13 Signs that You Need Restoration

So, credit goes to my pastor for these, but they really stood out as gems, so I wanted to share them with you.

1. Prayer is no longer a vital part of one's life
2. Questing [his word, not mine] for Biblical truth has fallen by the wayside
3. Biblical knowledge is possessed but no inwardly applied
4. Pleasure becomes a necessary, compelling factor
5. Gain dominates one's thinking
6. Hymns and words are mouthed without any heart
7. One finds oneself watching and reading morally corrupt content
8. Breaches in one's church bring no concern
9. The slightest excuse is sufficient to keep one from one's duty
10. One is content with the lack of power and fillings of the Holy Spirit
11. The music in one's soul and heart is no longer present
12. One is gladly adjusting one's lifestyle to that of the world
13. The tears have run dry and conviction of sin is absent

If, while reading this, you find yourself moved inwardly, saying, "that's me," then I encourage you to take some time, now, and drop to your knees, praying and asking God for a renewal of spirit, for the restoration that He brings, so that, once again, or for the first time, your heart might be moved to the passions and urgings of a God who loves us deeply and intimately, yet who also is a God of perfect standard that cannot be obtained and met by our feeble, dirtied attempts at perfection, but who, in a display of His mercy and grace, paid the debt of perfection and the punishment of its failure in a manner consistent with His law by providing a sacrifice sufficient to pay such an infinite debt through the sending of his son, Jesus, the Messiah, who, being fully God and fully man, lived a life of sinless perfection, endured the mockery of his peers and countryfolk, the ignominy of torture and death, the weight of eternity's sin and punishment, and the rejection of God, his Father, for the sin he carried and yet, having paid in full the price of sin for all mankind, he rose from the dead, breaking the chain of sin and death and has since risen to the Father's side, where he presents our cases on our behalf and prepares a place at the Father's table for those who, seeing they cannot ever pay their debt in full and are thus deserving of the punishment given for sin, have turned in faith to him, accepting his sacrifice, and committing their lives to following him.

(Yes, that's one grammatically correct sentence)

Twisted Mirrors: Lust

Lust is something not very well defined today in the church. This is possibly because it is one of the largest skeletons in almost everyone's closets. Very few want to talk about it and, if they do, even fewer are candid.

The basic definitions that I have found portray lust as wanting something or someone you don't and might not be meant to have [1] or, from a more Augustinian perspective, the perversion of love. While the former is valid, it is not fully complete; the latter is closer to the mark, but only if a very complex, manifold view of love, its attributes, and attitudes is applied.

For simplicity's sake, I shall write from a perspective that, to me, is equally close to the mark, if not closer: lust is the perversion of desire.

Desire is not evil, not in its original intention. Desire seeks something to satisfy it, to appease it. Ideally, this should direct us to God or the God-given fulfillment of that desire. Classically, lust is defined as misplaced or perverted sexual desire, the desire for objects in general and for others' possessions and situations, being greed and envy, respectively.

How, then, does lust play its hand? It presents itself as a temptation, a counter-offer to God's provision for a particular need. In this context, the need could be one for some sort of intimacy, whether it be emotional, physical, relational, etc.. Lust presents itself and its subsequent actions as a source of satisfaction, but being mere perversion of God's provision, it cannot properly fulfill said need.

Lust offers a temporary, hollow, cheap alternative to the proper meeting of our desires. as a result, we can find ourselves delving ever deeper into its offerings as we seek for better fulfillment. In doing so, we condition our hearts and minds to turn to lust's offerings first, becoming addicted as does an alcoholic or a narcotic. Why? Because it provides a thrill, a temporary meeting of a desire for little cost, we continue to seek it out, becoming ever entrenched in its workings.

We're dealing not just with sin, but addiction and, unfortunately, the substance for this addiction is all around us. Advertisements, billboard, magazine, television, or otherwise, provide plentiful source material for the satiation of lust in some degree. Fashion, too, can play a part. So can the media through film, books, and even the radio. Sex sells and, unfortunately, it sells well.

So, if lust's source material is all around us, how does it take place? How does it offer its wares for the individual's "satisfaction"? Visually/mentally and physically.

Visually/Mentally

• Ogling - the visual stripping down of a woman for some degree of sexual power or satisfaction. It is the perversion of appreciation and admiration, both of which, in their pure, intended roles seek to praise God for the beauty of His creation.
• Pornography - the seeking of sexual satisfaction from media. This can be in the form of single images, film, or written text. This also does not have to be depictions of sex and/or nudity. It varies depending on the individual; for one, just the image of a woman in a scoop-necked top could be porn as it incites lust and the temptation to then seek satisfaction therefrom. It is the perversion of the desire for sex with one's own spouse in addition to the perversion of the appreciation and admiration which is to be reserved for said spouse.
• Replay/Fantasizing - the mental recall or projection of a particular image or individual that incited lust. This can be intentional or unintentional, but it is more than simply the image popping into one's head, but rather, the dwelling or expounding upon said thought. This is a perversion of the regard with which one thinks about another, particularly the way one should think about one's spouse only.

