The Biggest Loser
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
I’m a sucker for reality TV shows. Though I’ve only watched a few episodes (and am watching the finale right now) I really love The Biggest Loser.
It’s incredible that these people have the opportunity to exercise and diet with professional trainers for a few months. They change their eating habits, learn what to do when tempted and begin to do what’s best for their health. Soon they shed massive amounts of personal baggage and weight and literally become new creations. It’s inspiring isn’t it? It reminds me of 2 Corinthians 5:17:
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
The spiritual connections are obvious. These people have chosen to kick their “fat lives” to the curb and be something thinner. They have chosen a new life. They are not afraid of trials but confront them. They are not scared of looking stupid but continue to be honest with who they are and who they need to be. They are disciplined, determined, fierce. How did they get this way? They realized there was a better life available to them and they were consistently loved, challenged and pushed by their trainers. Trainers who believed that under all those layers of neglect was a person who would look good in spandex.
I am always convicted when I watch this show. I start to think about how hopeless it must feel to be obese. People that struggle with their weight are totally written off by the world. They are overlooked, despised and neglected. To be honest with you, most times I believe that people who are obese will always be obese. Sure, there are a few people (like those on the show) who somehow get a second chance and fight for a healthy life, but they are few and far between. Aren’t they?
Moreover, I have realized that I look at the lost like I would a group of tremendously fat people. I tend to think that the only way I can help them is to tell them how fat they are. I guess it’s possible for the lost to chose Christ and fight through all their baggage but only a very few of them will live a spiritually healthy life. And the only ones that do get healthy weren’t that fat or lost in the first place. Those who are really fat have no chance at all unless they have been “picked” (or if you prefer, “predestined”) to be on a reality show like The Biggest Loser in the first place.
LIES! THESE ARE ALL LIES! It’s embarrassing that I have ever believed them. Where fat people are written off by the world are the lost not written off by the Church? Are they not overlooked, despised and neglected? The best thing we can do is be healthy, run along side them and love them, believe in them and say, “Christ came so that you can have a new life!”
You who are saved from sin and judgment—who have accepted Christ—have been accepted by God. And because of this we have committed to share a message of reconciliation. Did you know that? Well if you believe you are a new creation you need to own the second part of that scripture; 2 Corinthians 5:18-21:
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
So as Christ’s ambassadors let us commend one another to spiritually eat and exercise. Let us not be afraid of the workout. Let us look at the lost not as a hopeless mass of fat people but as a new creation that is waiting to be discovered. Let us be reconciled to God, accept his righteousness and do nothing more and nothing less than bring his message of reconciliation to the world and believe that everyone has the capacity to accept it. Let us look beyond the weight and sin and love the person who will look good in spandex.
Posted By: Eric at 11:14 PM : Link : 0 Comments
Midway Prayer and Praise Night Photodoc 2
Monday, November 28, 2005
Posted By: Eric at 4:38 PM : Link : 0 Comments
TRY THE FIRE
In 1879, just one year after becoming The Salvation Army, 4000 soldiers in the heat of revival fires attended the first Council of War. One warrior implored them:
“The time has come for fire. All other agents have been tried: intellect, learning, fine buildings, wealth, respectability, numbers. The great men and the mighty men and the learned men have all tried to cast out these devils before you and have failed. TRY THE FIRE. There are legions of the enemies of our great King. Fire on them. There are legions of strong drink, damning millions; of uncleanness, damning millions more; of debauchery, blasphemy, theft, millions more! Charge on them, pour the red-hot shot of the artillery of Heaven on them, and they will fall by the thousands!”
That warrior was General Catherine Booth.
What fire was she talking about?
(Quoted in Revolution by Aaron White and Stephen Court; Credo Press, 2005.)
Posted By: Eric at 3:40 PM : Link : 0 Comments
Christmas Songs (Lyrics and Guitar Chords)
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
For any of you who are looking for Christmas songs for kettles or worship that has guitar chords you may want to check out this website for the following songs (scroll down to the bottom).
Angels, From the Realms of Glory
Angels We Have Heard on High
As With Gladness Men of Old
Away in a Manger
The First Noel
God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
Good Christian Men, Rejoice
Hark, the Herald Angels Sing
How Great Our Joy
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
Joy to the World!
O Come, All Ye Faithful
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Silent Night
We Three Kings
What Child Is This?
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
Posted By: Eric at 11:32 AM : Link : 1 Comments
Shout Outs from Midway Prayer and Praise Night
Monday, November 21, 2005
I just wanted to give a few shout outs from Friday’s Prayer and Praise night:
1. To all of you who came. There were over 80! It was great to hear your testimonies, praise the Lord and study the Word together. Thank you for coming, it was awesome.
2. To Melinda Peters—from The War College—who shared a very exciting prophecy; that there is diamond that is hidden in the city of Chicago that will be uncovered by the youth of the Army. The diamond is in the shape of a heart and has the word “purity” written on it. That the next step for our youth is holiness. May it be so.
