Jesus was probably not born on December 25 or in the year 1. But this question is just for fun anyway, so let’s assume common tradition.
The answer is Tuesday. Jesus Christ was born on a Tuesday. 12/25/0001 was Tuesday.
Source: MSSQL Server
It’s impossible to meditate when I’m living in sin.
If I’m living with unconfessed sin and I try to sit down, stop, and focus my thoughts on my breathing, inevitably my mind goes straight to the sin, to the blight on my soul. No matter how hard I try, my mind won’t be still. It’s agitated and worried about the sin. It’s worried about my relationship with God, about God’s pending wrath I’m flippantly ignoring. If I ignore those feelings, then I have to find something else to distract my mind from the sin. I can’t sit still without the weight crushing me. Imagine, sitting alone, with just my thoughts, and just my sin. I shudder. Basically hell. So to get away from myself (and away from God) I’ll usually go play video games, go for a walk, or heaven forbid, go sin some more. Anything but being forced to deal with it. But deal with it you should.
The answer is to go to God in prayer. Prayer is deeper than meditation. The very first thing that will come up in your mind is the unconfessed sin. And you will repent and be forgiven right then and there. You can’t move forward until you do.
You can try to ignore it, and try to pray about other things.”I’m OK God. Let’s not bring that up. Here’s what I really wanted to talk to you about…”
If you try to run you will invite into your life a blindness, a wasting oppression, a willful ignorance that will only further separate you from God. You’ll think you’re good with God, but you’ll be walking alone.
Turn and repent, and feel the true freedom, the overwhelming joy, the utter relief of releasing yourself to God’s will. And be able to experience a still, quiet mind once again.
The Only Downside to Kratom
It’s a drug.
Kratom is the new hip substance touted by go-getting bloggers. I’ve tried supplements and products recommended by the manosphere before and most of them do what they say. My favorites are fish oil, creatine, and theanine.
So naturally after reading half a dozen articles on Kratom I decided to give it a go.
And like they say, the dosage does matter. Take too little, and you won’t feel anything. Take too much, and you’ll feel tired and queasy. But take just the right amount (determined by your own experiements) and you’ll feel awesome. Unstoppable with a lot energy.
It’s not intoxicating the way marijuana and even Adderall can be. It’s stronger than caffeine, but it doesn’t jolt you like caffeine. It’s a smooth buzz that you can sustain by titrating throughout the day.
But it is a drug induced high. And that’s the problem. It gets you high.
You can notice this if you’re especially in tune with your body. It’s not the same feeling you get from from drinking green vegetable juice, or from exercising, or from hugging a friend.
And that fact gives me pause.
I want to live a life that is completely drug free, and completely dependent on Jesus for my every need.
I don’t want to be dependent on chemicals to feel good. Yes, I know everything is a chemical and technically serotonin and dopamine are the only two things you enjoy. But I’m addicted to caffeine and it’s not a good thing. I also smoked weed for 5 years, and while it was super fun, eventually it had to go. Those drugs took more than they gave.
I’m going to keep experimenting with Kratom, but I wonder, will it eventually take more than it gives?
Why I believe in God
On the one hand, the atheist argument goes “Why does God let bad things happen?”
And it makes it sense. Our situation seems hopeless. On a global scale all the way down to the singular individual. Me. Why can’t I do anything right? The imperfections seen in me are never ending. The wrongdoings of me are nonstop.
Of course I’m talking about sin, which erupts from humanity like a spewing volcano, as is its nature. But not just that.
Nothing ever goes according to plan. I’m never as happy as I could be. For all the great times I do have, I also have experiences of suffering and loss. Why does God let these horrible things happen? Use your own examples. Mine are worse than any of yours (to me), I promise you.
Continuing the argument, “After all, if God can do anything, (and He can, because He’s God, duh) He would… [fill in the blank]” Again use your own examples. Some of mine are solve world hunger, end all the wars, make everyone place nice. Oh yeah, He’d also let me get rich, have lots of sex, and He wouldn’t make everything so d*** annoying everywhere I go. He’d basically do for whatever I want. Right? Because He’s God.
But No.
We’re stuck with this.
So instead of the world my way, God’s telling me that the minute I step out that door, I’ll have all that shit to deal with? The outside and everything, with the cars and the people and the tornadoes?
And God says, “Yeah, and that shit that’s out there, it’s inside too. In your house, in your body, in your mind.”
Therefore if God existed and loved us He’d fix this mess.
But he doesn’t.
Therefore there is no God.
Checkmate Christians.
On the other hand you have the argument for God’s existence: “Well, why is there all this stuff?
Not just shapes and doodads floating in the space, but stuff that recognizes that it is stuff. ‘I think therefore I am.'”
Triangles don’t know they’re triangles. Do cats know they’re cats? Probably not. But we know we’re alive, or something like that.
Someone had to have made it. It’s all just too weird. I’m awake and doing things. What are these things I’m doing? And who is this person doing my things? And who is this person watching this person doing my things? I watch myself doing and at times it is glorious, at times ghastly. Incredible it is. Truly in-credible. This experience I experience, and all the ways I live it. The simple experiences of waking up, falling asleep, eating a strawberry. The exquisite experiences of feeling love, hearing Bach, and drinking coffee.
What’s going on here? You say all this is unplanned, mere random chance? Chaotic haphazard happenstance? I just don’t buy it.
To which the atheists respond “Big Bang. Look it up. And Multiverse theory.”
Well has anyone ever thought of what God’s argument might be? Not for why He exists. He knows why He exists and He knows He exists. No, the argument I’m looking for, the defense He can deign to offer me, is why He gets to get away with His crimes!
I imagine it would go something like this:
“I’m going to do whatever I want. (Because I’m God.)
If you don’t like what I do you can make pray to me and I will hear it, but I’m still going to do whatever I want.
Otherwise… you’re free to go.”
You don’t have to accept God. What a relief! We’re not bound to Him. Just like we choose what to do, God chooses what to do. We can choose to hate Him and God can choose to let us.
We can celebrate our freedom from God, and create organizations to spread the good news of atheism.
And how is this not the greatest victory? I get to do what I want. Whatever I want. It’s what I’ve always wanted. Mmmmeeeee.
And nothing happens. God totally lets us. Or doesn’t care because He doesn’t exist. Obviously, because if He did, He would come down and make all these atheists believe in Him!
And so I think, the depths of myself are quite dark. I must seek the light.
I must let myself get out of the way of myself to seek God.
But still I ask, what about all this bad stuff that happens to me? Isn’t it every human’s right to enjoy [X]? How come I don’t get to enjoy [X] because my [Y] was shot off in the war? Or worse, because You forbid it?
That’s a loss I suffer.
And yet Christ suffered with us, and he must have found it just as insufferable as we do. And because of this I hope for a redemption one day. Not just the hope for getting into heaven, whatever that might be, but for every wrong I’ve suffered and every loss I’ve lost to be accounted for. And not merely replaced. It wasn’t even that great, that [X] I lost. It’s the principle of the thing. I want to be told, “That experience doesn’t hurt you anymore and I will replace it joy.” I hope to one day walk in the light that makes all things perfect and beautiful, and for Jesus to tell me, “Everything is all right.”
And that’s what drives me. The Hope of Glory.
TL;DR: God doesn’t have to answer to us. And we don’t have to answer to Him. But He invites us to. And to call Him King truly is the greatest honor and privilege, and I hope one day, joy.
Get rid of your pride.
