Author: Mind@Work

Sportsmanship

When you think of sportsmanship, what do you think of? A player helping his/her opponent up? Shaking hands after a game? Would you believe me if I told you fans also have the responsibility of sportsmanship too?! Yep, the duty of the fan, among many other things, is to act civilly and with thanksgiving when a beloved player leaves an organization. Why? Because if you only love a player when they’re playing for you, what credit is that to you? Sound familiar? That’s because it’s a modern application of what Jesus said “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?…”-Luke 6:32

It’s almost become expected that fans will burn jerseys and boo them upon a future return. It seems to be an uncommon occurrence that fans will cheer, give thanks, and honor former players when they play their old team. But there are examples of fans giving standing ovations in many sports to players who went to a different team. Take, for instance, Sergio Romo, who closed out the San Francisco Giants’ 2012 World Series win against the Detroit Tigers, then went to the Dodgers—longtime rivals of the Giants—and received a standing ovation for his time in San Francisco.

There’s a similar example in hockey. When Patrick Marleau, drafted by the San Jose Sharks in 1997 and who spent 20 years with the team, signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, he received a memorable and moving homecoming upon his return with his new team the following season.

These are just a few examples of fans showing both cases of admirable behavior and reprehensible behavior to players who gave so much. Sports, teams, and fans must have character into the contest area if any honor is to be seen in sports—winning and losing. If not, those who act in a despicable manner are nothing more than players and fans who are slaves to their own evil emotions. “Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.'”-John 8:34

Live for today… or eternity?

The month of June was pride month. If you’re not aware, that’s the month where American society celebrates equality and the LGBTQ community. I used to be in support of this movement and community because of my conservative beliefs and this quote from Thomas Jefferson: “But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.” Also, I have friends who identify with this lifestyle. I do not denigrate the people of this lifestyle as human beings. However, their choices have eternal consequences and, thus, I cannot condone their choices.

But as my faith in Christ, knowledge of His Word, and prayer grew, I found I could not support the lifestyle any longer because I now care more about what God cares about—eternity—and therefore, I cannot ignore or support it just because it doesn’t affect me.

But now that my heart is closer to God’s heart, I can more clearly feel what He feels. So when I am watching the news and if an effeminate man is shown, my eyes want to just look away while my heart is sad for them. Some of the Church today has been deceived into thinking because someone is born with desires toward the same sex, that it must be natural. However, the Apostle Paul tells us otherwise in 1 Corinthians 6:9 (ESV): “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality…”

About the movement…

One of the most distinguishing symbols of the pride movement is the rainbow flag, which represents different genders and sexual identities. This movement has evolved so much that there are now over sixty different “genders,” according to CBS News and Telegraph.co.uk.

I must be truthful with you—this movement is demonic. No, I am not homophobic (fearing, hating, or mistreating homosexuals). However, my heart breaks for them as does God’s because He doesn’t want to see anyone perish the Second Death.

Why do I believe it’s demonic? Because God has established laws and only two genders: male and female. When we believe we can establish our own genders, we are taking God’s authority upon ourselves when He has not permitted it. This act was what satan tried to do and what he convinced Adam and Eve of—that God was holding out on them and that they could become like God instead of with Him.

Satan’s kingdom in Hell is the place of lawlessness (where anything goes), and we can see this so evidently in the pride movement’s flag (where any gender/sexual preference goes). It doesn’t have to be this way, though; God’s grace is still available to all who want to be free from sin and have eternal life with Christ. The three-step path to redemption is admitting you’re a sinner (just like I am), believing Christ is the Son of God, and calling upon His Name to be saved! From there, He will give you the gift of eternal life* and will give you a new heart of flesh**!

* “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.”—Ephesians 2:8–9 (NIV)

** “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”—Ezekiel 36:26 (NIV)

Overcoming Rituals of OCD

My struggle with OCD has been very difficult, and many rituals and habits have evolved and formed from it. At first, my process of overcoming OCD was a simple matter of trying to cope with it so that I was able to function in life. But this was not unlike trying to plug up the cracks in a dam, where water just keeps finding new places to break through.

That said, this doesn’t mean that I haven’t had some permanent success fighting it. One early example of my success was in my speech, where I was compelled to repeat specific words or sentences in reverse, just under my breath. Imagine having the compulsion to repeat everything you just said under your breath!

