Romans 6:1-2a
1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means…

Main Entry: 1loop·hole
Pronunciation: ‘lüp-”hOl
1 a : a small opening through which small arms may be fired
b : a similar opening to admit light and air or to permit observation
2 : a means of escape
b:an ambiguity or omission in the text through which the intent of a statute, contract, or obligation may be evaded

When I was in college, I remember talking to this guy one time… and in a somewhat drunken frat-boy sort of tone, he told me that he was about to cheat on his girfriend… He spoke in a bragadocious type voice as if I he was going to impress me or something… Interesting I thought - Pre-meditated infidelities… He proceded to tell me that his girlfriend would probably find out, but he didn’t really care… So i asked him why he would do such a thing… To which he replied - “it’s no big deal… She loves me and she’ll take me back”… “so why not just break up with her and save her some serious heartache and yourself a bunch of hassle” I retorted… “Well, I love and all…” he responded along with a bunch other mindless babble…

HMM… Who would be foolish enough to believe that this guy actually loved his girlfriend???

Then I started thinking about how I say that I love God all the time… Then I started remembering that there have been times in my life when I have intentionally ignored the conviction of the Holy Spirit before engaging in various types of sin… Then I recalled thinking things like “it’s OK, God forgave all my sin when He died on the cross…” Then I realized that I can be just like the guy in the story above…

The cross isn’t a loophole for sin…

Great cd… I’ve tried to listen to something new, but this cd just keeps finding it’s way back into my car stereo!!!

#1 is by far my favorite… I love these lyrics

“Hey now, the past is told by those who win
My darling, what matters is what hasn’t been
Hey now, we’re wide awake and we’re thinking
My darling, believe your voice can mean something”

Romans 12:19 - Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God. For it is written, “I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it,” says the Lord.

So today I was in my normal fast forward mode… Trying to rush from one place to the next… Trying to multi-task and be as efficient as possible… In the midst of my hurries, I decided to carry my backpack, my laptop bag, and a handful of books all the while shouldering my cell phone up to my ear to carry on an important conversation… you know, I was trying to be efficient and all… and to make a long story short, while attemping to get my keys out of my right pocket, I ended up dropping everything at once… books on the ground… backpack contents strewn about… laptop nearly deceased… and cell detached from battery…

These types of situations really tend to bring out my evil twin - JaySIN!!! Holding back the cursing and evil wishes upon all my aforementioned goods, I started laughing out loud… This was ironic considering the fact that tonight at SUMMIT I was teaching a lesson called “luggage” which addresses the effects of holding on to the “baggage” from our past…

Let’s be honest… We’ve all been hurt, right??? Some of us very deeply… We all have those situations and memories that burn within our minds and hearts… We all have those people who we feel like we can’t forgive… but God commands us to forgive… to love our enemies… to bless those who curse us… to let Him take vengence… but this is much easier said than done… What about the victims of rape, molestation, and abuse??? What about those who have been betrayed by good friends or cheated on by a spouse??? Forgiveness doesn’t seem to come so easily…

And we end up carrying around the emtional and spiritual luggage for days, weeks, months, years… and eventually a lifetime… It’s like it becomes a part of us… It begins to define our existence… It’s like we can’t have one conversation without bringing it up… It affects the way we treat the one’s we love…

We think we can never let it go… and we don’t want to let it go…

But what if God said that to us???

If vengeance belongs to God, then why do we try to keep it in our own hands or heads or minds… Can we really do His job better than Him???

May we forgive as we’ve been forgiven… May we set someone free and find that it was us who have been released… May we live a life free of baggage and all the other junk we carry around…

To summarize - definitely a worthwhile read…
Strong Points:
1. lots of humor
2. cartoon illustrations
3. great chapter on repentance/confession
4. great chapter on sexuality
5. great chapter on love
6. closing chapter on Jesus - Miller makes a direct challenge to the reader to experience Jesus for his/herself

Weak Points:
1. continuous sarcasm toward the church
2. unending support of democratic government
3. very postmodern view of Christianity beingj “felt” rather than explained

G-Cube at Amy Roepken’s B-Day Party at Bravo’s… Friday, May 6th, 2005

Our good friend amy turned 25 last weekend… It was nice to have a night out with friends to celebrate… This is Amy:

So today I was reading Ezekiel 36 which constantly refers to the “mountains of Israel”… While reading, I realized that I really had no idea what was meant by this phrase… So, I decided to engage in a little researchment…

Turns out that the “mountains of Israel” are none other than the modern day West Bank - the hot point of conflict between Israelis and Palestinians… Very interesting that Ezekiel 36 clearly points out that the nation of Israel will eventually inhabit and enjoy the blessings of the West Bank… Doesn’t yet seem to be the case, but it makes me wonder when this prophecy will be fulfilled… Perhaps in our lifetime…

Of course, I claim to be no expert in prophecy or world affairs, so any clarifying thoughts are welcome…