altoids... curiously strong

Have you ever had an altoid breath mint? They are small, powerful, and can be somewhat overwhelming. I thought about altoids this morning as I was reading 2 Thessalonians. In chapter 2 we see a picture of the strength and overwhelming nature of Jesus.

And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.
2 Thessalonians 2:8

Two things in this verse cause me to stare in awe-some wonder at the conquering king, Jesus.

1. Jesus can kill people by merely breathing on them. Now, I am in NO way trying to be funny here. Think about this. In the surrounding scriptures the Apostle Paul is talking about a "man of lawlessness" who is doing some pretty bad stuff. I imagine the "man of lawlessness" to be a pretty bad dude. But, whatever strength this man might posses, though it might channel all the hosts of hell, it can not even stand up to one breath from the mouth of King Jesus. WOW! I love that.

2. Not only does one simple exhale of King Jesus kill his opponent, but the mere fact that he shows up on the scene will bring his opposition to nothing. I think of this in terms of the scripture that says, "the mountain melt like wax before him" (Micha 1:4). In the presence of mighty King Jesus, none can stand. His opposition is made to be no opposition at all.

To all those who have an image of Jesus that is weak, effeminate, and inadequate... Meditate on this verse and hail the king of all creation, the glorious and majestic, the powerful and mighty, the great and awesome... the conquering King Jesus!

speaking of creating a universe...

If you are going to create a new universe (see post below), I recommend that it have talking monkeys like these http://www.careerbuilder.com/monk-e-mail (have fun with this one)

Get your own "universe in a tube"

Ok, I didn't understand most of the article, but the title and first paragraph were, alone, worth posting the link here. Thankfully, when you create a universe in a laboratory and mess with space and time it will actually cause "no harm to the fabric of our universe."

WHEW! Now that is good to hear.

My question is, "if you shake the universe and then open the lid, will it fizz like a coke?" If it does, I bet all the other scientists will point and laugh at you.

the f-bomb

Yeah, so today, I came as close to dropping the f-bomb as I have ever come in about 7 years. It was sometime after I hit a water line in our downstairs bathroom and sometime before I finally located the valve to shut the water off. Running frantically through the house I had to consiously think about not saying the f-bomb knowing my little son was somewhere in the house. I am sure he did, however, hear some other choice words.

Let's just say today has been a challenge. All I can assume is that the Apostle Paul must have been a home owner who had a basement bathroom like mine... surely, this is the thorn in the flesh that is so commonly debated. For me, it just makes sense.

Anyway, I've been to lowes 3 times, home depot once, target once, and spent close to 6 hours in the smallest room in my house... and it still isn't finished. Maybe this is why I have put off finishing this bathroom for over a year.

Anyway, Jenn has finished putting together the towel rack and it is time for me to add this final piece. So, fare well my friends, I am heading back in... you might want to put your fingers in your ears for this one.

my brain is on fire...

I am currently reading "Paul: An Outline of His Theology" but Herman Redderbos. I freely admit that the only reason I am reading it is because it is assigned reading for a class I am taking. It is, I think, the most mentally challenging book I have ever read. My professor offered no help when he said, "it was written by a PhD for PhD's" Uh... yeah... I'm a BS.

In realted news, here are the words that Ridderbos used today that I had to look up:

- Antipode
- Assimilable
- Syncretism
- Philologists
- Lassitude
- Architectonic
- Predilection
- Paraenesis

Reading stuff like this is supposed to help me get smarter, but most of the time I just feel dumber.

more how-to help...

A while back I posted a link to help us all with the oh-so-common problem of how to survive a sword fight. Well, today I received more help for life that I felt obligated to pass on... namely, how to survive a freestyle rap battle.

Also, before you go to the link above, please be aware of the following warning that I pulled from the page:

"Spit" as used in the context of this article is a synonym for rapping, not the forcible expulsion of saliva from the mouth. Please do not practice the latter kind of spitting; it does not make you look nearly as cool.

in over my head...

Well, I am up to my eye-balls with work, school and family... which is probably why I am writing a post right now... It seems that I often look for ways to avoid doing the things that I really have to do (like read 1,000 pages for school).

The truth is, it is just the getting start that is hard. Typically, if I can just get the ball rolling, I can plug along and get-er done. I guess that is where my problem is... If I get this ball rolling, then I have to read for the next 33 hours of my life and with a daunting reality like that looming overhead, I just cant find the heart to give the ball its first push...

maybe I'll push it after dinner... maybe.

WOW!

Yeah, it took 1 day for my books to arrive (see the post below). YES, I said ONE day. I coudn't be happier... well, you know what I mean.

BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS!

Ok, haven't posted in a while, for that I apologize. School, work, family... just been busy. However, I will try to get back in the swing of things.

For all those who love books, check this out! Prices are the best around and $5 flat shipping. This is seriously dangerous for all you book lovers... it sucked me in for $65 this morning. I bought the following books:

Shepherding a child's Heart (bought 2 so Jenn and I can both study)
When Life and Beliefs Collide (bought 2 too)
The Family Worship Book (current issue I've been thinking a lot about)

Finally, many props to the Todd (I think it was Todd) at RTS who let all the virtual students I spent a week with know about this bomb-tastic website.

Read-on Friends!