the Way, the Truth, and the Life

General Motors is now officially in bankruptcy, and with all the news channel viewing I just did one channel really brought this story to the level that will most likely be overlooked in the media for awhile. The loss of blue collar, assembly plant jobs. Much of the talk had been about the whole thing in general. The large implication that the company is basically changing and starting new, and what this means on a corporate , long term level. Which is key mind you, because without a company to hire people, people can't work. But it is the affect of the bankruptcy with all the job losses that are going to happen, here in Detroit especially, that continue pushing people down and out. The ripple affect will be a wave crashing onto shore, not a mere pebble dropping in an ocean. People will leave and more resources will be stripped away from this region. For those who remain, what hope can be found? Our incomes are so important, our standard of living is indispensable ! Hope i...

When I was forced off of I-94 heading north from Detroit due to the crazy rush hour traffic, I chose my logical substitute, M-3, a.k.a. Gratiot. I have traveled this before a few times, a straight shot from the 94 Detroit Gratiot exit all the way to the family abode. This time it was different though, I had my urban planning goggles on this time, and Christ's mercy. The trench freeways in Detroit that I have been educated so much about really do a great job of masking the truth. I have heard in class, even in my undergrad courses, that the design of the freeway system was to target the worst neighborhoods and clear them out, called urban renewal. Also, in my point of view, the freeways avoid the visual mess of surface streets and neighborhoods. It was clear seeing all the struggling people, the collapsing homes and buildings, the garbage and debris, that Gratiot in Detroit was not a pleasing site. The freeways are underground to allow for a pleasant commute between downtown a...

I need to change up the style of these entries. Realizing that I write every now and then, and more so discussing massive theological breakdowns that need to be chapters, if not books on their own, I want to shorten up my writing and write about a lot more. Everyday life may enter in, massive theological breakdowns still may have a place, but I am certain that American Idol will not appear here. Like in the last sentence. Besides, my blogging sort of started with everyday observations. Writing down, or at least keeping mental notes of significant events in life would keep me fresh and aware of what God was doing in my life. I have written a lot about how the mundane or day in day out activities are not wasted gaps in our lives in between the giant choir concert or the overseas mission trip. Every moment has something to do with Jesus, and He just wants us to acknowledge that plain truth with His Spirit. When I skip over this is when life will truly become mundane, tedious. So, m...

Understanding godly freedom is a bit of a challenge for me. First, freedom has become a bit of a buzz word of sorts, like faith, grace, and the like. What comes to mind is listening to a person at church use freedom in a way that suggests that they are free even from God's commands. When I hear that, alarms go off in my head. They are not saying this directly of course, but certainly implying it, if not acting it out. This gets to my point on freedom. I struggle much thinking that we have been freed by God through Jesus. All I hear are things like: obey my commands; stop living for the self; death comes through these actions; life comes through these. What exactly are we freed from? The question is answered better by asking why we are freed. We are freed to use our freedom creatively, moving with the Spirit of God. I do not have to pull out a map anymore. With this specific action at this specific time I only need to keep two things in mind. First, Love God (do not hurt...

Lately I have been contemplating what it means to keep changing. The stress is in the word 'keep'. Realizing that God calls us to a radically different life then what we see in the world, a one and done event is never enough, God wants to keep molding us into a beautiful creation, allowing for us not to stay the same. If spiritual maturity has been reached in some fashion, then of course that is a wonderful praise filled change in our life. If we only take it as something that happened once however, we are subject to great difficulties later down the road. This happens because we feel, rightly so, that God has changed us for the better, yet we don't know what to do when new circumstances occur because we were changed under older ones, past ones. What I'm leading to is that although we may have come to God and He has pressed upon us a new way of life, this is the wonderful creative God who says I can be more than I think I am because He will give me the ability to b...

When God wants to work on you, He will use anything and take however long it takes to do so. What has surprised me lately is the amount of self awareness He has placed upon me. Prior to this self awareness, I think I was just going through the motions for a while. During a time even prior to that, not to confuse the time line, I had been learning a lot on my own by experiencing life and community in a very different manner than I have previously. So as I write, God has rescued me from a lull that for better or worse happened. It was just a time where you go to school, do work, wake up at a certain time, go to youth group Saturday night, sleep in Sunday morning, have an adventure here and there, and pause a moment and say 'didn't I just do this yesterday, not last week?!' And during this time I was being stripped of things I assumed both of myself and the world I live in. Now I'm being clothed by what God wants me to wear and how to show it off to the world. Wha...

God is always the rescuer and I am the one in need of rescuing. It is wonderful to know that God will be the one to seek me when things are rough, especially if I sin against Him. The times when I distance myself from Him out of shame is terrible because He is the one that is always pursuing, always chasing after me if I have even sinned against Him. I know no one else like that at all. To hit someone in the face and have them chase after you to get to know you and not strike back is something you do not see amongst people. As I continue to experience great transitions in my life I need to be aware that career, education, even friend transitions all mean nothing if I don't continue transitioning towards Jesus. He cannot be placed to the side while I figure out what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. Psalm 5 :1-7 ( NASB ) says: Give ear to my words, O L ORD , Consider my groaning. Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God, For to You I pray. In the morning, O L...