Midnight Moments

My freshmen year of college I discovered the band "The Rocket Summer". The band is actually made up of Bryce Avery, a short, blonde, hyper guy whose musical talents are most likely the result of ADHD. On his recorded albums all the instruments and vocals are Bryce, while on tour he travels with a full band and switches to different instruments for different songs. His energy and passion is evident in his intensely energized upbeat melodies and clever lyrics. His newest album, "Of Men and Angels" focuses mainly around the themes discovered in 1 Corinthians 13, better known as the love chapter. The title track, however, couples the love theme with a yearning to only pursue what leads to the heart of God in the end. The lyrics of this chorus caught my attention the first time I listened to the song: "Here I am dear Lord Tasting hints of fame I don't want it anymore If it's not You that I gain Wanna fall on my knees Don't wanna fall from Your peace...

I was recently driving home from the mall when I encountered two teenage girls standing on either side of the road with buckets. They were raising money for teenage suicide prevention. I rolled down my window and handed the girl a dollar, the only cash I had on me, and in turn, she handed me a pamphlet with statistics about teenage suicide rates and a list of possible signs that someone is suicidal. At the bottom of this pamphlet was a quote: “Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.” This got me thinking about human perspectives of suffering. We all suffer; believers and non-believers alike. Matthew 5: 45 tells us that the Lord “makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust”. No one, not even believers are immune from troubles and suffering. On this subject, C. S. Lewis explains, “The real problem is not why some pious, humble, believing people suffer, but why some do not.” So if suffering and problems are a normal aspect o...

"If God is good, why is there evil"? Ah, the age old question, often used to blame God for the evils of the world or deny His existance all together. The church I attend on Sunday evenings, a church of about 10,000 people, is doing a series on this very topic. Based on the book by Randy Alcorn, the series addresses this question, giving Biblical answers to the issue of a good God co-existing with the evils in our world. Answering this question seems to trip up a lot of Christians. Now, when I say Christians, I don't just mean individuals who say they believe in God and go to church and know a few key Bible verses. I mean individuals who have come to a believing and saving faith in God the Father and accepted the forgiveness and redemption that comes with the death of His Son, Jesus, repented of their sins and embraced the power of His resurrection in overcoming temptation and the power of sin in their lives and live a life surrendered to Christ's character and will. N...

It seems my most inspired moments come when I least expect them, and rarely when I actually need them. As a seminary student slaving for the next few years studying theology deep, philosophical thinking and theologically fueled conversation are typically the norm. Living alone, however, I spend a lot of time simply inside my own head mulling over the complexities of the divine and pondering the deeper contentions of human nature. My mode of expressing the epiphanies that come to me late at night or while I'm doing dishes in my apartment is generally writing; a method that often goes unread by anyone other than myself. Therefore, in order to share with anyone in the web community who has a curiousity or interest in the areas of the spiritually significant or divinely dichotomous can share with me in my mental mullings. So, friends, welcome to my blog; to the world inside my head. Proceed with caution; things could get weird.