Memorial Day!

        Memorial Day is a day that is every year observed by Americans all across the United Sates of America.  This holiday was first called Decoration Day and was first established as a federal holiday in 1971 following the civil war.  This holiday is usually celebrated with barbecues, visits to cemeteries, parades, and gatherings in family's, but we should always honor those men and women  who have laid down their lives for our country.  I had a wonderful day with my family, but I also prayed fro those who have died for our country and those who are still fighting for it, even if I disagree with the conflict.
        I just wanted to say thank you to our troops who have given their lives throughout our countries history and all who are buried in cemeteries such as Arlington cemetery, United States Soldiers' & Airmen's Home National Cemetery, and also those US cemeteries over sea's.
        There is a hymnal that came to mind while i was writing this, our national hymn "God of Our Fathers".  Here are the lyrics:

God of our fathers, whose almighty hand 

Leads forth in beauty all the starry band

Of shining worlds in splendor thro' the skies,

Our grateful songs before thy throne arise.

Thy love divine hath led us in the past,

In this free land by Thee our lot is cast;

Be thou our ruler, guardian, guide and stay,

Thy Word our law, Thy paths our chosen way.

From war's alarms, from deadly pestilence

Be Thy strong arm our ever sure defense;

Thy true religion in our hearts increase,

Thy bountous goodness nourish us in peace.

Refresh thy people on their toilsome way,

Lead us from night to never ending day;

Fill all our lives with love and grace divine,

And glory, laud, and praise be ever Thine.

There is a clip of this sing being played by the National Marine band:

Just Saying . . .

        While I was reading the book, Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper,  i was reminded of my philosophy class in my freshman year of college.  One of the key philosophical concepts we discussed was existentialism.  This was mentioned in his first chapter.  Existentialism is described as existence precedes essence.  Many people today in this world still believe this although this is a century old concept.  He mentions that many people believe that, "there is no essence outside you to pursue or conform to . . . it is not there until you create it by your own courageous existence" (Piper 14).  I believe, like John Piper that God created our essence and gives us a purpose to live.  
        I thank you God for giving us a purpose to live so we can follow you and not waste our life!  i was also going to post a song the last blog but here it is:

         

Don't Waste your Life !!

        It has been almost a year since I have written a post on my blog.  Today I want to talk about a book I received about the time of valentine's day from my parents that I have started to read.  It is called "Don't Waste you Life" by John Piper.  I got a gift edition so I also got the DVD of when he talked about this at a conference.   So I watched the DVD and was so touched by it.  

        When John Piper first starts talking at the conference, which was in 2003, he mentions an earthquake that had happened in southeastern Iran, near Bam.  he mentions that more than 25,000 people were dead  and about 30,000 more were left injured by the time the earthquake was over.  He then goes on to talk about a time in Luke 13 when the Jews come to Jesus to ask questions about the past tragedies like the how the tower in Siloam fell on eighteen people and how Pilate kills Jews and mixes their blood with their sacrifices, and Jesus answers in a sense of saying "unless you repent, you  will likewise perish" (Luke 13: 5).  Jesus responds as if he is saying, are you astonished at all the tragedies that have happened?  Well i will tell you what to be astonished at, be astonished that you were not under the tower or that you were not in Jerusalem at that time with Pilate, because everyone here deserves to die, unless you repent.  Jesus does not respond to get God off the hook but to make the Jews realize that they have to repent and not waste their life   He then goes back to the earthquake and relates it to what Jesus might say to us about the earthquake, "our wonderment shouldn't be the 25, 000 perished in a moment, but that we have not yet been snuffed out" (Piper).  

        John Piper then concludes with this point that our lives hang by a thread of God's grace and that God made us and knows our purpose and also has the right to take away and give life whenever he pleases.  he relates Job and Hannah to this.  Job had his ten children taken away in a moment and Job says in Job 12:10, "In his hand is the life and the breath of all mankind.".  Hannah wanted a baby so much and prays about it so hard and he gives her a son and she sings praises to God and he relates this to Deuteronomy 32:39.  We should know that every day and every moment we live because of God;s choosing and grace.  It is only by God's will that when I am done with this message I might not fall dead right on the spot.  We live every moment by God's grace and the only way to not waste our life is to keep on living with God.

        Then he mentions Matthew 16:24-25 and starts to talk about his book and mentions a poem that used to hang in his kitchen that said: 

Only one life,

 'Twill soon be past;

 Only what's done

for Christ will last.

This means that only what we do for God will matter in the end, not we do for ourselves and others.  He then mentions that one part of life in the United states that draws people to waste their life is retirement, which is a time when older people sit back and "play" while the states, sink under poverty and no evangelism.  he says this retirement draws healthy sixty-five year old to play golf and bridge right into the presence of God, the judge of life to come and he says that we will be pulled in unless there are choices made in earlier life of where our treasure will be. 

        John Piper then goes on to explain the life of unwasted life.  he gives the text of Philipians 1:20-21.  In this passage he explains that Paul's wish and our wish to honor or magnify God through our life and death.  Paul shows this example in Philipians 3:7 when he acknowledges everything compared to his relationship with God as loss.  How do we honor and magnify God in everything we do in life?, by doing it all to show that that thing on earth is not our treasure, but God.  We should eat to show that food is not our treasure, but God is, and we should use money to show that God is our treasure, not money.  In death there may be certain ways God may plan for us to die to honor God.  This is shown in Philipians 1:21 when Paul says "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain."  This means that in order to honor God in dying we have to experience "our dying as gain because it means more of Christ" (Piper).  Christ has to be more precious to you than everything you leave behind.

Essentials in an unwasted life:

1. life and death are given to you as a gift in order to display the supreme value of Jesus.

2. The way to do this is to consider God above everything in your life.

3. This treasuring is seen by what you risk and sacrifice for more Jesus. 

This movie was amazing and taught me to embrace God above everything else and so should our generation!!