A massive storm from Indiana rolled through Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky as Trista, Courtney and I drove to the Florence Mall (Trista wanted to do some shopping). It was so beautiful coming in. Courtney, terrified of storms, said, "Isn't it so eerie?" "Yeah," I said. "It's freaking gorgeous." After we finished shopping at the Mall, we ate at Smoky Bones Barbecue near the mall. I've never had barbecue that tasted so amazing; Trista and I shared some ribs and thought they were fantastic. The beans tasted delicious, the fries were just right, and even the garlic bread was out-of-this-world. In my Paul class we continued our exploration of unity within the church, and I may post my notes (very jumbled, because Jamie Smith jumps around in his thoughts a lot, but his thoughts--nonetheless--are very intriguing) on here sometime soon. Courtney and I ate lunch together in the coffee shop, and I've been packing up most of my room today so I don't need to worry about it later. I'm taking a break and listening to U2. We're going to the mall again later so I can get a new pair of flip-flops from Old Navy.

On one of my friends' blogs, a question was asked: "What do we do about the person who has 'said the prayer' but does not live his life for Jesus? Or what about the person who has never said a prayer but lives more Christlike than most Christians?" I don't claim to have an answer for this, only some thoughts. Courtney and I went to Barnes and Nobles last week, and we were talking about the nature of salvation, the whole "who's-in and who's-out" deal (as rigid as that may sound, please just give me a moment!). We both believe that salvation comes through the blood of Christ alone, and that all those who hear the message of the gospel have a choice to either embrace it or reject it: if one embraces the gospel message--thus embracing Christ--salvation has become known in their life; the person who rejects the gospel message--and thus rejects Christ--rejects salvation. As for those who never hear the gospel message, that is up to God to decide, not us. The question is then raised, "What about people who have come to faith in Christ but struggle immensely with living the so-called 'Christian life' compared to people who do not believe Christ is the Son of God but live more like Christ than most Christians?" I have thought about this a lot the past month, and I am reminded that salvation comes through faith, not by works, and no person will ever experience salvation by following the teachings of Christ (and no person will lose his or her salvation if he or she does not measure up to Christ's teachings perfectly).

Last Sunday I had the privilege of once again teaching the High School class at church. I taught on Hebrews 5 (the youth minister, Larry, is taking the students through the anonymous letter to the Hebrews). Much of Hebrews 5 focuses on Christ as true High Priest. I taught a little bit on the person and role of the Jewish High Priest based on Mosaic Law and as experienced in the days of Christ (2nd Temple Judaism). I then compared Jesus to the person and role of the Jewish High Priest, noting two similarities: just as the High Priest stood between the people and God and offered sacrifices to appease God's wrath, so Christ stands between God's people and God, his eternal sacrifice consuming all of God's wrath so that those who come to faith in Christ can call themselves the children of God.