Saturday, July 23, 2011

I dreamed I was a rat in a cage.

I dreamed I was a rat in a cage (must have been a flashback to my smashing pumpkin days), anyway, I was in a cage with other rats. There were 3 levers on the wall of the cage. We found out that we could get food from two of the three levers, one had a red sign that had a solid black icon of an elephant on it, one had a blue sign that had an icon of a donkey. Actually the images changed periodically, sometimes the red sign had an elephant on it, sometimes it had "Coca-cola" on it, and the blue one did the same thing with "Pepsi". Each of these 2 levers had a tube that went to the same vat so that when you pulled it food would come from the vat and you could eat. On the third lever was a yellow sign with a coiled snake on it. We believed that we should never pull that lever or we would die. It became clear to me however that the third lever was the latch to open the door on the cage.














John 3:14-15 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

Thursday, July 14, 2011

When boys were men.

Check out Historic American Prints and see some haunting and mesmerizing images of the men who fought for our country's independence.

It's amazing that these men were overthrowing their government, traveling the world, and leading troops to battle as young as 13, most no older than 17. We waste this time in men's lives by extending childhood into a made up thing called "adolescence".

Before adolescence was invented, boys became men at 12-14 that's because it's when it biologically happens to them. The ages of 18 and 21 are purely statutory arbitrations that don't have any real biological significance.

Today we'd shutter to consider loading a 13 year old with the responsibilities that these men obviously bore, however they bore them well enough to overthrow the most powerful military force on earth at the time and win their own country. What would happen if we began to encourage our young men to once again take on risks like these old patriots did? What if we spurred them on to take these kinds of risks not just for their country, but in Love and for the Kingdom!