Thorns

8/12/13
Hosea 13:12-14; 6:1-3; John 1:14;
Isaiah 53:5-6; 1 Corinthians 15:54-57

Iniquity is full and bound
In those whom it has been stored,
And lo, the LORD has come and found
This sin; and till wrath is poured
No man will escape his own death.
None will overcome the grave.
He will lie down in his last breath,
None to ransom, none to save.

The pains of childbirth have come -
Foolish sons will pay their plight.
None can delay this op’ning womb -
Mercy hidden from God’s sight.
May all wrath come with screams and scorns
And with it full justice bring:
“O death, where now are all your thorns?
Now, O grave, where is your sting?”

Come, let us return to the LORD;
He has wounded, He has torn,
But lo, the day we are restored
Will come and remove the thorn.
Let us press on to know His way;
After two He will revive,
And raise us up on the third day
To Himself show us alive.


Our Lord has taken flesh and died -
All our sins laid on the son -
And now God’s wrath is satisfied;
Through Messiah we have won!
And when removed are all the scorns,
When renewed is everything:
“O death, where now are all your thorns?
Now, O grave, where is your sting?”

Life is purposeless, and the only thing that can give life purpose is the thing that defeats death.

West Poinsettia Drive is about to sleep - even on this Friday night. All that remains is a few late partying people and some nostalgic streetlights. It is 11:04 and the Ross house is in utter silence. Only one young person's sporadic typing on a small laptop accounts for the sound inside. There may be a cricket or two out back next to the pool.

I have just returned home from a neighborhood Kohl's and Wendy's trip - those are great places to have next door, by the way. It is a somber night. Strolling through clearance aisles leads me to wonder why I even want things. Am I enjoying God's gifts through prayer or am I hoarding them through selfishness? Yet another broken cistern.

Today was crappy. I don't say that word much, but it has come to my mind more recently than in the past. After all, dropping five pounds of one of your store's most expensive products (that was a few days ago) isn't exactly a great thing for your inventory. Were I at my job for hours and money only, it wouldn't be much of a problem I suppose. But manager's are entitled to care.

Downtown Phoenix is a beautiful sight; it certainly was on the way to Mesa this afternoon. What an enormous, spread out city. There are so many people and buildings; I love that sight; I love the sounds. Well, kind of. The beauty of it all is minimized when there is a long drive home and miles of traffic backed up on I-10. How many people did I cut off today?

And as long as I'm writing obituary-like blog posts, why was I stretching pizzas for two hours in a store I don't even work at?

Okay, I'll settle down now, for myself at least. What is the perspective I have gained from living through the past two weeks? There is one simple answer, and I am more than happy to share my wisdom with the people who may read this blog: life is stupid. It's pointless. We live, then we die, and we might get a good haircut somewhere in between. People cut you off in traffic, cats pee on the carpet, and occasionally your fifth grade teach points her long bony finger up in the air.

The teenager working the drive-through at Wendy's accidentally rang up the wrong order for me: I ordered a large Frosty shake, but he made a large Frosty. To remedy the situation, he gave me the Frosty free and made me a shake for the price of the Frosty (which is about $1.70 cheaper). Yay! I get more ice cream! That could almost make life worth it. But not quite.

No, indeed, for tomorrow I'll be hungry again. And who knows what I'll try to stuff my stomach with! How many shirts will I have to buy to be happy? Even if work had gone well, would I really be content making my hourly wage? Even if I do - by some miracle - make it through college, what good will a piece of paper do me in life? A bigger job? Great. More money. More ice cream. More constipation. What good will it do me in death?

Life is depressing for the very reason of difficulty then death. Life happens like this: you're born cold and naked, you hit puberty, you're a broke college student, you get hitched and have two too many kids to handle, you retire to Florida (or Phoenix!), and you have kidney stones or prostate cancer or some other old peoples' awkward disease. And to top it all off you die. That, my friends, is why life is a dumpster.

The words of Solomon reincarnated - since there is nothing new under the sun and all is vanity and everything is in vain - are ended.

Now we have destroyed all meaning and purpose. We have blown all of life to bits. So what is it that rises from the ashes when everything else is dead? What is left when all other things are gone? What is true when everything else has been found a lie? What is real when everything else is fake? What is filling when everything leaves me empty?

What lives beyond this shattered, horrible life? What will kill death?

Solus Christus.

"Amor vincit omnia et nos cedamus amori."

