Jesus in the Old Testament

Oh yeah, the parting of the Red Sea, writing out the Ten Commandments on the stone tablets, leading the Israelites out of Egypt, those were some good times, yep. I bet Jesus had lots of fun back then. Wait, what? Jesus couldn't have been around for those things because he wasn't even born yet?

Blasphemy! No, seriously.

It's interesting to me just how present Jesus is in the Old Testament. Granted, he's called by a few other names, since the name Jesus is only actually in the New Testament. However, almost every other name or title Jesus has in the New Testament is used in the Old Testament.

I don't have time to list the examples I'm familiar with, but apparently Moses liked to gossip and David knew to whom he was talking. And as the commander of the Lord's Army, Jesus certainly made an impression on Joshua.

Tu Connais La Fille La-Bas?

In my highschool French classes, one of the first things we did was memorize various dialogues. These dialogues taught us various things, including various verb conjugations, grammar rules, and idiomatic expressions. The title of this particular blog entry was the opening line of a dialogue my teacher had us repeat in every level of French.

Translated, it reads "Do you know the girl over there?"

Is it possible to know anyone, I mean, really know them? Apart from ourselves, we have absolutely no idea what experiences from long ago influence the actions and behaviors of anyone. We weren't there when their older brother hid in their closet to scare them when they were young. We didn't experience the raw throbbing fingers they got fr,om snapping spoke beads onto a thrift store wheelchair, nor did we hear those same multicolored spoke beads clack together as his dad pushed him to have a muscle biopsy and see Casper for the first time. Harry Potter wasn't the series we read when our mother was going through cancer, and we never had to take breaks from playing outside every few minutes. Without sharing in experiences like these, we really can't know why anyone does anything they do.

But, you know what's amazing? God can. In fact, God knows us so well, he knew what we would do and who we would become even before we'd been through the stuff that would shape us into who we have become!

It's humbling that a god, let alone the one and only true God, that he would know us so intimately, and that he would want to know us like that. He's like Santa Clause in that he sees us when we're sleeping, and he knows when we're awake, except he's real. He even knows what we're going to say it before we even say it--I dare you to say "Jinx" to God though.

I don't think I'd be able to handle that much information about my friends though. There are already some moments I feel I know too much just from reading Facebook statuses, nevermind all the tweeting going on!

It amazes me that it's no problem for God.

But really though, I'm humbled and flattered that God cares enough about me to want to know everything that's going on with my life. I know he's omnipresent and all that good stuff, but it's awesome to think he knew eons ago that I would be constantly standing up and sitting down all day today just so I could blow my nose on the sandpaper in the men's room.

I like that God knows me better than I know myself, but of what importance is it in my life that on the twenty-eighth of April in the two-thousand and tenth year after Jesus of Nazareth was probably born in a stable or barn, that I was fighting a cold?

But, that's where any argument I might have about knowing myself better than any one else hits a dead end. I know myself as who I want to be. God knows us as who he intends for us to be, who we cannot be, and what we actually are (unworthy sinners lower than the chewing gum on the bottom of his heavenly sandal). For this reason, I am at a loss for words over how supportive, nurturing, and loving God is.

God knows I fail, I worry, and I walk in the mud more than I walk in his footsteps. I need God to lead me if I want to live for him.

The Missionary Position

If you've been keeping up with my blog, you'll remember I promised to talk about why I thought the missionary position--and yes, I'm talking sex here--why that position should be preferred.

There's a book in the Bible that is about as X-Rated as the Bible gets. In case you're surprised at all, it's the Song of Solomon/Songs.

I learned at a Wednesday Night Bible Study the original Hebrew text had three different verbs for "to love" but English obviously only has one.

The first type of love relates to loving someone like a friend or soulmate; I believe this was raya.

The second verb was about commitment and unity, as well as spending time together. The Hebrew word was ahavah.

Finally, the last word was dod, and it related to the physical bumping, rubbing, and cuddling couples tend to do.

I don't really know when each verb was used in the book (because gosh, darn it I don't speak ancient Hebrew) but I think these three verses were examples of the verbs in use.

Raya (Side note, is it creepy if I've always wanted to tell a girl this verse reminded me of her? For the record, I haven't yet found the girl to whom it would be appropriate.)

Ahavah

Dod

According to the Bible, all three should be present in a marriage, and it's impossible for a romance to survive if it's missing even one of them. The video emphasized this was especially so if one person in the relationship was being satisfied by another individual, outside the original relationship. Also, the three of them together apparently have this deeply profound and spiritual thing going on if you've got them all working in your marriage/sex life. I'm not sure how to paraphrase what the video explained, but it's something like the stuff in Song of Songs said that there are three different parts to it, with each one being just as important as the other, but all three combined are needed for the big picture of just what exactly love is.

