Can I Have a Cookie?
As a kid I was very persistent; just ask my mom. If I wanted a cookie I'd ask. If she said no I'd persist. "Can I have a cookie?" Like Chinese water torture, I was relentless until I got what I wanted. "Can I have a cookie?"
I grew up in a family where going to church every Sunday morning and attending Sunday school afterward was a way of life. It wasn't anything that I ever questioned; I just accepted it and what I was being taught. Unlike Hosanna where I attend now, I recall the churches I grew up in as places where the emphasis was on "God" rather than "Jesus".
Several years ago Hosanna embarked on a Bible reading lesson plan where a person would finish reading the Bible in a year with only 15-20 minutes spent reading it each day. I was all-in having already tried a few previous times to do it on my own but always coming up short, usually crashing and burning in Deuteronomy or was it Leviticus? I managed to get through Hosanna's year-long plan painlessly and started it all over again the next year. I've taken some time off since first adopting it as a part of my routine but this year finds me in my 7th reading of both the Old and New Testaments.
I'm always seeking.
I would've thought that by this point I'd have most of my questions answered. Hardly. Instead, I find myself with more questions than ever. I'm not at all skeptical that Jesus died for my countless sins but there are a few things in the Bible that I simply cannot accept or understand from my puny earthly perspective.
I began writing this piece one week ago but each time I sat down to collect my thoughts I kept coming up empty. It felt like I was forcing it and I don't like to write from that position. The only thoughts coming to the surface were negative, critical thoughts about the struggles I've been having with my faith when I contrast it against too many who wrap themselves in their Christianity but walk an entirely different walk including me. There are enough people bashing Christianity and I didn't want to be just another one of those voices.
My unrelenting quest continues as I search for answers.
Can I have a cookie?
My Enemies Are Men Like Me
i have come to give you life
and to show you how to live it
i have come to make things right
to heal their ears and show you how to forgive them
because i would rather die
i would rather die
i would rather die
than to take your life
how can i kill the ones i’m supposed to love
my enemies are men like me
i will protest the sword if it’s not wielded well
my enemies are men like me
peace by way of war is like purity by way of fornication
it’s like telling someone murder is wrong
and then showing them by way of execution
when justice is bought and sold just like weapons of war
the ones who always pay are the poorest of the poor
I grew up in a family where going to church every Sunday morning and attending Sunday school afterward was a way of life. It wasn't anything that I ever questioned; I just accepted it and what I was being taught. Unlike Hosanna where I attend now, I recall the churches I grew up in as places where the emphasis was on "God" rather than "Jesus".
Several years ago Hosanna embarked on a Bible reading lesson plan where a person would finish reading the Bible in a year with only 15-20 minutes spent reading it each day. I was all-in having already tried a few previous times to do it on my own but always coming up short, usually crashing and burning in Deuteronomy or was it Leviticus? I managed to get through Hosanna's year-long plan painlessly and started it all over again the next year. I've taken some time off since first adopting it as a part of my routine but this year finds me in my 7th reading of both the Old and New Testaments.
I'm always seeking.
I would've thought that by this point I'd have most of my questions answered. Hardly. Instead, I find myself with more questions than ever. I'm not at all skeptical that Jesus died for my countless sins but there are a few things in the Bible that I simply cannot accept or understand from my puny earthly perspective.
I began writing this piece one week ago but each time I sat down to collect my thoughts I kept coming up empty. It felt like I was forcing it and I don't like to write from that position. The only thoughts coming to the surface were negative, critical thoughts about the struggles I've been having with my faith when I contrast it against too many who wrap themselves in their Christianity but walk an entirely different walk including me. There are enough people bashing Christianity and I didn't want to be just another one of those voices.
My unrelenting quest continues as I search for answers.
Can I have a cookie?
My Enemies Are Men Like Me
i have come to give you life
and to show you how to live it
i have come to make things right
to heal their ears and show you how to forgive them
because i would rather die
i would rather die
i would rather die
than to take your life
how can i kill the ones i’m supposed to love
my enemies are men like me
i will protest the sword if it’s not wielded well
my enemies are men like me
peace by way of war is like purity by way of fornication
it’s like telling someone murder is wrong
and then showing them by way of execution
when justice is bought and sold just like weapons of war
the ones who always pay are the poorest of the poor
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