3. To Lt. Colleen Michaud and all the Corps members who did welcomed and hosted us. You made the night a success, thanks for the hot dogs.
4. To our TYS’s Majors Bob and Collette Webster who took some time out of their very busy schedule to visit and worship with us.
5. And last, but certainly not least, to Orlando Hernandez and Nuria Arias who became the first couple to become engaged at a Prayer and Praise Night. No joke, Orlando got on one knee and popped the question after the meeting. Congratulations!
The next Prayer and Praise Night will be at 7pm on Friday, December 9th at the Hammond-Munster Corps (8225 Columbia Ave. Munster, IN 46321-1888). Cory Harrison—author of the updated version of Aggressive Christianity—will be our special guest speaker. If you don’t have anything going on at your Corps that night, it would be great to see you.
Posted By: Eric at 12:38 PM : Link : 0 Comments
Prayer and Praise Night TONIGHT at Midway Citadel!
Friday, November 18, 2005
There is a Prayer and Praise Night TONIGHT, November 18th, starting at 7pm at Midway Citadel (5036 W 47th St. Chicago, IL 60638-2000). Melinda Peters—a Soldier from the War College in Vancouver—will be our special guest speaker.
Here’s what you should bring:
-Your Bibles; there will be a "sword drill".
-A testimony about what the Lord is doing in your life and at your Corps.
-$2 to help pay for the snack.
Here’s what you should know:
-Midway Citadel is not in a bad neighborhood; you will be safe.
-There is limited parking attached to the Corps but there is ample parking across the street at The Salvation Army Family Services Center.
-You may want to car pool or organize transportation if you are interested in coming.
Get Directions to Midway Citadel Here.
Hope to see you TONIGHT!
Posted By: Eric at 2:18 PM : Link : 0 Comments
The Fire Escape (Acoustic Night)
Thursday, November 17, 2005
The Hammond-Munster Corps is hosting concerts once a week (usually on Friday or Saturday night) at The Fire Escape. They also run a small café called Ashes & Embers at their Corps. I went to their acoustic night last Friday and really enjoyed myself. This is a really exciting ministry that you may want to check out some time soon.
If you have a band and are interested in playing email Jon Bukiewicz.
Get directions to the Hammond-Munster Corps by clicking here.
Posted By: Eric at 4:51 PM : Link : 0 Comments
The Praise That Jesus Walks On
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Matthew 21:6-11
The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
"Hosanna to the Son of David!"
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Hosanna in the highest!"
When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "Who is this?" The crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."
On Saturday night I prayed that Jesus would show Himself to me. Soon I had a strange vision in which He did…I saw what I thought was a dark green forest of trees. When my sight became clear I realized that it wasn’t a forest at all but a wall of waiving palm branches. A large crowd of people were praising and holding their palm branches as Jesus rode before them, on a donkey, through the city. It was Palm Sunday.
Now I never saw Jesus in this vision, only the palms that were waiving before my eyes. They were very thick, rich and freshly cut. Every palm was lush and olive in color though they were all different in shape and in size. They seemed to be alive but I knew that they weren’t for they were cut off; they had no root.
The scene was terrifying because we were missing Jesus’ triumphal entry; the palms were in our way. I was frustrated that the crowd would not put their palms down on the ground where they belonged. Though I never saw Jesus, I knew—I was convinced—that He was on the other side of this lavish emerald façade of palm branches and people. I was compelled to scream, “Put down your branches! We need to humble ourselves to see the King!”
The vision was simple enough to understand. I knew that the branches the crowd held represented praise and that they were unwilling to let it go. They had been smart enough to know that the King was coming and inspired enough to go out of their way to find a beautiful branch in order to praise Him. But they were deceived. They were fascinated with their palm; they would not put it down or let it go or get it dirty. In the end, they praised their praise.
Jesus motioned for His procession to halt. He slowly rode his donkey and stopped right before me. But I could not see Him! I know He was there because I sensed His presence, I smelled Him, I felt His warmth. Right there, He was standing right behind the jungle that blocked my sight. I could not see beyond all the green branches that surrounded me. I could not see above or to either side of all these palms. So I looked down and realized that I was holding a large palm branch right before my face. No matter how hard I tried or forced myself I could not put my branch down. I was holding onto my praise.
And I knew that He was right there…waiting…ready to enter and walk into my city and town and school and Corps but unable because He had no path. He was isolated because he needed to walk on our praise. Not only did He want me to put down my praise so I could really see Him, but He wanted me to walk with Him. He wanted me to follow Him on a highway known as the Way of Holiness.
Isaiah 35:8-9
And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness.
The unclean will not journey on it;
it will be for those who walk in that Way;
wicked fools will not go about on it.