Where else in the Bible do we see things divided into three? The Holy Trinity, perhaps? I'm not sure how much of this next stuff was scripture or interpretation of scripture, but if you look at each of the verbs, they tend to fit each part of God.

Jesus calls us friend.

God the Father loves nothing more than spending time with us.

The Holy Spirit guides us in our actions and speech so the glory goes to God.

With all this in mind, it kind of seems to me like the missionary position is the way to go, right? I mean, wouldn't missionaries (if no one else) be more likely to follow God's word to the letter? I'd think they'd know how to love pretty hardcore, anyone disagree?

That's why I prefer the missionary position even if it is less kinky--if you're a future wife reading this, I didn't say I liked it on top, just to be clear.

What follows in this next paragraph is more me reaffirming with myself what I'm looking for in a girlfriend so I don't inadvertently leap at a girl too soon. I fear that because it's been a long time since I've had a genuine girlfriend, I might feel desperate and latch onto a girl God might not have planned for me. Thus, I want to remind myself I'm looking for a God-fearing, Bible-reading woman first and foremost. I know there is one in my future, and I look forward to meeting her; I just pray I have the patience not to get involved with some random chic.

Truth or Dare

I'm always stumped when someone says they don't believe everything the Bible says. Like, they believe some parts of it, but they're not so sure about the others.

The first thing I freaking want to ask them (with love of course!) is if they've even read the thing.

One debate I've heard against the veracity of the Bible is that the Old Testament doesn't match the New Testament. Apparently the New Testament is all about love and the Old is all about smiting.

Just try and tell me there isn't any smiting in the New Testament (and I didn't even have to go to the book of Revelations!), and the love in the New Testament was in the Old Testament first.

The God of the Old Testament was an angry sadist, you say? The God of the New Testament is kind and loving? God doesn't change people. He's the same forever and ever, and then after that.

Sure, God's love, mercy, and forgiveness is always promoted, but we can't forget this same God is just, jealous, and vengeful. If we haven't made a decision for Jesus, we can rest assured there's a smiting in our future.

Besides, if you cannot accept the Bible in its entirety, how can you accept any of the Bible at all?

I guess what irks me most is that the person I was talking to today admitted she felt the Bible had its moments where it dragged her to her knees and showed her she needed to repent. For me, that experience alone is always enough to make me accept I'm wrong, and God is right, especially when he's talking to me in Scripture. I don't need to get stabbed with a double-edged sword twice to get the point.

Meh, I can only pray the Holy Spirit can help my friend see what she's saying about the Bible so that she might repent fully and live the life God wants her to. If you read this, and you're the praying sort, I hope you'll throw a few prayers up too.

Love, Sex, and Marriage, Oh My!

I went to a Bible study last night that talked about sex, a lot.

No, the church I go to isn't full of heretics. Sex isn't just for heathens, and in case you didn't know, the Bible goes pretty in depth. Honestly, the Bible goes so far in depth, I'm kind of wondering why the missionary position is considered plain-jane and uninteresting. Based on last night's conversation, I actually feel the missionary position might be more fun than a night with the most accommodating escort service--but that's another blog post entirely. I promise I'll explain what I mean when I talk about what I learned last night, but tonight, I think I would rather voice my experience with Biblically outlined sexuality.

Because the Bible study focused on the Song of Songs/Solomon, I'm not going to go there tonight. Sorry, no spiritual pr0n this evening.

Love is complex. Jesus said we need to love God with all our heart, and love our neighbor like ourselves. As such, it's possible (and likely) that we love our friends even if we're not in love with them. But, society makes it clear to us that there is another kind of love, one with a certain je ne sais quoi.

Even so, it's not like MTV makes it out to be. Boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, and wives are not supposed to be just that--they're supposed to be best friends too.

If you think about it, it actually makes sense for a couple to be best friends, especially if they're going to get married and spend the rest of their lives together. Ah marriage, it's great, isn't it? I mean, it's at this point the Bible first encourages believers to partake in (-snicker-) intimacy.

Sex is arguably God's second greatest gift to humanity, the first being Jesus to die in our place. Does it surprise you to hear the Bible actually describes some anatomical parts when talking about sex? Just wait until you hear what's in Song of Songs. Then you'll really be blushing.

We're supposed to love others not only because God told us to who knows how many times, but also because in loving others, we become more like God, being that God is love. In fact, it's what distinguishes believers from nonbelievers, their love for one another.

I wish everyone could see this

One thing I always hear in churches is that maybe you're not getting what you want because you're not asking for it. At which point, the pastor or youth director or custodian usually quotes this verse.

Not meaning to take the verse out of context, I'd like to explain Jesus is talking about prayer here. He's basically explaining how to pray and what we should pray for.

Even so, it really is simple as asking God for whatever we need and we will receive it. If it weren't, why would God (the author of the Bible for the record) repeat it in the next verse?

