On Two Feet

Strengthen the feeble hands steady the knees that give way… (Isaiah 35:3,NIV)

In Anthropology, I learned that we hominoids (or humans, shall we say) are the only ones who exhibit bipedalism, the ability to walk erect in two feet. Other great apes can do that, but only for a short time. Apparently, this links us more with the primates (which I believe it is not true) and affirms our relationship with them (which I still believe this is bogus…but I’m not up for discussing the evolutionary process again…)

This idea struck me as an analogy: God made us able to walk on two feet. Unfortunately, it seems that I’m working to look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame with no reluctance! Another unfortunate case, sometimes it seems that I love the ground. Disappointment, fears, hopes and guilt can be so haranguing, and its weight can seem unbearable to lift up. If He made us able to walk on all fours, maybe the weight could be more bearable…

But it wasn’t on His purpose! God only gave us two feet and two hands with opposable, gripping thumbs for circumstances of His infinite knowledge. For me, we’re the only beings with reasoning. We show emotions and learning, whereas animals do everything for this and solely instinct. Animals need God for provision; we need God for our souls.

He gave us the capability to stand up ALL the time, but there are other things. As we sin or as we grieve, God still extends His hand when we need Him to stand up. We will always need the aid of someone to lift up and strengthen our hands. We have friends, family, church people, etc. who can help us on our journey. More than that –and they are important- is God Himself, who created us with two feet to show us how strong are we with Him only.

Because I Believe

(Been thinking about this. My first try at being an apologist.)

I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. (John 17:14, NIV)

I’m not ashamed with the fact of being a Christian. No! (I don’t want to be subjective, but…) It’s the best thing I’ve done in my life! I know that I don’t need to live a life of limits; with Jesus, this is almost nonexistent. Yet, just because I believe…

I’m not a monk, nor do I live in a cloister. I live in a world that decays waiting for a new Heavens to rest.
It doesn’t mean that I can’t hear the same music that people hear, or the same styles that people hear….Though I don’t like that much anymore.

I don’t have to live a double life, but I don’t have to say everything that I do.

Even that I have a chronic problem with guilt, God has absolved me. HE and only HE holds me. (Get the reference?)

It doesn’t mean that I can’t play video games (I haven’t done that in a while!), nor dance (I don’t have a problem with that) or party…erm….rejoice with friends.

Fail-Proof King

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (Romans 8:37,NIV)

I’m grateful that I’ve found my Fail-Proof King. Or at least, He found me.

Moments like this remind me that I seem to be writing to the wind, or spreading a seed with heavy uncertainty. Who’s willing to take it? I do not know, but God will do His best. Sometimes, it is hard not to think if all of this fails. Unfortunately, an “if” factor is hanging around my neck: what if I do this or that, or so-and-so, and it fails?

It is simple comedy when we see something we consider “epic fail”. T-shirts, bad reactions, figure skating wipeouts, and even Christian side hugs are on the list that we consider a “fail”. (With the latter, I’m pondering about it…) When they throw these things to the eyes of the world, we will look at them in a seemingly odd way. We will have also made a conclusion: fail or not, and there is no guarantee to that either.

With my “personal projects” (which most of them involve writing), I also have no guarantee of them being a success or a fail. Therefore, I rely on God who made us more than conquerors. Even if it looks like I’m writing to the wind, or spreading the Word to concrete walls, or even singing to people who don’t wish to open their hearts, I still have a Fail-Proof King on my side. What the world considers “fail”, it may be that same thing God was looking for another person, or for myself.

As I said earlier, I’m grateful that I’ve found my Fail-Proof King. Or at least, He found me.

Stand Alone

(Based on Job 23.)

My flesh drives out in agony
I can’t find You near the east or the west
I can’t reach alone the north or the south

For I know that You stand alone
But I alone can’t stand without You
For I know that You’re over me
But I can’t reign over my head without You

You will know the way I take
Testing comes, I will be forth as gold
My feet closely followed Your steps

Heavy hands in spite of groans
I haven’t lost me from Your law
You do what You please

Even if I had right attitude
Alone I can’t go nowhere
You may carry decrees against me
But I’ll never be silenced by the dark

Give it Up!

Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. (Psalm 51:2,NIV)

Ah… The sweet sounds of a new day! Then, why do I feel different?

Oh, yeah! I saw my friends again, and I finally can make up the work I needed to do. Although, the joy cancelled out when I unknowingly lied to some of my friends where I was leaving (I was going to Orlando, not to Puerto Rico). Either then, I told a rude comment to another friend of mine…in English. Details can be told, but it’s not important… Truth is, I sinned…badly.

I trust in a God who cleans and washes sin. But I also believe in a just and holy God, whom disciplines us while cleaning us from the inside out. Now that the (actual) Lent starts, I want to give up sin. (I know; I don’t hold much of its traditions, yadda yadda…) In truth, I want to give up sin for GOOD!

I don’t know where to start. (Cue “fasting”, “prayer”, “Bible”, and the clichéd responses whose truths are evident.) What cliché will answer my plea? There are a lot of things I want to give up, but it’s easy to become vocal and do nothing about it. Sin is one of those suckers that taint our day. Are we perfect, or even faultless? I do not expect to be faultless; I do expect to be blameless.

I am justified by grace, nothing more, not by our own. This is where surrender starts to rush in: when we realize that we’re impotent to do ANYTHING on our known; we know then that we need Somebody to puke and purge us out of anything that undermines Himself. I will to be puked and purged until I conform to Him. Fear sets in, fear collides, but nothing can take me away from Him. I know that He stands alone, but I know I can’t stand without Him.

I’m willing to give up the act.

How I Got My Groove Back

…Who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. (Psalm 103:5,NIV)
I’m in a good mood today. I’m grateful that I’m here, alive and kicking, knowing Jesus and living life. It’s crazy to see that I wasn’t born to lag out or even to sit on a corner and cry…Even if circumstances say otherwise. For the first time in a while, I feel like a normal teenager.

Teenagers whine and beg and grovel and rationalize for money. They yelp and holler “It’s not fair!” or “You ruin my life!” or (in the stupidest of cases) “I hate you!” They slam doors and get moody. They even get annoying as the fiery pits of Hell when women are on… those fateful days and men when…they can’t keep it up themselves. (I should be thrifty on euphemisms, I’m a Christian…)

I’m thankful for what God has done. He gave me a social life. In Puerto Rico, I went with my friends to places. I enjoyed it-to an extent, but I loved it. I used to go to many towns with my church friends; we used to do things in season and out of season. I finally went out to eat with my friends at lunchtime. I still wasn’t that much of a social butterfly, but at least I had friends and companions.

In an unexpected turn of events, I’m in America. I find myself pleading my case (or the Fifth…depends) for the things that I want. I get annoying (who doesn’t?) and have weird habits (God, help me!). I don’t need to act like a diva in order to get what I want (or in the least, a “no”), and there are still fears that I need to conquer. Other than that, I feel more of a teenager; I feel that I can achieve more. I’m happy and glad that I get to do things that I could think inconceivable. Crazy things can’t elude my thinking, but now I know that Jesus will conquer over my head again.

Thank You, Lord, for getting my youth back. I can write more, but I’ll leave it that way.

Made To Love

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13, NIV)

Love is… Hmm…

I recognize that I am doing a worthy cliché. Better said about loving than done about loving… in actuality. Never dying, never vain, never folly, love will invade us every day of our lives.

Love is more than the cross.
It is more than a mushy romance song.
It is more than a duty.
It is more than sex, it is more than pain.
It is more than being nice to everybody, being holy, righteous, Mr. Thou-shalt-not-talk-to-u-because-I’m-full-of-grace (or Mrs… hehe)

Love never stops dreaming, not even when it’s pressured by dreams.

It is actually the catalyst of life. More than the cross, it is actually the reason the cross exists. More than romance, it is actually the impulse for romance. More than a duty, it is a pleasure and a delight to show what we’re made of. More than sex, it is actually the main idea for consummation- if done properly. More than pain, it is the one who carries us into the light. More than a quality, it is a lifestyle. Think of it as… worship of some sorts.

