Heart's Cry

Well, I think the third post is a good time to explain why I decided to title my blog "Heart's Cry." There are many reasons, but the first and most straight forward is that it is the title of a song that I happen to like very much. I need to make it clear that this is what I want my "heart's cry" to become...because this is definitely not the state of my heart as much as I would like it to be. The lyrics go like this:

This is my heart`s cry
I want to know the one who saved me and gave me life
This is my heart`s cry to be so close to Him that all my life becomes
A testimony of my Savior`s grace and love
This is my heart`s cry

This is my heart`s cry
Much more than just a great desire - it`s like a fire in me
I hear my heart cry each time I think about the cross where Jesus died
The cross should have been mine but His love broke through time
And heard my heart cry - he heard my heart cry

Now every other hope and dream is lost inside of this one thing
To know the one who died for me and live my life for Jesus Christ
Is my heart`s cry

So let my life become a testimony of my Savior`s grace and love
Oh - this is my heart`s cry - to stand before the Father one day
And hear Him say well done - this is my heart`s cry

I want this to be my goal. I guess it could be said then that I would like the first cry of my heart to be for the glory of Jesus. It's all about Him. I want my heart to ache for nothing less.

I want the second cry of my heart to echo this, for the sake of my brothers and sisters in Christ:

And so, from the day we heard (of your faith in Lord Jesus, v. 4), we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. - Philippians 1:9-14

I want to always pray these things for those who trust Jesus. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in debates and criticism and forget the importance of encouragement. The only reason we should have for criticizing the actions/beliefs of a brother is to encourage him to know and love Jesus more. I think too often we debate more for the sake of being right than for the sake of the holiness of the body of Christ, and even more often we don't criticize (or rebuke) in love. I don't feel like I ever have the place to rebuke a friend that I do not hope the things above for, because if I don't faithfully pray these things on those who are part of the same body that I myself belong to, how can I say that I genuinely care for their soul? Before Paul rebukes or encourages any church in the New Testament, he makes it extremely clear that everything he does in regards to that church is so that they may be like Christ and may know His glory and power more. Every rebuke and encouragement falls into this premise, and I want the second cry of my heart to be like this: that my family in Christ would know him more and become like He is, because there is nothing better that they could attain.

Lastly, I want my heart to cry for those who are still dead in their sin. I want to imitate Jesus in this way:

Jesus said, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and your have entered into their labor. - John 4:35-38

I want my food - what sustains me and what fills me - to be the work God has set before me, which is to proclaim His glory and salvation to those who don't know Him. I want my heart to cry out for this.

So, this is more than a blog, its kinda like a life project (that God is completing). I titled my blog "Heart's Cry" not because I hope to accomplish all of this in a single blog that only lasts a short time, but rather because I want my blog to be an outlet for my heart's cry.

Socialist Government

Just like many people, my grandfather (and at least 3 of his brothers) risked his life for the freedom of our nation - the freedom that we live through every day. My grandpa enlisted in the navy towards the end of World War II when he was 18 years old. My great uncle, his older brother, fought in naval battles in World War II and was a fighter pilot in the Air Forces during the Korean War. He received multiple awards including a Silver Star. My Uncle - my grandfather's son - was also military at one point of his life.

To me, this is a big deal. My grandpa turned eighty years old this year and he will probably die soon. I spent this last weekend in Florida (that's home for me) and I took the time to make a video of my grandpa telling me about where my family came from and about his childhood and life. My grandpa is a hard-core conservative and republican. He fought for democracy and freedom. He served as a City Commissioner in Brooksville, FL for many years. He even ran for State Representative. America is important to him. He lives on a small plot of land (almost forty acres) in central Florida with everything he needs to survive. He has a garden, he hunts deer and turkey and fishes, he owns his home with a pool, barbeque, large shed, bar, miniature orange grove, and thousands of pine trees that he will eventually be able to harvest. He is not poor at all. And some would say that that is the true mark of the republican - old, rich, conservative, not willing to help anyone else out, and extremely judgemental.

When my grandparents got married they had $15.00. I have never met two people who work harder then they have (and continue to do) in my life. Neither of them have a college degree. Neither of them were born into opportunity. But they made sacrifices, they worked hard, and they are now, eighty years later, finally settled. My grandma (also eighty years old) works tirelessly at a clothes closet in Brooksville collecting, cleaning, organizing, and giving clothes to those in the community who need help. Both of my grandparents are extremely generous and do the best they can to help the down and out.

