quick thoughts over the past 2 weeks

I am a direct speaker, but I a meandering writer, so anything I want to jot down, turns into a long blog post concept. That difficulty plus being too busy and learning about Biblical manuscript transmission for a presentation leaves me no time to blog over the past two weeks.

But there are things I want to write about sometime.

"Father knows best." It's not just an old television show, it's a way of life. When I am faced with temptation, will I trust my Father? Really, who knows better than Him? I desire to be merciful like He is. His grace and His love are so beyond my comprehension, but I want to resemble Him.

Haiti is on my mind. Tents will not suffice in a hurricane. Concrete block and concrete roofs are lousy for earthquakes but great in hurricanes. Hurricanes come almost every year. I admire this group's desire to turn the world's unused shipping containers into homes for Haitians. It would help if Haiti had good ports to off-load any donated containers. It would help if the Haitian/UN government would step out of the way and not tax every bit of aid coming in. I am also hopeful for these monolithic dome homes in Haiti. Concrete is not lacking within Haiti itself.

I read gay blogs and gay Christian blogs. Why? Because I need to get out of the echo chamber and hear other perspectives. However, even if every homosexual passage in the Bible can be explained away, there are still no positive arguments or examples from the Bible for gay marriage in the church. The only options positively affirmed in all of the Bible and by Jesus and the apostles are celibacy or heterosexual marriage. The Bible does not hide bad marriages by it's characters, King David's and Solomon's multiple wives and supplemental harems, but it does not endorse them. Abuse does not argue against proper use. I think my gay siblings in Christ need to trust that Father knows best.

I hate working by myself in silence. First, I wish I was reading. Then, I wish I had company. Then, I wish I had money to hire someone to do my work so I could use the time to read. Then I overanalyze myself. Then I realize I should be praying. Life is so busy, that I need to sieze those times of solitude to talk to my Father. Then I am glad I'm working by myself with time to talk to God.

I think every defense of my faith needs to start with the resurrection. Before addressing the problem of evil, before addressing predestination, before talking about manuscript transmission, before talking about felt needs, I want to know if you realize Jesus rose from the dead. I recently read an interesting article at the Huffington Post, written by a Jew, who refers to a Christ event. He is willing to admit that Jesus rose from the dead, but can't accept Luke and Paul's writings. He likes James, though. But if Jesus really rose from the dead, doesn't that change everything? If he didn't though, why did none of his friends recant the story upon threat of death? A man who escaped from his tomb and his death, and predicted it, and never died again, is someone worth listening too. If one can accept that truth, then we can trust Him with the answers to all the other stuff.