Sound exhausting? It was. That’s why, one day, I was so overwhelmed with it I quite simply just starting talking without repetition. As you can imagine it was a massive relief—not just on my mind but on my vocal cords as well! This begs the question as to why I can’t do the same with my other rituals and habits. What I realize is that while they are tiring, I am able to still function without being entirely overwhelmed. Since they are still tolerable, I find that I’m not as motivated by discomfort as I was with the speech repetitions and reversals.

Recently, I’ve made more progress on one of my oldest and most common problems through faith in God. As you might have read in my first post, one of the difficulties I have is picking up basic objects (pens, eating utensils, etc). What was really hard about that was my mind would go down one rabbit hole after another of unpleasant thoughts until I consciously broke the loop.

About a week or two ago, I was doing IT work in a bus on the bus lot. I was trying to pick up a pen and was about to get stuck in the rabbit hole again when I felt God’s still small voice say (not audibly) alongside the rabbit hole, “Do you trust that I am with you and in control?”

He then showed me (in my heart) how to respond in faith, by picking up the pen and my equipment without hesitation and continuing on. I did so, and I have continued to remember this and use it when I get stuck in similar situations!

All Glory to Him in the Highest!

Photo Credit: Ju On @juon via Unsplash

(Warning: Explicit) Porn Addiction and God’s Amazing Grace

Many years ago when I was in middle school, I was introduced to pornography and masturbation by a friend I went to school with. I had no idea what the latter word or act was until he asked if I did it. I was also taught in sex education in high school that this act was a good way to get to know myself. I had no idea how enslaving it would become.

My porn and masturbation addiction continued after high school and many years after. I became a believer of God around 2011, but just believing doesn’t mean I was instantly freed from this addiction. I still liked doing it and wanted to have sex (which to this day I have only done once and regret it). I knew each time I did it that it was wrong—but I couldn’t stop, and I repented many times. I kept pleading with God to make it stop, but it just wouldn’t.

Despite this, God has always had His hand heavily on me, keeping me safe. These sinful acts continued until summer 2016 when I returned from Kansas City after a mission trip with my church. I asked one of my church friends who also went on the mission to be my accountability partner. God’s grace was instantaneous!

What do I mean by grace? God wants us to be free from sin and shame. He freely gives His power (His grace) to overcome sin and temptation to those wanting to take sin seriously and make a real change for our lives. I went from having (and succumbing to) temptations and urges once or twice per week to zero of these in three weeks!

While this was a fantastic start, I still had a lot of work to do. Eventually the temptations and urges came back, and I would have slip-ups, as we called them. When they became more and more frequent, I thought, how can I keep myself away from this material when I’m weak on my computer? The answer was a porn blocking app for my iPhone and an explicit material filter for my computer. And what do you know, God empowered me with more of His grace. For many more weeks, I continued without temptation or urges.

As time went on, my slip-ups happened less and less frequently. I was being tapered off. I still have porn filters and blocking apps on my devices, and I still get unclean thoughts here and there, but I am so much stronger in resisting these temptations and urges even in my previously weakest of places. Years ago, I would consider being porn-free for two months impressive.

Now, a year and longer looks doable, but it’s not possible without God’s grace! I am now a firm believer that God helps those who can and do help themselves, and who take their sin and its destructive components seriously.

Sex, before or after marriage?

It is widely accepted in Western culture that it is okay to have sex before marriage, in wanting to explore what the experience of sex is like, to become skilled at it for your future wife or husband, and other reasons as well.  One wonders, what could be wrong about that?  It’s fun (from what I hear) and pleasurable, so what about it could be wrong?

Many people in our society think someone is crazy if they wait until marriage. A 2016 Huffington Post article presented the point of view of various couples who had waited to have sex until after marriage for personal (but nonreligious) reasons—and their opinions on the matter of waiting vary widely.

That article presented some of the nonreligious beliefs. But what indeed is the true form, fashion, and design of sex meant to be? To my mind, I say yes, it is designed to be wonderful, exciting, and fun, but most importantly, sacred!

Sex is one of the pinnacles of human experience on Earth, along with coming to know Jesus, experiencing true forgiveness, and building deep friendships. These are gifts from God that allow us to enjoy and connect with others and someone special. However, gifts from God come with instructions that are not to be violated because God is infinitely pure and perfect. We humans, being made in God’s image, are meant to reflect that purity… for each other, as well as for the rest for God’s Creation.