One could argue there are stipulations attached to this promise of getting whatever we ask for, but even then it's not like they affect God's ability to give us what we ask. If anything, we've got to ask in Jesus name, trust that God will provide, and ask with the right motive. If we ask God for a car battery, jumper cables, and duct tape so we can get even with the guy who skipped in front of us at the post office, then he's obviously not going to supply you with what you ask.

It's just simple stuff like that, really.

The verses that come next reiterated (again) for me that I need not worry about my recent break-up. Jesus asked a hypothetical question about a dad's ability to give sweet presents to his kid. Of course, no loving father unit would give his kid cruddy stuff if he could do better. But, Jesus pointed out that every loving father unit we may or may not know is pretty screwed up on the inside, and yet they still manage to give some pretty sweet gifts every now and then, right?

God's like that, minus the screwed-up bit. So, therefore, if our screwed-up paternal things know how to choose a High-Def TV for us, shouldn't God be able to give us so much more?

To quote a good friend of mine, God always dreams bigger for us than we do for ourselves!

Shut Up, God's Talking.

Phosphofructokinase deficiency, that's my official diagnosis.

In medical terms, this type of Muscular Dystrophy means my body lacks the enzyme that breaks down glucose, therefore, I do not derive any energy from the consumption of carbohydrates. The disease is incredibly rare, requiring both parents to carry the gene even if they don't show symptoms for it to pass on.

In plain old people terms, it means I get tired easily, especially when I'm walking, standing, running, etc. I can't eat pasta to run a marathon on, instead needing a high protein diet at all times. My legs, and to a lesser extent, my back are prone to random and sporadic muscle cramps, twitchiness, and general weakness. None of the medicines out there for Muscular Dystrophy help me, and I'm pretty unique in the disabled world.

Jesus was listening when I was diagnosed.

This is something I've wanted to talk to Emerald about since like two days after she and I first went out to dinner with Crystal and David. I tried a few times, but we never really had time, or if we did, it didn't feel important enough in light of what she had going on.

I think the biggest reason I've wanted to talk about it with Emerald--or any of my Christian friends, honestly--was that I've felt this obnoxious prodding deep down in my gut about how my MD affects me spiritually.

I can't deny the connection exists because, if nothing else, there's a reason I can skim through my Bible at random and notice more verses are highlighted promising strength for the weak than there are anything else. It's not like I don't know God cares for me, or that he doesn't provide the promised strength when I most need it.

For the record, he does.

It boils down to why God made me who I am. There's a reason I have Muscular Dystrophy, and as I often say when sharing my story, I thank God for it.

Still though, in rough spots with MD, it's so much harder to voice those feelings.

I wonder if that's part of the beauty of it, that when I'm physically and emotionally exhausted, people see how difficult it is for me, but my dependence on God comes out more too.

As a disabled person, wheelchair or not, I envy certain things non-disabled persons can do. I don't play sports because most of them would leave me clinically exhausted just practicing. For as long as I can remember, I've thought dancing was the most amazing thing ever, probably because I literally can't dance. Whenever someone runs anywhere, or manages to take these long strides that never seem to tire as we're walking somewhere, I am usually amazed at their step-taking ability. That, or I naturally assume they must have a ton of endurance.

Of course, it's always because they're "normal".

You can probably see I want to be like that because I'm not.

That's where God comes in.

All throughout, the Bible tells stories of miraculous healings, strength for the weary, hope for the hopeless. The Bible also promises God still is capable of such feats.

I feel this is how God has revealed himself to me.

On the days when I am just too exhausted to do it on my own, God steps in.

I cannot describe how it feels when God gives me the strength to keep standing or walking or whatever when my legs were about to give out before I prayed for help. It's like electricity pouring into a pitcher and splashing on the sides, but only in reverse and upside down. Amazing is the only word for it.

Even though I have witnessed God's healing power, I think it's at the times God gives me a strength other than the physical kind that I am closest to God.

God gave me the strength to stand up when I could not, and more than that, he gave me the strength to sit down when I would not.

That's why I believe what I do.

Deep down, I wonder how God can use my disability for his glory, but I also know he can and is.

A while back, a good friend of mine, Jevon, I shared my testimony with him. Due to the pull of the Holy Spirit calling him, he made a decision for Jesus like a month ago. I am humbled and thrilled that my story had any influence on him; every time he talked to me about it, he was moved to tears.

Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"

What's so great about a study bible?

Bear with me here, this one's going to be short, mostly because I left my window open and I'm disgusted by the fact there's more pollen on my laptop than on my car.

But, what's the big deal with study Bibles? The only thing I see in them that might make them better than my leather-bound non-study Bible is the random historical tidbits and translational flukes they point out.

