Life has been good. We're almost done with studying the prophet Isaiah in O.T. Prophecy, and my postmodernism paper in Advanced Communications went well. I have to write a paper tonight on the parousia described in 1 Thess 4.13-18; it should be a really good paper, I've learned a lot, and I plan on studying the other major prophecies regarding the parousia (perhaps with exception to Revelation, for it's so hotly debated to as exactly what it is about!). Tomorrow evening I am going to write next week's lesson on the prophet Amos and social injustice, and Friday I work but have no class. It will be great.

On Tuesday my alarm went off an hour late for class, so I missed it. Tim was supposed to call me at 8:00 to make sure I would not be late four our 8:30 class, but he did not. I think this is either my third or fourth missed, but Tim insists that it's my fifth, and we are only allowed to miss four days of class. I'll find out tomorrow if I've been dropped. If I have been, I will ask for re-enlistment and try to talk him into letting me back in. This is one of my favorite classes, and it's needed to take one of my classes next semester, so I don't want to miss that. But if it's dropped... Oh well. I've only missed days for sickness, so I can't say that I was just a lazy procrastinator. Sometimes bad luck just hits us in the face.

Here is my schedule for next semester:

1) Introduction to Paul & the N.T. Letters (Smith, the Aussie)
2) Introduction to the Gospels (Weatherly)
3) Basic Bible Doctrines (Pressley)
4) Modern Ethical Problems (Pressley)
5) The Life of David (Dyke)
* "Prayer and Spirituality" (an early week class I hope to talk my parents into letting me take!)

Julie convinced me to go to chapel today; Dr. Faust spoke on Matthew 6, specifically on not worrying. He said something I really found inspiring: "For those of you who worry about finding a mate, God knows your need, and He will provide for you what you need so long as you seek first Him and His kingdom." Have I been seeking first God's kingdom, or have I been seeking first my own? All too often my selfishness gets in the way; I find myself trying to somehow placate God into giving me what I want. I think we are all guilty of this; it is human nature. God understands this, and He still loves us despite what He sees in our hearts.

Christmas is coming, and I need to start thinking of ideas. Here's what I've kind of came up with (so far), and they're all movies: The Matrix Trilogy, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and The Blade Trilogy (all widescreen edition DVDs, of course!). I would also like Augustine's "The City of God." I am still reading through "The Confessions," and today I read some of the Apocrypha (the Wisdom of Solomon, and the Wisdom of Jesus Son of Sirach). Pretty good stuff, I'm not even going to lie. Am I a heretic for saying that? Perhaps!

This week has been going really well. I really enjoyed yesterday, but today I have to write one paper and do research for another, and I doubt that will be extremely exciting. Oh well.

I've picked up a good book I want to read: "What Now?" It's a book that deals with lots of the circumstances with the adult life and how to deal with them with God's help and guidance. It should be a good one.

I expected at least one comment on my "controversial" last post, but that's okay. Not everyone has an interest in theology like I do. I need to remember that.

My weekend went well. Friday night I watched "The Matrix" and "Batman Begins." On Saturday, a bunch of my friends came over and we relaxed outside and went to the Garage to hang out. Saturday night Hague and Chris spent the night; we watched "28 Days Later" and listened to music online. Hague and I had a really good conversation about heaven, hell, the universe, aliens, and everything in-between. On Sunday I taught the lesson on Jonah, picked up my contacts, hung out with Hague, Chris, and Dewenter at my place, then Julie picked me up and took me back to campus. "I can finally say that I like being your friend more than I liked dating you." This has been quite liberating. I went to O'Charley's with Jessica, and she bought me a big jug of mints to help me quit smoking.

I have spent my day thus far working, going to class, and doing some extra study on Hosea and Joel. I plan on studying a little more on Amos later, perhaps tonight. Jess and I might be going out tonight, but I don't know.

I heard a great quote the other day. "Eve may have been deceived into sin, but Adam sinned with his eyes wide open."

Many of my friends (Kyle, Nate, Andrew, Lizzie, Emily, and some others) were in Florida all last week for the soccer national championship. The boys placed fifth and the girls placed fourth. Nevertheless, it was well worth it, as this astounding photograph (taken by Heather) shows:

"What is the Baptism of Fire?"

