Beaty’s Blog

When I was younger, maybe 7 or so, I played baseball. Keep in mind that I was not the pristine athlete back then as I am now.  I was a little chubby with big thick glasses (kind of like now, right?). I usually found my spot on the team in right field or on the bench.  One day the coach was throwing the ball with me a little harder than I could handle, but for the most part I held my own but barely.  I remember him throwing the ball and me putting the glove in front of my face to catch it.  The problem was that my glove was not quite high enough and the ball smacked me in the eye, leaving me with a cut that required three stitches.  I reflect upon that day and wonder what went wrong. From my perspective I could have blamed myself for not practicing more.  I could have blamed the coach for throwing the ball so hard to a non-athletic right fielder.  The coach could have blamed himself.  It one was really desperate, the blame could be fixed on the thick glasses that gave me the cut above my left eye instead of a bump on the head.  I reflect back and think, “Did it really matter who was to blame?”  In the end I was a little wiser about the physics of hard white balls with red stitching little boy’s heads.  God is not calling us to worry about the blame.  That’s his job.  I am assured that He is perfectly capable, not matter how poor of a job I might think He is doing.  His children are called to live. In the end it will all work out. I am amazed almost daily of how unclear my perspective is on situations and how wrong I am usually.  No matter how correct we believe our perspectives to be, it is important to remember that His is a little higher and impeccably clear. 

I started my new job in the maintenance department of my school today.  I basically clean in the mornings from 6am till about 8am T-F.  I am actually fairly excited about it.  This is really a good way to get to know the staff and actually become a part of the community there.  Usually I am there for classes and then leave.  Pray I can get up at 5:30am.

I would just like to say that Christians are among the most detestable people during Presidential elections.  I remember being at Southeastern University during the Kerry/Bush election.  It was not uncommon to see people walking around campus with ‘Kerry is a Liar’ shirts.  I am not saying that they are not correct it doing so.  I am saying that they would be equally justified wearing a shirt that says ‘(Your Name) is a liar’.  We are all are liars in some way..  What is even funnier/embarrassing is that 99% of people that wore that shirt would not be able to explain the political views of either side let alone tell you why “Kerry is a liar.”  Jump forward four years and we face the same thing.  There is not a day that goes by without someone slandering Obama’s name.    I am sure that Jesus is sitting up in heaven smiling and giving us the big thumbs up wearing his ‘Obama is the Antichrist t-shirt.”  The issue that many Christians have is a pretty big one, abortion.  It is a travesty that is bringing harsh judgement on America.  I don’t discount anyone that makes a political decision based this issue.  I do have a couple of suggestions though…

1. Be informed before you jump on the bandwagon.  There is nothing I am more embarrassed about that ignorant Christians making non-informed judgements.

2. Pray for all of the candidates.  What if the one that you don’t like wins?  Romans 13 would be very helpful

3. If you are willing to call Obama ‘evil’, an ‘antichrist’, ‘liar, or any other slanderous world because of his stance of abortion, be willing to call every and anyone that has had one or participates in one.  

4. Above all, know why you do what you do.

I would like to extend the invitation to anyone that would read this.  I am in the process of looking for a permanent benefactor that will fund all of my schooling and living expenses for the next 10 years.  If you are interested please send me an email at jmb240@gmail.com.  You might be asking ‘what is it in for me?’  Well, you would have the satisfaction of knowing that you helped prepare one of the world’s brightest young minds.  I will also pledge to write one weekly letter of gratitude and love for the extent in which funds are contributed.  Other perks may be worked out as well.

Well I have done very poorly on my language learning this summer.

I just found myself going through itunes U and getting very excited.  If you are unfamiliar with the terminology, itunes U is a place where universities can provide basically anything they want from the school.  I recently just downloaded a whole class on elementary Hebrew and am now downloading something from USC where each of the prof’s talk about what is most important for them.  I thank God for learning more than any other gift.  I wish more people ascribed to it.

Well, I just preached a sermon to the 8am service.  I have been doing a series on Joel.  It would be a lie if I said it was my favorite.  It has been rather hard for me to connect with the text.  I believe that God worked in spite of me.  This has probably been  a hard series because I have been feeling spiritually dry for the past couple of months.  A certain hypocritical feeling oozes over me when I am preaching something that I don’t necessary feel at the moment.  I have to be reminded that I am not preaching my “word” but God’s.  I don’t know if it is the stress of work and school or something else that is causing me to feel spiritually dead.  Maybe it is a dry season.  Who knows?  Hopefully it will end sooner than later.  All I know is that I can’t do it and God will have to.  

Language has a way to allowing how we truly feel or believe to fall between the cracks.  Many of the words we use to express how we feel or our state of being are too ambiguous to allow head knowledge to seep into the heart.  This has allowed for me to confess that I believe in something while all the while I really didn’t.  The first thing I think of when relation to God is “servant.”  We are to serve God with all our heart, mind, and strength.  This statement in and of itself has no faults.  Not just Christians but all of creation is to serve and thus give ultimate glory to God.  We were made not because God needed us or because He was lacking anything.  He made us for His good pleasure.  I get all of this.  Its how I see God.  He is my master.  Recently I was awakened to the fact that being a servant is not the whole picture and I would argue not the primary way in which God relates to us.  We are His children.  He actually loves us and cares for our well-being.  He wants to answers prayer and bless His children, not because we have earned it but because He loves us. Intellectually I could tell you that God loves us as a Parent does a child.  As of right now I find it impossible to believe in my heart.  I just don’t comprehend it.  To me He is the supreme boss that we obey because of who He is and what He has done (i.e. The Cross).  My head gets it but my heart and thus my actions do not.  Because of my unbelief in God’s love there are a million and one implications on the I live life that are not Godly.  I suspect that this is not so uncommon of a problem.  It is the essence of Religion (Me being “good” = God being pleased).  The truth is that the “sin” problem was taken care of.  I have been adopted.  God is my father.     

I feel like Sisyphus half the time, especially while school is going on.  I swear that I am busy all the time and yet I feel that not much gets accomplish.

I was asked to comment on our current homeless ministry.  I feel that I should start by stating why we are doing it.  The first reason is that my boss instructed me to.  It is also a mandate from God.  A casual reading through the Bible with show that God is extremely interested in social justice.  It is our duty as Christians to partner with God as He continues to put back together a broken world.  With that said, the homeless ministry is really nothing like I envisioned.  When people usually think of the homeless they form a picture of a person sleeping on a bench and begging for money during the day.  The vast majority of people that we deal with are nothing of the sort.  I like to think of them as professional campers.  They live in small communities in the woods.  Most don’t beg for money and are not starving on the streets (this is not to say that they have plenty of food).  For the most part feeding has only be the means to speak into their lives.  This is largely in thanks to Grace Larose.  You should really ask her.  She is on a mission 24/7 to help someone.  Right now she is currently seeking to find a place for a homeless man with chronic rheumatory arthritis.   The biggest impact this ministry has had on my life is vision.  I am able to see better.  I can now see and have a heart for people group that is largely invisible to most of us.