When we have sex before or outside of marriage, we have violated His gift. This is because sex was made to be enjoyed with a lifelong spouse of the opposite gender, and when we disobey the instructions we, whom God loves—and the law God cherishes—are tarnished. Our relationships with those we love are broken, as is our relationship with God… and He desires so greatly to have an intimate relationship with us.

To further justify why waiting until marriage to have sex is the best choice, I would like to echo something Mickey Robinson, pastor, international speaker, and author, said: “One day in the Lord’s favor is worth better than ten years of hard work.”

If being right with and blessed by God means He instructs us to wait until the right person comes along whereupon our souls are committed solely to each other and God, then I’ll happily wait!

The Start of a Relationship with God

I’ve recently been wondering how I can become closer to God and the Lord Jesus. I research near-death experiences (NDEs) and visions including both Heaven and Hell. I have seen Bill Wiese’s “23 Minutes in Hell” twice and recently watched Mary K. Baxter and her incredibly descriptive vision of Hell. As I finished watching the latter video, I was pondering what I just saw and the Lord started to play a song to me describing how I can dive deeper into a relationship with Him. The song is Take Me There by Rascal Flatts and the lyrics only scratch the surface of the depth of relationship God wants to have with you!

In full disclosure I was writing this post from the vantage point of someone who has told everything about his life to God in prayer and I got the small feeling I should stop because I was a hypocrite if I posted from that point-of-view. So I am taking a different approach, posting as someone who’s steadily growing in his walk with the Lord and sharing what I’m discovering along the way. With that being said, there’s some good advice on prayer and meditation in Richard J. Foster’s book “Celebration of Discipline” which also inspired the tip below, and what I’m just beginning to practice.

Find (or even better, create) time to be with the Lord in prayer; whatever comes to mind about absolutely anything in your life, tell Him about it. You may be thinking , “He already knows” (and you’d be right), but He wants to hear it from you. He wants you to trust Him to share everything about your life, past and present! How you present what you remember about your life is up to you. For me, I started telling Him about every girl I’ve ever had a crush on, then I moved on to the deepest desires of my heart as a kid.

To cement the importance of a relationship I refer you to what Bill Wiese said at the 53 minute mark of his testimony above, “You have no right [to move into God’s Kingdom with no relationship].” Also from John Bevere’s book Killing Kryptonite, “‘Then what is the thing I should seek for the most? What is first in importance?’ I heard the answer so clearly, ‘To know Me intimately.'” (251)

Homosexuality vs. God’s Word

The Canadian Parliament recently passed a law that nullifies the statute of criminalizing gay sex and homosexuality and reverses all convictions therein. While I do not believe that criminalizing such acts is the right course of action, I cannot and will not support gay sex or homosexuality. Today’s societal norms are far more accepting of homosexuals as equals under the law than in previous generations. They go so far as to convince churches that gay behavior is acceptable.

Homosexual attraction—a feeling of attraction toward a person of the same gender—is not a sin because we are not held responsible for our feelings or desires; we are held responsible for acting on those desires. While lust (mentally embracing and meditating on those desires for sin), pornography, and sexual actions outside marriage are sinful, the attraction, desire, or feeling is not. When I was in high school, and even up until a few years ago, I was also in favor of homosexuality because of my politically based belief in our country’s freedoms.

Recently, however, I have come to change my beliefs. I have come to a point in my life where my internal standards have shifted such that I no longer live for anything of this world, but rather for God’s eternal Kingdom of righteousness. I have even heard many believers cite Scripture of the Old Testament, using it to justify to others that homosexuality is now okay because that was a different era. The reason I am changing my decision is because of what is clearly stated in the Old and New Testaments, with supporting evidence found within current testimonies of visions of hell given by the Lord Jesus Christ.

1st Scripture: “26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.”-Romans 1:26-27

2nd Scripture: “8 We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. 9 We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality…”-1 Timothy 1:8-10

3rd Scripture: “9 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men”-1 Corinthians 6:9

4th Scripture: “22 “‘Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.”-Leviticus 18:22

5th Scripture: “13 “‘If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.”-Leviticus 20:13

The Church is to love as Christ loves, therefore, we are to love the sinner but hate the sin. That being said the Lord Jesus Christ is not coming back for a financially prosperous church or a compromising church, as are many churches in America which condone homosexuality, He is coming back for an obedient and Holy (which means “sacred, divine, like God”) church, one that keeps His commandments and endures to the end.