I was having a conversation with a friend of mine when he said, “We need to pray that God will baptize us in fire.” I found it very interesting, because I hold a different view of what “the baptism of fire” really is. I did some studying and found that there are three popular views regarding what the “baptism of fire” really is.

The idea of a “baptism of fire” primarily comes out of a text in the New Testament, where John the Dipper says of Jesus, “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” (Luke 3.16)

The first view states that Christians will automatically be “baptized with fire” at the same time that they are baptized with the Holy Spirit. Essentially, being baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire is essentially one act. This view states that the “tongues of fire” coming upon the Apostles at Pentecost is symbolic of the baptism of fire and the baptism of the Holy Spirit happen at the same time. They are inseparable.

The second view states that the “baptism of fire” is significantly different from the “baptism of the Holy Spirit” which all Christians experience. This “baptism of fire” is not experienced by every Christian. “What is the purpose of this baptism of fire?” Simply to “set us on fire” for God. I believe this is the view my friend holds, and his praying for a “baptism of fire” makes sense in this interpretation.

The third view (and the one I hold) is that the “baptism of fire” is a baptism that those who are not God’s people will go through. God’s people experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but those without God will, in the future, experience a “baptism of fire.” It is the judgment of God upon those who are not His people through Christ. It is definitely not something we want to pray for! Why do I think this is what John the Dipper is talking about? Let me give you a few reasons why I think this is the most appropriate interpretation:

First, this interpretation is supported by the context. In the context of this verse, we see one group of people who have confessed their sins and a group of people who have not (whom John calls, in a very derogative way, “Brood of vipers!”, one of the greatest insults of the day). Therefore, there were two kinds of people to whom John was speaking. This passage has tons of parallelism. We have the righteous people and the unrighteous, and we have a baptism of the Holy Spirit and a baptism of fire. This parallelism seems to support the view that the “baptism of fire” refers to God’s judgment on the unrighteous (remember, we are only righteous “in Christ”; our own righteousness is like filthy rags).

Second, we need to look at the meaning of the word “fire” in the context. John points out that every “tree” (person) which does not produce the fruit of repentance will be “thrown into the fire.” This fire of judgment is followed by a “baptism of fire,” which is followed by the “unquenchable fire of judgment.” With the expert use of parallelism in this passage, it makes sense that the meaning of “fire” in the first and third usages are no different than the second usage (“baptism of fire”). In verse 12, John specifically gave an explanation of the word “fire”: it is the fire of judgment.

an email from Obadiah

For a while I was a chief officer under King Ahab. I even met Elijah once, but I was rather unsympathetic towards him! A little while later, God grabbed me and really changed me. He sent me from my home in Israel down into Judah, specifically to the people of Edom.

You know the people of Edom, don't you? The Edomites are a very rugged, very individualistic, very prideful people. They live in the rocks and use them for their refuge. They live harsh lives, and they call themselves the gods of the land. They are totally ignorant of God and His ways--just as I used to be! No one really cares for them very much, so I was a little scared when God told me to go to them! But go to them I did, and I delivered God's message to them.

Sometime before my ministry, Edom rebelled against Judah (some of God's people), and at the same time Arabia and Philistia decided to lay waste to much of the land. The Edomites gloated in the ravaging of Judah, which really made God angry. It made God angry because the Edomites are descendents of Esau, the brother of Jacob, from whom the Judeans are descended. God is very upset when brothers do not treat brothers accordingly. I told the Edomites that God was upset and that God was going to judge them, and judge them harshly. I told them, "Because of how you treated Judah--and because of your arrogant pride--God is going to lay waste to your strongholds and even to your peoples! You can run, and you can try to hide, but God will chase you... and He will find you."

His judgment of them took place in three stages. First, the Arabic Nabataeans came in and invaded their fortresses, scattering the Edomites. Second, the Jews moved into the land and circumcised the Edomites (King Herod, remember, was half-Jew and half-Edomite because of this!). Third, the Romans completely wiped them out A.D. 73. The bottom line: don't screw with God, He'll screw you up.

