Archive for October, 2005

10.30.05

Posted in Uncategorized at 4:54 pm by Perry

As many of you who are close to me know, I have been struggling with my faith since attending college.  What most of you don’t know is that I made a profession of faith at the age of thirteen and was baptized as a professing believer.  Since that I was, and have been since, a lukewarm Christian.  In fact, I can’t truly say that I ever walked real closely with Christ.

            I went on like this through high school.  Around my sophomore year I began to dabble in other religions and worldly ideas.  I met with Jehovah’s Witness disciples, Mormons, Muslims, and Buddhists.  I became entranced in the idea of worldly relative truth where every person is equally as good as the effort the put forth to furthering the cause of man.

            It wasn’t until I came to Wright State that I got involved in Campus Crusade toward the end of the year that I began to let go of these worldly ideas and return to Christ.  I can not emphasize enough how much of a positive influence the people in crusade, especially Matt, Chris, and Gwen to name a few, had on helping me find Christ in my life.  Attending Spring Break in Chicago really showed me how much I direly desired to know more about what it is to TRULY live as a Christian by submitting everything to Christ and knowing the meaning and significance of grace.     

            I now realize that I began to use all of this support as a crutch.  When summer cane and I was working 60 hours per week and volunteering at Grandview that I again felt estranged from any degree of faith and walk with Jesus.  I now know that I need other in my life to support me as my faith grows and becomes stronger because by the end of the summer I already was willing to give up seeking to know Jesus better.  Without my confidants I am weak at this point in my life.  Seeing the faith of others inspires me to continue in my walk.

            I have confided in my closest friends that I felt that I never truly had faith and that my previous profession of faith is null and void because I was lukewarm for so many years.  I am beginning to realize, though, that to be saved once is to be saved forever.  I know that my profession of faith was heartfelt.  I would compare it to a married couple re-affirming their vows.  As a man is married to a woman, so to was I married to Jesus Christ when I publicly professed his glory.  And as one partner can become weak in their love for their partner so to did I become distant from Christ despite his love for me.  This I now know.  I now desire to re-affirm my vows that I made almost a decade ago.

10.27.05

Crazy Day

Posted in Uncategorized at 11:24 pm by Perry

So, I haven’t posted in a while but today was kinda a crazy day.  I had class as normal with lab, lecture and all the rest.  Then, at my pre-med society meeting, I was able to meet face-to-face the assistant dean of admissions for WSUs medical school.  (For those of you who aren’t familiar with the medical school process, this would be like a reformed baptist being able to pick the mind of Bruce Ware)  I was able to ask the asst. Dean about what EXACTLY the medical school is looking for and he even gave me hints for when I apply.  THE ASSISTANT DEAN TO THE MEDICAL SCHOOL GAVE ME HINTS ON HOW TO GET IN!  I’m sorry, but, to me, thats pretty cool.

So, the night went on and Miriam and I went to Campus Crusdae and decided to go to the Harvest Party social afterwards on Grange down from the univ.  About midnight two police cruisers pulled up claiming that there had been "numerous noise complaints" from the neighbors.  There were 15-25 people there and we were playing death hack in the backyard but I couldn’t help but think that on thirsty thursday that the police couldn’t have done something more productive than break up a Christian party by screaming at us!  Granted, we should have been more considerate of the neighbors.  In the end, I can now say that I was at a party that the cops broke up.  Man, I am one crazy dude.

10.09.05

Random Thoughts

Posted in Uncategorized at 9:41 pm by Perry

Is adultery a distortion of the gospel?  As the following verse states, marriage symbolizes the bond between Christ and his chruch:

(Ephesians 5:22-33 KJV)
(22) Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. (23) For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. (24) Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so {let} the wives {be} to their own husbands in every thing. (25) Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; (26) That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, (27) That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. (28) So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. (29) For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: (30) For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. (31) For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. (32) This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. (33) Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife {see} that she reverence {her} husband.

So there lies the question.  Is adultrey distorting the gospel by taking the picture of Christ’s marriage to the church and suggesting He is unfaithful to his promises?  Is divorce distorting the gospel by using the same imagery to claim that Christ can be seperated from his people that he has committed to?

Just something I have been thinking about.