Feeding the Flesh

Hello all. You've probably already seen this cartoon by Joshua Harris, but if you haven't, don't pass it up...



(1) This is you. Or, us, humans made in God's image.



(2) This is the flesh. He’s kind of a Jabba the Hut meets WWF wrestler. The Flesh represents the sinful, corrupted desires of our heart. It’s not a reference to our bodies–our bodies are created by God and are good. The flesh represents our sinful cravings to live for ourselves and disobey God’s laws and commands.

(3) Before Jesus saves us, this is how all of us relate to the flesh. The Bible says that we are slaves to our sinful desires. Our flesh is boss. If you’re not a Christian, I’m not trying to offend you. I know this isn’t a flattering picture of your current condition but it’s true of all of us apart from God saving us.

(4) This is what happens when we trust in Jesus. Because Jesus died on the cross and conquered sin and rose again, we are freed from the power of sin. It’s no longer our boss. See how the chain is broken? And we get clothes, which is really great.

(5) But our flesh doesn’t disappear. It still hangs around to entice us. After we’re Christians, we’re no longer slaves to sin, but the flesh can still tempt us. We can choose to give into temptation and indulge the flesh. This is what theologians call “indwelling sin.” Jesus broke the power of sin, but we still live with the presence and influence of sinful desires.

(6) That's why the Bible is full of encouragement to fight our fleshy desires. We can't live in peace with it. We have to attack it and deny it. (In hindsight, I guess the “sword of the Spirit” would have been a bit more biblical. Oh well.)

(7) The problem is that too often Christians make friends with their flesh. In fact they feed their flesh. We give into our sinful desires. We pamper our flesh. We provide it three rounded meals a day with snacks and dessert. We might think that since we’ve been freed by the cross it’s okay to indulge the flesh. But there’s a real problem. When we feed the flesh…

(8) …it grows! And before you know it, the flesh is bigger and stronger than you and starts to push you around. That’s why Paul is telling us in Romans 13 that we need to…

(9) …starve our flesh! That’s what we want our flesh to look like. We want the flesh gaunt and feeble. When Paul says “make no provision for the flesh” he’s saying don’t feed your sinful desires. Don’t do things—don’t think things, don’t watch things, don’t meditate on things—that strengthen your sinful inclinations.

Modern Day Chivalry

Recently I stumbled upon an excellent, thought-provoking 5-part series on the Rebelution blog called "Modern Day Chivalry." The whole thing is pretty long - Brett originally delivered it as a speech back in 2004 during his time in high-school speech and debate - but you can read the rest of it here. I'll start you out with the first installment in the series.


Noblesse Oblige – with nobility comes obligation – a French term intended to convey that those who posses strength, intelligence or wealth are responsible to use such privileges to serve the common good.
It was out of this term that the concept of a gentleman sprang forth. A gentleman was a man who took care to serve and protect those weaker than him – either physically, mentally, or financially – a man who showed respect and consideration for others both by courteous manners and good grooming. It is for this man, or should I say, his modern day equivalent, that I am an advocate today. The gentleman has all but disappeared in our day, and it is high time we brought him back.
In my studies I have found the most neglected aspect of gentlemanly behavior is that of male interaction with the fair gender – in modern English: what it means to be a gentleman toward a lady. Narrowing my subject to this aspect I will also focus, though to a lesser extent, on the responsibility of the ladies to respond to and encourage the proper behavior of the gentleman in their lives, and finally, on both the gentleman and the lady in their responsibility towards God in this area.

Is Chivalry Dead?

For decades gentlemanly behavior has experienced decline. Not only are men becoming less apt to offer service, but ladies are much more likely to refuse it. A man gives up when his assistance is consistently shunned and so does the poor lady left sitting in the car waiting for a gentleman to open the door.
In an attempt to remedy this sad situation I could, as many do, lay out the rules of basic etiquette, encompassing the obvious doors, chairs, boxes, bags, and other such practices. Yet while all of these now uncommon courtesies are admirable they are merely signs that one is a gentleman or lady, not the means of becoming one. And as such a mere review of the appropriate actions is unlikely to cause lasting change.
You see, gentlemanly behavior is an attitude of heart, not a set of rules. Once the proper mindset is attained opening doors, offering chairs, carrying baggage, and the like become merely the predictable consequences of the changed attitude, and become voluntary rather than compulsory.

