."

"Do something there will always be a demand for."

Every other statement seems to conflict. On one side you have the adventurous types. The free spirits. The entrepreneurs and the happy-go-lucky and the creative people. 

On the other side you have the serious types. The business majors. The planners and the thinkers and the doers. 

Both sides have advice for young people. 

"Go out and do something no one else has done before."

"Make sure you can live comfortably no matter the economic status of the country you're living in."

Which side is right? The dreamcatchers? Or the planners? 

I think it depends on which one you are. If you need to follow your dreams in order to succeed, do exactly that. If you have to plan it out and decide what happens next, do that. Just remember one thing. 

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." - 1 John 1:7

Void

When I am at Bob Jones University I have the privilege of working in the school's Business Office. The Business Office handles school bills, payroll, student loan payments, check cashing, and any other minor money situation that may arise. Often mistaken for the Financial Aid office, the Business Office is located on the first floor of the Administration Building. I have worked here for almost 7 whole semesters and made many friends and many more memories from the interesting interactions I have with various customers.

The other day I was filling out a money order for another office at BJU. In my clumsiness I typed $20.00 into the money-order-maker instead of the $2.00 it was supposed to be made out for. Whenever this happens protocol is to take the invalid money order and write VOID across the front and across the receipt. You have to write it in big letters that cover almost 60% of the surface area of the money order. So it looks more like VOID in real life.

I finished writing VOID and turned to put the invalid money order in its proper place when I was struck with a thought.

All of my sins, past, present, future, the entirety of my actions that have disrespected God, any thought that I may have had that did not please Him, every word that I have ever said that, everything is wiped clean. 

When my sin is brought before God all He will see is the big VOID stamped across my record. 

"Glory, I’m saved!  Glory, I’m saved!
My sins are all pardoned, my guilt is all gone!
Glory, I’m saved! Glory, I’m saved!
I am saved by the blood of the Crucified One!"

The Beginning

Eleven years ago on February 24, 2002 the television was on in my parents' bedroom as my family was preparing to leave for church. I stood in front of the set and watched a basketball game between the Nebraska University Cornhuskers and the Kansas University Jayhawks. The game ended as a nailbiter with Kansas University winning 88-87. 

All I truly remember from that game is the blue road jerseys of Kansas and one of their players grabbing a crucial rebound and wasting the final seconds by throwing the basketball towards the rafters of Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, Nebraska. I was hooked.

I spent the next month watching every Jayhawk game I possibly could. I memorized the player's names and watched as they took second in the Big 12 Conference Tournament at the end of the season. 

I even remember watching with a sick stomach as the University of Maryland Terrapins defeated the Jayhawks in the Final Four of the NCAA tournament. I didn't even watch all of the national championship game two days later. Who cared? Kansas had lost. I was sold.

I can remember the players from that first team. Gooden, Simien, Miles, Collison, Langford, Heinrich, Boschee, Lee. They were my boys, and the crushing loss in the Final Four was a sickening thing. Roy Williams, the head coach, cried after the game. I was addicted.

Little did I know that these short two months would be the beginning of a long journey. Little did I know that a new coach would replace Williams, a coach that is one-hundred times better than Williams ever would have been.  

(Bill Self just won the 501st game of his career)

I have followed Kansas Jayhawk basketball ever since that fateful February day and will always be a fan, no matter what. 

Rock Chalk Jayhawk. Go KU. 

Treasure Hunt

An elderly couple came in today while I was working behind the counter at the university business office. Both were in their respective wheelchairs and both were getting up in years. Their daughter told me that this dear lady had worked in the business office from the 1940s 'til the 1970s.

This lady said she never used a calculator when helping customers because she could add in her head faster than she could type with her fingers. My co-worker and I laughed about this anecdote later. One of us had just used the calculator to add 50 + 60 + 5. We would not have lasted very long if we had been working back then. Computers are the only way we have any clue what is going on during the workday.

What a neat experience! This job has been such a blessing for me in the past four years at BJU and the opportunity to briefly meet somebody who worked here before me is a unique privilege.

Previous generations are a gift to future generations. Future generations seldom appreciate the experience, knowledge, and wisdom that is stored up in the minds of those that have gone before.

Stop for a minute this weekend and learn something from somebody older than you. They will be willing to talk as long as you are willing to listen. Search their minds for treasure. Wisdom is all around you! All you have to do is ask.