By grace we have something. We have something more. So let us too be conquered by the conqueror. And when He has slain us all to shattered bits let us rise on the third day with Him and outlive everything that comes in our way, all that tries to harm us; for we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us.

("Crown Him the Lord of Life  

Who triumphed o'er the grave 

And rose victorious in the strife 

For those He came to save. 

His glories now we sing 

Who died and rose on high, 

Who died eternal life to bring 

And lives that death may die.")

And He who loves us is the meaning of life because, and only because, His love is better than life.

Draw the Line

Draw the Line
Disciple, O God Save Us All (2012)

Another crash, another fall, another fall another failure
Another choice I don't want to remember
Been here to many times
Every day's another fight
I'm at war with the person I could be
Give me a chance and I'll mess up a good thing
But this is where it ends
Yeah, this is where it ends

This is where I draw the line
This is where the old me dies
Light a match, let it burn, kiss it goodbye
Give it up - what I was
This is where I draw the line

Another battle I lost fighting solo
How many times must I learn what I already know?
Can't do this on my own
Wasn't meant to fight alone
So I'm lifting my hands in surrender
Take my faults and my flaws; make me better
Cause this is where I end
Right where You begin

This is where I draw the line
This is where the old me dies
Light a match, let it burn, kiss it goodbye
Give it up - what I was
This is where I draw the line

Set me on fire
Set me on fire
Burn me up, burn me up, burn me all the way
Till there's nothing left but You
Burn me up, burn me up, burn me all the way
Till there's nothing left but You
Set me on fire

This is where I draw the line
This is where the old me dies
Light a match, let it burn, kiss it goodbye
Give it up - what I was
This is where I draw the line

This is where the old me dies
Till there's nothing left but You
This is where I draw the line

When the Busyness Takes Over

It is a simple phenomenon of life - people are busy. Busy with work, busy with school, busy with friends, busy with entertainment, busy with problems, busy with promotions, busy with events, busy with social groups, busy with possessions. And it seems like every time we try to start a new routine (like a blog), it fails unless we have a strong motivation or accountability. That is my best attempt at explaining why the posts are (and probably will be) dwindling to a meager number.

Yes, I am busier now than I have been yet in Arizona. Thankfully, that is due in part to a revived focus on school and a decent number of hours at work. I am seeing success in both, and I praise God for that. But I don't want to be deceived. I know that my own heart is "prone to wander"; when I get busy, I am so easily taken from spiritual things and drawn to material things that do not last.

So if you find yourself in the same predicament and need guidance, here is a priority list I aim to keep for myself:
1. Love God and enjoy Him in everything.
2. Love His word and read it daily with passion.
3. Love your neighbor as yourself.
4. Invest most in the things you should love most - the things that will truly last.

And thank God every day. If all goes well, praise the Lord. If you fail, praise Him still. Rest in His unchanging love and mercy that do not fail, and remember that one day all our striving will be repaid in full and we will enjoy the busyness and satisfaction of the presence of the Lord forever and ever.

Overcoming Evil: The Human Condition and Cure

I was planning on doing something else at the time of this post, but something is disturbing me tonight. Allow me to give a bit of a background.

A Human Example
Since the big move to Arizona, it has been a blessing to read more - books, blogs, and media. I have also been able to keep up with the news quite a bit more than I did in Indiana, and recently there was a story that caught my attention; tonight I followed the trial resulting from the incident. If you're not able to cope with seeing malice as well as others may be, I'll explain below. Do please take warning; this is video is hard to watch. 

So in summary, as best as I understand the situation, one 12-year-old refuses drugs from two 15-year-olds then tells a teacher. Those two 15-year-olds, along with one other, beat up the kid in the bus.

The Human Response

1. Anger at cowardice. Even from a foolish perspective - if you beat a 12-year-old kid up and it takes you bringing two of your buddies into it when you're 3 years older than the little kid, you're a spineless coward.

2. Anger at malice. Hating someone enough to extensively harm them physically is unnerving. I don't get it.

3. A desire for justice. This should never be ignored or excused. Appropriate measures should be taken for protection of the victim and punishment of the guilty.

The Human Tendency

The one man who spoke up from the trial was the father of Julian McKnight, one of the offenders. And what did he say? "I'm so sorry my son behaved dishonorably and violently"? No:

"We're sorry about what happened to the victim, but that's just the way it is. You know, my son ain't no bad person. You know, he just got a little mixed with bad people, that's all... He's sorry."

Meanwhile, Julian did not say he was sorry. He didn't say anything.