The New Attitude

To begin, the change in attitude is this – and I am speaking now to the gentlemen – the change in attitude is simply a decision to put the ladies first; their needs and their comfort comes before yours. That is all there is to it.
Now the reason that this change in attitude causes such a huge revolution in someone’s actions is because this mindset is the motivation behind every gentlemanly action. When you offer your chair to a standing lady you are putting her comfort before your own. It is exactly the same with carrying baggage. Opening doors is putting them first by letting them go first.
Name any gentlemanly behavior and I guarantee you will find this mindset there in some shape or form. When a man puts the needs and comfort of women ahead of his own he is well on his way to becoming a gentleman. In fact, he has already arrived and has only to allow consistency to establish his reputation.

Our Greatest Enemy

So, you might be asking, if it’s all so simple why don’t we all experience this wonderful transformation? If this is all it takes why don’t we see gentleman popping up like daisies all around us?
The answer, unfortunately, is that we all contain within ourselves a deeply entrenched root of self-centeredness. Self-centeredness is the antithesis of what makes a man a gentleman. And until it is overcome, consistency in gentlemanly behavior is impossible.
While self-centeredness might not cause you to consciously choose not to open a door, it will instead keep you from even noticing that the door needs to be opened! Self-centeredness blinds you to the standing female and the woman burdened with her heavy boxes because if your mind is absorbed with how to make yourself more comfortable, how to satisfy your own needs, it cannot at the same time be focused on serving others.
So, while self-centeredness looks to serve yourself, a gentleman looks for opportunities to be helpful to others. While self-centeredness attempts to avoid inconvenience, a gentleman is quick to deny himself and accept interruption of his own plans and interests. He is willing to be “put out” and inconvenienced in order to serve others.

Our Primary Battleground

For many of us young men this attitude will mainly be seen in our interaction with our sisters and mothers. They are not guinea pigs or practice dummies! They are the real deal, the main event. Instead of viewing your mother and sisters as some vague exception to the status of ladies, consider them the primary battleground on which you conquer your self-centeredness and lay hold of the calling of a gentleman. Nowhere else do your true colors wave so brightly, and nowhere else is your gentlemanly behavior more deserved or more commendable.
Brothers, serve your sisters. Sons, serve your mothers. Be quick to come to their aid, to offer them your chair, to open the door for them. Ask how you can help them and do it. Think sisters and mothers, then others.
My father once told me that the way I treat my sister and my mother now is the way I’ll treat my wife some day when I’m married. Once the honeymoon is over and the glamour has worn off, the relationships my marriage will most closely resemble will be the ones I have now towards my sister and my mother.
If I really think that I can treat my mother and sister terribly now and then suddenly turn self-centeredness off and turn kindness on — and keep it on — once I get married, then I’m only fooling myself. And if you think that you can do the same your hope is equally false.

An Appeal To The Ladies

Now, I appeal to the ladies, and especially to my sisters in Christ. If you don’t embrace your role as the recipient of our consideration we cannot act effectively as the gentlemen. You can show your care and serve your brothers by making it possible for us to become the kind of men God wants us to be.
Give us opportunities to do the right thing. We may need subtle hints such as, “Will you open the door for me please?” You know we need to be reminded sometimes. And when you can see us trying, please encourage us and allow us to serve you. If our actions are made from a servants-heart don’t take it as implying that we don’t think you can open the door or carry the box. You may not need our help, but we need to help. Please don’t take your side of this process lightly, your response is just as important, as our initiative.

Unique And Critical Roles

Men and women have unique responsibilities. Both are necessary and both are sorely lacking in our society today. We live in a society where chivalry has all but died, where the common man has become the common person, and any differences in gender roles are downplayed. Yet among God’s people I will say that gentlemanly behavior should not be dead, that differences in roles are not discriminatory but complementary; conveying value and purpose for both man and woman.
Dr. Albert Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in a message presented at the New Attitude Conference 2004, said:
“Among God’s people we understand that a man is to protect a women; to protect a women’s honor; to protect a woman’s heart; to protect a woman’s reputation; sometimes even to protect a woman’s health, her safety. Guys, that’s our job, God gave it to us. Woe unto the man who fails in that responsibility.”
Among God’s people we must understand that the woman is called to be supportive of godly manhood and her role is integral to the process by which men fulfill their responsibilities as men. Gentlemanly behavior is a training ground of Christian character for both men and women.
Depending on each other’s actions we will either going to succeed or fail in fulfilling our responsibilities. We must refuse to treat this issue just like another lifestyle option! In reality it is a requirement made for us by God – and by God’s grace we can succeed.