Despite the message I preached and the hostility I encountered, I really enjoyed the scenery of Edom. Check out this picture I took of Sela (modern-day Petra):

on smoking

About a year and a half ago, I had my first cigar. “I’ll only have one every once and a while,” I told myself. That did not last very long. I found that I really enjoyed smoking, and when times of depression hit hard, the cigar relaxed and calmed me like nothing else in the world. It began taking over my life. Whenever I had something to celebrate, I would not celebrate God in worship; rather, I would light one up. Whenever life treated me harsh, I did not go to God in prayer; rather, I would drown my sadness in tobacco. The question, “Is this a sin or not?” always hovered at the back of my mind. Even now I really do not have an answer to that question, but I’ve decided to “drop the habit” once-and-for-all for several reasons.

The first reason is a biblical one. When my friend Alex took me out to buy a pack of cigars one night, he quoted to me 1 Cor 6. 12: “Everything is allowable for me, but not all things are good for me to do. Everything is lawful for me, but I will not become the slave of anything or be brought under its power.” He warned me, “Just don’t become addicted, man.” Yet I was already addicted. God clearly does not want us to be enslaved to anything, and nicotine may be the most addictive substance on the planet (maybe even more addictive than heroin). When we become addicted to something, especially something harmful and dangerous, I believe that we should cut ourselves off from it. Smoking has become addictive to me. Perhaps if I used it in moderation this would be a moot point, but that just is not the case.

The second reason has to do with the convictions upon my life. Over the summer, God intensely convicted me to abandon smoking: “It’s just going to ruin your life! This isn’t My desire for you!” I tried but failed, and when a bout of depression hit, smoking became my avenue of escape. I continued smoking, and then when I got into a relationship with Julie, God (again) (through her), convicted me to stop smoking. I did, but when Julie broke up with me, those convictions were forgotten. Quite recently, through some scripture we read in my Hermeneutics class, God has again brought His convictions to the front door: “You need to stop this!”

The third reason is tied into the second. Because I have been rebelliously ignoring God, He has disciplined me. He is our Good Shepherd: His rod and staff are upon us. His staff guides us, and His rod disciplines us. When God’s people continue to rebel against Him when He continuously demands their repentance in certain spheres of life, He brings judgment (or “discipline”, as the author of Hebrews views it) upon them to get their attention (“Hey, this is serious business!”) and to propel them towards repentance. On the day I wrecked my Jeep, I left campus for the sole intent of smoking (ironically, the great damage done to the car left me unscathed). Many of my friends kept telling me, “If you hadn’t been smoking, this wouldn’t have happened!” Was this an act of discipline from God, a way of getting my attention? I’m not sure. I do know the idea is not unbiblical at all.

The fourth reason is that I do not want to ruin God’s plans for my life. I believe God wants me to advance His kingdom here on this earth, and if I am lying in a hospital bed dying of lung cancer, how well am I doing with the mission which He has entrusted me with? Also, I believe it is God’s plan for my life for me to be a good husband and a good father. How will I be a good husband if I leave my wife prematurely, or a good father if I die early, because of my smoking addiction? How will I be a good husband and a good father if my addiction pollutes my family’s lungs with poisons?

So that’s why I have decided, finally (to the relief of many friends and family members), to abandon smoking. It is a personal decision, and I do not expect any of my smoking friends to adhere to it, though I know they will respect me. My hope and prayer is that God will help me through this time of coming suffering (for getting over a nicotine addiction is nothing easy), and I hope and pray that my friends and family will encourage me and pray for me as I seek to conform to God’s will.

Good night.

I have class in five minutes, so I will try to make this short.

One of my friends confessed, "I have feelings for you." I played with the idea of dating her, but decided it would not be a good idea because, simply, I do not have feelings for her. She is a wonderful, fantastic, God-fearing girl, but the marrow of the bone is that I am not attracted to her in a romantic sense.I had the unfortunate experience of telling her, "I don't have romantic feelings for you. I am sorry." We are still friends, and for that I am thankful. Now I know, I guess, how it feels to be where Julie was two-three weeks ago!

Studying the prophet Isaiah is hard. His work is so complex! All the issues surrounding the text don't make things easier ("Who wrote it?" "When was it written?" "Were parts of it copied from 2 Kings or vice versa?"). However, I really do enjoy studying it despite its difficulties. I am excited about (and dreading) the study of the prophet Ezekiel. I read it once and nearly died from confusion. We'll see how it goes the second time around.

One of my professors said today, "Jesus was a liberal." Lots of students got really offended. It was beautiful.

And I am late for class.