A Pilgrim's Progress

OK, so we have this foreign exchange student from Spain on our tennis team. His name is Jesus (in Spanish, thats Hey-suse!) So, anyway, Jesus is awsome. He is the coolest tennis player on the face of the earth. We spent the last two days at a tennis tournament in Clovis, and Jesus didn't loose a match. He's solid. Watching him play is like poetry. He doesn't hit the ball hard, but it's just plain beautiful. He's a clay court tennis player, so it gives him this finesse and movement that is hypnotic. Plus, he consistently delivers these unbelievable shots in nail-biting, clutch moments.

The greatest part is that Jesus saved our team twice in this tournament. In our last match today, our team was tied dead-even with our opponents, and Jesus was the last match to play. Jesus, through an incredible battle, won victory for our team. The players ran out onto the court yelling "Jesus saves!", and "Jesus can't loose!" He has become the most popular and respected guy on our team.

I just think its really cool that his name is Jesus.

I saw "The Passion" last night with Stacy and some of the youth at the Presbyterian Church. Wow, it was intense. 'Intense' is about the only way I can describe it. I felt like I had just walked away from a fatal car crash. It definitely made the point that Jesus, a sinless man, paid the ultimate price for our sins. It left no room for thinking "yeah, it was a bad death, but it could have been worse." I can't think of any way it could have been worse. I'm sure that Mel (Gibson) took some creative license with the torture scene, and I know many people criticized it for being too graphic, but I think it was very intentional in order to bring you to a place where you were so emotionally disturbed and appalled that you felt like crying out "STOP! ENOUGH!” I wanted to get out of my seat and help Him! I was almost moved to action, and I think that was Mel's intent. I feel that the movie definitely calls us to speak out and act against violence. Jesus was such a passive resister who loved His enemies and raised His hand to no one. He stood firmly for the Truth, but He didn't defend the Truth with the sword - He defended it only with love, honesty, and its own piercing depth. He prayed for forgiveness for the men who brutally tortured and crucified Him.

He is the Way.

I went to buy my ticket to "The Passion" for tomorrow night. I could not believe the experience I had buying this ticket! As I was purchasing the ticket, I got several 'advisories' from the ticket agent (a teenage girl). I was advised that the movie would be very full and to arrive 20 minutes early. I was advised that the movie would be in Greek and Aramaic, and therefore would have subtitles. And, I was advised that the movie contains much graphic violence due to the subject of the film.

Wow, that’s a lot of advice just to see the truth!

I wish the movie theater would advise us on more movies. Like, "We advise you that this movie will help to slowly desensitize you to violent crime and rape, and therefore contribute greatly to the decline of civilization as we know it today." Or, "We advise you that this movie will show repeated, graphic sex scenes between unwed couples, which will help to completely distort and pervert your ideas about relationships, sexuality, and marriage . . . enjoy the movie!" Best yet, "We advise you that this movie will subtlety teach your children how magic and the spiritual world can work for them in their daily lives."

Isn't it odd that, on a Saturday afternoon, I can watch dozens of junior high kids buy tickets for a "G" rated movie, and then jump from "R" rated movie to "R" rated movie after they are inside the movie theater, yet "The Passion" deserves these extra precautions. Satan is tricky. I bet he sits through movie after movie and just smiles at all the subtle lies being fed to captive audiences. He's tried his best to block "The Passion" by claiming it anti-Semitic, violent, graphic, and controversial - yet God's Truth will be revealed.

I rented some videos from the Bible bookstore over the weekend. I watched video called "Death by Music". Sounds cheery, huh? I originally pictured a person tied down in a medieval torture chamber while thugs blared clarinets in his ears and beat him with drumsticks.

The lyrical content of much of today's music is disturbing - like this is something we don't already know. But this video takes the time to really explore and uncover it. In part of the video, the filmmaker asks teens about their favorite artist and what their songs are about. Most of the teens had to stop and think for a minute, and then they responded consistently with "sex", "drugs", "party'n", "get'n money". He continues the interviews by citing several popular songs about rape, brutal killing, beheading your parents, and other unbelievable topics; then he asks the teens if there is anything that is 'over the edge' that should not be sung about. Time after time, they all said that everything is fair game and cited "free speech". Thankfully, there was one girl that thought something could go too far . . . she didn't think it was right when a song tried to push religion on her.

Man, it must be the end times when rape and murder are hip culture and Jesus is a taboo topic. I think I would prefer a thug with a clarinet over MTV any day.

On this Valentine's Day morning, I thank God for giving me my wife. Several years ago, I could not imagine being married, and now I can't imagine living life without her. Shanna is my best friend, my sister in Christ, my greatest supporter, my true love, my colleague in education, my partner in crime (not real crime); we laugh and play and love, and sometimes argue too, just to keep things real. Our marraige has grown and stregthened our faith in so many different ways. She has made me more of a man than I ever was before. She holds me accountable for my actions and loves me unconditionally. I long to love her, cherish her, and protect her all of my living days. A Christian wife is one of God's greatest blessings.

Hello. This is my first Blogg. My brother Ben Posluch set up my account up here at Calvin Crest. Things are good. I got accepted to Gordon-Conwell Seminary in Massachusetts last Monday. Very exciting and changing times! Nick Mastin says hi. Nick is cool. Ben is cool. Ben is the bloggmaster.