Closing Thoughts

Just as with anything else worthwhile the fulfillment of our responsibility to be gentlemen comes at a price. Girls, you may be inconvenienced at first as you allow the guys to get on their feet. Guys, the price that you will have to pay will be your self-centeredness, your convenience, your comfort – in a thousand little ways – in order to put the ladies first, to ensure their convenience, their comfort, and God’s favor.
We are either part of the problem or part of the solution. By holding faithfully God’s plan for men and women, let us make this transformation.

Okay, so that was still kind of long, but I hope you took the time to read it. This mind set of serving others and putting others before yourself is applicable to everyone, not just the guys! And also it is good to see how us girls can serve the guys as they learn to serve!

Do Hard Things

Here is a clip of an excelent post I found on The Rebelution. (Hee hee, big surprise!) I found it very provoking.

We Expect More Of Babies Than We Do Of Teens
___________________________________________________
The truth is that we [teens] are incredibly susceptible to cultural expectations and once we have satisfied our culture's meager requirments we stop pushing ourselves.
Why does every healthy baby learn to walk while very few teenagers are sophisticated enough to have mastered the Waltz? One is expected, the other is not.
Why does every normal baby overcome communication barriers by learning to talk while very few teenagers overcome barriers between themselves and their parents by learning to communicate? One is expected, the other is not.
And why do we sympathize with the poor "non-math" teenager while we admonish the "non-toilet" six-year old? Because using the toilet is a basic skill that is necessary for life, but unless they plan on becoming an engineer, most people never use Algebra.
We live in a culture that expects the basics, nothing more. We live in a culture that expects you to get by (i.e. potty trained), but not to thrive.
The Rebelution's challenge to you is this: Have you really found your limits or have you merely reached a point where our culture's expectations no longer demand that you succeed?
__________________________________________________

Read more here.

The Responsibility of Modesty

By Shannon Moeller, a strong Christian young man from Illinois. Originally submitted as a text response to The Rebelution's Modesty Survey. I found his thoughts and his exelent analogies to be very helpful to me as a girl.


Dueteronomy 22:8 says "When you make a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring the guilt of blood upon your house, if anyone should fall from it." My sister has often heard from the other girls, "It seems that the whole point to this modesty thing is to try and hide the fact that I'm female. If I do that how will a guy ever notice me?"
In my opinion, modesty is no more about hiding the fact that a woman is a woman than having a parapet around a roof is about hiding the fact that a roof is a roof. The primary purpose of the parapet is so that no one falls off the roof and dies, binging guilt upon the homeowner. One primary purpose of modesty is to prevent men from "falling" on account of a woman's unguarded body.
"But won't certain men lust no matter what?"
Yes. Just like certain men will jump off a roof, despite the parapet. If a man wants to jump, you should do what you can to stop him. But, if he forces himself through and jumps anyway, the guilt is on his head, not yours. The parapet is there to keep men that don't want to jump from falling. It's the same with modesty.
"But how do I know what's modest and what's not?"
This question can be likened to asking "How tall does the wall around my roof need to be?" Some people judge this choice by asking "How low can I make the wall and still fulfill the requirements?" While others ask the better question "How tall should the wall be so that it will protect those on the roof?"
The "how low" group might build a 12 inch railing or a fench with four-foot gaps between posts. Technically speaking, the roof has a parapet either way. The problem is these railings might do more to cause those on the roof to fall than if there was no wall at all. There is no safety.
The "how tall" group of people might build a 9 foot tall, solid brick wall ensuring that even Goliath would have a hard time forcing himself over the railing. This would certainly fulfill the requirments, but its obviously overkill. Instead of a roof with a parapet, you've got a two-story house with no roof at all.
You don't have to hide the fact that your house has a roof or that you are a woman. You don't have to build a 9 foot wall or wear a gigantic paper over your body. But you do have to do what you can to protect your guests and the purity of your brothers (the Modesty Survey should be a great help with that.)
In this, you are protected. If someone falls, the guilt is not on your head. You show love and honor to your God, your father, your future husband and children, others around you, and yourself. Your modesty shines. Even if a guy doesn't know what it is exactly, he will notice that there's something different about you. That's the right kind of attention.

Brothers and Sisters: Responding to Irritations

Just by looking at the title of this post, those who know me must be chuckling right now, for I know you guys know this is a struggle for me. I found this article on The Rebelution website (if you haven't checked this site out, do so!), and found it encouraging.