Wait, my leather-bound non-study Bible has them too--granted, not as many of them, but they're there.

And, you know, I bet I can get around my humble NIV faster than any super Christian can with his eighty pound BPV (that's Back-Problem Version in case you're unfamiliar with the translation).

I'll go out on a limb and say it doesn't have anything to do with my 6-point-font handwriting either.

I will concede however that I do write in my Bible. It's my freakin' textbook, as written by Dr. I AM and compiled by people with varying degrees of spirituality, like Moses, David, Isaiah, etc. By the way, I am a college student, so notetaking is my thing dawg.

And notetake, I do.

Does it surprise you to hear I've got this color-coded system that uses a variety of simple symbols to explain to me what I'm learning?

Yeah, green brackets around a verse indicate that verse at one point or another spoke to me, and meant something truly profound or encouraging.

Green corner brackets help keep a set of verses together in my mind, as in a specific concept that does not make sense broken into the numeric verses.

Green underlining means I better reread that verse and see if I'm applying the underlined part to my life as well as possible.

A green box means I better shut up and listen.

A green exclamation mark usually means a light bulb just turned on, and the concept I understood was so huge, it made me shout something out loud. Green exclamation marks usually make my cheeks hurt from smiling too.

The next most common color is blue. It follows the same hierarchy green does, with brackets, underlining, boxes, and exclamation marks.

Blue anything means someone taught something from this in a way I wouldn't think of, and so I should probably look at the passage with a more open mind than I normally would, or that I should ask myself if I can apply this concept to other overall Biblical themes to learn something new and insightful.

Purple arrows in the center margin always point to a verse that straight up screams Jesus. This is only a recent undertaking, but even so, I am always astonished how much of the New Testament I see in the Old.

Purple notes tend to bring stuff down to my level.

Red arrows mostly point out a verse I find useful for various reasons, like whenever someone asks what to do about a sick relative or friend. There is however a section I notated in 2 Peter that I cannot figure out why I have all these red arrows in the right margin.

On the rare occasion there are actual words written next to something, dude, that's when a passage clicked in a way that sheds light on how I should read everything else in the Bible.

Some verses are multi-colored and notated.

Then of course, the words of Christ are in red. Great idea, whoever thought of that.

I don't know where I'd be without my Bible. Lost, most likely.

I'm Weak, God's Not.

God gave me a pep talk last night.

I've walked a lot in these past few days, a lot more than I should have considering my Muscular Dystrophy. As such, I was seriously hurting last night. My legs were giving out on me, my back had me ready to scream, my head was pounding, and every part of me that could hurt did. Even my arms, which are normally fine when I over do it, they were exhausted from being held above my head to unscrew window blinds and stuff all afternoon.

It didn't help matters that I still hadn't heard back from Emerald after our first big fight.

All in all, I was angry and I didn't feel good whatsoever. Because it is a big part of my life, I had pinned everything that was going wrong in my life at that very moment on my MD.

It was working for me.

Heck, I had planned to post this horrible facebook status about how sucky MD could be at times just to vent some of my frustration. It was the sort of thing that would have had all my friends feeling bad for me and unable to find the words to comment on my status. It was that depressing.

Anyways, I had it all typed out in the status box, all but like the last two words. I was pausing for a second just to find les mots justes, the exact words that would evoke the greatest sympathy and speechlessness.

My phone vibrated in my pocket.

It was a text message from an unknown caller. It read "Psalm 147" and that's it.

Let me explain what stood out to me.

First off, the chapter started out reminding me how awesome it is to praise God for all he's done.

Then verse 3 went and smacked down both my reasons to be emo-depressive. God heals the brokenhearted and sticks a Band-Aid on their booboos. As I said, I was frustrated at how epically I screwed up and hadn't yet heard from Emerald, and my body was to the point of breaking from exhaustion.

As if that weren't enough, God cross-examined me to see why I really wanted to share the message. I had thought no one understood me, except maybe Emerald who wasn't talking to me, but as is often the case, I was mistaken.

Verse six was a gentle reminder to stay humble, so I didn't screw up again.

Verse seven told me to suck it up and be thankful for what I've got.

To understand why verse ten hit home, it's important to remember my legs always fare the worst when MD is being sucky. They ached, twitched, cramped, and struggled beneath my weight--assuming they could even get me standing.

Up until now, it wasn't like God had actually given me the sort of real-world advice I needed to make it anywhere, but fortunately, he knew that. Verse eleven told me what to do.

Verse fourteen told me to think of all the things I've got going for me, like financial security (because I'm disabled).

Lastly, verse twenty pointed out that God made me unique, and everything that was happening in my life was not happening to any other person out there, as if my being disabled was somehow a puzzle piece in God's big picture.

After reading that, I couldn't bring myself to post the stupid pity-party status message I'd meant to. Instead, I gave God the glory.