I needed to explain those things before I started talking about what has really been on my heart. Everyone knows that our nation is vastly different than it was when my grandpa was young - and that it is about to change even more. There has been a general idea floating around that somehow a socialist government is a good idea. Just like any governmental structure, it has pros and cons. I would argue that it has more cons than pros, and is not nearly as efficient as a democracy. I don't really want to get into that.

I just feel like somehow is a moral cop-out. There are unwritten, unbending rules that must be followed for a democracy to function correctly. I would say (from my limited understanding) that some of these rules are work hard, care about your neighbor (in other words - when you are making a decision think of everyone it involves, not only yourself), self-sacrifice, and equality (no man has greater influence than another man and should not act in such a way). Moral relativity is the lack of these rules. Moral relativity says (whether we want to believe it or not) "I don't really want to be accountable to anyone or anything because I want what I want - so there is no right or wrong." This attitude is extremely selfish. This is my attitude more than I would like it to be, and this is the attitude of our generation as a whole. We were spoiled with comfort and toys as children and we expect little less as adults. We don't want to work, we don't want to be wrong, we don't want to care about others, so we get rid of everything moral. Here is what I think that has done. I think that our selfishness, our "moral relativity", has fed (not soley, but partially) poverty. I think that our selfishness has fed (again, not soley) corrupt businesses and unethical business practices. We want everything for free, and we use "moral relativity" as a coverup for our lack of personal responsibility and offenses (sin).

This may be the lamest thing that I have ever observed.

So, we have become morally relative, and we have decided that we need a socialist government to fill the void left by our lack of morals. Social Government is a control - it is a change, and maybe we do need it (we have proven ourselves incapable of handling freedom) - but it is not better than democracy. Social health care sounds great. Everyone gets health care that's affordable. What isn't advertised is the type of health care everyone gets. I am not talking about eye care, dental care, etc. I mean quality. Think about - if the government arrives at a place where it controls our health care services, eventually those services will become cheap. Someone has to pay for healthcare, if we are getting more affordable rates, then the government surely won't spend tons of money to make sure we get quality healthcare. This may seem a harsh criticism of the government, but I have experienced social health care first hand. It is nothing like our health care now, expensive as it may be. It's probably great for the first fifty years - maybe not even that long - but then everything goes downhill.

Maybe our founding fathers were too optimistic. Maybe they really believed that freedom was something everyone wanted. They probably shouldn't have put so much stake in the goodness of man - because freedom has made us selfish instead of generous. We are so rich. The poorest person in America is a king in comparison to most of the poor through the world.

This all probably seems harsh - and I am definitely not above it. I, too, am an American. There is no pure form of government. There will always be flaws in any structure we create but we cannot simply hide behind "moral relativity" and be afraid to draw distinct lines of right and wrong to avoid facing these flaws. When moral relativity is shirked away and morals re-established we will be obligated to help the poor, we will be expected to work hard and give to others, and we will be held accountable when we do not do so.

I must add, this is a very ideal blog. I am not even touching a definition of morality because this blog is already long enough. However, there is inerrant truth (a law) that has been given to us to aid us in morality that unites those who believe. Those who believe only do so through the grace of Jesus Christ, who is Lord over all of this sinful earth anyways and who will be glorified and worshiped for the rest of eternity. And that makes all of this seem extremely futile.

Someday I want a Muntjac Deer

This is my blog. Mostly, I think I will blog about whatever I feel like blogging about (I don't want to limit myself in the world of blog). So, today I feel like blogging about Muntjac Deer. I pronounce it "moont-jack", but I don't know if that is right. You can pronounce it however you'd like. And if you do know the correct pronunciation, please let me know because it isn't on Wikipedia.
If you don't know what Muntjac Deer are, they are little tiny deer that are about the size of a kitten when they are born and don't grow to be more than 20 lbs. I am thinkin' that is pretty sweet. I have wanted a kitten for awhile now. But why would I get a kitten when I could have a deer that's the size of a kitten? Ridiculous. Here are my top 6 favorite things (in no particular order) about the possibility of owning a Muntjac Deer:

1. They don't smell, they use a litter box, and they are clean.
2. If I had one, I could name it Faline if it was a girl and Bambi if it was a boy.
3. They bark. How funny would it be if you took your deer on a walk and it barked at people? What a good time.
4. They are from China. I love everything Asian.
5. The technical name of a Muntjac Deer is Muntiacus reevesi. Roughly translated, this means Reeves Muntjac. Reeves is my maiden name.
6. They like to leap, run, and don't jump on the furniture.

The only thing about owning one of these cute little guys is that they are kinda pricey. If you ever happen to find a deal on one (like, less than $100) it would be kind of you to let me know. Or, if you are just walking down the street and you happen to see one just put it in a box or something and I will come pick it up.