When I Go...

An office mate of mine was answering a random question on Xanga. The question: "If you died today, what would your epitaph say?" I found it very interesting and posted my answer on my friend's blog.

At the top of my head, my answer to the question was this:

"He brought nothing into the world when he was born. He left everything behind when he died."

I hope that when my time comes to say goodbye to this earthly tent that I would have given away everything in me to the next generation, for my nation and for the Kingdom of God.


- - - - -

In connection to this, I would also like to have this song played during my funeral...

All My Tears
[Julie Miller, as covered by Jars of Clay]

When I go don't cry for me, in my Father's arms I'll be
The wounds this world left on my soul will all be healed and I'll be whole
Sun and moon will be replaced with the light of Jesus' face
And I will not be ashamed, for my Savior knows my name

It don't matter where you bury me, I'll be home and I'll be free
It don't matter where I lay, All my tears be washed away

Gold and silver blind the eye, temporary riches lie
Come and eat from heaven's store, come and drink and thirst no more

It don't matter where you bury me, I'll be home and I'll be free
It don't matter where I lay, All my tears be washed away

So weep not for me my friends, when my time below does end
For my life belongs to Him, who will raise the dead again.

It don't matter where you bury me, 'cause I'll be home and I'll be free.
It don't matter where I lay, all my tears be washed away

Sex is Currency

Timothy asked me some questions about sex today. SEX! The all-too-taboo issue...

...or is it?

He told me that some teacher said sex is a psychological need; and that another person said that next to food, sex is one of the things man cannot live without. And based on recent studies, having sex might lessen the incidence of prostate cancer.

I answered the young man's questions with a very long text message and told him that God created sex as expression of enjoyment between two people in a covenant relationship [marriage], telling them to be fruitful and multiply.

There have been a lot of misconceptions and lies about sex -- the former from the minds of men, the latter from the schemes of the devil. Sex is not bad. God created it and therefore it is a holy concept and act. The devil came in and screwed things up [pun intended] and perverted the whole concept of sex. And since man was born with a sinful nature in a world of sin, his natural inclination towards evil has spilled over to the arena of sex and sexual expression.

So, what was supposed to be a private, intimate and holy act shared by husband and wife has been ravaged, mass produced and placed in a glossy, eye-catching package to appeal to the lusts of humanity. Society has used and abused sex in so many ways for the sake of capitalism, commercialism and humanism.

We can see this in the obvious (in the industry of pornography, tv, film and media); in the blatant (it is ever-present in the world of adversting -- I never saw the relevance of a woman in a bikini crawling on her knees in an ad that sold shoes); in the subtle (in the dialogue and imagery of some tv shows, including cartoons -- I saw one episode of the PowerPuff Girls where the Mayor was being seduced by Ms. Bellum [who was actually Sedusa in disguise]. This was a kids' show for crying out loud!!!).

The world -- or most of it -- has lost its grasp on God's original intent for sex and what sex is supposed to be. Jonathan Foreman and the rest of Switchfoot hit the nail on the head when they wrote the song Easier Than Love to voice out their observation of how sex has been raped and perverted and objectified. The lyrics goes...


Sex is currency, she sells cars, she sells magazines
Addictive bittersweet, clap your hands with the hopeless nicotines
Everyone's a lost romantic, since our love became a kissing show
Everyone's a Casanova, come and pass me the mistletoe
Everyone's been scared to death of dying here alone

She is easier than love, is easier than life
It's easier to fake and smile and bribe
It's easier to leave, it's easier to lie
It's harder to face ourselves at night
Feeling alone, what have we done?
What is the monster we've become?
Where is my soul?

Sex is industry, the CEO, of corporate policy
Skin-deep ministry, suburban youth, hail your so-called liberty
Every advertising antic, our banner waves with a neon glow
War and love become pedantic, we wage love with a mistletoe
Everyone's been scared to death of dying here alone

She is easier than love, is easier than life
It's easier to fake and smile and bribe
It's easier to leave, it's easier to lie
It's harder to face ourselves at night
Feeling alone, what have we done?
What is the monster we've become?
Where is my soul?


...and the tune to this song is not bad either.

This is nothing new, by the way. God has a looooooong list of unlawful sexual relations given to Moses in Leviticus 18. These are guidelines for the safety and sanctity of God's people.

The misuse of sex leads to a path of confusion and guilt and separation from God; leaves a trail of broken hearts, wounded souls and diseased bodies; reduces men and women to mere objects; and demeans a sacred creation by using it to promote and sell cars and magazines. What is the monster we've become?

Sex is not a substitute for love. It is an add on to love. It is an expression of love. God wants us to enjoy it in the boundaries of a marriage relationship. Engage in sex outside of those boundaries, then you're on your own.

But because many have turned their own separate way and completely disregarded God's plans and intentions for His creation, the purity and sanctity of sex has been buried in a sea of humanistic ideas and misguided practices. The after effects of these always leave man asking, "Where is my soul?"



Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. Leviticus 18:24

Song of the Day: God Be Merciful to Me

click here for audio/video

God be merciful to me
On Thy grace, I rest my plea
Plenteous in compassion Thou
Blot out my transgressions now

Wash me, make me pure within
Cleanse, oh, cleanse me from my sin

My transgressions I confess
Grief and guilt my soul oppress
I have sinned against Thy grace
And provoked Thee to Thy face

I confess Thy judgment just
Speechless, I, Thy mercy trust

I am evil born in sin
Thou desirest truth within
Thou alone my Savior art
Teach Thy wisdom to my heart

Make me pure, Thy grace bestow
Wash me whiter than the snow

Gracious God, my heart renew
Make my spirit right and true
Thy salvation's joy impart
Steadfast make my willing heart
Steadfast make my willing heart

Broken, humbled to the dust
By Thy wrath and judgment just
Let my contrite heart rejoice
And in gladness hear Thy voice

From my sins, oh, hide Thy face
Blot them out in boundless grace

- - - - -

Always the prayer of my heart -- for God's mercy to abound in my sin-stained life. This hymn, made modern by Jars of Clay, is the summary of my life and God's infinite goodness.

Never Fails

One of the songs covered by Jars of Clay [in the album Who We Are Instead] is this really moving song called Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet. I find this really encouraging in times when I feel weak, tempted and down. It reminds me of a fundamental biblical truth: Jesus' precious blood that was shed on Calvary for mankind has never lost its power.

Read the story behind the song here.

Jesus' blood never failed me yet
Never failed me yet
Jesus' blood never failed me yet
This one thing I know
That He loves me so

Jesus' blood never failed me yet
Never failed me yet
Jesus' blood never failed me yet
This one thing I know
That He loves me so

Jesus' blood
Won't fail me yet
Won't fail me yet
Won't fail me yet

Jesus' blood
Won't fail me yet
Won't fail me yet
Won't fail me yet

Jesus' blood never failed me yet
Never failed me yet
Jesus' blood never failed me yet
This one thing I know
That He loves me so

By Our Love

There's this 30 year-old hymn that Jars of Clay did a cover version of in their album Redemption Songs that really sums up how we as Christians ought to be known to the world. The song -- They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love -- I believe, is as true today at it was three decades ago.

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
And we pray that our unity will one day be restored
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
Yeah they'll know we are Christians by our love

We will work with each other, we will work side by side
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
And we'll guard each man's dignity and save each man's pride
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
Yeah, they'll know we are Christians by our love.


written by Peter Scholtes