I guess God made us to love. Sing, preach, think about it, love is always there. We even do crazy things because we love someone or something! If we were made to love, then I guess something’s going on right! We have “butterflies in our stomachs” when we fall in love, but we can’t be done away with love. This world was created by love, and more than the greatest love story ever told on humankind, it is a living covenant remade to His kindling.

We were made to love, so let’s celebrate it-every day! Love won’t die, love won’t cheat, love won’t fail!

¡Felíz Día de San Valentín!
Happy Valentine’s Day!

(By the way, my prayers go to the family of Nodar Kumaritashvili, who died yesterday on the luge track on Whistler, just a few hours from the opening of the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. May God give strengths to the family and to his nation, Georgia.)

 

 

Why I Can't Love (But Now I Can!)

We now continue back to talking about love.

I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. (Romans 7:19, NIV)
I was talking with one of my friends on my cell phone. We talked about various things, while he was watching anime and I was idling in my room after writing up some songs in the computer. I heard weird clips on YouTube, including one exalting... sexual parts (I can be oh, so explicit) and a heavy metal song (I guess it’s “Night of the Hormones” or something close. I have problems with the distorted lyrics, but not much else). Overall, it surprised me that he’d call at night. (He also called me in the afternoon.)

A few hours ago, however, some words that I said to God still haunt me: “I can’t love You”. I don’t know why I said that or thought about that. Allow me to explain: I can’t love God in my sinful condition. I know that God loves me, but how can I love Him? After all, we can’t love the Lord if He does not wish to open our eyes and show His love for us. I felt that maybe I was rejecting Him. This is the time I’m punishing myself for being that stupid! How can’t I love God if He loved me first?

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8, NIV)
Where am I failing? Is my love growing cold? Right now, I’m tired and writing up something while hearing music and finding a lotion for my aching heart. Moments like these I hate deeply; the make me seem frail and weekly and divided by myself. But moments like these make me realize that simple truth: I can’t love God without Him showing love. And He does-every day of my life!

Simple doubt can ruin a moment, a day and even a whole life! But Jesus has come to restore and put everything back in its order again. Was I ready for His ways? No! Who isn’t! But was I ready to love Him- even less!

But I am willing to overcome that. I will love God with all I have, because of not only what I have today, but where I will rest tomorrow…maybe, in His arms of Heaven.

Without Love

We interrupt our conversations on love to bring this devotion…

By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." (Genesis 3:19, NIV)

In Brazil, the mighty sounds of dancers and revelers cease at the swoop of the midnight. In Trinidad and Tobago, chirpers and sliders on swimsuit-and-lentil costumes stop their movements when the clock strikes. The green, purple and gold beads stop at the end of Fat Tuesday. Spain, France, Italy, Quebec… they are heading to their homes and noting it is the point of no return.

It is now Ash Wednesday, the first day in the start of Lent. Lent (or Cuaresma, as I know them in Spanish) is forty days of fasting and introspection, ceasing the goods of temporary pleasures in order to reflect on the mighty cross of Jesus. It is austerity shown in a month and a near half.

Is it funny that I’m not pretty much of an ascetic –except for fasting (I need to work on that one!) I don’t have to fast every day for forty days to show God I want to change my ways. I don’t have to stop eating pork and meat in order to stick to a strict regimen of fish and veggies (though, sometimes Mami makes fish on Good Friday) because I know there’s no difference. Not even did I have o worry about having ash sprinkled on my forehead signifying that I will return to dust at death! I didn’t grow up with many requirements to celebrating Lent, not even Ash Wednesday; I did grow up, in fact, growing to respect what God has done for us every day of the year.

But I come up with this: What will die out? What is the purpose of rites and ceremonies I consider frivolous and unnecessary? (I respect many traditions that Lent holds.) Will the dust become to more dust? The course we run is yea rugged, words cannot even explain. Our sins are tallied in a way that we cannot even get close without dying ourselves. That was destroyed yet long ago, when Jesus chose to be made dust with no need to. It is true, to dust we return… Even better, we will return to the One who created eternity! The dust is settled, pardon my pun! I love You so, Jesus, that death will not impede my blameless future with You.

