Woe is me

"But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full."
-Luke 6:24

That's a hard verse to live for us.

"If you have two coats, you've stolen one from the poor."
-I dunno who said that, but I read it somewhere.


I think we look at verses or thoughts like that as nice ideas, but I have to
question how many of us live something like that out. How do we live as
poor people when we're taught to go to college and get a better job than
that person, or to work your way up higher in the corporate world?

I think that's being a big deciding factor when I think about my future.
Is spending a few years of my short life worth spending in college, or does
my God want something else for me in that time? Should I be rich and use
my money to go help others or be poor and live humbly like my father taught
us to be? Part of me thinks that God gives us money and all of this to go help
those because we have it, but another part of me feels like this verse where I
shouldn't need much so I can rely on my father more.

Two paths. Two years to decide.

Any thoughts?

I need to die for passion's sake

I was reading 1 Corinthians...

"If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing."

Love drives our passions I think.

If an artist doesn't paint a painting without passion or love put into it, it's as good as a blank canvas.
If a musician sings a song, but doesn't feel passion or love in the notes or lyrics, he's as good as someone singing in silence.



I hate feeling empty in the things I do.

Yet there's almost nothing better in the world than feeling love in what I do.

I could have saved one more...

I watched Schindler's List the other night, and it really hit
me hard. I guess this is kind of a spoiler, but it's a true story,
so it doesn't count. Like this guy Schindler basically gives all
of the money he has to buy Jews to 'work' for him until the war ends.
When he's done buying them he looks at every person he saves-hundreds
of them. And then he looks at his car he's going to drive off in. "I could have saved
at least ten more with this." Then he looks at his pin representing he supports the
Nazi party. "This is made of gold. I could have bought two more...maybe one more."
He began to sob in shame for denying eleven people life. He lived for compassion's sake-
he didn't look at all the people and say "Look at all the people I saved!" He said, "I could
have saved more!" I think we should be that way when it comes to our compassion. Like
we should let our hearts fill with compassion and instead of saying how well we do,
we need to long to help more.

"Hey now fill our hearts with your compassion"


I've been kind of excited about Costa Rica. But I'm also kind of worried.
Like on other trips I've always kind of had a security that I'd be able to help
in some small way-whether filling a bowl with soup or tossing a brick. But this
trip is much different. I'll have chances to play and worship, but outside of that.
I don't feel the same security I can always help out in whatever small servant-like
ways I can. Or if God is trying to tell me to serve in one way, but I miss it because
my heart is closed off. I try not to worry-and I'm really excited. I just sometimes stress
a little about how God will use me/if he will depending on how open my heart is to him.
I want to ask you to pray for me, but maybe not...instead I think you should be praying for the people I'll get to serve while I'm there and that they might see Christ in me and the rest of
the team. I guess this shouldn't be a trip about teens going down to do some stuff in Costa Rica,
but rather God working in Costa-maybe we should be removed from the place of honor in that. Does that make sense? Like that it would be all God rather than his people.
Anyways, I need to be up in like 5 hours and 30 minutes.

I love you, (insert your name here),
-Jonathan

Is the church in the show business?

I sometimes wonder if we try to put on a show at a worship service.

Like I feel like a lot of times it's easy to go on a Sunday and just expect

to be entertained by cool videos and exciting music and a sermon so we

can give an 'amen' even if we don't realize what we're saying when we say

amen. To be honest, it kind of scares me if that's what the church has come

to-meeting on Sundays to see that super-cool Jonathan kid play piano or guitar

or accordion and arrange music in weird ways just because it's fun to watch.

Not to say that I think I'm that great at any of those but I was just pulling an

example from my humble self. I think this brings me to ask if we're worshiping

tools to worship God rather than God? Are we worshiping Larry's crazy voice

or Tommy's great pastoring skills or Aaron's deep thoughts? 

And I'm not trying to act self-righteous in saying I don't do it. Because I do.

And I want to maybe address the idea. Maybe I'm completely wrong and am just

being an idiot. Maybe. Anyways any thoughts on the church becoming a show.

I was talking to a friend who's a worship leader and they were saying that when

a church gets big it has to start becoming more of a show. Maybe they're right.

Maybe. Anyways, yeah...

You Live On!

Baal our god will fall away, whose name is lust, adultery
Mammon god will fall away, whose name is riches, luxury
Beelzebul will fall away, whose name is sin, slavery
heaven and earth will pass away but You live on!
Our greed You take away, our lust You take away
our sins You take away, our friends will fade away, our logic fades away but You live on!
El Elyon!
Your Love come down today, Your Truth, Your Justice, Your Healing, Your Power, Your Mercy, Your Glory come today, Your Will be done today, in Jesus name i pray, vanity of vanities all is vanity but You live on, You live on! El Elyon!
-Psalters