Responding Correctly to Irritations
by Grace Mally

Being the youngest in the family has its advantages. It also has its disadvantages. Older brothers and sisters have a knack for taking advantage of their younger siblings and getting them (or should I say me) to do just about anything.
For example, I tend to sympathize with things that are hurting or suffering, whether people or otherwise. Unfortunately, my older siblings, Stephen and Sarah, used to think this was pretty funny and had fun making me feel sorry for things. You know how on milk jugs they have a plastic band under the cap that keeeps it sealed before you open it? You probably just pull it off and throw it away, right? Well, when I was younger, Sarah and Stephen would make me feel sorry for these plastic bands. They named them "pricklies" and every time we threw away a "prickly" away, they would tell me how sad the poor little prickly was about being tossed away in the garbage, all alone, with no friends. They even made up a song called "Poor Little Prickly." Not bearing to see the poor little "prickly" abandoned, I would go and rescue it. Eventually I decided to start a collection. At one time I had over 80 of them!
Of course, this embarassing story has a point. Just as I have "mercy tendancies" Sarah and Stephen also have their various gifts, personalities, interesting habits, and "quirks." God is the one who puts families together. He knows exactly what he is doing. The assortment of gifts and personalities He provides makes a family a very powerful team. However, these differences, which make life colorful and exciting, can also cause a lot of irritations.
As rebelutionaries, we need to learn how to handle irritations in a godly way instead ofallowing them to cause damage. You see, our goal is not to seek an irritation-free environment. We will always have irritations in our lives. Instead, God wants us to learn how to handle these irritating situations correctly. The fact is, this is one of the reasons God puts us in families. Our brothers and sisters and parents each have different strengths and weaknesses. Their personalities and characteristics may annoy us at times, but if we can't learn how to get along with them, we won't succeed in our relationships with people later in life.
Recently we received a letter from a girl (we'll call her Lauren) who was having trouble with her sister. Lauren explained that she and her sister shared a room, but Lauren likes it clean and her sister likes it messsy. Sound famillier to anyone? Lauren said that she had tried everything:telling her sister to clean up, cleaning up for her, talking to her parents, and even asking to switch rooms. Nothing helped. She was frusterated and didn't know what to do.
I'm sure we can all relate to situations like this. I know I can. But if we're hoping to change the other person, or if we're expecting the Lord to step in and preform a miracle to change our circumstances, then we're probably headed for disapointment and more frustration. You see, the Lord isn't usually interested in rescuing us from irritating situations. Rather He is interested in changing us! Just like beautiful pearls are formed when an irritant finds its way into an oyster's shell, so when we respond properly to "irritants" in our own lives, we will be displaying the beauty of Christ in our lives. You see, irritations are actually good things. They just happen to be irritating!
Like Lauren, the young lady who is struggling with her sister's "messy tendancies", we need to realize several things when we're faced with an irritation. First of all, we need to realize that we don't deserve anything - not even a clean room. Everything we have is a gift. The Lord gives and takes away, and He commands us to be content in all circumstances.
Secondly, we need to look past the irritations and ask God to reveal the bigger picture. What is his goal in this situation? What is He doing? What do we need to change in our own life? I've found that once I'm able to look past the irritation, it often feels like the light "turns on" and I am able to see how God is using a difficult situation in an important way for a significant purpose.
So next time you are irritated, remember that this is a test from the Lord. Remember that God could take away an irritation in an instant if he knew it would be best for you. And remember that you are a rebelutionary - being trained by God for the important, world-changing assignments He has prepared for you. The training may be tough; it requires endurance, humility, and lots of patience - but the fruit is eternal.

The Rebelution

Hey, ya'll. Little break from the pictures today. I've been working on a photo book all afternoon...forgetting to save it...someone (accidentally?) deleting it...starting over...re-arranging pages...etc. So! Four hours later, here I am, eyes glazed from staring at a computor screen, posting on my blog.
Just letting you guys know about a great website I recently stumbled upon in WORLD magazine. Some of you may have heard about "The Rebelution" - an organization started by two homeschooled, christian twins, Alex and Brett Harris who just so happen to be our very own Joshua Harris's younger brothers! Their motto is "Do hard things" - in other words, rebelling against the low expectations of todays young people. I guess "rebelling against rebellion" is another way to put it. Well, the way I put it is probably way confusing, so I'd advise you to check out the website at www.therebelution.com/blog < hopefully that link works. I've just looked at it, but I think there is so much to be gleaned from there, guys. And its encouraging, too. Knowing we aren't the only homeschooled Jesus-freaks out there!
Catch you all tomorrow with more pics...

...if I remember.