New Mamut Takes On Logo!

This is my new logo. I remembered that when I saw one of my next-to-last posts I wrote when I was in Florida.

The post I wrote about a while ago is NOT a take-on. Ok? You notice it? Now, there will be a few changes: take-ons will be given on Fridays, not on Mondays. This week remaining, I will do my best to talk about love.

For now, there's no school because of an incoming snowstorm zipping through the Northeast (again! Missed the Super Bowl!) This time, I'll pray to see that the Internet doesn't leave (Lord, please don't make the internet go kaput again!) and keep writing.

Oh! And I may also do my favorite songs thing that I had back on the CW. (Although, I do post some songs on certain writings...) Oh, well! I will post one of the songs that I now love, "Whispers in the Dark" by Skillet.

Blessings from Maryland,
Joe

The Wiser

Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. (1 Corinthians 1:20, 21, NIV)

There are things that I do not dare to do, not even in a million years. Like a tub full of tarantulas. Do not even think I will dare to do that! (Unless there was prize money involved or… Greedy! I mean, if someone needed to be saved from said tub full of tarantulas…) In another example, music goes to mind. What many things I’ve known to be worldly are those things that I like? Or are those things just illusions of a bigger thing God wants for me? Ugh! I asked God for freedom, but now I’m in a tumble…

Again, I repeat: God commands us to do things that are crazy for many people. And yet, where is the wise? Where is the fool? Where’s the simple idiot, per the fashion of Dumb and Dumberer? He picks those as a rebuke to those who think rule everything. Still… we must not be of too much self-esteem, which can reach the counsels of pride. I know that God will do everything in His power to fulfill and overcome what makes me feel weirdly uncomfortable…

What guides my life? What obstructs my path with Jesus? It is complicated. (At this point, ranting is what seems to be in my interest.) Right now, I feel like guilt is tormenting me. Apart from that, it can be any fear of complacency, of disapproval, of being solely a pawn that everybody can pick apart. I’m a fool… and yet, God chose me. I’m not a pawn of the devil (middle finger of grammar!) anymore, no albeit, no regret. What are the things that drag me down? I repent from them. For now, I have no idea how will life work. For now, I’ll just wait for the Wiser to tell me.

Mamut Takes On: Welcome, Jerry! (And Give Me Your Gloves!)

While I am writing, I do not feel well with myself. Something I thought of while text-messaging my best friend just went awry within me. In between watching “Maury” and getting up the stairs of the Orlando townhouse asking Jesus for forgiveness on a quiet place, I will focus my energy on one thing I do remember from yesteryear: trash TV.

I will unfortunately depart from my usual devotionals to criticize –and then preach to myself- the guilty pleasure that is watching two women fight for a man who has cheated on half the state of Illinois or the small porn-laded woman who fights with his gay brother because a midget was… doing stuff while rolling the tape. These exaggerated and exacerbated fights don’t roll well with many, but others just applaud away at the mere fakery of this type of television…

*thinks on his mind* But how good are they!

As a Christian, bar none is the chance to condemn the “oohs” and “aahs” of things. I do remember hearing that many things were evil or of the devil at some point in time (e.g.: Internet, TV, jeans on women, make-up). What saddens and upsets me, however, is not the fact that it glorifies violence, sex or infidelity (what shows do not have them on their line-up, excluding ones for kids?), or even the puppetry of television.

What upsets me is the fact that men look as less-brained zealots and women are like flash drives, jumping to everyone at reach. What upsets me is the sword of divide that it brings to people. Will God be glorified on the mess?

Take a look at this:

I will admit, while it is funny to see the exorbitant amount of train wrecks on TV, it also makes me feel bad about them, and it makes me feel bad about myself that I support. Jesus, what's your ruling on this...?

P.S.: Oprah, you're next! Soon and very soon... (OK, people! I did a take-on Wednesday, but I will continue doing them on Monday when I get back from Florida. Also, I will premiere a new segment logo. Please, give me your feedback!)