No lion will be there,
nor will any ferocious beast get up on it;
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
and the ransomed of the LORD will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
Posted By: Eric at 3:00 PM : Link : 0 Comments
Metro Youth Network Update
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Three quick things:
1. I've updated some of the links on the main page on MetroYouthNetwork.com. Check them out and encourage new members.
2. If you've noticed that MetroYouthNetwork.com looks a bit dumb these days, that's because it is. I know that many of the old features of the site aren't working (message board, prayer wall, worship resources, photos, etc.). We transferred all our data to a new server and all the code doesn’t match up, most of the code was written in Korean, it’s a long and silly story.Anyways, we are going to launch a much cooler, much easier to use and all around better website in the near future (hopefully by the end of the month?).Hang in there.
3. If you haven't joined our Metro Youth Xanga Blogring. Why not join now?
Posted By: Eric at 12:07 PM : Link : 0 Comments
On Singing – General William Booth
Saturday, November 12, 2005
"Let us persevere in our singing of the simple old truths in the simple old hearty way that God has already blessed so widely to the salvation of souls and making and training of red-hot soldiers. How thoughtlessly many sing familiar words. Yet, here is a great treasury of truth you will but search into its riches. Be determined that by God's grace you will never sing what you do not really mean and that you will be fit to sing all you find here!
Sing to make the world hear! The highest value of our singing after all has not been the mere gladness we have felt because of our own salvation, but the joy of pouring out the praises of our God to those who have not known Him, or of arousing them by our singing to new thoughts and a new life.
Sing till your whole soul is lifted up to God, and then sing till you lift the eyes of those who know not God to Him who is the fountain of our joy. I cannot imagine in Heaven itself we can cease to remember and to repeat to each other the strains our souls have reveled in most here below. Till then, let us all sing!"
Posted By: Eric at 1:58 PM : Link : 0 Comments
11.18.05 Prayer and Praise Night at Midway Citadel
Thursday, November 10, 2005
The next Prayer and Praise Night is Friday, November 18th starting at 7pm at Midway Citadel (5036 W 47th St. Chicago, IL 60638-2000). Melinda Peters—a Soldier from the War College in Vancouver—will be our special guest speaker.
It will be a night of fellowship, prayer, praise and teaching for the youth and young adults of the Division. Invite your friends and encourage Metro Youth to come (via phone, email, xanga, etc.). These nights are a great opportunity for us to worship and pray in a diverse community of our peers.
Here’s what you should bring:
-Your Bibles; there will be a "sword drill".
-A testimony about what the Lord is doing in your life and at your Corps.
-$2 to pay for the snack.
If there is something happening at your Corps on Friday, we’ll see you at the next Prayer and Praise Night.
Get Directions to Midway Citadel Here
Posted By: Eric at 1:27 PM : Link : 0 Comments
United Hispanic Meeting
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Hanover Park’s The Bridge (AKA El Puente) hosted a United Hispanic Meeting on Sunday. It was a great time of fellowship and united community.
Not that statistics matter…Over one hundred people attended from various Corps (La Villita, Templo Laramie, Oakbrook Terrace, East Chicago and Des Plaines). 39 of those who attended were regular attendees of El Puente! This is phenomenal because the Bridge is a recent Corps Plant and is already established and has community in the congregation. Respect to Templo Laramie who showed up an hour early and walked around the neighborhood spreading the word about the meeting.
Don’t take my word for it, check out these pictures:
Posted By: Eric at 11:22 AM : Link : 0 Comments
Well Done Phil!
Congrats to Phil Laeger whose song “America” just won first place in the National Day of Prayer Song Search. The song will be recorded in Nashville by a celebrity vocalist and will be the theme song that will become an “integral part of National Day of Prayer events nationwide.” May God continue to create great Army worship leaders and composers to bless and strengthen the Church with their talents.
Go to the National Day of Prayer Song Search website for more information.
Posted By: Eric at 9:45 AM : Link : 0 Comments
Boundless Magazine
Friday, November 04, 2005
Hey, why don’t you check out the newest installment of Boundless Magazine? I love what they are doing. Really, I think it’s worth your time.
P.S. Jon Bukiewicz and I represent Metro somewhere in the newest issue. Take a look.
Posted By: Eric at 12:01 AM : Link : 0 Comments
From Samuel Logan Brengle’s book Resurrection Life and Power
Thursday, November 03, 2005
“With the death of Christ the hopes of His disciples also died. When the tortured, crucified Jesus gave His last expiring cry on the Cross, the faith of the disciples suffered a total eclipse...He told them plainly that they misunderstood His spirit and mission...He had talked of His kingdom and glory, but what did this shameful death mean?...They forgot that He had said that He would rise again…But the fulfillment of God’s promises does not depend upon our feeble memory of those promises...He rose as He had said. Hallelujah!..The Resurrection was God’s complete attestation and vindication of Jesus as the Christ of God, His well-beloved Son in whom He was well pleased...But the Resurrection was God’s complete answer to every question, and swept away for ever every ground of doubt.”
Posted By: Eric at 4:03 PM : Link : 0 Comments
Norridge Prayer and Praise Night Pics
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Photos by T. Moffitt
Posted By: Eric at 10:11 AM : Link : 0 Comments
