Unbelief: “Oh well, I guess I don’t have enough faith for that, no biggie”
by Jared on Dec.15, 2011, under For Christians
Some things in life have stealth importance. They are paramount, but in the way we think in our society, it’s all too easy to relegate them to the back-burner.
Belief is one of those things.
On Marriage: A Romance Manifesto
by Jared on Nov.22, 2011, under For Non-Christians
(updated last part on Dec 20)
Aside from the spiritual path one takes, no other decision matters in life as much as who you marry. It is said 90% of your happiness or misery will come from this one decision.
So how does one make such a decision, or to marry at all? Here are my thoughts:
Running from God: Do you carry guilt? Drop it! (at the cross of Jesus)
by Jared on Nov.10, 2011, under For Christians, For Non-Christians, Grace, Uncategorized
I see judgmentalism and legalism as a legitimate problem of the Christian church at large, based on the fact non-Christians and ones who have gone AWOL often feel so judged by the church and by God. It breaks my heart. I wish I could give all such people a hug. …And tell them God loves them.
Part of the devil’s first schemes against mankind (and therefore God) was to get man and woman to feel guilty before God, needing to hide from Him. Often when we do something wrong, we feel like we have to go away, fix the matter, and then come back to God. This is totally wrong!
God: Why Believe?
by Jared on Nov.01, 2011, under For Non-Christians
People believe things for various reasons, good and bad. Belief in God, or lack thereof, is a pretty big deal. I believe in God, yet many in Western society don’t, or not in the same way. Many, if not most matters of importance ultimately come back to this question: ‘Who is God?’
God makes a difference to virtually every part of my life, so it makes sense to acknowledge my non-believing readers and try to give the beginning of an explanation of why I believe in Him.
The desires of your heart…now. Now?
by Jared on Oct.24, 2011, under For Christians
I wanted to make an eye-catching title, but often we can’t get everything we hope for right away. I was thinking today of how often in my life, I have a deep desire for something, (or even a desire I consider small and superficial,) and I can’t have it at the moment for one reason or another – but I know it is important to God. He sees the desire and has allowed me to have it so that something good will come from it, even before I am fully satisfied in it.
Socially Acceptable Disobedience – “Rejoice in Trials.” …What?
by Jared on Sep.18, 2011, under For Christians
I noticed there appear to be some things in the Bible that Christians know full well about but then say “yeah that’s a hard one,” and then go on to live in disobedience (me included – I am posting my learning by experience here!)
Not worrying is one, as I mentioned in a previous post. Another one is: “Do not be anxious about anything” (Phil 4:6), and to rejoice in times of trials:
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. – James 1:2-4 NLT
So God is making it so that you have more character and endurance, so that you will be perfect. Awesome! But for many, it is all too easy to resist trials by being sad about them. But this is disobedience. (continue reading…)
Hobby: What can I not worry about?
by Jared on Jan.31, 2011, under For Christians
My new hobby: not worrying. In the Bible, God tells us not to worry. It’s kind of a commandment. Worrying stops a person from enjoying life, and makes them paranoid about things unnecessarily. It is a peeve of mine that Christians seem to have a problem ignoring verses like “rejoice in trials because they build character”, but at this one I have been terrible at following. It is kind of a fun hobby, actually! Kinda like Hakuna Matata for Christians. Here’s how it goes:
1) Question: what am I worrying about?
- Found something!
2) Stop worrying.
- Feel better.
3) Repeat.
…It is a better way to live. Here are the (rather important) details:
New personality blog: MindFacets
by Jared on Aug.30, 2009, under Life
Hey everyone who might read this:
So I have started a personal blog again, this time based on WordPress (my last one was Plone/Quills). I plan to start blogging some thoughts on personality over at blog.mindfacets.com. MindFacets is the name for my personality website. I decided for a few reasons that blogging the personality stuff is the way to go for now, rather than book form. One is that I’d like it to be a more casual thing for me right now, and I also would like to get feedback before I put these ideas in a book, whenever or if ever that may be.
As for my life, I am still chipping away at hobbies such as the personality stuff, and working on a computer game, and some other things, although my primary focus has been just learning to live a better life. Perhaps I will share thoughts on life here, or else maybe you will have to email me and ask me for them.
