Something I find incredibly value and useful to the Christian life is the practice of the Creeds and the Lord’s prayer. I personally think these are incredibly powerful and worth thoughtfully repeating every morning and evening. So here they are, the Lord’s Prayer and the Apostle’s Creed:

Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and
forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
and born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
who was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended into hell.
and on the third day He rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of the Father.
From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen

Now, one of my favorite things (because I’m a bit of a geek) is reciting these same articles in Latin. This is probably incredibly silly, but I always feel like these two are more holy, more set apart, more special when we look at them in another language, especially an old and ancient one. So here they are:

Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem, Creatorem caeli et terrae,
et in Iesum Christum, Filium Eius unicum, Dominum nostrum,
qui conceptus est de Spiritu Sancto, natus ex Maria Virgine,
passus sub Pontio Pilato, crucifixus, mortuus, et sepultus,
descendit ad ínferos, tertia die resurrexit a mortuis,
ascendit ad caelos, sedet ad dexteram Patris omnipotentis,
inde venturus est iudicare vivos et mortuos.
Credo in Spiritum Sanctum,
sanctam Ecclesiam catholicam, sanctorum communionem,
remissionem peccatorum,
carnis resurrectionem,
vitam aeternam.
Amen.

Pater noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum.
Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra.
Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie, et dimitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris.
Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo.
Quia tuum est regnum, et potestas, et Gloria, in saecula.
Amen.

One other thing that I’d like to mention is a meal prayer put forth by Luther’s Small Catechism:

The eyes of all look to You, O Lord, and You give them their food at the proper time. You open Your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. [Psalm 145:15-16].
Lord God, heavenly Father, bless us and the Your gifts which we receive from Your bountiful goodness, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen

1. Esau rejoins Ishmael’s line in 28.9
2. In 28.22 Jacob promises a tenth (tithe) of all he has to God
3. In 30.1-24 Jacob’s wives (Rachel and Leah) battle it out for his affections. Even more than that, they battle for time spent between the sheets as they both want to have more children than the other.
4. In 32.22-32 Jacob wrestles with God. This is one of my favorite passages of scripture for two reasons: God comes down to see Jacob and Jacob refuses to let God leave without a blessing. Man may be nothing but dust, but God listens to his intentions and his hearts desires.

1. Would be a great nation
2. Would always be hostile toward their brothers
3. Would live east of their brothers

I find this very interesting because Ishmael is the link between Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. The prophecies also seem much like the current day Middle East. This is so interesting! This also led to me reading the Wikipedia article “Jesus in Islam” which I suggest you give a read to as well.

Some other interesting points from today’s reading are:

• Genesis 18.14 – “Is anything to hard for the LORD?” I believe it is very wise that none of us ever forget this. Nothing is to hard for God and His Christ
• Genesis 18.16-33 – Intercession works! This is such an awesome model for how we should pray and intercede before God. I think that there are truly two lessons that should be drawn from this: Always ask God for specific things and always remind God of His promises (mainly for you benefit).
• Genesis 19.30-36 – I find it interesting that Lot was the Father of his grandchildren. Incest? Maybe. But more interesting because Christ’s line goes through the Moabites who are a direct descendant of this line
• Genesis 22.14 – “The Lord Will Provide” or Jehovah-Jireh. This is just one name of God. The names of God are so important as they reveal his character. Look up the names of God and study them. God will provide! Jehovah-Jireh!

Think about that!

Day 1 was yesterday and required the reading of Genesis 1 – Genesis 6. A few verses struck me as either odd or powerful. Those verse are Genesis 3.22, 4.7, 4.26, and 6.3.

The first of these verses is Genesis 3.22:

And the Lord God said, “Now that the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, what if he should stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever!”

Now what interests me here is that it seems that God wants to prevent man from eating from the tree of life because man would become more like God, not only knowing good and evil but also living forever. Now why would God want to prevent man from living forever? Initially man was created as an eternal being (death is part of the curse) and, in retrospect, Christ died in order to clear the path for those who trust in Him to approach the Father while entering into eternal life. Obviously God is not attempting to prevent man from remaining eternal while in his current stae. Maybe God fears that man will be too God-like and dangerous if he now lives forever. But why would the omnipotent fear the limited? This is obviously not the case. Maybe God is jealous and desires that there be no created beings that resemble Him in such a manner. This cannot be the case because we are created in the Imago Dei, the Image of God (Gen. 1.26-27). Something does not make sense here.

