Plastic Sofa Covers (Revised Edition)

I recently realized that humans make up some crazy rules and regulations. Have you ever gone to someone’s house, and you weren't allowed in the living room? Maybe it was your living room that you weren't allowed to set foot in. I am almost positive I am ripping off some very funny comedian when I make this statement, but isn't the point of a living room to spend time living in the darn thing. As if the floor was made of hot lava, and your feet would be consumed by fire if you step foot in it. Maybe your parents thought their 1992 lazy boy sofa would be worth something some day, that’s why they wrapped it with a plastic cover that strangely resembled saran wrap. They should have roped it off like a museum, and put up signs prohibiting flash photography.

Museums, zoos, and aquarium also have some rules I have noticed, and at times, I am ashamed to say, disobeyed. Do not touch, do not feed the animals, or my personal favorite, do not tap on glass. I think seeing signs exhibiting these statements evoke the desire to disobey them. There is just something about a large tank of fish that excites my finger, and causes me to loose control. I confess I am probably responsible for trauma to captive sea dwelling creatures all over the world.

There is something that all of these rules have in common, that is they all have a purpose or a spirit. The spirit of the law is what the law is indented to make happen, or keep from happening. Obviously people who keep their living rooms sacred would like to keep the space clean and presentable. I don't know if this is true or not, probably not, but a tap on the glass to a fish is the equivalent to an earthquake for us. Thus the spirit of this rule is don't freak out the fish.

Well a couple of hundred years before Jesus came on the scene, there were these rule makers known as the Pharisees. There were many people who wished to do away with the law of God, and they were entrusted to uphold, and protect it. They came up with a plan that they would make up a bunch of rules on top of God's law in order to protect themselves from breaking God's law. In a way they thought they would first have to break their rules before they could break God's laws. Kind of like a plastic cover on a couch. Unfortunately, they became corrupt, and began to let their laws take priority over God's laws. The Pharisees missed the spirit of God's law all together.

When Jesus came he completely blew these guys out of the water. By stating it is not enough to obey they Law, but you must obey it in your heart. Basically you must desire to keep the law for it's original purpose.

Matthew 6:21-22 (Jesus Speaking)
21"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' 22But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother[b]will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.

Mark 7:6
6He (Jesus) replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
" 'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.

Have you ever felt like you are just going through the motions? Sometimes we can create these leagalistic rules in our life to convince ourselves that we are right with God: go to church, read your bible, pray, don't swear, go to Chi Alpha. These are all things that we need to be doing, especially going to Chi Alpha (hehe). However, these things should be by products of a genuine faith within our hearts. The spirit of God is able to transform the way you think, it transformed mine, and still transforms me daily...

WWBGD

My new outlook on life is WWBGD. From here on out this will be the litmus test for my life’s decisions. What would Bear Grylls do? Who is Bear Grylls, you ask? Well I am glad you inquired.

Mr. Grylls may be the most manly man on the face of the earth. He eats live scorpions, jumps out of planes, kills rabbits with pieces of wood, heck the dude even climbed Mt. Everest. Bear is the host of the television show Man V. Wild. Host isn't even the word for it, host doesn't event do it justice, he is more like your guide.

The premise of the whole show is this, Bear is dropped off in one of the world's most gnarly dangerous places, and usually he parachutes in. He usually only carries a water bottle, knife, and a flint. He spends about a week navigating treacherous terrain displaying his survival skills, showing the audience what to eat, what not to eat, how to build fire, how to kill animals, how to turn your underwear into a shelter to sleep in, and much more.

I remember once when I was in the boy scouts, and we took this five-mile hike, and I barely made it, I really thought I was a goner. I guess that is why I never made eagle.

This guy goes to desperate measures to survive in the wilderness. It got me thinking, I would consider the world around us to be in some pretty desperate times. Are we going to desperate measures to reach out to them?

The Midwest: Home of the Bass Pro Shop, and Sonic Burgers

This past weekend, five college/career agers, myself included, embarked on a monumental journey into the region of America know as "The Midwest" The mission: travel to Springfield, MO attend Reach the U at Central Bible College, while consuming as many sonic burgers, and cherry limeades as possible.

Lets just say sonic burger didn't stand a chance against us. As for the Reach the U conference, it rocked our worlds. Quite frankly, I didn't know what to expect. The teachings in the group growth track were simple, yet profound, and ruined my whole way of looking at the campus of Robert Morris University.

Our only complaint was this: not enough teaching sessions, too much free time (insert sarcastic tone). It was flippin jam packed, in a completely good way. If the schedule had not been so full, students and campus pastors would have been overwhelmed with choices of what to do first in Springfield. Upon our arrival I asked a cafeteria attendant if there was anything to do in Springfield. Three words: Bass Pro Shop. Unfortunately I never made it to the BPS in our 120 seconds we had between sessions due to the fact there was a Starbucks across the street from it, and my minivan always found its way into the Sstarbucks parking lot...