Physically

• Masturbation - the seeking of the gratification of physical sexual desire by oneself. Straight up, it is a perversion of the desire given to us which should be for our spouse only in addition to the perversion of the form intended for said gratification. Single or unmarried individuals, sorry, but the only proper gratification for this desire is to wait patiently for your spouse.
• Adultery - the seeking of physical sexual gratification with one not one's spouse. Again, the perversion is fairly clear, it is the twisting of what was meant to remain in the confines of a marriage with one's spouse.

As we can see, lust has many faces, some of which may even seem innocuous, but what happens is that one addicted to lust finds oneself completely lacking satisfaction from that which should fulfill it. Relationships, particularly those with one's spouse and with God become cheapened [2], [3]. It is an issue of the heart, then, of the very core of our being.

How, then, can we overcome lust? Not by our own strength. Convicted of what I had read thus far, I sought to stay pure from lust during my shift at work. The number of times I was tempted to simply ogle an ad, coworker, or customer was surprising, not to mention the number of times a thought from my previous foolishnesses tried to bring itself to the fore. I quickly became convinced, in a more-than-head-knowledge kind of way of the necessity for God's intervention. Sure, I could have kept it up myself, but the strain from just 5 hours was immense. I'm under no illusions that I would have burnt out within a couple of days at best.

We need to become broken. That's Christianese for "We need to realize our helplessness in the face of our sin, discard any last vestige of pride, and humbly come to God in genuine desire for freedom." It is, after all, a hear issue. We need to come, asking for God to restore our hearts to their proper orientation - towards Him. We need to desire God above the false satisfactions of lust. Only then will the war begin to turn. Unfortunately, we cannot change our hearts. We have the unfortunate predilection for sin, the disobedience and turning away from God. It is ONLY through God that we can even be able to come to Him, to obey Him, to truly desire and give glory to Him.

Why, then, do we persist in the illusion that lust and its faces are simply our personal issues, never to be shared with anyone? Why do we enslave ourselves to empty fulfillments and addictions. Let us instead cry out to God. Let us reach out to one another and hold each other accountable for our addictions and trials.

I am human. I lust. I want out.

(For more on lust and overcoming it, check the links cited in the post above as well as these, too: [4], [5], [6], [7], and [8])

Twisted Mirrors: Introduction

Twisted Mirrors is going to become an ongoing series, ultimately to cover the 7 classical Deadly Sins. This idea was spurred by my own investigation of my struggles with Lust and my discoveries thereupon (personal and research).

So, I hope you enjoy and learn from what I'm learning.

I won't necessarily be posting these in regular sequence, but they will all eventually be posted with the "Twisted Mirrors" tag.

The Worship Dilemma

So, there's something I've been noticing that I really think needs to be addressed beyond the "grumble to peer" medium and that's the self focus of much of the modern worship songs sung in churches today.

Now, I'm not talking about something along the lines of this video, but it does provide an exaggerated counterpoint.

What I am seeing more often from a number of services, particularly youth- and young adult-aimed services, is a prevalence of pop music which praises God in relation to self. We praise God for what He's doing to/with/for us. When we're praying, we praise God for how He's never left us instead of for his unending faithfulness. It's a subtle difference, but it makes an impact.

There are far too few songs that worship God for being God, for His attributes. We don't find many new songs extolling God for His omnipotence, fidelity, righteousness, or justice and what few we do are, more often than not, calls to worship where the song is encouraging the church to come and praise God because of who He is. Still, though, the focus is less on God and more on the call to worship.

What do I suggest, then? I suggest we return to the theology-rich, thoughtful poetry of hymns. I'm not saying we need to sit through piano, organ, and choir droning on at a trudging pace, but rather that we return to poetic song that praises God for God, not for how He has moved in relation to us. Let us praise him with rich thought and intense vocabulary. Let our somnolent tongues become renewed as they extol the richness of God's nature itself, without constant allusion to the self.

Yes, there comes a time in which to praise God for what He has done with/to/for us, but that should not be the bulk of our praise, but a mere part.

To those churches I have attended which worship God for God and not for us, I thank you and encourage you to continue as you were.

The Lumpy Pot

So, in my 3 1/2 years now of living in the US, I've noticed something that strikes me as both odd and sad. Americans are not American.