The Human Condition

Sir, I am glad to hear that your son isn't a bad person. Even though he repeatedly kicked and punched a younger kid and broke the kid's arm, it's at least a comfort to know he's not horrible deep down on the inside.

Is this the response? Your kid isn't a bad person, but someone else's is? That's the explanation?

No - I am sorry - your kid is a monster.

But Before We Throw Any Stones...

Much more could be said, but you get the point. You feel the anger that I did when I heard this story. But let us not park on that anger and point fingers forever because much more can be seen here. Much more can be seen in all of us.

Julian McKnight and his two culprits are not the only monsters in this world. They are only an example of the monster in all of us. Remember the story of the adulteress in John 8:1-11? She was caught red-handed. The Law demanded justice. The Pharisees were ready to deal out the punishment. But before they did, Jesus gave one statement that would shake their entire view of social justice: "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her" (8:7).

I know this isn't adultery, but does this saying not capture the essence of the human condition? When something like this happens, we are so quick to become angry and pick up the stones to throw. My friends, that is not justice - it is revenge, bitterness.

The people over us will deal with justice (Rom. 13:1). God will bring this horrendous act to judgment on the final day. But a desire for revenge - the poisonous desire in me to take my friends and gang up against one of them - is only a worsening of the situation. So imagine that horrible feeling you have in your stomach doubling. That is what our bitterness accomplishes. We cannot overcome evil with evil.

But God's compassion and grace are deep enough to cover all, to cleanse the vilest of sinners - even Ninevah, even Saul, even Julian.

Romans 12:19-13:1

Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord.

"But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head."

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.

(More) Promised Photos + random life snippets

 I love this kid...

 ...enough to tell him the truth that the D-backs

aren't the greatest team in the NL.

 Uncle Whit!

Uncle Whit's aviators!

 Playing what I will hereafter refer to as

"Tickle/Tackle." It's a very simple game but

very hilarious.

 He hasn't quite learned yet that sometimes

pushing down hard on a person's face isn't the

best way to socialize. Uncles are only the

exception.

 Climb up the couch...

 ...climb down on Jon.

Matthew took me to my first

MLB game: the D-backs and Rays.

(Arizona won 9-8 in a close game).

Praise God - I have finally been given a job: 

Domino's Assistant Manager / GM-in-Training.

I started work in the store Thursday.

This is a New Testament read-through

I'm heading up in October. 17:27, as I call it,

will have its fourth go-around this year. However,

this is only the second year I've tried to rally

other people to join me. If you're interested, shoot

me an email at jmross94@gmail.com, and I'll

sign you up.

I still have fears and gaps and holes. And I'm not where I should be - I know that. But, as evidenced only in part here, God gives grace and little joys every single day. All glory be to Him.

Hosea 6:2

He will revive us after two days; 

He will raise us up on the third day, 

That we may live before Him.

"I am not what I ought to be,

I am not what I want to be,
I am not what I hope to be.
But thank God
I am not what I used to be.”
~John Newton

"Reading" and Reading

Through July and this first part of August I've been working on reading Mere Christianity. Recently I came to the conclusion that there are far too many books to read, and I have far too little time to read. So I pulled up Scratchpad on my Chromebook and made a priority list of sorts. Almost all of the books that ended up on that list were ones that have impacted the church for years if not centuries. Those are the ones I most want to read.

On a side-note, I heavily recommend Mere Christianity to any person who wants to think seriously about God, ethics, morals, and life in general. The books begins by examining possible explanations to the moral law, eventually counts off atheism as too simple, and settles on Christianity for the best system of belief and practice for life. It is a mental work. One has to stay with the author and think critically. But the thoughts given are not too lofty for the common man, and there are a variety of illustrations to help.

Finally, I want to put in a word about reading. When I talk to my friends and tell them I'm "reading" a book, something totally different may come into their minds than is in mine. To me, reading is grueling discipline requiring heavy attention and mental effort. When I read, I have a conversation with the author. I ask him questions, put in objections, agree on points I find valid, summarize and reword what he has already stated, and I mark the pages that have the most important points.

That's what I mean by reading. And I would encourage you to do the same. It takes much time and effort. You won't get through a whole bookshelf in a year, but you will get much more out of your books and be able to refer back to them later. Unless you have a photographic memory, you're not going to get as much out of your books by simply letting your eyes roll over the text as you will by stopping, contemplating, and thinking your own thoughts about the book.

That's my 2 cents. It was Mortimer J. Adler who got me started on it, so if you have any further questions this essay will explain.

Picture of Daniel will come soon. =)