Now, let’s think about this logically: Man ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This disobedience is referred to as the fall and brings about the curse of sin and death. This brings man into a corrupted state where he is fully aware of his nature and sinful desires. These will lead to the experiences of guilt and struggling to fulfill and follow God’s law. Living eternally in this state would not be desirable, let only bearable, for most. God, in His great mercy, prevents man from eating for the tree of life in order to spare him the difficulty, pain, and guilt of bearing the knowledge of good and evil for all eternity while in his corrupted and sinful state. Instead this experience is limited to man’s earthly lifetime. So, basically, preventing man from eating from the Tree of Life does not occur out of jealousy or fear but out of a sincere desire to free and protect His creation from the struggle of sin, death, and guilt.

The second verse to consider is Genesis 4.7:

If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”

This verse is simply powerful and a recommendation to master the sin in your life and control it. This also gives me hope that while I am a sinful being I can still struggle and fight against sin with God’s help. I can master sin and I can do what is right and I can be acceptable to God – but only with His help. Isn’t it wonderful that His help turns out to be Christ – the great intercessor between God and man that has purified those who come to Him?

The third verse is Genesis 4.26:

At that time men began to call on the name of the Lord

What an interesting verse. At first I thought that this was referring to some kind of personal or corporate worship. But after reading some commentaries (here) I believe that this refers to the idea that men, for the first time, were distinguished by who they believed and worshiped. Those who worshiped God were called by His name and others were not.

The final verse is Genesis 6.3:

Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

I find this interesting because in the verses immediately following it man still lives for more than a 120 years! It must be that, after doing some research, that I still am not sure exactly how to take this verse. Go figure!

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must belive that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. -Hebrews 11.6

This is very challenging because it is something that I struggle with deeply. It’s just hard to have faith. I find that it is so much easier to lean on myself, on knowledge, and a plethora of other things. But the truth is that our only security comes from Christ.

I have recently found myself not trusting Christ and not having faith. This economy is a mess – not only in the US but worldwide. Our money is slowly becoming worthless. Our freedoms are slowly being taken away. Our morals are eroding.

It’s scary if you don’t have faith. This world is corrupt and hard. We are fragile and so small compared to the rest of creation. We are at the mercy of others and nature. It’s terrifying without God.

So this will be my new daily challenge: To fully put my faith in Christ, trusting in His sovereignty and goodness.

The message was about Saul and how he was the kind of man who always “almost” obeyed God. Saul seemed to always come close but never quite get there. I’ll let you listen to the podcast for more details. What I’d really like to share is how this applies to me.

I always thought I’d live a life with few regrets at most. As I was listening to this sermon this morning God brought a specific instance to mind. He cleary said, “Rob, you disobeyed me when you chose not to pursue your PhD at Virginia Tech.” For quite a long time I have been haunted by the fact that I have not gone on to PhD studies. The last few months has confirmed quite clearly that I should be going on to this. How has God confirmed this in my life?

1. I’m thankful for my job, but it doesn’t fit me, my personality, or my passions.
2. He’s given me the sense that it is time to leave Bowling Green and that my leaving is a good thing (though quite bittersweet)
3. He’s forced my hand through recent health issues that have led to me re-applying to PhD programs.

The only regret I now have about this is that I didn’t go to Virginia Tech in the first place and that I didn’t re-apply this time around! Don’t get me wrong, much good has come from me staying in BG. I credit all of this good to a simple truth about God : “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8.28

My God is good. My calling is sure. My purpose is clear. Thank God.

In May of 2007 I graduated with a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from Bowling Green State University. I was all set to head to Virginia Tech to finish my PhD, but that never happened because, well, I was totally burnt out from pushing so hard the last few years. So time passed, I went through couple of jobs and now work as a web developer at a full service communications firm. I’ve also become a Deacon in my church and have been given the post of Technical Director at the same church. I have a good girlfriend and great community but, truth be told, I am unhappy and this has recently come out in a number of ways. The most obvious of which has been my recent battle with anxiety and anxiety attacks. (It’s funny that God always knows exactly how to get your attention) A result of this has been my re-discovery of who I am and where I should be in order to fulfill God’s will in my life while satiating the desires that He has placed in my heart. In other words, it is time for me to pursue my legacy. The only legacy that I can imagine leaving behind is one that is built around the passions that Christ has placed in my life. Thus, in order to shape my legacy, I must know my passions. What are these passions?

The first of my passions is knowledge. I am a reader. I read ferociously and ravenously. I gather, sift, and sort knowledge constantly. I always attempt to move knowledge into wisdom. I believe in truth above all things and value truth above almost all things. I have no fear in exploring new ideas. I am not afraid to speak the truth when it hurts myself or others (I am trying to get a little more tactful at this ). I believe in knowledge and wisdom and I pursue them with passion.