Or, at least, they don't identify as such.

Now, don't get me wrong, if I were to go to any number of random people on the street and ask them directly if they're American, they'd say "Yes." What I'm referring to is the phenomenon wherein Americans self-identify as only partial Americans, as X-Americans.

I remember reading a blog by an Irish traveler and polyglot a few months ago wherein he recounted his run-in with an Irish-American (See, the X-American strikes). When the author mentioned he was Irish the obviously American individual replied stating that he was, too.

News flash: the second man was no more Irish than me.

Oh yes, I can play the heritage card: 1/16 Cherokee, a smattering of Irish, English, Norman, and Scandinavian with a dollop of "I don't know" and voila, me. Do I claim to be Irish, Norman, English, Cherokee, or Norse? Heck no! To claim a nationality is to also claim its culture; I don't share any of those cultural attributes and traditions.

Now, do Irish-Americans have distinct customs? Kind-of, but they're not Irish.

A bit closer to home: African-Americans. I'm sorry, but you're honestly less African than me. Unless you or your parents (possibly your grandparents, if they strongly instilled their culture and tradition in you) lived a substantial portion of your/their life/lives in Africa, you're simply American. You're Americans with a different ancestry and sub-/culture from other Americans, but you're American nonetheless.

So, what's the beef?

To use the lumpy pot allegory from the title: America has long been described as a melting pot, but I would argue it's not, not completely. In a melting pot, everything melts together completely, every aspect of every ingredient losing its individual cohesion and combining with its neighbours. America has been more like a lumpy soup. There are aspects and flavours from the immigrant cultures that have diffused into the mix, but the cultures as a whole have remained fairly individual, some, like the Pennsylvania Dutch, mutating into a completely new flavour separate from both the mix and their origin.

Because of these lumps, the American identity is fractured. While all nationals will identify as American, there is no common, overarching culture that is America, which would serve to connect Americans from one part of the country or people group with another from another. The subculture is not. The subculture has been allowed to become a co-culture.

Let me draw your attention to my home: South Africa is a melting pot, too, but I would argue that they are such in a more true sense of the term. Were I to ask an individual, white, black, or coloured, if he was African, if she was South African, the answer would be unequivocably "Yes." (and perhaps accompanied by a look questioning your sanity/intelligence). Yes, there are English- and Afrikaans-speaking whites, Xhosa, Zulu, Venda, Malay, Indian, and Griquas, to name a few, but the individual subculture has integrated into the mix such that one can look to the other and say that they are still one, united people. You see, "South African" and "Afrikaaner/Xhosa/YouNameIt" are not equal co cultures. Rather, the former supercedes the latter. This, America, is what you lack.

So, I ask and beseech you, Americans, look beyond your individual identifications and begin building the national identity, the national culture that America has sorely lacked, especially in recent years. Acknowledge your differences and overcome them. Acknowledge your misinformations and fears and address them. Acknowledge the wrongdoings of your cultural forebears and seek not redress or recompense, but reconciliation. Acknowledge the right doings and achievements of your cultural forebears and celebrate them. Acknowledge the right doings and achievements of your fellow American's cultural forebears and celebrate them alongside him. Acknowledge the God who made each individual, people, culture and language, who made then not only good, but very good and praise Him.

Only then will Americans come together. Only then will the lumps smooth into the pot.

Running

I don't like running.

I can appreciate running - it's good exercise and all, but I still don't like running.
I enjoy using running tracker apps so I can tell if I'm improving and how far/long I've actually run, but I still don't like running.
I enjoy hitting new distance or time milestones, but I still don't like running.
I enjoy the feeling of fitness that comes with a good run, but I still don't like running.

Too cold to run? Oh well.
Not enough time to run? That's too bad.
Don't know the neighbourhood? Yeah, it's probably not too safe.

Haven't run since last semester? No big.
Going to run again? Go for it.

Pardon me, have you seen my lungs? I think they fell behind back at the half-mile mark.

I don't like running.

Enkosi Tata

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela 

Here's to a man who fought injustice and lived to tell his story.

Here's to a man who endured long imprisonment.

Here's to a man who displayed maturity and wisdom beyond his circumstances.

Here's to a man who realised that wrong corrects no wrong,

Who realised the long-term effects of peaceful talks,

Who realised working with the opposition can effect a smooth transition of power.

Here's to a man who realised the unpopular action can be the better action.

Here's to a man who reached out, as president, in reconciliation, to his detractors.

Here's to a man who offered amnesty in exchange for peace.

Here's to a man.

A nation.

A legacy

Hamba kakuhle Madiba. Enkosi.

Totsiens Madiba. Dankie.

Farewell Madiba. Thank you.