New Year, specific new goals, but same one desire! Two-thousand and eighteen.

 I am excited by the way God has ordained anyone reading this to live this long into the year 2018 (possibly further if you are reading this at a later year and the whole "internet" fad hasn't ended haha).

I love January 1st. I find it highly fun that everything I do that day is the first time I've done it all year, I love the "I haven't seen you since last year"jokes my local friends and family exchange. Lots of fun and lots of puns. Of which I love both of those things.

For many, it's obviously time to start afresh, to set their eyes on achievements they desire to accomplish, and a time to tuck away the ones they didn't succeed into the extent they had wished for the previous year. Our American culture often views the turning of a New Year as a reset button to cleanse all the past mistakes of last year, in hope of just getting past those and looking forward to new beginnings. This is a magical, sentimental and blissful thought. It is also can be extremely dangerous.

Because it's a lie. A great many problems we had last year, like debt, failed classes, or the greatest crushing burden of all, the multitude of sins against God who is Holy and good, these weighty issues  don't mystically disappear because from 11:59pm one December 31st to January 1st 12:00am. I sense that many people see me as a pessimist or a party pooper because I believe truth should be believed in real life. Such as situations like this. Some might think "can't you just let us have this one? It gives us a spark of hope, even if it isn't real, it helps us"

My response is no. I won't let you have this one. This fake hope is meaningless. Sometimes it may seem I lack compassion due to this mindset however, it is quite the opposite intentions for speaking up knowing I will get backlash. It because of my immense love and genuine compassion for the people in this world, that I post (primarily on facebook up to date) about treacherous traditions,  harmful self-hope philosophies, the so popular charlatans who claim to be Christian preachers, teachers, bands or even holistic practices (that deceive many with false promises to closeness to God through extra-Biblical means).

 I speak up in order to magnify and passionately point back to the one source of truth we can absolutely bank on. The Bible itself. "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."-Psalm 119:105-106 

  I am not only not a pessimist, but I am a joyful believer in hope. But I want the real hope, not the parody of it.
I believe in hope but He has a name not a date of the year. There is real hope! He is glorious and His name is Jesus. I am just one of many weak and simple-minded guides on this planet that deeply long for you to know God. How? Through the reading of, studying, and listening to sound teachers of the Bible. Through earnest prayer. Through meeting weekly with His Body and Bride; the Church.
We want for you to be given the gift from God through knowing God, the 2nd gift of loving God. And we want you to obey God out of the joy and desires of your heart. 

One of my New Year's resolutions is to exhibit better that my love for theo (meaning God) ology (the study of) has not made me cold or uncaring. But as someone once recently said I am "seriously joyful and joyfully serious"!  That is who I am by God's grace. I struggle daily and consistently but He is with me, and I want people to see, read, hear and watch the fact that "the things of this Earth grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace." is what is welling up inside of me right now.

And I am compelled to share that. Pray for me to convey that love for God that only comes from Biblical theology and extends to the people in the world around me


2018 is a year to live for my friends!

 Literally and metaphorically. Literally as in many of us will reach December 31st of the upcoming year alive.  Metaphorically, as in, to the fullest. If that means setting resolutions for some if that means being kinder to others, or perhaps being more accessible to people and intentional about teaching them what Jesus did then that is all great!

Seeking joy in small things, having genuine compassion towards everyone no matter what, and to know, love, and obey God above all pursuits and passions. To live as a "human-doing" rather than a mere human being.

Let's live this year to Do Hard Things to the glory of God in all nations.

THE SAME ONE DESIRE: God and His Glory among all nations.
Soli Deo Gloria!

"May God be gracious to us and bless us
    and make his face to shine upon us, Selah
2 that your way may be known on earth,
    your saving power among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
    let all the peoples praise you!

4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
    for you judge the peoples with equity
    and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
5 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
    let all the peoples praise you!

6 The earth has yielded its increase;
    God, our God, shall bless us.
7 God shall bless us;
    let all the ends of the earth fear him!

Psalm 67English Standard Version (ESV)

"WOW this really works." Lessons from a tricky meme.

Without reading any of my comments below the meme*, try this meme's challenge and see if it works(if you have already had your birthday this year)!

Stated above are these two sentences:

"Today, if you add your AGE +YEAR OF BIRTH you will get 2017. This ONLY happen once in 1000th years."

Let's quickly examine and debunk the astounding "facts" about this meme. 1st if you add your age (conditionally, for this to work you have to already have had your birthday that year) to your year of birth it will equal that current year.

In this example, if you were born in the year 1989 add that to the age (28) you will turn in 2017 it will equal the present year, which is 2017.

This first statement is true in the meme. It is a fact. While this fact is not very impressive if one takes a moment to really examine what you are reading in white letters, with green as the background.

It looks official, lots of people are posting it, and when tried it actually works!

Here comes 2nd "meme fact" claimed in the above white letters. It states just as factually as the first claim, "This only happen Once in 1000th years". If the first part is simply not impressive when thought through, making it somewhat misleading then the second sentence will really be a shock. Why? Because it is just absolutely not true. Since the elaborately worded mysterious first part (that took you a little time to calculate) worked perfectly, few people take the time or thought to even question the second statement, much less care if it is accurate because the first part was so cool! Again the first sentence only works if your birthday has already been that year.

But upon further examination, we see that this happens every year. That is more of a basic fact than exciting trivia.

Your birth year + how old you are in the current year = current year.

Per our example...

1989+28=2017

Let's take it further...

1989+29=2018

1989+30=2019

1989+31=2020

1989+31=2021

See where I am going with this?

Not as interesting when worded this way. It is like saying, "2+2 =4. this only happens once in 1000 years." The first statement is basic but true. The second is an obvious lie.

Yet taking it back to the original meme, this slick way of wording the first sentence has successfully won many people's trust. They worked it out for themselves, maybe even used a calculator, using their own ages and years of birth,.One might think while solving it, "the meme couldn't have possibly known my specific age or year of birth!" This is how many illusionists work their tricks. It is like sleight of hand for our minds by simple misdirection.

Many have already re-posted on social media as soon as the first sentence worked out as true with even caring if the second statement is accurate. But it this is disguised as a clever fact that is neat and even if we don't know how it works it is just simply amazing and we genuinely want others to enjoy and get impressed by this puzzling truth.

I posted this here as a humorous way of pointing out a significant fact. We (we, being mankind) are easily lured by truth right into a lie trap.

I hope that by the Grace of God alone we are not blown around by every wind of doctrine. I hope that we all see this and just as it seems amazing and "works", we can take a lesson from this silly meme. That we might actively veer away from things that simply seem right and/or even pragmatically successfully in our lives, our culture, and in our churches. But rather, in all that we believe and act on, we should rely on that perfect Scripture as B.B. Warfield once said, "If the Bible says it, God says it.".

May we study diligently and seek sound doctrine. It is so easy to be deceived. We hear a bit of truth and we agree to that but then someone slips a lie in or doesn't give the full story and lies by intentional omitting pieces of information to make things look better than they are. 

Two verses to glean Biblical Godly wisdom from,

3 If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness,4 he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 5 and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain, - 1 Timothy 6:3-6

12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. - 1 Corinthians 10:12-13

*I did not make this meme and take no credit for or am slandering whoever did, Whoever the makers of the meme are, may have meant this as a creative joke or to troll the internet. I am not making any claims of their intentions whatsoever as I do not know where this originated from or why they made it.