The second of my passions is education. My passion for knowledge is expressed through sharing. I love nothing more than speaking and writing about what I know. I do not do this to force my opinion upon others. No, I do this in order to make people think. I do this in order to make people question me as well as their own beliefs. I am not afraid of being wrong. I welcome criticism. I want truth, I want it to be known, and I want it to be shared with others. I also believe that education is the single and most powerful means of setting people free or enslaving them. I think we see both of these things in our times. Some set people free through education and knowledge. Others enslave people through half truths and lies. This must stop.

The third of my passions is technology. Let’s be honest – computers are just cool. Programming is just fun. The best thing about technology is applying it to solve new problems in order to help people, further knowledge, and improve society. I will say that I work with technology everyday, but the business world allows little freedom for research and education. My job is sucking me dry. It brings me no pleasure. Work is simply using a cookie cutter approach to produce the same result over and over in order to make the people who pay me some money. This is not my cup of tea. Sadly, this is a passion that I will always have, but I also find it constantly waning in my life.

The fourth passion that I have is economics. Why? Economics effects our lives at every level. It is complicated, it is messy, but there is also a severe amount of truth in economics and these truths are not just simple truths. These truths give us insight into everyday life and how Christ intended this earth and its people to function and interact on a day to day basis. Sadly, this is an area where we have all been lied to for years. Thank you John Meynard Keynes for filling our minds with lies. I truly believe that real economics falls in the realm of Austrian economics and I believe that this type of economic thought must be taught in order to save our society and our world.

Now how do these four passions combine to define a legacy? My legacy will be simple and I believe it can be summed up in a small credo: To Seek, To Teach, To Lead. I will seek the truth always in all things I do. I will not settle for lies and I will not be content when truth does not win out. I will not be silenced but I will speak truth boldy and without fear wether it is in the classroom or in the street or in the workplace. I will always seek more truth and I will not be content to simply know something. I will seek understanding. I will seek to share what knowledge and wisdom that I have with others on any occassion that I can while using as much discretion and tact as is possible.

How does pursuing this legacy translate into real world action:

1. Taking some basic course in economics
2. Being politically active on a continuing basis
3. Continually writing on this blog in order to share ideas, teach others, and to generate debate
4. Attempting to educate church members in Economics
5. Going back to school to finish my PhD (Computer Science, Economics, or Both)
6. Teaching and Researching while in graduate school
7. Teaching and Researching in an University environment once I graduate

So hopefully I’ll keep my life centered on Jesus Christ and this list!

So there you have it: To Seek, To Teach, To Lead! (Petare, Erudire, Ducere!)

So let’s start with the question that David asks as the end of chapter 1: “What are your areas of struggle as a Christian? Who in scripture encourages you that you are not alone in these particular struggles?” I think this is a very important question to ask for two reasons: First, it lays our Christianity bare. The revelation of our struggle drives us to rely on Christ for grace and sufficiency. Doesn’t this immediately remind you of 2 Corinthians 12.9 :

“And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”

Second, this revelation allows us to honestly evaluate ourselves and to make an honest measure of our abilities. I am not perfect and neither are you. But I am good at things that you aren’t and you’ll do much better than me at many things. We’re not perfect, we’re not all the same. We’re different and we have different strengths and weaknesses. Christ has made us to complement each other in ways that we cannot even understand. Difference is the spice of life my friends.

Now, on to the second part of the question. The only thing that I want to point out here is that God did not use perfect people. Let’s count the murderers, prostitutes, poor men, disabled men, middle and lower class men, pharisees, guards, and priests that Christ has used over the years. And let’s not forget all those He has used who are arrogant, blasphemous, liers, cheaters, adulterers, theives, and the like. God does not use perfect vessels to accomplish His will. No, He perfects His vessels as they continue seeking His face and doing His will.

“Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” -Romans 5.3-5

This verse amazes me because it hones in a very defining characteristic of human nature: HOPE. But there is something new in this verse that has caught my eye. Did you ever realize hope is actually painful? Look at the process that this verse defines in order to reach hope:

suffering -> perserverance -> character -> hope.

Isn’t that crazy? The process of clinging onto and attaining true and reliable hope is actually an extremely painful process. But let me tell you that it is absolutely worth it! There is so much more that I could say about this verse, about perserverance, about building character, and about standing firm and building a life worth living – and maybe eventually I will. Who knows, but until then continue standing firm in your faith!!!