The View From Here

“Remember, therefore, that it is not your hold of Christ that saves you; it is Christ.”

“If Christ is anything, He must be everything.”

I don’t know if this last one is really his but it is from a book of his I am reading.  Sounds like something from a hymn.

“When I stand before the throne
Dressed in beauty not my own;
When I see Thee as Thou art,
Love Thee with unsinning heart;
Then, Lord, shall I fully know-
Not till then - how much I owe.”

I think that june bugs are by far the most interestingly stupid bugs in the world.  I was sitting around shooting the breeze with one of my friends (yes I do have some of those) and a couple interesting questions came up.  Question number one:  don’t june bugs, all by themselves, totally disprove natural selection?  Really, think about it.  These things would have been selected out the moment they came in to being.  Just watch them sometime.  They fly into the same wall ten thousand times before they realize there is a wall there.  Or it could be that they are just horrible aviators.  “Turn to the right, to the right, to the riiiiiigggght!!!!!  Arrrgggg!!  I failed to avoid that wall that is ten million times larger than I am!!”

Anyway, question number two:  where do these things go for nine or ten months out of the year.  They just randomly appear for a couple months, fly around bumping into everything, and then disappear.   I know why they disappear.  They can’t mate!  Think about it.  They can barely fly without falling all over themselves.  Good luck, Junebugette, finding a man that can contribute to the gene pool.  I don’t know about you but I don’t recall seeing any baby june bugs around.  They can’t reproduce so they disappear.  So where do they come from come June??  I suppose I could go check out Wikipedia and find out and I probably will, but sometimes things in nature are funnier when they aren’t completely understood.

All that to say (and I know you have thought it too), JUNE BUGS ARE WEIRD!!

The End.

Ok, I am not going back on what I said on my recent post about the news media and how useless most of the information they pass along is.  Even though most of the news channels are challenged when it comes to news that matters they actually seem to have stumbled on to something here with this Paris Hilton thing.  Not that they are giving the important part much airtime.  Here is the important part.  When the news came out that they were letting her out of jail (and into house arrest to be fair) I lost much of the little faith I had left in our justice system.  When the news came out today that the judge in the case was not going to let her off so easy and that she was going back to prison to finish out the sentence that was originally prescribed to her my faith was somewhat restored.  This has nothing to do with what I think of Paris Hilton.  This has to do with our justice system sticking to its guns and not letting someone off just because they have money or airtime.  This is why this story suddenly became important to me.  Our justice system still has some backbone.  Score one for the judge in this case!

Brian

Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law shich Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

It is amazing to me the definition that God puts on being strong and courageous in this passage. First God gives Joshua a reason for doing this. It is to make Joshua successful in accomplishing what God had promised and commanded: to take possession of the promised land. In the same way, if we are to be successful in what God has commanded us to do, we must also be strong and courageous. So how does God define strong and courageous in this passage? Here are some of the things God tells Joshua will make him strong and courageous:

1. Follow the law that God had given Moses. Not only must he follow it, he must follow it exactly.
2. Speak the Word of God. In order to speak it he must know it which leads to the next one.
3. Meditate all day on the Word of God and put it into action. It must be known and followed.

These are the things that God tells Joshua will make him strong and courageous so that he can complete Gods will in his life. Notice that God doesn’t tell him that winning the battles ahead will make him strong or courageous. Joshua was able to win the battles because he had a foundation in God by doing the above things. It is funny that God has to command this. As a Christian I would think that this is kind of obvious but at the same time I find myself struggling to do these things on a routine basis. I really do have to be strong if I am to complete the tasks God has commanded so that I can do His will. I have to be strong enough to set aside the things that so easily take up my time and make God my focus. I have to be courageous enough to speak God’s word to myself and those around me. I have to be disciplined enough to get up in the morning and meditate on His Word so that I can know and do it.

This is a very hard calling and I feel that I fail at it most of the time. I know that God has drawn my eye to this portion of scripture because this is what He wants me to see. He wants me to see what it takes to be a strong and courageous leader in my home and in my life. If you read this please pray for me that I might rise to this high calling by God to be this kind of leader.

Brian