Is Life Vanity?

I’ve lived in College Station over four and a half years now. From the time I got here, I’ve been attending Breakaway Ministries, a weekly non-denominational Bible study that meets on the campus of Texas A&M. Breakaway brings in about 3,000–5,000 students each week during the fall and spring semesters for worship and study of the Scripture. Opening night each semester brings in on average 10,000–12,000 students. Breakaway also has a large online audience each week.

In spring 2017, we studied the book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament. It was likely written by King Solomon, who is considered to be one of the wisest men to ever live. He examines in-depth everything that the common person believes will bring lasting meaning, satisfaction, and fulfillment to our lives… and then flips it on its head!

There are two big truths that I have discovered in my study of this book: 1) God is good, perfect, and infinitely loving. As a specific example, I believe God allowed the Preacher to experience all the challenges of his life so that he could be an example to us. The Preacher’s example would help us steer clear of having to go through the same difficult experiences—or at the very least, that we would recognize the pointlessness of such endeavors.

The fact that God not only guided him through his travails, but also inspired him to become a preacher on our behalf, confirms to me just how loving and all-knowing He is.

2) This book has a hidden blessing: To show the reader what the wants and desires of this world bring us, and where they lead us in the end.

A perfect metaphor that illustrates where the desire for worldly things will lead us is the Dead Sea, which borders Israel, the West Bank, and Jordan. Just as there are no natural outlets there, the blind pursuit of worldly things leads to a dead end where there is no free and healthy circulation of life. This is what happens when we live primarily to consume the things of this world and never give back.

This book could also be appropriately titled “Vanity” since the word is mentioned thirty-eight times. So, there must be some part of life that is utter vanity—but what?

In complete honesty, I was about to write out every instance where a vain feat had been set out, but I thought twice about it. So what I will do is give you a brief summary of the theme of each feat. Each vain task was rooted in selfishness or want in one form or another, and the author expounded on everything one could conceive of to an exponential degree.

What’s even more fascinating about Ecclesiastes is the author’s conclusion in chapter 12, verses 13 through 14:

13 Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep His commandments,
for this is the duty of all mankind.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.

So back to the title question, is life vanity? If you only live for yourself and the pleasures of this world, yes. If you love and serve the Lord and your fellow neighbor, give to the poor, live for His coming Kingdom, and obey His commandments… then the answer is unequivocally, no!

Scripture, NDEs, and Christian Apologetics

Whether I’m working, in class, or doing other activities, my mind is constantly at work. In this blog, we’ll explore life lessons from Biblical stories, the coherence of Christianity and why it’s crucial to society and mankind’s salvation, and God’s Kingdom in NDEs.

This is my first post. Whether I’m working, in class, or doing other activities, my mind is constantly at work—hence my blog title. Before I started really getting into online Bible studies, Christian apologetics, and near-death experiences (NDEs), I was mainly interested in politics and a future in law enforcement.

A couple of years ago, I started inquiring more and more about the Christian faith, the Spirit of Scripture, and NDEs. I’ve realized the more I’ve prayed and read His Word, the more my heart has been inclining towards God’s Heart, and through this He has shown me what really matters through His eyes.

I say this because ever since middle school, becoming an FBI Special Agent was an absolute dream of mine. But recently, I’ve really started to question the reasons I wanted to join the Bureau. I wanted to wear a badge, carry a gun and most of all, uphold justice. I hate it when people abuse and corrupt the law, other people, or the earnings of people and businesses.

That’s a noble dream and goal, but God has gradually shown me His Heart and the three things that really endure to the end… faith, hope, and love—the latter being the greatest! With that being said, I now just want to raise a family with a Godly wife and serve the Lord wherever He leads me.

Now that you know a little about me, here’s what to expect from this blog: life lessons from Biblical stories, the coherence of Christianity and why it’s crucial to society and mankind’s salvation, and God’s Kingdom in NDEs. I may add other topics and sections as time goes on.

Thanks for reading!